Train derailments and explosions and chemical spills

[sitting]

I recall in one of the transcripts, C's commented on the numerous traffic accidents that were occurring in the "Four Corners" region. They said it stemmed from the visual effects of "bleed through".

Stretches of road that were straight...looked curved. And roads that were curved...looked straight.

Could be that the approaching bend in the train tracks did not look curved to the driver (thus requiring slowing). And his apparent confusion when he asked for directions of some sort. Almost sounded like he was unsure where he was.

This visual disorientation (if true) may have also played a part in the SF plane crash. Even if the plane was on full instrumentation, a distorted visual, during a landing approach, would have created all kinds of problems. Additionally, there's the possibility that the instruments themselves may have been affected as well...since everything is based on electromagnetism.

As the number and kinds of accidents keep piling up (which now seems likely), we may get a better handle on the actual mechanisms involved. But no matter what, it seems the PTB's will always try to blame the little guy first.

 

[Possibility of Being]

I don't know if it was mentioned already, but there has been yet another train crash:

_http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/07/29/54-injured-in-Kazakhstan-train-crash/UPI-18361375098779/

54 injured in Kazakhstan train crash

Published: July 29, 2013 at 7:52 AM

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, July 29 (UPI) -- A locomotive slammed into a passenger train in Almaty, Kazakhstan, causing mostly minor injuries to 54 people, the Transportation Prosecutor's Office said.

Four of the victims were hospitalized, a prosecutor's statement said.

The locomotive was pulling an empty passenger train around the station in Almaty -- the largest city in Kazakhstan -- when it slammed into the train full of people on track 4 of station Alma-Ata-2 Sunday, RIA Novosti reported.

"Four people, including one passenger, were hospitalized with various injuries. About 50 other people received minor injuries and declined to be hospitalized," the prosecutor's statement said.

I find it interesting that alma is the spanish word for soul.

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaty

The name Almaty has its roots in medieval settlement Almatu, that existed near the present-day city.[citation needed]

There is a theory, which is disputed, that the city derives its name from the Kazakh word for 'apple' (алма), and thus is often translated as "full of apples;" alma is also 'apple' in other Turkic languages, as well as in Hungarian and Mongolian. The Russian version of its name - Alma-Ata, used during the Soviet era - was often perceived by as a combination of two Kazakh words, meaning Father of Apples.

There is great genetic diversity among the wild apples in the region surrounding Almaty; the region is thought to be the ancestral home of the apple, and the wild Malus sieversii is considered a likely candidate for the ancestor of the modern domestic apple, which could explain the "Alma Ata" name.[4]
[...]
On 4 February 1854 the modern history of the city began with the strengthening of the Russian piedmont Fort Verniy near the Zailiysky Alatau mountain range ... In 1867 Verniy Fort was transformed into a town and called Almatinsk. However, the population did not like the new name of the town and soon the town was renamed back to Verniy. .... On 5 February 1921 it was decided to rename Verniy to Alma-Ata, which was one of the ancient names of the area: Alma – "apple."

The word verniy (верный) -- in Russian, I don't know Kazakh, but I guess it's close enough -- has many meanings and it can be translated as: right, loyal, faithful, true (to), among others. I don't want to stretch things too far or imply anything, just putting it here for the record, fwiw.

 

[loreta]

All the medias are in complicity in this, to point a finger on the driver of the train. Some months ago there was a forum in Spain about the liberty of expression in the medias and many reporters criticized the situation here: they can not tell the true and if they tell the true they can not work.

What I think is very strange is that yesterday they opened the "black box" of the train and yesterday we had in the medias what it was in this box. How come? If there is an investigation I think the information in the black box is confidential, while the investigation is taking place, or not? So I think medias, in that case the radio program I listened, is lying, maybe. With a big YES from people in the "high spheres" , naturally.

We live in Spain under a dictatorship, never forget this. The party who is in the power now are descendants of the ideology of Franco. This country is extremely corrupted. A tous les niveaux, as the French say. So in this tragedy never ever they will tell us the real problem that caused the accident. Never. Because they are liars, and because they don't care and also because they clean their hands on everything that happens here. They are psychopaths, simply like that. They are destroying this country, everything. They are dragons coming from their cave to burn everything around.

 

[Gary]

Spanish train's black boxes reveal driver was on phone to rail firm

"In an official statement, the court handling the case said that "minutes before the derailment, [Garzón] received a call on his professional telephone to signal to him the route he had to take on arriving in Ferrol. It appears, from the content of the conversation and the background noise, that the driver consulted a plan or some similar paper document."

The person on the other end of the telephone "appears to have been a controller", the statement said. The existence of the conversation emerged from an inspection of the "black boxes", which began in the presence of the investigating magistrate on Tuesday morning.

The statement said the train was travelling at 192km/h (119mph) shortly before the crash. It added that "a brake was activated seconds before the accident" and that "it is estimated that at the moment the train left the tracks it was travelling at 153km/h." The speed limit on the bend where the train derailed was 80km/h.
News of the call Garzón took adds a new dimension to the investigation and for the first time raises questions about Renfe's role. Garzón who was only a few kilometres from Santiago del Compostela station when he answered the telephone, could have been called when the train was stationary.

Since the disaster, the heads of Renfe and the network operator, Adif, have put the responsibility squarely on Garzón. But the driver's union has expressed concern that he was being blamed before the analysis of data from the onboard recorders."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/30/spanish-train-crash-black-boxes




Track change at heart of Spain train crash inquiry

Why did Francisco José Garzón, a train driver with 30 years' experience, hit a bend at 190 kilometres per hour when the speed limit was 80 km/h? Did he ignore the automated warnings? Or did his train's alert system fail at a critical time?

An inquiry is under way into the derailing of the packed train, which killed 79 people in Santiago de Compostela, north-west Spain on 24 July. Garzón has admitted to "confusion" over the train's speed and, though freed on bail, is facing the prospect of 79 charges of negligent homicide.

