(Bloomberg) – The deadly Amtrak crash in Washington state marked the railroad's third fatal accident in as many years, putting the passenger rail operator under fresh scrutiny less than a month after safety regulators issued a scathing report.

At least 3 deaths

Bound for Portland, Oregon, Amtrak train 501 was traveling 50 miles per hour over the posted speed limit when it derailed Monday morning south of Seattle. Several rail cars plunged off an overpass, hitting vehicles below on the busy Interstate 5. At least three people died, 13 cars jumped the track and Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency.

It was the first day that Amtrak trains were running on the Point Defiance Bypass Project, an inland route formerly owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s BNSF Railway that had been upgraded by the state for higher-speed Amtrak passenger-rail service.

"This is a brand new stretch of track, the question will be, 'Was it designed correctly?'" said Fred Millar, an independent rail-safety consultant. "People were pretty dismayed this train could crash over the wall and into the highway."

'Deficient safety management'

The National Transportation Safety Board last month decried the safety culture of Amtrak in its report into an April 2016 derailment in Chester, Pennsylvania, that killed two track workers and injured another 39 people. In a statement Nov. 14, the NTSB cited a "deficient safety management across many levels of Amtrak."