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):

[Mark]

Honesty from the Los Angeles Times regarding train derailments:

Why are so many oil trains crashing? Track problems may be to blame

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-crude-train-safety-20151007-sto...

The only sign of trouble aboard a Norfolk Southern train, hauling roughly 9,000 tons of Canadian crude in western Pennsylvania last year, was a moderate sway in the locomotive as it entered a bend on the Kiskiminetas River.

The first 66 cars had passed safely around the curve when the emergency brakes suddenly engaged, slamming the train to a stop. The conductor trudged back nearly a mile through newly fallen snow to see what happened.

Twenty-one cars had derailed, one slamming through the wall of a nearby factory. Four tank cars were punctured, sending 4,300 gallons of crude pouring out of the tangled wreckage.
The cause of the accident in North Vandergrift was identified as a failure in the rails — not aging or poorly maintained tracks, but a relatively new section laid less than a year earlier.

The February 2014 crash fits into an alarming pattern across North America that helps explain the significant rise of derailments involving oil-hauling trains over the last three years, even as railroads are investing billions of dollars in improving the safety of their networks. A review of 31 crashes that have occurred on oil trains since 2013 puts track failure at the heart of the growing safety problem.

Track problems were blamed on 59% of the crashes, more than double the overall rate for freight train accidents, according to a Times analysis of accident reports. Investigators and rail safety experts are looking at how the weight and movements of oil trains may be causing higher than expected track failures.

The growing number of trains hauling crude oil from Canada and the Northern Plains are among the heaviest on the rails today, many extending more than 100 cars in length and weighing a cumulative 19,000 tons or more.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.ksla.com/story/30227521/train-derails-west-of-simms-texas

Train derails west of Simms, Texas

Posted: Oct 09, 2015 3:58 PM EST Updated: Oct 09, 2015 5:32 PM EST

SIMMS, TX (KSLA) -

A train derailment Friday afternoon about 6 miles southwest of Simms, Texas, injured no one but left behind a large mess to be cleaned up.

There is no immediate word on whether the crossing at County Road 4269 remains blocked and, if so, how long it will be until it is cleared.

Even so, there should be no major traffic problems as the railroad company removes the debris, Bowie County, Texas, authorities say. They could not say how long the cleanup will take. 

At least 13 cars of the Union Pacific train left the tracks, with some overturning.

Simms firefighters extinguished a small fire beneath one of the cars. Otherwise, emergency crews said, the train was carrying sand and posed no threat to public safety.

"Naturally, we always worry about hazardous waste being spilled out here and having to evacuate," said Malvern Stewart, who lives near the railroad tracks nearby in Bassett, Texas. 

Simms Fire Chief Paul Beard said: "There is no reason for anyone to be scared or bothered right now as far as this is concerned because there is no haz-mat situation. And there is no danger to the public."

The westbound train was traveling through Bowie County en route to Big Sandy, Texas, when it derailed about 35 miles west of Texarkana.

Residents of the area say this is not the first derailment there.

"We have been lucky so far," Stewart said. "This is just an unforeseen situation that happens."

Representatives of the Bowie County emergency management office have been called in to assess the damage.

And what caused the rail cars to leave the tracks has yet to be determined.

[KM]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3260750/Amtrak-passenger-tr...

'It was a freak of nature': Rock slide in Vermont caused 57mph Amtrak commuter train to fly off the rails and into a ditch, injuring 7

• Five carriages derailed and two tumbled into a bank on Monday morning when 57mph train hit a rock on the tracks
• Seven people were injured and no deaths were reported, according to an Amtrak spokesperson
• One airlifted to hospital with undisclosed injuries, remaining six taken to nearby Berlin with minor injuries
• The train runs a daily commute between St Albans, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.  

The Amtrak passenger train which derailed in Northfield, Vermont, on Monday morning was sent hurtling by a 'freak' rock slide, the governor has said.

One person was airlifted to hospital and another six went in ambulances to be treated for minor injuries after the southbound train traveling at 57 mph flew off the tracks 10 miles south of Montpelier at 10am.

On Monday afternoon, Gov Peter Shumlin told reporters there was a rock on the track that could not have been avoided even if brakes were applied, adding: 'this really was a freak of nature'.  

Passengers traveling from Vermont to Washington, D.C., were sent into a ditch after an apparent rock slide

The crash on Monday morning, shortly after 10am, was caused by a 'real freak of nature,' officials said

A train worker can be seen sat on the tracks (right). Seven people were hospitalized with injuries, there were no deaths

Shumlin praised the 104 passengers, many elderly, who scrambled up the steep hillside to safety after the crash. 