One focus of the investigation will be the fact that the crash took place at a point where one safety system hands over to another – from one that controls the train's speed to one that does not. On high-speed sections, the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) intervenes wirelessly to ensure a train slows down if alerts are ignored.

Crucially, ERTMS cuts in if its alerts are ignored. It does so using GSM-R - a robust railway version of the GSM standard used by cellphones to communicate with the cell towers.

"ERTMS has all sorts of measures that prevent trains going over speed and will eventually be fitted over the whole route from Santiago to Madrid," says Roger Kemp, a safety-critical systems engineer specialising in railway technology at Lancaster University, UK. "But it is not a finished project."

This means that, 4 kilometres from Santiago de Compostela, on a slower, bendier section of track that snakes through the town, ERTMS has not yet been fitted. Instead, an older Spanish-developed system called ASFA advises the driver of the necessary safe speeds. But ASFA can only intervene if the driver does not respond.

"The driver only has to acknowledge that they have seen the speed advisory by pushing a button - otherwise the system will apply the brakes - but you don't have to comply with that speed under ASFA," says Kemp.

Spanish TV station Antena 3 says that Garzón told some witnesses immediately after the crash that he was not able to slow down to the necessary 80 km/h before the sharp curve - but it is not known why.

To find out, investigators are now retrieving data from the train's electronic systems - a process that must be performed carefully to prevent critical data in the damaged systems being overwritten. This could take two weeks.

"There is a lot of data that can be downloaded from various traction control computers on a train - and that should tell the investigators if the train was doing what it should have done," says Kemp.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23966-track-change-at-heart-of-spain-train-crash-inquiry.html




ETCS not operable on Santiago crash train

However, the final ETCS balise on the high-speed line, which is situated 4km from the crash site, would only inform the driver that he is exiting an ETCS section, that all automatic driving modes are disabled, and that manual driving mode is active. This means that if ETCS was in use the accident may still have occurred, and any train could in theory enter the 80km/h section at 200km/h. Drivers of Avant trains brake manually on the section where the accident occurred because the driver interface does not display a braking curve in the transition section between ETCS and Afsa.

The train passed Asfa distant signal E7 4km before the derailment, and E7 150m from the crash site.

Both Asfa and the more advanced Asfa Digital are automatic train protection (ATP) systems, but the latter provides the driver with information on braking curves while standard Asfa only triggers an emergency brake application if a signal has been passed at danger. It is unclear at this stage which version of Asfa is installed on the line.

http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/europe/etcs-not-operable-on-santiago-crash-train.html?channel=537



As I understand it thus far, the accident seems to be caused by the train derailing due to excessive speed (192 down to153km/h) on the bend with a speed limit of 80km/h.
With the ASFA train protection system, there is only an automatic override only if the driver doesn't respond to various signals (he did by pressing the button).

So either the driver manually tried applying the brakes at the very last moments for some reason or the ASFA automatic system did, if the very last signal (only 150m from the crash site) was at danger.

This was an experienced driver, who had a phone conversation with a 'controller' minutes before the crash - so had time to brake and slow down sufficiently if he consciously chose to.

With his "confusion" and initial allegedly very bizarre comments, perhaps he wasn't in full control of his senses, just prior to the crash. Perhaps he suffered a temporary blackout or 'mental override' of sorts? Perhaps he was engrossed in reading a newspaper and forgot about his responsibilities?

It could just be a fatal driver error due to lack of vigilance.

 

[Tristan]

The presidents of ADIF and RENFE made up a warning signal to the driver

No sign or poster line Ourense-Santiago reminded Renfe train drivers to be slow from 200 to 80 kilometers per hour until they were entering curve A Grandeira
The President of ADIF and RENFE have ensured that the signal existed to emphasize the responsibility of the driver in the accident

Source: InfoLibre.es

Clarifications:

The public corporation RENFE-Operator is a public institution of the General State Administration Organisation and Operation, and is attached to the Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio de Fomento)

ADIF the Administrator of Railway Infrastructures, is a state-owned company that answers to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. ADIF plays a leading role in Promoting the railway industry, working towards converting it into the perfect mode of transport and Facilitating access to the infrastructure under fair conditions.

 

[Gaby]

More symbolism?

[Roughly translating]

Two people die when hitting a vulture with their ultralight aircraft

_http://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/2013/08/05/sociedad/navarra/dos-navarros-fallecen-al-chocar-con-un-buitre-el-ultraligero-en-el-que-volaban

"Two people died yesterday morning [in Spain] after their ultralight eurostar model aircraft fell near the town Miracle and which subsequently ignited after it broke its wing as a result of impacting against a vulture.

 

[Gary]

Spanish train wreck driver got warnings before crash

(Reuters) - The driver of the Spanish train that derailed last week, killing dozens of passengers, had received three warning signals after taking a phone call minutes before the fatal accident, an examination of the black box showed on Friday.

Ticket inspector Antonio Martin, on the same train, had rung driver Francisco Garzon to discuss what platform the train would use at a station further down the line, the driver told an investigating judge in an earlier hearing.

The train derailed killing 79 people on the outskirts of the ancient northwestern town of Santiago de Compostela last week in one of Spain's worst rail disasters. Garzon, 52, appeared to take the train too fast through a tight curve.

The driver has been charged with negligent homicide but has been released without bail pending trial.

Garzon took the call at 2039 local time (1939 BST) when the train was going 199 km per hour (124 mph), details from the black box released on Friday showed. The call lasted less than two minutes and ended 11 seconds before the train came off the rails, the black box details showed.

The driver braked at 2040 when the train was travelling at 195 km per hour instead of the speed limit of 80 kph on that stretch of track, but it was too late.

Warning signals sounded at 2039, 2040 and 2041, but it was not clear from the black box transcripts released by the court whether they were to reduce speed. Spanish state television said on Friday the first signal indicated a green light on the track.

The investigating judge said on Thursday it was unfortunate that the call was made when it was but it was not sufficient cause to criminally charge the ticket inspector.

