Train derailments

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Spain Experiences its Worst Train Accident in 40 Years An increase in train derailments was one of the first symptoms of the approach of Planet X to become noticeable, being expressed even before Planet X entered the inner solar system in 2003. Planet X was described as affecting the Earth from afar, like tugging on the edge of a spider web where the effects are felt elsewhere on the web; in this way there has been an increase in earthquakes and unpredictable weather going back years, even before Planet X entered the solar system, due to the increased swirling of the Earth’s core. It is therefore logical that an increase in train derailments would accompany any increase in seismic activity – train tracks need to be straight and even the slightest shift to the side of a section of track would cause a train to derail. The area most affected by train derailments is the stretch zone.  Stretch zone quakes are silent, and people are generally unaware anything is happening, although signs such as booms and trumpet sounds can occur. This zone stretches from Western Europe across the Eurasian Plate, and also includes the South-East United States, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Red Sea and the African Rift. In other parts of the world, shifting ground is more associated with earthquakes that people are aware of, such as the Pacific which is compressing, so authorities inspect railway tracks after any seismic activity, reducing the likelihood of accidents. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some Examples (click on pictures for link):

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Train delays, changes Friday after Thursday pm Olten crash

BERN, SWITZERLAND – A number of Swiss trains are delayed, cancelled or taking different routes Friday after a Thursday evening sideswipe crash between two trains left one conductor in critical condition. The cause of the crash in Olten, a major centre for Swiss trains, with several intersecting rail lines, is not yet known.

One of the trains had left Sissach and the other Basel. Twenty people were aboard the two trains, but there were no other serious injuries. The engine was badly damaged and two cars derailed in the accident.

http://genevalunch.com/blog/2011/10/07/train-delays-changes-friday-...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-authorities-e...

Illinois town evacuated following fiery train derailment

7:32 a.m. CDT, October 7, 2011

The entire town of Tiskilwa was evacuated early this morning after a freight train derailed and several tanker cars containing ethanol exploded, according to fire officials and area residents.

There were no reports of injuries in or around Tiskilwa, a town of about 800 people south of Princeton and about 115 miles west of Chicago.

"It's a mess," said Mike McComber, owner of the Indian Valley Inn, a restaurant bar where many town residents were taking refuge. "A quarter- to a half-mile of cars derailed.  Many of them are on fire.

"Everytime one of them explodes, it sounds like a bomb is going off. Three have gone off so far."

At least six cars of the 112-car train caught fire, according to Capt. Steve Haywood of the Ottawa Fire Department. Aerial shots showed the tanker cars heaped together and burning. The fire had not been brought under control by 7:25 a.m., he said, and firefighters will probably let the fire burn out.

The derailment occurred at about 2 a.m. at the eastern edge of town, where there is a subdivision, McComber said. Responding crews could see the fire from Interstate 80, about 9 miles away. Other area residents reported the glow could be seen from 12 miles.

The cars were carrying ethanol, or denatured alcohol, and possibly other materials and chemicals, McComber said. Ethanol is used in producing gasoline and for other industrial purposes.

Evacuees were being taken to Princeton High School. Kirk Haring, superintendent for Princeton High School District 500, said the Bureau County Red Cross was using the school as a shelter. Students had the day off anyway for a teacher institute day, he said.

Mike Hellberg, the county's Red Cross disaster chairman, said evacuees have started trickling into the school while he and others try to provide cots and meals.

Fire officials said the shipper was Decatur-based ADM Corn Processing. David Weintraub, a spokesman for ADM, said he couldn’t confirm the cars contained ADM products and referred questions to the train operator. He said ADM would cooperate with investigators and the rail company.

The train is operated by Iowa Interstate Railroad, according to Jeff Johnson, the company's director of safety and security said.

Hazardous materials teams from Ottawa, Utica, Marseilles, Peru, Mendota, Oglesby and Naplate were dispatched to the fire, Haywood said.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Derailment in Bhairab suspends train service for 12hrs

File photoStar Online Report

Train communication on the Bhairab-Mymensingh-Chittagong route remained suspended for 12 hours till Thursday morning following a train derailment near Bhairab Railway Station in Kishoreganj.

Abdul Motaleb, station master of Bhairab Railway Station, said nine bogies of a Chittagong-bound cargo train veered off the tracks near the station around 6:00am Wednesday.

However, all the trains on the route were continuing operations through alternative routes, reports our Kishoreganj correspondent.

A salvage train from Akhaura went to the spot and started a rescue operation in the evening.

Train service on the routes came to a complete halt around 7:00pm Wednesday after four out of nine bogies accidentally fell on the main line during the rescue operation.

Train communication on the route resumed after the salvage train managed to clear the line around 7:00am Thursday, the station master said.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=32789

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Derailment closes Hwy 537

Updated 37 minutes ago

Greater Sudbury Police issued this press release this evening:

At 2215hrs on the 05th of October 2011 a train derailment occurred on Highway 537 at the railway tracks between Wahnapitae and Wanup in the City of Greater Sudbury. The road is closed with no current estimated time that it will re-open.

There are no injuries and there are no dangerous goods.

