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]

http://www.alaskahighwaynews.ca/business/update-highway-97-now-open...

 

 

Drive BC has indicated that Highway 97 will be blocked 4.5 kilometres south of the Pine Pass Summit in both directions until further notice.

UPDATE: Drive BC is reporting that Highway 97 is now open in both directions near Bijoux Falls Provincial Park. 

Mike Carter / Alaska Highway News 
May 11, 2015 12:17 AM

ORIGINAL: Eight train cars carrying sulphur derailed near Mackenzie on a railway crossing Highway 97 South at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, a Canadian National Rail Co. spokesperson has confirmed.

Drive BC has indicated that Highway 97 will be blocked in both directions until further notice near Bijoux Falls Provincial Park.

There were no injuries reported and the cause of the derailment is under investigation, CN said.

Pierre Boivin, senior manager of stakeholder relations with CN Rail, told the Alaska Highway News Sunday night that the eight cars involved in the derailment were all carrying sulphur.

"The cars are upright and there are no indications that there is any spill or any environmental impacts," Boivin said.

CN crews will work through the night to clear the crossing "as soon as possible," Boivin added, but he did not know how long it would take. 

"At this point all we know is that Highway 97 is blocked," Boivin explained. "Our crews are en route. As soon as they arrive they are going to work to clear the crossing."

It's unclear at this time where the train originated from, or where it was headed.

As of 10:50 p.m. no detour was available, according to Drive BC.

There is no estimated time of opening.

The next update from Drive BC is scheduled for 1 a.m.

Sulphur is a byproduct of processing sour natural gas and petroleum.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.12newsnow.com/story/29015569/train-derails-in-cook-co-we... 

Train derails in Cook Co.; weather may be to blame

Posted: May 08, 2015 12:32 PM EDT

 WFAA

COOKE COUNTY -- High winds and flooding are being blamed for causing a train to derail in Cooke County.

The train was carrying non-hazardous mixed freight when 17 BNSF cars derailed just after 1 a.m. Friday about a mile south of Valley View, towards Lake Ray Roberts Rail Marker 3993.

Two of the locomotives flipped into floodwaters.

Four BNSF employees were injured, a spokesman said. They have been taken to Denton Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/region/3738800-11-am-update-fi...

11 A.M. UPDATE: Fiery train derailment prompts evacuation of Heimdal, N.D.

By Herald Staff Report Today at 8:52 a.m.

HEIMDAL, N.D. -- The small North Dakota community of Heimdal and surrounding farmsteads have been evacuated after an oil tanker train derailed Wednesday morning.

Wells County Emergency Manager Tammy Roehrich said the BNSF Railway oil tanker train derailed about 7:30 a.m. about a mile and half east of Heimdal. Heimdal is about 80 miles southeast of Minot.

Cecily Fong, public information officer for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, reported there were 10 tanker cars on fire, though Roehrich reported six cars on fire.

Fong said the engine and cars not on fire have been decoupled and moved to safety.

No injuries or fatalities have been reported, Fong said.

Roehrich said she couldn’t get close enough to the train to see whether it was exploding or just burning. “It looks a lot like Casselton,” she said, referring to the fiery train wreck of oil tankers near Casselton in late 2013.

Roehrich said there were 109 cars in the train.

Wells County 911 Director and Deputy Sheriff Janelle Pepple said the the sky was black with smoke near the derailment site.

The eastbound unit train, hauling oil tankers, derailed just a quarter-mile east of Heimdal, according to Everett Johnson, whose farm is 1.5 miles east of Heimdal.

Everett Johnson, whose farm is 1.5 miles east of Heimdal, said he drove to within half a mile of the site earlier today and saw heavy black smoke pouring from the wreck. Although his home is close to the derailment, a hill blocks his view of the site.

"The wind's blowing from the southwest to the northeast, so it's not affecting the town of Heimdal," he said. "It's drizzling and raining, so that's a good thing."

The cars that derailed were toward the rear end of the train, he said. The decoupled section was pulled further east.

"It's kind of a slough area," Johnson said.

The train was operating on the BNSF Railway line in Wells County in central North Dakota, said Fong, adding about 40 people were evacuated from Heimdal.

The 2010 Census reported 27 people living in Heimdal and 21 residents in Hamburg, about 19 miles to the east. Both are in northeastern Wells County.

A statement from BNSF Railway said the tank cars involved in the incident are unjacketed CPC-1232 models, which are targeted for phase-out by 2020 under new federal safety rules announced last Friday.

A statement from Sarah Feinberg, acting Federal Railroad Administrator, said the agency has deployed a 10 person investigation team to the site.

“Today's incident is yet another reminder of why we issued a significant, comprehensive rule aimed at improving the safe transport of high hazard flammable liquids. The FRA will continue to look at all options available to us to improve safety and mitigate risks," Feinberg said in the statement.

Ron Reimche, a school bus driver for the Harvey School District, said he crossed the same train tracks a few miles away from the scene shortly before the crash was reported. He had been on his way to Esmond to pick up his first student of the day.

“I meet the trains every so often at that crossing,” said Reimche, adding that he makes sure to stop well back from the train tracks on his route. “In my opinion, they ought to hurry and get that pipeline in.”