(Reporting By Sonya Dowsett and Teresa Larraz; Editing by Michael Roddy)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/02/uk-spain-train-idUKBRE97114J20130802




So, even if the driver received three warning signals (to reduce speed one could reasonably assume) and failed to respond to them, thus resulting in the crash due to excessive speed - WHY did the ASFA system NOT respond?


According to Rail Journal (below) the "standard Asfa only triggers an emergency brake application if a signal has been passed at danger."


With the train driver being treated like a scapegoat from the beginning of this tragic accident, the contradition highlighted here (see below), 'may' indicate a systems failure - signalling and / or emergency braking system.


Possibly, a very costly systems failure too.



"Saudi Arabia has granted a Spanish consortium a $7.88 billion (€5.94 billion) contract to build three metro lines in Riyadh but another key bid for a high-speed rail project in Brazil remains under threat after the recent train crash in Spain which killed at least 79 people.

The Riyadh metro contract is one of three Saudi Arabia has granted to foreign consortiums, the kingdom announced at a news conference in the capital late on Sunday.

The combined value of the contracts is $22.5 billion (16.9 billion euros) and the consortiums are led by Spanish, US and Italian firms."


http://www.sott.net/article/264529-Just-days-after-countrys-worst-ever-train-crash-biggest-international-contract-in-the-history-of-Spanish-construction-sees-Spain-win-22-5-billion-Saudi-rail-contract



"ERTMS has all sorts of measures that prevent trains going over speed and will eventually be fitted over the whole route from Santiago to Madrid," says Roger Kemp, a safety-critical systems engineer specialising in railway technology at Lancaster University, UK. "But it is not a finished project."

This means that, 4 kilometres from Santiago de Compostela, on a slower, bendier section of track that snakes through the town, ERTMS has not yet been fitted. Instead, an older Spanish-developed system called ASFA advises the driver of the necessary safe speeds. But ASFA can only intervene if the driver does not respond.

"The driver only has to acknowledge that they have seen the speed advisory by pushing a button - otherwise the system will apply the brakes - but you don't have to comply with that speed under ASFA," says Kemp.

Spanish TV station Antena 3 says that Garzón told some witnesses immediately after the crash that he was not able to slow down to the necessary 80 km/h before the sharp curve - but it is not known why.

To find out, investigators are now retrieving data from the train's electronic systems - a process that must be performed carefully to prevent critical data in the damaged systems being overwritten. This could take two weeks.

"There is a lot of data that can be downloaded from various traction control computers on a train - and that should tell the investigators if the train was doing what it should have done," says Kemp.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23966-track-change-at-heart-of-spain-train-crash-inquiry.html




ETCS not operable on Santiago crash train

However, the final ETCS balise on the high-speed line, which is situated 4km from the crash site, would only inform the driver that he is exiting an ETCS section, that all automatic driving modes are disabled, and that manual driving mode is active. This means that if ETCS was in use the accident may still have occurred, and any train could in theory enter the 80km/h section at 200km/h. Drivers of Avant trains brake manually on the section where the accident occurred because the driver interface does not display a braking curve in the transition section between ETCS and Afsa.

The train passed Asfa distant signal E7 4km before the derailment, and E7 150m from the crash site.

Both Asfa and the more advanced Asfa Digital are automatic train protection (ATP) systems, but the latter provides the driver with information on braking curves while standard Asfa only triggers an emergency brake application if a signal has been passed at danger. It is unclear at this stage which version of Asfa is installed on the line.

http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/europe/etcs-not-operable-on-santiago-crash-train.html?channel=537

 

[angelburst29]

Train Derailments and Explosions - 2013 list:

August 04, 2013 - Sunday - Louisiana - chemical train derailment
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/08/train_derails_in_north_louisia.html
(Of the 23 cars that derailed Sunday, 14 contained "regulated substances" that are harmful or toxic. The train was traveling between Lake Charles and the New Orleans area.)

August 03, 2013 - Saturday - Bangkok, Thailand - Khao Pleung tunnel train derailment
http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/chiang-mai-bound-train-derails-tunnel-0
( Six carriages of a Chiang Mai-bound express train derailed in an over-100-year-old tunnel in Uttaradit's Muang district, in the 382-metre-long Khao Pleung tunnel, located between Ban Pang Ton Phueng in Uttaradit and Huai Rai Station in Den Chai, Phrae.)

July 29, 2013 - Monday Evening - 2 Swiss trains collide
http://in.news.yahoo.com/swiss-train-crash-injures-40-183531434.html

July 28, 2013 - Sunday - Southwest, Baltimore - Freight train derailment
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/south-baltimore/bs-md-csx-derailment-20130729,0,2825638.story
(Eight cars of the CSX train derailed about 10:15 a.m. Sunday in Southwest Baltimore near Hollins Ferry Road and Paca Street. The train that was traveling from hamlet, N.C., to Selkirk, N.Y., with 118 cars, was pulled by two diesel locomotives.)

July 26, 2913 - Friday - Alberta, Canada Lloyminster train derailment
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/27/lloydminster-train-derailment-oil-tanker-cars_n_3664306.html
(Canadian Pacific (TSX:CP) spokesman Ed Greenberg says a locomotive and seven cars carrying oil left the tracks Friday afternoon in the city that straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary.)

July 25, 2013 - Thursday - Tampa, Florida - Chemical Freight train derailment
http://www.wtsp.com/news/breaking/article/326794/20/Tampa-Fire-Rescue-on-the-scene-of-a-train-derailment-at-the-Port-of-Tampa
(The train was coming into the port at 1 a.m. when it left the tracks, pulling twelve cars off of the rails -- and sending ten of those completely onto their sides, according to Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Lonnie Benniefield.)

July 24, 2013 - Wednesday - Santiago de Compostela Madrid, Spain train derailment
http://www.sott.net/article/264305-Spain-train-crash-reports-of-at-least-77-killed-130-injured
(an explosion reported before seeing the derailed train.)