'I've just been meeting with the passengers,' Shumlin said, 'and it's really a remarkable thing to hear. 

'It was a pretty brutal derailment caused by ledge on the track, and as one of the passengers said to me, "Someone was looking out for us, because literally we walked out of a very difficult situation."' 

He said the six passengers with minor injuries were taken to Central Vermont Medical Center in nearby Berlin to be treated.

The seventh was airlifted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Their injuries are unknown.  

[M. Difato]

Train's Locomotive Derails After Hitting Rock Slide Debris

LYNCHBURG, Va.

Posted Oct 5, 2015 

A CSX spokeswoman say a train's locomotive derailed in Lynchburg after it hit debris from a rock slide.

CSX spokeswoman Kaitlyn Barrett tells The News & Advance (http://bit.ly/1LsCAOi ) that the 104-car train was carrying empty crude oil cars, along with two cars containing industrial sand. One of the cars containing industrial sand was damaged.

Barrett says there were no leaks or injuries.

The incident occurred around 3 a.m. Sunday near the site where a CSX train carrying crude oil derailed in April 2014. That derailment sent 30,000 gallons of crude oil in the James River.

Sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/trains-locomotive-derails-...

http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/authorities-respond-to-partia...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.fauquiernow.com/index.php/fauquier_news/article/fauquier...

Freight train derails two miles west of Marshall

September 30, 2015

A freight train derailment about two miles west of Marshall early Wednesday morning created a scene that resembles war’s aftermath.
The accident happened around midnight, according to Norfolk Southern spokesman Susan M. Terpay.
The southbound “train with three locomotives, 7,053 feet long, struck a pile of crossties laying across track at Marshall, derailing nine cars . . . with some cars on their sides,” Ms. Terpay said.
The 44-car train’s two-man crew suffered no injury, she added.

[Mark]

Long Island: 2nd train derailment in a week for LIRR

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/2nd-train-derailment-in-a-week-s...

Another derailment on the Long Island Rail Road's tracks -- the second in just over a week -- complicated Wednesday's evening commute but posed no threat to morning riders, according to the LIRR.

The train was not carrying passengers when it derailed as it was leaving the West Side Yard on its way to Penn Station shortly before 5 p.m., according to LIRR spokesman Salvatore Arena, who said he did not know the cause of the derailment.

Arena said the derailed train partially obstructed train access into Penn Station, requiring the LIRR to cancel some trains during the evening rush hour. In all, 13 trains were canceled, the LIRR said.

"This basically lasted about an hour," Arena said. "As a result of the derailment at least for a time, we could not move the requisite number of trains into Penn Station that would allow us to keep on schedule, so they had to cancel a number of trains and have those folks wait for the next scheduled train."

The entrance to Penn Station was "not blocked completely," he said, but the LIRR was unable to get enough trains in to meet demand.

Arena said crews worked into the night to get the train back on its tracks, and he did not expect the problem to extend to Thursday morning's commute.

The derailment of a freight train just west of Hicksville on Sept. 15 snarled the commutes of more than 35,000 commuters for more than a day.

Other rush-hour incidents in recent weeks have also caused major service disruptions, including a Sept. 2 power outage that knocked out the signal system just outside the East River tunnels and a train that struck an abandoned vehicle accidentally driven onto the tracks in Bethpage on Sept. 10.

[M. Difato]

 September 25,2015

 Ingham, Australia- A CANE train carrying 70 full bins has derailed in Ingham and hit a power pole around 3:30pm this afternoon.

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/cane-train-derails-in-ing...

The train snapped a power pole in half along Blackrock Rd after derailing, with live wires lashing the train for over an hour.

The locomotive was two-thirds full, carrying around 800 tonnes, with Wilmar Cane Supply manager Jim Kirchner saying they were unsure of how the train derailed.

“The cause of the accident is unknown, but Wilmar and the police will be investigating the accident together,” Mr Kirchner said.

“We may need to use a crane to move the locomotive, but we are don’t know just yet ... we have to assess whether the locomotive can be pulled back to the mill to be fixed.”

The driver is believed to be uninjured and emergency services are still on scene.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.newson6.com/story/30076736/two-injured-after-train-derai...

Two Injured After Train Derails In Oklahoma City

Posted: Sep 21, 2015 8:17 AM EST

OKLAHOMA CITY -

Two people were treated for non-life threatening injuries after a train derailed in northwest Oklahoma City, Sunday night.