The cause of the derailment is not currently known

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3324197

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Goods train derails

Published: October 06, 2011

Our Staff reporter

WARBURTON - Seven compartments of a goods train of Pakistan Railways derailed here on Lahore-Jarranwala Section between Warburton and Nankana Sahib Wednesday afternoon.
Reportedly, seven compartments of a goods train derailed from the track while the Railway engine pulled the de-tracked compartment for long distance. The track where the train derailed was found in broken condition. However, a special train from Lahore reached the accident spot and started repairing track and train.

http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/R...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Derailment near Nash Road disrupting train traffic

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 ~ Updated 5:04 PM

A train derailed near Nash Road in Cape Girardeau on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011.
(Kristin Eberts) [Order this photo]

A train that derailed Wednesday near Nash Road is slated to cause disruptions in railway traffic.

Fifteen empty cars on a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train derailed around 3 p.m. at railroad mile marker 139, said Doug Stutterfield, a firefighter of the Delta Fire Department. The train was not a passenger train and no hazardous materials were spilled.

"When we got the call, we thought there might be injuries or hazardous materials spilled," Stutterfield said. "When we got here, we waited for a cloud of smoke, but it never happened."

Stutterfield said he did not know the cause of the derailment. The derailment is backing up railway traffic on that track, he said.

Crews are coming from St. Louis to clean up the cars around 9 p.m., Stutterfield said.

A Burlington Northern spokesman did not immediately return a phone call.

http://www.semissourian.com/story/1770668.html?response=no

[Starr DiGiacomo]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Emergency crews are on the scene of a train derailment in Kanawha City.

It happened just before 1 p.m. in the 4500 block of Chesterfield Avenue.

A CSX spokesperson tells WSAZ.com 15 freight cars carrying coal have left the tracks and some have overturned, adding that there were two locomotives and 102 freight cars in total on the track.

The spokesperson adds train was traveling from Clifton Force, Va. to Russell, Ky.

Dispatchers say the 39th Street crossing is closed because of possible damage to the crossing. The 50th Street crossing is also blocked.

Lancaster Avenue is also closed between 39th and 48th Streets, because a train car and a tree have been knocked into the roadway.

No one was hurt in the accident.

We have a crew on the scene. Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the very latest information.

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/131152353.html

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Wednesday October 5, 2011

Coal-hauling train derails in Kanawha City

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Lancaster Avenue near 39th Street in Kanawha City is blocked after a CSX train derailed, according to a dispatcher at the Kanawha County Metro 911 Center.

No injuries were reported. A train engine pulling 11 cars fully loaded with coal derailed at about 12:42 p.m., the dispatcher said. Coal has spilled out of some of the cars.

The dispatcher was unsure how many cars had tipped over. Details as to why the train had derailed are not yet available.

Charleston police officers and firefighters are currently on the scene. Officials with CSX are also at the site of the derailment. 

Check back for additional information as we receive it.

http://www.dailymail.com/News/breakingnews/201110052406

[Starr DiGiacomo]

HOUSTON — Authorities say 15 people were injured when a light rail train derailed after striking a dump truck that ran a red light in downtown Houston.

Houston Metro officials say the train operator, 13 passengers and the driver of the dump truck were transported to hospitals with minor injuries after the accident Tuesday morning.

Metro officials tell the Houston Chronicle the truck driver couldn't see the red light because of the reflection of the sun.

Houston police say a hazardous materials unit contained a fuel leak from the dump truck

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/17a06fd73ffd4291afa64f72abaf4...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Network Rail fined £80k over 'potentially catastrophic' rail crash

Network Rail has been fined £80,000 for safety failings over a train crash which injured the driver and six passengers.

The "potentially catastrophic" incident near Barrow on Soar station happened when a lorry delivering to a rail-side construction site hit a footbridge, which in turn collapsed onto the tracks.

1. ​

   Emergency crews work to free the driver

 

A Nottingham to Norwich train, travelling towards Leicester, came round a bend at 65mph, crashed into the debris and derailed.

Network Rail admitted three charges of breaching health and safety laws at Leicester Crown Court yesterday.

After viewing photographs of the incident, Judge Robert Brown said: "The shortcomings are so obvious and the dangers so apparent."

The accident happened in "pitch black" darkness, just after 6am on February 1, 2008.

The court heard the lorry driver had failed to fully lower a tipper trailer after delivering ballast to the site.

Barry Berlin, prosecuting for the Office of Rail Regulation, said: "The lorry emptied its load and went forwards with the back still tipped up.

"The lorry driver didn't realise he was going under a footbridge. He bears some responsibility because he hadn't fully brought down his trailer."

The two-carriage train derailed and travelled 170 metres towards a road bridge, which it "mercifully" did not hit, said Mr Berlin.

The train driver had applied the brakes, but was not able to avoid the debris.

It took emergency services more than two-and-a-half hours to release him from the vehicle. He suffered bruises and cuts to his knees and thigh as well as cracked ribs.

Mr Berlin said: "It was a terrifying experience for him. He feared he was going to die.

"There's no criticism of the train driver. He came round the bend and had no chance."

The driver had since suffered from post-traumatic stress symptons and flashbacks.

The six passengers on board were all in shock but escaped with minor injuries.

Mr Berlin said Network Rail failed to identify the hazards of the delivery and no-one was trained to do the risk assessment at the site, although a preliminary inspection had been carried out by employees.

Continued

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Network-Rail-fined-pound-80k-...