July 19, 2013 - Friday - Bronx, New York - Freight train derailment
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9177872
(A freight train hauling garbage derailed between stations Thursday night. The damage was so substantial that only one of two tracks in the area is back in service on Monday.)

July 18, 2013 - Thursday - Benbrook, Texas - Freight train derailment
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/22872976/train-derails-in-benbrook
(Benbrook Fire Chief Tommy Davis said the accident happened around 5:30 a.m. Thursday on the line that runs along Aledo Road. A locomotive and five rail cars came off the track.
The 45-car train en-route to Dallas from Tucson, Ariz. had been carrying mostly paper products and not any hazardous materials.)

July 18, 2013 - Thursday - West of Scottsville, West Virgina - Coal train derailment
http://www.nbc29.com/story/22879018/train-derails-in-southern-albemarle
(Twenty-nine cars hauling loads of coal went off the tracks near Hatton Grange Farm along the James River west of Scottsville.)

July 17, 2013 - Wednesday - Buffalo, New York - Chemical train derailment
http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/220151/37/Train-Derails-on-Buffalo...
(Managers at CSX Rail say three cars on a train jumped the tracks on an overpass at William and Fillmore in Buffalo. The train was heading from Indianapolis to Albany.)

July 17, 2013 - Wednesday - Northern Thailand - train derailment
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/tourists-hurt-as-thai-train-derails-29427025.html

July 16, 2013 - Tuesday - Hays, Kansas - Chemical train derailment
http://www.kwch.com/news/kwch-news-jam-train-derails-and-catches-fire-east-of-hays-20130716,0,1057470.story
(Authorities in Hays say a dozen train cars derailed and caught fire at 8th and Vine overnight. Those cars are carrying general cargo and freight. The train was also hauling 20 cars of ethanol, but officials say those are still upright and on the tracks. Two of the three locomotives caught fire, causing a massive fire which crews are still on the scene battling.)

July 14, 2013 - Sunday - Millsboro, Delaware - Stone Freight train derailment
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130714/NEWS01/307140057/Norfolk-Southern-freight-train-derails-north-Millsboro?nclick_check=1
(About 70 train cars hauling stone were being pulled by two locomotives and were traveling south on the tracks in a wooded area north of Millsboro. 15 of the cars were forced off the tracks and spilled stone as a result of the derailment.)

July 12, 2013 - Friday - Bretigny-sur-Orge, South of Paris - train derailment
http://www.dw.de/passenger-train-derails-near-paris-fatalities/a-16948503
(The ministry was quoted as saying that the train approached the railway station at high speed, before being separated into two parts for an unknown reason. )

July 10, 2013 - Wednesday - La Grande, Oregon - Chemical train derailment
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130710/UPDATE/130710004/Train-derails-near-La-Grande-no-injuries-hazardous-spills?nclick_check=1
(A total of 27 rail cars derailed on Union Pacific tracks north of Highway 203 east of La Grande near Hot Lake just before 2 a.m. today, but emergency responders said no significantly hazardous material leaked and no injuries were reported.)

July 08, 2013 - Monday - Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania - Steel freight train derailment
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9165803
(Emergency crews were on the scene of a freight train derailment in Chester County. It happened after 3:00 p.m. Monday on the tracks near the 900 block of Wagon Town Road in Valley Township. The derailment sent two railcars plunging into the Brandywine Creek. A locomotive also jumped the tracks.)

July 08, 2013 - Monday - White Cloud, Michigan - train derailment
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/260909/2/Train-derails-north-of-White-Cloud
(The train derailed north of White Cloud, between Monroe Street and Foss Avenue.
No one was injured in the derailment and it did not effect road traffic. However, it will take some time for Marquette Rail to move the train cars and repair the tracks.)


July 07, 2013 - Sunday - Russia’s Krasnodar Region - train derailment
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130707/182109212/Train-Derails-Injuring-70-in-Southern-Russia--Official.html
(The locomotive and several cars of the train, which connects Novossibirsk in Siberia to Adler on the shores of the Black Sea, went off the rails and slid sideways. Interfax news agency quoted investigators as saying that 11 train cars derailed in the crash, five overturning. The driver braked sharply after noticing that part of the tracks in Russia's southern Krasnodar region was deformed.)

July 06, 2013 - Saturday - Farnham, Canada - Lac-Magantic train derailment & mega explosion
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/25/lac-megantic-mma-police-raid_n_3652994.ht
(a runaway freight train - after conductor parked & locked train)

July 03, 2013 - Wednesday - Veazia, Maine - Freight train derailment
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/0001/11/30/four-tanker-cars-derail-veazie-no-leaks-reported/1388427
(Four tankers in a 92-car Pan Am Railways train derailed Wednesday morning near the Penobscot River.
It was a mixed train, with paper, wallboard, scrap metal, wood, a couple sand cars.)

July 03, 2013 - Wednesday - Barker, New York - Freight train derailment
http://www.wbng.com/news/local/Train-derails-in-Barker--214205931.html
(The train was traveling on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway - six cars toppled over.)

June 30, 2012 - Sunday - Coshocton, Ohio - Coal Freight train derailment
http://www.coalguru.com/north_america/coal_train_bound_for_coshocton_derails_near_veterans/10784
(The 54 car train, loaded in Burr Oak Mine in Glouster, was bound for American Electric Power in Coshocton when the last seven cars went off the track at about 5:50 am.)

June 28, 2013 - Friday - Wilminton, North Carolina - Chemical Freight train derailment
http://www.wwaytv3.com/2013/06/28/work-continues-to-clear-derailed-...
( A train carrying flammable cargo is derailed in Wilmington's Love Grove community, blocking people who live there from getting in and out of the neighborhood. Dispatchers say the train ran off the tracks in the 1200 block of Love Grove.)