Oklahoma City Police said it was around 8:40 p.m. Sunday when they received the call to rush to the train tracks at N.W. 10th near the Kilpatrick Turnpike.

According to Union Pacific, which operates the train, eight rail cars and two locomotives were involved and thrown off the track.

The train was not carrying hazardous material at the time of the crash, only scrap paper and scrap metal. But the Oklahoma City Fire Department monitored the air quality and said it is does not pose a threat nearby.

The conductor and another worker on the train at the time of the crash were treated for non-life threatening injuries at a nearby hospital.

It was approximately 6 a.m. Monday when the train was removed from the area, but the cars which derailed will not be removed until later Monday afternoon, according to a Union Pacific spokesperson.

Meanwhile the investigation as to what caused this derailment is still going on and it will be some time before that can figure that out. UP will conduct its own investigation and will submit a report to the Federal Railroad Association.

[Mark]

Rajdhani derails, none hurt

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150919/jsp/frontpage/story_43397.jsp...

Jamshedpur, Sept. 18: Around 900 passengers of Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express had a lucky escape this afternoon, as two front wheels of its engine derailed before reaching Tatanagar station, but the train managed to stand on tracks.

Though it jerked to a stop around 3.50pm just before reaching platform 2, the impact was mild enough not to hurt passengers on board.

South Eastern Railway (SER), under which Tatanagar falls, has initiated a high-level probe into why the engine of the New Delhi-bound Rajdhani derailed. But, prima facie, authorities feel it was a mechanical glitch and not sabotage.

Railway staff worked swiftly, pulling all 18 coaches of the train, including first, second and third AC ones, pantry, luggage van among others, to platform 3, and attaching a different engine.

The train chugged out of Tatanagar at 5.20pm, delayed by roughly an hour-and-a-half. Normally, Rajdhani reaches Tatanagar at 3.50pm and pulls out at 3.55pm.

The timing was also such that no other train was delayed as a domino effect.

"A major mishap was averted as the train was moving slowly at 10-12kmph while approaching Tatanagar," said Ashok Agarwal, spokesman and senior divisional commercial manager of Chakradharpur railway division, which falls under the SER zone.

"A probe has been initiated in this regard," Agarwal said.

"There seems to be some mechanical snag that led to the derailment, not foul play," Tatanagar station manager O.P. Sharma, who along with officials of railway engineering department and loco shed, personally supervised the bogies as they were being shifted, said.

When The Telegraph met the passengers, the general mood was relief mingled with anger.

Rahul Singh (35), a third AC passenger, said he was standing near the door of his coach because he wanted to alight at Tatanagar, when he heard a "thud". "The next thing I knew, a jerk had dashed me against the door of the coach. I'm lucky I escaped a head injury. Thank god," he said.

Passenger Malini Sharma (46), who was waiting on platform 2 to board the train, said she heard the loud sound and saw the train stopping just before entering the station. "It seemed like the driver of the loco might have applied brakes after the train derailed," she said. "But, a major mishap was averted."

Sujit Mahapatra, in his twenties, who like Sharma was supposed to board Rajdhani from Tatanagar, was furious about the delay. "Unthinkable that a prestigious train like Rajdhani can be derailed. All this is the result of the sheer callousness on the part of railways," he said.

Earlier this March, Rajdhani had another narrow escape near Tatanagar railway station due to a mechanical snag in the engine.

[M. Difato]

Ten cars of a BNSF Railway train carrying ethanol derailed in rural South Dakota, starting a fire and forcing detours on the company’s main track.

SCOTLAND, SD - Personnel from several area emergency response agencies are on the scene of a train derailment near Scotland.

http://www.ksfy.com/home/headlines/Crews-battling-fire-following-tr...
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad says 10 ethanol tanker cars derailed and two caught fire Saturday morning in southeast South Dakota.

BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth says the 98-car train carrying ethanol derailed at about 6:15 a.m. between the towns of Scotland and Lesterville. She says in a statement that there were no injuries and no nearby structures were threatened by the fire.

Bon Homme County Emergency Management spokesman Lee Rettig says one rural road was shut down as firefighters from several departments worked to extinguish the blaze at a bridge southeast of Scotland. BNSF hazardous materials teams were also responding to help with the cleanup.

Rettig says the derailed cars were near the front of the train.

The local response effort is being led by the Scotland Fire Deparment and also includes firefighters from Lesterville, Menno, Tabor, and Tyndall. The South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Bon Homme Couny Sheriff’s office is also on scene.

Sources 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-19/bnsf-derailment-f...

http://www.ksfy.com/home/headlines/Crews-battling-fire-following-tr...