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://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/crew-shaken-after-train-crashes-int...

Crew 'shaken' after train crashes into stopblock, derails

Published: 8:34AM Tuesday May 27, 2014 

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/raw-train-crashes-in-lower-hutt-vid...

• 
• A train has crashed on the Melling Line in Wellington this morning. - Source: ONE News reporter Kristin Hall

The crew of a train are "shaken" after it derailed on the Melling Line in Wellington this morning, the Rail and Maritime Transport Union says.

The train failed to stop at the Melling station then crashed into a stop block, bringing down a powerpole.
 
Two passengers were taken to hospital after the incident, one for minor cuts, and one for shock.

Rail and Maritime Transport Union General Secretary Wayne Butson said it was an "very unpleasant shock for commuters on board the train".

He also expressed sympathy for the person who was injured in the incident.

"We are supporting the crew who have been shaken by the incident, and clearly will want to work with KiwiRail to identify the root cause of the crash."

KiwiRail has apologised for the train derailment, and KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy says a full investigation is under way.

He says it will look at data from the black box on the train and cab cameras, and will take some time.

ONE News reporter Kristin Hall said it was "quite an incredible scene".

She says the train is around two metres off the ground, and that it had "lifted a huge slab of concrete out of the ground".

Replacement buses were used to reduce delays. A similar incident happened at the same station in April last year which is still being investigated.

[KM]

http://rt.com/news/160156-trains-moscow-collide-injuries/

At least 6 killed, 45 injured as passenger, freight trains collide near Moscow

Published time: May 20, 2014 09:32 
Edited time: May 20, 2014 15:22

An Emergencies Ministry helicopter flies near a passenger train damaged in a collision with a freight train in Moscow region May 20, 2014.(Reuters / Grigory Dukor)

A freight train crashed into a passenger train in the Moscow Region. Dozens of people are injured and at least six confirmed dead. Injured passengers were being carried out of the carriages by hand. Rescuers are working at the scene.

“Today at 12:38pm (08:38 GMT) a freight and a commuter train collided on the Bekasovo-Nara railroad near the regional center of Naro-Fominsk,” reported the transport police press service.

According to preliminary reports, six people were killed in the incident, one of them dying in hospital. Five out of six dead were the citizens of Moldova.

Up to 45 passengers have been injured, 28 have been taken to hospitals, 15 of them are in a serious condition. Three of the injured are children.

“We now know about five dead,” confirmed the head of Naro-Fominsk Region Vadim Andronov. “It is possible that the number of dead and injured passengers will grow as one overturned passenger carriage has been blocked by a container from the freighter train, which now remains on top of it. Rescuers are entering the second damaged passenger carriage right now..”

Health Minister of the Moscow Region Nina Suslova assured that all injured people will receive “all the necessary medical treatment.” Three helicopters are being used to help evacuate the injured, she said.

First Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said that 18 injured passengers in are in a critical condition in local hospitals, most of them suffering head trauma.

A preliminary evaluation maintains that the problem started when the frame of one of the freight carriages broke up, sending several of them off the rails. The passenger train passing on the next railway line was struck by them, completely tearing off a side wall of at least one passenger carriage.

The train drivers tried to bring the train to an emergency halt.

“We used the emergency brake application. Then we could see nothing because of the dust, we had zero visibility,” one of the train drivers told Rossiya 24 TV channel.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has indicated the cause of the crash as the breaking away of a cargo train container.

The Committee also stated that there were track works close to the area where the crash happened.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.denverpost.com/environment/ci_25732989/train-hauling-cru...

Train hauling crude oil derails on banks of South Platte River

A crude oil train that derailed Friday morning south of Greeley — with six cars toppled along the South Platte River — for several hours was leaking at a rate estimated at 20 to 50 gallons per minute.

Environmental Protection Agency officials were dispatched to the scene. No oil has been confirmed in the river thanks to the work of Union Pacific Railroad responders.

The 100-car train loaded with niobrara crude derailed west of LaSalle near a bridge over the river.

An earthen berm, and sandy material deposited by last fall's flood, was containing the oil as it spilled, according to EPA officials.

Crews work to clean up several train cars that were derailed and flipped along the track southwest of LaSalle, Colo. on Friday, May 9, 2014. (Joshua Polson, The Greeley Tribune)

The Union Pacific crew placed oil spill booms on the river as a pre-caution. As of 1:20 p.m., no oil had been observed in the river, EPA response coordinator Joyel Dhieux said. She said crews will off-load the crude oil that is in the cars that overturned.