June 27, 2013 - Thursday - Mohawk Valley, New York - Freight train derailment
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Train-derails-in-Montgomery-County-4625348.php
(Two trains coming from opposite directions sideswiped each other for an as yet undetermined reason at about 8 a.m.. A conductor and engineer suffered minor injuries at the scene, which left several rail cars carrying dry goods, lumber, garbage and other cargo sheared and crumpled, officials said.)

June 27, 2013 - Thursday - Calgary, Canada - Bonnybrook bridge train derailment
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/27/deerfoot-trail-closed-calgary-train-derailment_n_3510585.html
(The train derailed after a section of the bridge dropped two feet (60 centimeters) Thursday morning, the bridge is not in the water but is slowly sagging into the river.)

June 25, 2013 - Monday - Kaduna, India - Lagos bound Passenger train derailment
http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/lagos-bound-train-derails-kaduna-injures-four
(At least four people were injured on Monday when a Lagos bound locomotive passenger train from Kano derailed at Kakawu area, in Chikun local government area of Kaduna State. The accident which occurred at about 4pm local time, affected four couches of the train when it fell off from the rail line.)

June 22,2013 - Saturday - Lee County, Kentucky - Passenger train derailment
http://www.lex18.com/news/train-derails-in-lee-county

(It happened about 3 miles east of Beattyville. Two people on board the train were not hurt. The train cars were dragged off the rails along the tracks for miles, damaging a large portion of the track, including asphalt wooden sections of the track.)



June 19, 2013 - Tuesday- Desoto, Illinois - Coal train derailment

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/communities/jackson/coal-train-derails-in-desoto-late-tuesday/article_fa498be4-d8d9-11e2-92df-0019bb2963f4.html

( Seven coal cars from a Union Pacific train derailed Tuesday night about 1 1/2 miles east of De Soto near the Illinois 149 and Mine Road intersection.)



June 19, 2013 - Tuesday - Frionia, Texas - Freight train derailment

http://journalstar.com/ap/otherstate/high-wind-derails-bnsf-cars/ar...

(A rail line in the Texas Panhandle has reopened after storms packing winds strong enough to form a tornado overturned more than 40 BNSF Railway cars.)



June 18, 2013 - Monday - East River Tunnel, New York - Passenger train derailment

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/lirr-derailment-snarls-monday-commute-article-1.1375261?localLinksEnabled=false

(An eastbound Long Island Rail Road train carrying thousands of passengers derailed in an East River tunnel during the Monday evening rush, causing a nightmare for commuters.No injuries were reported in the 6:09 p.m. derailment, but service on the four biggest LIRR branches out of Penn Station was reduced to just one train per hour.)



June 11, 2013 - Tuesday - Norwood, Cincinnati - Freight train derailment

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20130610/N...

(At around 8:20 p.m. crews were called to Forest and Harris avenues to investigate after the train knocked down an electrical tower. That area is just south of the Norwood Lateral, near Waterworks Park. Five cars from an Indiana & Ohio Railway train derailed and knocked over a major power transmission tower. The tower, which he estimated to be about 125 feet tall, toppled onto the Zumbiel Company building.)



June 08, 2013 - Monday - Baltimore, MD - Freight train derailment

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/06/07/another-train-derails-in-baltimore-county-no-injuries-reported/

(Fire officials confirm ten cars derailed Friday near Hammonds Ferry Road and Elizabeth Road. Four of those cars turned onto their side. The train was carrying trash from New York to Virginia on a route shared with MARC trains.)



June 03, 2013 - Monday - Wheatland, New York - Rock Salt Freight train derailment

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20130604/NEWS01/306040018/train-derailment-in-wheatland?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

(No one was injured in the derailment, which occurred about 9:15 pm Monday just east of the crossing at Wheatland Center Road in Wheatland. But 20 hopper cars filled with salt from the American Rock Salt mine in Groveland left the rails.)


June 02, 2013 - Sunday - Sunbury, Ont. Canada - Wahnapitae River train derailment
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/06/02/ontario-sudbury-train-derailment-wanup.html
( incident is the result of an unexpected and catastrophic wheel bearing failure - Canadian Pacific has a network of electronic inspection systems that didn't detect any problem with the rail car wheels or bearings prior to the derailment.)

May 29, 2013 - Wednesday - Lagos, Nigeria - train derailment
http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2013/05/29/train-derails-in-lagos/
(A train towing another train derailed Wednesday at Agege, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.)

May 29, 2013 - Wednesday - Ogden, Wyoming - Freight train derailment
http://fox13now.com/2013/05/29/train-derails-in-ogden/
(At least five Union Pacific rail cars derailed Wednesday around 8:30 a.m. in Ogden. The rail cars were carrying new automobiles from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Salt Lake City.)

May 29, 2013 - Wednesday - Morningside Heights, New York - Passenger train derailment
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/1-train-derails-stranding-passe...
(Hundreds of straphangers were stranded aboard sweltering subway cars during rush hour after the No. 1 train derailed in Morningside Heights. Two wheels on the lead subway car jumped their track about 5:50 p.m., disabling the southbound train a few blocks south of the above-ground W. 125th St. station.)

May 28, 2013 - Tuesday - Baltimore, Md. - White Marsh train derailment
http://globalnews.ca/news/595867/train-derailment-causes-explosion-in-baltimore/
(A cargo train derailed Tuesday in a Baltimore suburb and an explosion could be heard for miles, collapsing nearby buildings and setting them on fire, officials and witnesses said. )

May 25, 2013 - Saturday - Chaffee, Mo. - Rockview train derailment
http://www.dailystatesman.com/story/1972964.html
(The collision occurred at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday when a Union Pacific train hit a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train at a rail intersection near Route M and County Road 210. Derailed rail cars then hit columns supporting the Highway M overpass, causing it to buckle. )

May 21, 2013 - Tuesday - Charles City, Iowa - Freight train derailment
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/flood-derails-train-charles-...
(Crews work at the scene of a Canadian Pacific derailment near Charles City, Iowa. No injuries were reported. The derailment was caused by a washed-out rail line caused by flooding in the area.)