Emergency crews from several fire departments in the region and hazardous materials teams from Devils Lake and Grand Forks responded to the derailment.

In addition to HAZMAT teams from Devils Lake and Grand Forks, the state Highway Patrol and firefighters from Harvey, Fessenden, Hamburg and Devils Lake have been dispatched.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/688461/80-injured-as-pnr-train-derails...

80 injured as PNR train derails in Taguig City

7:03 AM | Thursday, April 30th, 2015

People gawk at two coaches of a Philippine National Railways train which fell over as it was traveling southbound in Taguig City on Wednesday afternoon. The cause of the derailment has yet to be determined. Marianne Bermudez

MANILA, Philippines–Around 80 people suffered minor injuries after two coaches of a Philippine National Railways (PNR) train went offtrack, causing these to fall over in Taguig City on Wednesday.

Insp. Jonathan Aribe, Taguig Police Community Precinct 7 commander, said the derailment took place at 3:46 p.m.

According to Aribe, the PNR train carrying around 500 passengers was headed south from Manila when, upon reaching the bridge that served as the boundary between the cities of Makati and Taguig, its first coach went off the track, causing it to fall on its side.

Aribe said the first coach pulled the next one down, causing it to also topple over.

“So only the third or the last wagon of the train remained standing,” he added, noting that as soon as the two coaches fell over, the entire train stopped moving.

Aribe said around 80 riders were injured after they hit their heads against hard surfaces.

Some were rushed to the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital for treatment. Others, however, opted not to go to the hospital.

“All the around 80 passengers sustained minor injuries. Some suffered bruises, others suffered trauma because of the incident,” Aribe said, noting that he talked to one passenger who hit his head after he jumped off the train while it was still moving.

Aribe added that it was still unclear what caused the two coaches to go offtrack, saying this would have to be determined by the PNR.

“Our concern now is to guard some of the things that some passengers left behind in the train,” Aribe said, noting that as of 5:46 p.m., the two coaches were still down.

One of those injured was 2-year-old Jillian who was with her mother, Jewel.

Jewel said they were seated in the first coach when she heard a loud metallic sound. The next thing she knew, many of the passengers who were standing up were falling on her and her daughter.

“We ended up being pinned down as the wagon fell on its side. And my worry is that my daughter may have sustained some injury in the process. That’s why I am having her X-rayed,” Jewel told the Inquirer.

Asked if she would press charges against the PNR, she replied: “It depends.”

She said she had heard reports that the PNR would shoulder just the hospital expenses of those who had train tickets.

“But we lost our ticket in the train. What’s going to happen then?” she said as she decried the fact that no PNR personnel had talked to her at press time.

 

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.newwestrecord.ca/news/train-derails-on-new-west-waterfro...

Train derails on New West waterfront

Sunday's incident marks second derailment in April

APRIL 28, 2015 10:08 AM

Off the rails: An empty CN boxcar derailed as it was crossing Front Street under the eastern side of the parkade on Sunday. It's the second derailment in New West this month.   Photograph By Contributed Trevor Morgan

A train derailed on New Westminster’s waterfront for the second time in less than a month.
On Sunday afternoon, an empty CN boxcar derailed as it was crossing Front Street under the eastern side of the parkade, across from Westminster Pier Park.
“It was a single rail car that came off the track. It was called an upright derailment. There was no hazmat issues,” said Coun. Chuck Puchmayr. “It was a very slow speed that it was travelling.”
Puchmayr, a member of the railway community advisory panel, has asked that derailments be discussed at the group’s next meeting as he’d like to know the causes of the derailments and how the railways can prevent these incidents from occurring. The panel includes representatives from four railways operating in New West, city staff and local residents.
Sunday’s derailment comes just weeks after three grain cars ran off the tracks near East Columbia Street and Brunette Avenue at about 3:45 a.m. on April 5.  Last July, five train cars carrying grain derailed along Quayside Drive because of a broken track.
“Anytime a train car goes off the track it is concerning,” Puchmayr said. “It has to be concerning. If it’s a chemical car or a car with hazardous materials in it and there’s any kind of release, there are huge costs to responding to it. There’s also a concern about safety of the community. Having said that, we are very cognizant that four railways operate within New Westminster and have historically.”
Fire Chief Tim Armstrong told the Record he learned about the derailment from a report on the news and contacted on duty firefighters about whether they’d been called to the scene. The fire department sent a crew down to the site and found there had been a derailment but their assistance wasn’t needed.
“They felt there was no need to do so because it wasn’t obstructing any traffic, it was on their property and it wasn’t interfering,” he said. “There was no dangerous goods so there was no need to contact us because there was really nothing for us to do.”
While the railways have agreed to contact the fire department if a derailment occurs that involves any dangerous goods, Armstrong said they aren’t obligated to provide notifications if a car skips the track and poses no community impacts or risk to public safety.
“Supposedly it’s more common than you hear of,” he said. “Think of how many miles of track there is.”
Sunday’s incident prompted a number of New West residents to post photos on Twitter and generated some comments about the number of derailments this month and the city’s ability to respond.
Armstrong is confident the city has enough internal resources and mutual aid agreements with other communities to respond to derailments involving hazardous materials.
“I think people become a little hyper sensitive to the railways,” he said. “The reality is the railway has been there as long as the Quay has been there. There has been dangerous goods moving through there. It’s not like they just started doing it yesterday. I am sure if we look back in history there has been lots of cars that have come off the railways. I am not trying to downplay it at all … but I don’t think we need to create any kind of panic down there because I don’t think anything has really changed. If anything, I think the railways have been more responsible and have reached out to us as partners more than they possibly have done in the past. I am not overly concerned with what’s happened down there.”
On Monday, Mayor Jonathon Cote read a proclamation in honour of Public Rail Safety Week, a national week devoted to educating the public about the dangers associated with railway crossings and trespassing on railway property. According to the Railway Association of Canada, there were 180 crossing accidents and 58 trespassing accidents in Canada in 2014, a number that’s been reduced by nearly 30 per cent since Railway Safety Week began in 2003.