Railroad crews were using a vacuum truck and hose to recover oil from the toppled cars as the oil leaked on the riverside, EPA's on-scene coordinator Craig Myers said Friday afternoon.

"(Union Pacific) got pretty lucky on this one," Myers said. "So far, fairly minimal damage. There's five cars on their side. One is upside down. It is leaking."

Oil was leaking at the rate of 20 to 50 gallons a minute, he said. "They can't really plug it."

Nationwide, the volume of crude oil transported by train has been increasing, raising safety concerns. Federal transportation officials this week warned that moving oil by train is becoming a hazard and said railroads will be required to notify local emergency responders when oil trains are moving through their area.

The cause of the derailment was under investigation, but authorities said it appeared to be accidental.

No injuries were reported and no one was evacuated from the area, said Roy Rudisill, Weld County's director of emergency management.

"I don't know what the extent of the leak is, like how many gallons," he said Friday afternoon.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.ianslive.in/index.php?param=news/Train_derails_in_Pakist...

Train derails in Pakistan

IANS

Islamabad, May 7 (IANS) One woman was killed and 20 people injured after a passenger train derailed in Pakistan on Wednesday morning, media reports said.

TV channel Dunya said the train's engine and three compartments derailed near Nawabshah district in Sindh province, Xinhua reported.

The train was on its way from Faisalabad to Karachi.

Hospital sources said they received 20 injured people and at least two of them are critical.

[KM]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/15-dead-87-injured-after-t...

15 dead, 87 injured after train derails in Maharashtra

Vijay Singh & Somit Sen,TNN | May 4, 2014, 03.00 PM IST

 

The injured have been taken to a local hospital while others are still being rescued from the coaches that have derailed.

MUMBAI: At least 15 passengers were killed and 87 injured when four bogies of the Diva-Sawantwadi passenger train derailed in Maharashtra on the Konkan Railway route on Sunday.

The engine and four coaches of the train derailed at about 9.30am just outside a tunnel near Nidi village. Raigad police said they are making every effort to provide rescue and relief to the affected passengers and their relatives.

The Raigad superintendent of police, Ankush Shinde, said, "Till 2.30pm, the total death toll has risen to 15 and the injured count is 87. We are making full arrangement for the affected passengers and their families."

Railways has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the relatives of those killed, Rs 50,000 to the grievously injured and Rs 10,000 to persons who sustained minor injuries.

The injured have been taken to a local hospital while others are still being rescued from the coaches that have derailed.



CR officials said that the route between Diva and Roha comes under their jurisdiction, and the officials were expediting the process of rescuing passengers.

There were also reports of a part of train being stuck inside a tunnel. However, CR public relations officer AK Singh said, "This is not true. The train had crossed the tunnel before it got derailed. Several people have been injured and we are trying to get more details about the passengers," he stated.

The locals have come to the rescue of passengers, with many providing transport, water and medical first-aid, sources said.

Following the mishap, the services on Konkan Railway route were suspended.

The train plies between Diva and Sawantwadi and stops at almost all stations en route.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/02/nyc-transit-ag...

Four serious injuries in NYC subway derailment

2:02 p.m. EDT May 2, 2014

NEW YORK — A New York City subway train derailed Friday morning in Queens, sending four passengers to local hospitals with potentially serious injuries and causing long service disruptions on several other transit lines.

An additional 15 passengers were treated for minor injuries suffered when an express F train bound for Manhattan and Brooklyn derailed shortly before 10:30 a.m., according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York City Fire Department.

Firefighters and emergency medical service responders who raced to the scene guided passengers to emergency ladders that led up through grates to the street as the derailment site was evacuated, officials said.

EMS crews evaluated and treated riders who rested on stretchers or in wheelchairs after they climbed from the subway tunnel to the street.

All passengers were safely evacuated as of 12:15 p.m., the MTA said.

The train, which was carrying about 1,000 passengers, derailed near 65th Street and Broadway in the Woodside section of Queens, the MTA said. The site, roughly 1,200 feet south of the 65th Street station, is located a few miles east of Manhattan across the East River.

The F train line stretches from central Queens into Manhattan along Sixth Avenue, then south into Brooklyn and a terminus at Coney Island, home of the famed boardwalk and amusement park.