May 21, 2013 - Tuesday - Canada: Train derailment in Saskatchewan - Canadian Pacific (CP) freight train jumped the tracks in southeastern Saskatchewan, spilling more than 91,000 liters of oil, marking at least the third derailment involving CP trains in recent months. On the same day, a gigantic sinkhole opened on HW744 in Alberta, Canada (Source) and a construction crane collapsed on a passing car in Gallatin, Tennessee.

May 20, 2013 - Monday - Mississippi: Train derailment at U.S. 90 in Pascagoula - Train derailed just south of US 90. On the same day in New Jersey, an indoor sinkhole swallowed a forklift and its operator (Source)? AND, also on the same day on the other side of the world in China, a massive sinkhole opened in Shenzhen killing five workers. Source.

May 19, 2013 - Sunday - Illinois: Amtrak train derailment in Chicago - Amtrak train leaving New Orleans derailed near Chicago's Union Station Sunday morning. CTA workers removed a beam from a damaged part of the tracks.

May 17, 2013 - Friday- Connecticut: Metro-North commuter train derails
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/images-from-connecticut-train-derailment/?ref=us&_r=0
(Commuter train derailed in Connecticut, striking another commuter train between Bridgeport and Fairfield, about 50 miles northeast of New York City. A fractured segment of track was found.)

May 17, 2013 - Friday - China: Train derails in Tin Shui Wai
On the same date, a huge sinkhole opened in Benton County, Arkansas. On May 16, construction cranes topple in New Zealand and India, and a school bus in Texas fell into a sinkhole in Austin.

May 09, 2013 -Thursday - Illinois: Chicago CTA Red Line “L” car derails - Car on southbound CTA train derailed. On May 8, construction cranes toppled in Switzerland, Norway, and China. On May 6 and 4, construction cranes also toppled in New York and Ohio (two workers killed in Ohio).

May 9, 2013 - Thursday - Russia: Freight train derails, explodes, hurls rail car into building - On the same date as the Chicago derailment, a Russian train - carrying sodium chloride, gasoline, fuel oil, and propane - derailed with a tremendous exploxion that hurled a rail car into the sixth-floor wall of a residential block."

May 07, 2013 - Tuesday - Passumpsic River, Vermont - Freight train derailment
http://www.wcax.com/story/22178909/train-derails-into-the-passumpsi...
(Three freight cars will be pulled from the Passumpsic River Tuesday morning after derailing in East Barnet.The cars went off the tracks near the Comerford Dam, and two cars are almost completely submerged. No one was hurt.The cars were carrying feed grain for Washington County Railroad.
Vermont State Police say it appears the cars tumbled because of bank erosion.)


May 4 - 2013 - Saturday- Ghent, Belgium - Freight train derailment
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2319412/Hundreds-evacuated-homes-Belgium-freight-train-carrying-chemicals-crashes-explodes.html
(Freight train carrying flammable chemicals derailed and exploded near Ghent killing two and causing a major fire near the city of Ghent.)

May 03, 2013 - Friday - Lytle, Texas - Freight train derailment
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Train-derails-in-downtown-Lytle-4486119.php
(A defect on the bottom of a metal bar that holds two sections of rail together caused a 26-car train derailment here Friday, a railroad official said.)

May 02, 2013 - Thursday - Sagninaw, IL - Freight train derailment
http://www.wnem.com/story/22134299/train-derails-in-saginaw-several-streets-blocked
(Photos sent to TV5 show at least two cars on their sides, with their load -- possibly soybeans or corn -- spilled along a grassy stretch near a road. One photo shows a severe bend to the tracks near where the cars flipped.)

May 01, 2013 - Wednesday - Colebrook, Tamania - Freight train derailment
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-01/more-delays-as-another-train-...

( Photo: It is the sixth train derailment this year.Tasmania's southern railway line is expected to be closed for most of the day after a train derailed early this morning. The train was heading to Burnie when it derailed near Colebrook about 3:30am. Six wagons came off the track.)

May 01, 2013 - Wednesday - Helena, Texas - Freight train derailment
http://helenair.com/news/local/train-derails-outside-helena/article...
(A freight train derailed on the outskirts of town early Tuesday morning, scattering train cars down an embankment and on top of one another. Thirteen empty cars derailed and another 12 cars parked on a siding — including three that contained corrosive material known as Piperidine — were damaged.)

May 01, 2013 - Wednesday- New Mexico, USA: Two trains derail in same location within weeks of each other. (Source)

April 29, 2013 - Monday - Saskatchewan, Canada - Passenger train derailment
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/29/amazingly-no-one-hurt-after-train-derails-in-saskatchewan/
(Eleven people on a VIA Rail train are safe after a derailment in eastern Saskatchewan that appears to have been caused by water.)

April 21, 2013 - Sunday - Bridgeport, Wyoming - Freight train derailment
http://www.starherald.com/news/local_news/train-derails-in-bridgeport/article_c6908c8e-aa8b-11e2-bcf6-001a4bcf887a.html
(Cheree Fisher, chief deputy with the Morrill County Sheriff's Department, said 15 cars derailed in the accident this morning. The cause of the derailment is under investigation but no injuries occurred.)

April 14, 2013 - Sunday - Oakland, California - Passenger Train derailment
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/train-carrying-nearly-200-pe...
( Amtrak says a passenger train carrying nearly 200 people has derailed near Oakland, but there were no injuries. the train was en route from Los Angeles to Vancouver, Canada, when the front wheels of an engine went off the track about 9 p.m. PDT just north of Fremont, about 20 miles southeast of San Francisco.)

April 10, 2013 - Wednesday - Arakkonam, India - Passenger train derailment
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/one-killed-as-trai...
(One passenger was killed and 33 others, including six women and two children, were injured when 12 bogies of Muzaffarpur-Yesvantpur Express (no.15228) derailed at the Chitheri railway station, eight km from here on Wednesday morning.)