 

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://kdvr.com/2015/04/27/incredible-video-captures-train-being-bl...

Video captures train being blown off elevated bridge during storm in New Orleans

POSTED 12:32 PM, APRIL 27, 2015

At least 11 cars were tossed from the bridge.

Chris Roberts, council chairman at Jefferson Parish Council, posted severalphotos of the train cars on Facebook.

No injuries were reported.

The New Orleans Public Belt issued a statement:

“Due to the severe weather this morning four Union Pacific Railroad railcars derailed and dropped off the eastbank approach to the Huey P. Long Bridge. The railcars were empty and did not contain any hazardous materials.

No leaks and no injuries are reported at this time. Jefferson Parish Police, Fire and other responders are on scene to secure the area.”

[Mark]

Tube misery for commuters after derailed engineering train

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-32395305

Rush hour Tube passengers had to "climb over barriers" to escape overcrowding after a derailed engineering train caused delays to morning services.
The Central Line was closed between White City and Marble Arch following the midnight derailment at Holland Park.
The knock-on effects built up along the rest of the line and platforms became jam-packed.
Eventually Wanstead and South Woodford stations had to be closed as well.
By mid-afternoon some 45-minute journeys were still taking up to three hours.
The Rail Maritime and Transport union said four workers who suffered injuries including whiplash in the derailment were treated in hospital but were later released.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20150418/linstead-resident-...

Linstead Resident Escapes Injuries After Train Derails Stopping Metres From His House

A resident of Charlemont in Linstead, St Catherine narrowly escaped injuries this morning after a section of a train loaded with alumina derailed, stopping metresaway from his house.

Jeremiah James says he was on his verandah having breakfast when he heard a crashing sound.

He said when he looked up the hillside, he saw the section of a train rolling down towards his house.

James says he thought about running outside, but didn’t because that could have put him in greater harm.

He said he also considered running inside the house but decided against that move in the event that the out-of-control train car slams into the building and sends it crumbling.

As a result, James said he stayed put on the verandah and watched the section of the train advance towards his house until it stopped just metres away.

Linstead residents soon gathered to look at what they regarded as a miracle.

According to James, in his 20 plus years in Linstead, he has never had such an experience.  

The train was transporting alumina from Windalco, Ewarton  to Port Esquivel for export.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.your4state.com/story/d/story/csx-train-derails-near-swan...

CSX Train Derails near Swanton, Md.

04/15/2015 07:47 AM

04/15/2015 10:36 AM

GARRETT CO., Md. – A CSX train derailed just after 4:30 a.m. in Garrett County. 

Officials with the Department of Public Safety say the train went off the tracks two miles north east of Swanton, near Spring Lick Road.

They say 11 cars derailed, all were empty except one, which was hauling 126-ton of heating fuel.

Officials say that car did not overturn and was not leaking any of the fuel.

No evacuations were made, and no injuries were reported.

Fire personnel from Deer Park Volunteer Fire Department are on the scene investigating, along with CSX. 

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.airdrieecho.com/2015/04/14/train-derails-southeast-of-ai...

Train derails southeast of Airdrie

Tuesday, April 14, 2015 11:48:16 MDT AM

Twenty train cars derailed about 20 minutes southeast of Airdrie on April 10.

 

Rocky View County Fire Services was dispatched to the derailment, just outside of the hamlet of Kathyrn, at around 10 a.m.

Once on scene, emergency respondents found Canadian National (CN) grain cars flipped on their sides.

As they materials the cars were carrying weren’t hazardous, there was no threat to public safety.

No injuries were reported.

Randy Smith, Rocky View Fire Services Fire Chief, said the clean-up of the rails went smoothly.

“At the end of the day it turned out as fortunate as it could be,” said Smith, adding fire crews have recently undergone numerous training sessions to learn how to deal with derailment situations.

With the assistance of numerous County fire services, the scene was cleared by 11:30 a.m.

The cause of the incident is not yet known.

Grant Kaiser, communications manager with Rocky View County, said the investigation of the derailment is now the responsibility of the Federal government and the Canadian Transportation Safety Board.