The derailment halted F train service in both directions between Jamaica-179th Street and 21st Street Queensbridge. Subway service on some sections of the E, M and R lines was also disrupted, the MTA said.

Three nearby F and E line subway trains were halted as emergency crews shut down electrical power after the derailment. Those trains were later backed to stations where passengers disembarked.

New York City's subway system is one of the largest public transportation systems in the world, with an average 5.5 million weekday rides.

System derailments are relatively rare. The most recent major derailment occurred in August 1991, when a southbound No. 4 train jumped the tracks as it roared into a curve at the Union Square station at 14th Street in Manhattan.

Five people were killed and more than 200 were injured in the disaster. The motorman, whom authorities determined had been drunk at the time of the accident, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/subway-derailment-involved-rail...

Subway derailment involved rail installed just weeks ago: MTA 

The snapped subway rail responsible for a hellish F train derailment was installed just weeks ago, ruling out its age as the cause of the failure, officials said Saturday.

The break in the American-made rail sent the Metropolitan Transportation Authority hustling to locate the rest of the November 2013 batch to ensure there was no widespread problem.

“We’re going to track down other rails from this shipment and see where they went,” said MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg. “And we’re going to closely inspect all other rails in this area.”

Investigators and repair crews remained hard at work one day after 19 straphangers were injured when their subway derailed about 10:30 a.m. inside a dark Queens tunnel soon choked with dust and smoke.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.wnct.com/story/25386204/greenville-police-investigating-...

Train derails in Greenville, leaks non-hazardous fertilizers

Posted: Apr 30, 2014 3:56 AM EDTUpdated: Apr 30, 2014 5:56 PM EDT

GREENVILLE, N.C. -Greenville Fire-Rescue are investigating an early Wednesday morning train derailment parallel to 14th Street between Charles Blvd. and Evans Street.

Melanie Cost, with CSX Corporate Communications, says five cars with a local train out of Greenville carrying mixed CSX freight derailed Wednesday morning. The call came into CSX around 4:15 a.m., people living in the area say the train derailed around 3:30 a.m. There were no reported injuries.

Cost says the derailed cars carried ammonium polyphosphate, an agricultural product that is used for fertilizer, which is non-hazardous material. Two of the five train cars leaked the material, which has since been contained.

CSX deployed trained response professionals to the scene, and additional environmental experts responded to the scene to asses the situation and determine the best course of action.

Cost says the cause of the derailment is under investigation, which will be led by local law enforcement. Train operations, like the speed of the train and when the brakes were applied, the train cars themselves and the condition of the track are all factors in the investigation.

Greenville Fire-Rescue, North Carolina Hazardous Materials Regional Response Team, CSX Police and Greenville Police all responded to the scene. 

A CSX thanked the swift response from Greenville Fire and Rescue and the support and cooperation of other first responders in the area. 

[Tracie Crespo]

http://news.msn.com/us/train-derails-in-lynchburg-virginia-official...

Train carrying crude derails in Virginia, bursts into flame

ABC13 News

​A video still from the scene of a train derailment in Lynchburg, Virginia, on April 30, 2014

NEW YORK, April 30 (Reuters) - A CSX Corp train carrying crude oil derailed and burst into flames in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia on Wednesday, with several tank cars spilling oil into the nearby James River, city officials said.

A spokeswoman said several train cars derailed around 2 p.m. EDT and there was fire and smoke at the site of the incident. Photos posted by the city online showed high flames and a large plume of black smoke. Officials said there were no reports of injuries but some 300 people in the area had been evacuated.

Some 14 train cars had derailed, said JoAnn Martin, director of communications for the city. The train was run by CSX Corp, she said. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Local television footage showed that the fire had died down with no flames visible. The train derailed just meters from office buildings in downtown Lynchburg, the footage showed.

John Francisco, a lawyer in Lynchburg at the firm of Edmunds & Williams, told local TV station WSET 13 he heard a loud noise that sounded like a tornado and then watched as several cars derailed from a train of about 60 tank cars.

He then watched in horror as flames streaked into the sky, as high as the 19th floor of his office at Bank of the James building.

Several trains carrying crude oil have derailed over the past year, prompting critics to question the safety of hauling explosive liquids by rail. Last July, a runaway train in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, derailed and exploded, killing 47 people.

There was no immediate information about where the train was coming from or where it was heading. Most East Coast refineries are far to the north. One of the only crude oil facilities to the east of Lynchburg is a converted refinery in Yorktown, which is now a storage depot run by Plains All American.