April 08, 2013 - Monday - Perugia in Umbria region, Italy - Passenger train derailment
http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Security/Italy-Landslide-d...

(A total of 25 people were injured Monday morning when two compartments of a passenger train veered off the tracks in central Italy due to a landslide, local media said. The train, which was traveling towards the town of Perugia in the Umbria region, derailed when it hit mud and debris on the tracks as it came out of a tunnel, officials said.)


April 07, 2013 - Sunday - Everette, Washington - Passenger train derailment
http://wtvr.com/2013/04/07/amtrak-train-derails-after-mudslide/
(A mudslide derailed an Amtrak train in Washington state on Sunday. The train, traveling south from Everett to Seattle, ran into the mudslide and some dangerous debris around 8:30 Sunday morning.
The crash knocked three cars off the tracks, but no one was injured.)



April 05, 2013 - Friday - Cabezon de la Sal, Spain - Passenger train derailment

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/train-derails-spain-r...

( Spanish authorities say a rockfall has derailed a train, injuring 11 passengers after the first carriage partially plunged into a river just west of the northern city of Santander.



March 19, 2013 - Monday - Queens, New York - Passenger train derailmenthttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/nyregion/lirr-train-derails-near-...

(A Long Island Rail Road train derailed Monday night west of Jamaica Station in the vicinity of Forest Hills, Queens, causing potential delays for the morning commute, but no injuries, the authorities said. The train, which was carrying no passengers, was heading west toward Pennsylvania Station just before 9 p.m. when the incident occurred. The cause was under investigation.)



March 13, 2013 - Wednesday - Bucksport, Maine - Freight train derailment

http://www.wabi.tv/news/38414/train-derails-in-close-to-paper-mill

(A train went off the tracks in Bucksport. Cars on a Pan Am Railways train derailed near the Verso Paper Mill.)



March 07, 2013 - Thursday - Mattawamkeag, Maine - Freight train derailment

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/03/07/news/penobscot/freight-train-...

(Firefighters said one of the train’s personnel reported that the first sign of trouble was a sudden increase of speed on the engine. A 14-car freight train pulling 13 full crude oil tankers apparently spilled only three gallons of oil when it derailed Thursday yards from the Penobscot River. The train apparently went off the tracks, with most of its cars but not its engine landing on their sides.)



March 05, 2013 - Tuesday - Swartz, Louisiana - Freight train derailment

http://www.thenewsstar.com/videonetwork/2205111899001/Train-derails...

(Louisiana State Police are at the scene of a train derailment in the Swartz community where 10 Union Pacific railcars overturned early Tuesday morning. The train consisted of three locomotives and 136 railcars. All of the railcars were carrying coal.)



March 05, 2013 - Tuesday - Gilette, Washington - Freight train derailment

http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/stories/BNSF-train-derails-east-o...

(A train belonging to BNSF Railway derailed about 5 miles east of Gillette at 6.55 a.m. Tuesday.

The train was heading from Pasco, Wash., to Lincoln, Neb. Ten rail cars that derailed were designed for hauling cars. They were empty.)



March 05, 2013 - Tuesday - Victoria, Canada - Freight train derailment

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-05/freight-train-derails-in-stat...

(Crash investigators started examining the site to determine how 14 carriages carrying grain came off the tracks near Pyramid Hill, north of Bendigo.)



March 03, 2013 - Saturday - Sterling, Colorado - Freight train derailment

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/empty-train-derails...

(Authorities say an empty coal train derailed and sparked several small grass fires near Sterling in northeastern Colorado. About 12 empty coal cars of the BNSF train derailed.)



February 28, 2013 - Monday - Ritter, Ohio - Freight train derailment

http://kiwaradio.com/local-news/another-train-derails-near-ritter/

(Union Pacific spokesperson Raquel Espinoza says that 19 cars derailed from a southbound train about 2:35 this morning (2/28). She says four cars released soybean oil and three released soybean meal, all of which will be picked up. )



February 27, 2013 - Sunday - Lilbourn, Missouri - Freight train derailment

http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/home/ticker/Coal-train-derails-in-New-Mad...

(A train has derailed in the New Madrid County, Missouri, town of Lilbourn. The derailment happened just after 5 a.m. with no reported injuries.)



February 22, 2013 - Tuesday - Jackson, Mississippi - Freight train derailment

http://www.wlox.com/story/21308217/canadian-national-railway-train-...

(Eighteen Canadian National Railway train cars derailed off of the tracks in Jackson Friday morning,

17 of the derailed cars were filled with grain and the other was empty.)



February 22, 2013 - Tuesday - Leeds, Maine - Freight train derailment

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/02/22/train-der...

( Authorities say five cars of a freight train carrying chicken feed have derailed in the town of Leeds, Maine, and they remained upright during the accident.)



February 21, 2013 - Monday - Springfield, Mass. - Chemical train derailment

http://www.cbs3springfield.com/story/21302475/train-delrailment-clo...

(A tanker car containing a flammable liquid chemical derailed on the train trestle over Route 5 at 6:09 Thursday night. The trestle crosses Route 5 a little north of the Memorial Avenue Rotary.)



February 21, 2013 - Monday - Baltimore, Maryland - Chemical train derailment

http://www.menafn.com/menafn/2bd09f94-d4e9-440b-8319-458568887232/B...

(When units arrived at the scene, they found 10 cars of a 90-car train had derailed, but there was no evidence of a leak, the department said.)



February 11, 2013 - Monday - Signawa,MI - Freight train derailment

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2013/02/train_derailmen...

(A train derailment near South Center and Clunie has scattered grain along the side of train tracks in Saginaw Township.)



February 04, 2013 - Sunday - Fairbury, MO. - Freight train derailment

http://www.coalguru.com/north_america/41_coal_cars_jump_tracks_near...

(The Union Pacific Railroad is cleaning up 41 train coal cars that derailed early Sunday morning southeast of Fairbury.)