Many activists have called for tougher regulations related to hauling crude and flammable liquids across North America. U.S. regulators are expected soon to propose new rules for more robust tank cars to replace older models.

Another CSX train carrying crude oil derailed in Philadelphia in January, nearly toppling over a bridge. CSX has been positioning itself to deliver increasing volumes of crude oil to East Coast refineries and terminals.

In January, CSX chief executive Michael Ward told analysts on a conference call that the company, which shipped 46,000 car loads of crude by rail last year planned, to boost such shipments by 50 percent this year.

At the time, Ward said that Jacksonville, Florida-based railroad was working with U.S. regulators to address safety concerns about crude-by-rail shipments in light of recent derailments and fires. 

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/localnews/story/Passenger-Trai...

Passenger Train Derails in Montana

Published: 4/28 3:45 pm

BAINVILLE, Mont. (AP) - Amtrak says a train carrying 117 passengers has partially derailed in northeastern Montana, causing minor injuries to one passenger.
    
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says three cars on the 13-car Empire Builder slipped off the tracks at a switch Monday afternoon near Bainville.
    
The passenger train was headed west from Chicago to Portland and Seattle. Magliari says the injured passenger is being treated at the scene.
    
Magliari says the train is upright and still has power, and it's expected to resume its journey Monday night after the three cars are uncoupled.
    
The Montana Department of Transportation says Montana Highway 327 is closed near the accident and a detour has been set up.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/howrah-dehradun-express-train-de...

Doon Express from Howrah derails in UP, many injured

PTI  New Delhi, April 28, 2014 | UPDATED 00:05 IST

Six people were injured when eight bogies of the Howrah-Dehradun Express derailed near Jafarganj railway station in Ambedkar Nagar district today, a GRP official said.

The incident took place this afternoon when the coaches got detached from the main train and derailed near Jafarganj railway station, Station Officer (GRP) Ambedkar Nagar C B Jaisal said.

Nearly half a dozen people were injured in the incident, he said.

One or two of them have received severe injuries, he added.

Jaisal said the train traffic on the Uttar Pradesh line was disrupted after the accident and repairing work was being done

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/roller-coaster-derails-4-hurt

A roller coaster with a missing carriage at Chamkar Pring amusement park in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district yesterday after patrons were injured when it derailed on Sunday evening. Pha Lina

Roller coaster derails; 4 hurt

Tuesday April 29  2014

Two couples suffered both serious and minor injuries when a car from a roller coaster at the amusement park Chamkar Pring in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district derailed and was thrown from the track on Sunday.

Doung Vatanak, a deputy police chief in Sen Sok’s Phnom Penh Thmey commune, said a group of young park-goers were on the ride at about 5pm when the incident occurred.

Victims Ly Manut, 21, and Kim Sern, 21, both suffered severe injuries to the head, while two other riders, aged 16 and 17, were slightly injured.

According to Vatanak, the roller coaster at Chamkar Pring resort was temporarily closed while the reason for the derailment is investigated, though the rest of the park remains open.

An independent vendor inside the park who declined to be named criticised Chamkar Pring for allowing visitors onto a ride that had not been inspected, and said that those in the detached car were lucky to have lived.

“I saw with my own eyes, a part of train fell all the way to the ground,” she said. “They are lucky because they fell from a lower place. If the train fell off of the highest place, maybe they would not have survived.”

The accident is not a first for Cambodia’s amusement parks. Three workers were charged when a broken bolt caused the death of a Japanese tourist in a similar roller coaster derailment in Siem Reap in March of last year. Last May, a 33-year-old woman fell to her death from a ride at Phnom Penh’s Dreamland amusement park, with park employees maintaining that she had suffered a panic attack and jumped.

Mat Pally, 43, the mother of Ly Manut – who remains unconscious – said that the park had only given her $35, a sum that would not cover her son’s treatment.

“Right now, he’s unconscious. He has a serious injury on his head,” she said. “I worry so much. He is a student, but now he has a wound to his head.”

Victim Kim Sern said that in the instant that the train derailed she thought she would die. “When it happened, I assumed that we would not survive, because the train was going so fast and falling towards the ground,” she said.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

http://www.wtoc.com/story/25372294/emergency-officials-vehicle-caus...

Train derails in Monks Corner, SC after bridge collapses.  A double whammy that's shared on this additional blog.

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/bridges-at-risk-everywhere...