February 03, 2013 - Saturday - Bladenboro, N.C. - Chemical train derailment

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8978520

(The town of Bladenboro is currently being evacuated following a train derailment. Officials said 10 of the 105 cars overturned and one was full of ammonia.)



February 02, 2013 - Friday - Bellwood, Chicago, Il. - Chemical train derailment

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8979101

(Five freight cars toppled over when the train was being pulled out of the yard.

Several of the cars are reported to be leaking diesel fuel.)


January 31, 2013 - Thursday - Bargoed, Wales - train derailment
http://www.itv.com/news/wales/story/2013-01-30/train-derails-near-bargoed/
(Work to clear the railway line between Rhymney and Barry has been completed. It's after trees and debris on the line caused a derailment yesterday morning.)

January 23, 2013 - Wednesday - Williford, Ark. - train derailment
http://articles.ky3.com/2013-01-23/train-derailment_36511747
( Burlington Northern Santa Fe's main rail line between Springfield and Memphis is blocked because of a derailment. BNSF says almost 30 cars of a train came off the track near Williford.)

January 15, 2013 - Tuesday - Badrashin, Egypt - military train derailment http://www.china.org.cn/world/2013-01/15/content_27688684.htm
( The train carrying young recruits was traveling from south Egypt to Cairo and derailed in the Giza neighborhood of Badrashin.)

January 14, 2013 - Monday - Soda Springs, Idaho - freight train derailment
http://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/article_fae2d3e2-5e88-11e2-bed2-0019bb2963f4.html
(A freight train has derailed and continues to block Highway 34.)

January 12, 2013 - Saturday - Assam, New Delhi - train derailment
http://netindian.in/news/2013/01/12/00022792/passenger-train-derails-assam-one-person-injured
(Four coaches of the 15693 down Silchar-bound Barak Valley Express derailed between Milongdisa and Harangajao stations in the Dima Hasao Hills area of Assam today, official sources said.)

January 12, 2013 - Saturday - Irkutsk, Moscow - Coal train derailment
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130112/178728604/Two_Die_in_Trans-Siberian_Train_Crash__.html
( Two train drivers were killed in Russia's Irkutsk region on Saturday when their train carrying coal was derailed, the local Emergencies Ministry said.)

January 11, 2013 - Friday - Imperial, Mo. - train derailment
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/356643/3/Imperial-train-derailment-houses-evacuated
(Eight train cars derailed from a southbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe train. The derailment happened around 2:30 p.m. just south of Imperial, MO on Main Street.)

January 10, 2013 - Thursday - Geneva, Switzerland - trains collide and derailment
http://world.time.com/2013/01/10/2-trains-collide-in-switzerland-injuries-reported/
(Two passenger trains collided Thursday morning near a station in northern Switzerland, injuring 17 people, police said. A locomotive for one of the trains — a double-decker passenger train — derailed.)

January 09, 2013 - Wednesday - Mauku, southwest of Auckland, NZ - freight train derailment
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10858114
(The accident happened early today on the Glenbrook Steel Mill access line. Because the train derailed on a branch line, it wouldn't cause any delays to normal services.)

January 05, 2013 - Saturday - Reno Nevada - grain freight derailment
http://www.rgj.com/article/20130105/NEWS/130105001/20-cars-Union-Pacific-grain-train-headed-Roseville-derail-near-Sulfur-no-injuries?nclick_check=1
(Twenty cars of a Union Pacific grain train derailed near Sulfur, Nev., on Saturday afternoon, a company spokesman said. The derailment of the westbound, 105-car train occurred shortly after 3 p.m. about 45-50 miles west of Winnemucca, Union Pacific West region.)

 

[Gaby]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

:O That is an awful lot!

 

[Niall]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

Wow that is some list!

You've put it in Earth Changes... do we think these all happened due to environmental factors?

Did you research each of these yourself, then connect them with surrounding events? Or did you find this list somewhere else?

What can we do with this data?!

 

[Niall]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

There are more listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_accidents_%282010%E2%80%93present%29#2013

10 January 2013 — Switzerland — 2013 Neuhausen am Rheinfall train collision — Two trains collided on the Rheinfall railway line, about 250 metres (820 ft) from the station at Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland. 17 people were injured.[160]

15 January 2013
Egypt — Badrashin railway accident — A passenger train derailed at Giza and collided with a freight train. 19 people died and 120 were injured.[161][162]

2013 Saltsjöbanan train crash

Sweden — 2013 Saltsjöbanan train crash — A passenger train on the Saltsjöbanan overran a set of buffer stops and crashed into a block of flats at Stockholm.[163] While it was first announced that a cleaner had driven the train without authority, further investigations revealed that she accidentally started the train that was parked in a depot without proper safety measures.[164][165] She was seriously injured, no one else was injured.

21 January 2013 — Austria — Two Vienna S-Bahn trains packed with morning commuters collided on a single-track stretch of line between Hütteldorf and Penzing in Vienna's suburbs in eastern Austria, leaving 41 people injured, five of them seriously. Among the injured was the driver of one of the trains. Both trains were operating the Line S45 service, and both trains were made up of 4024-series rolling stock.[4][166][167][168]

23 January 2013 — Slovakia — An intercity train from Košice to Bratislava hit a de-icing vehicle near Liptovský Mikuláš around 21.00 CET. The train driver died.[169]

31 January 2013
Australia — A passenger train overshot the railway line and collided with Cleveland railway station, severely damaging a toilet block and injuring 14 people.[170][171][172] The train was removed from the station in the early hours of the following morning.[173]
South Africa — Two passenger trains packed with school children and rush-hour commuters collided near Pretoria, South Africa, injuring up to 300 people, 28 of them seriously.[174][175][176] A moving train slammed into the back of a stationary train near Kalafong station.[177]

12 February 2013 — Japan — 15 people are injured when a non-stop limited express train Sanyo Electric Railway 5030 series set No. 5630F derails while approaching Arai station and collides with the rear end of a lorry.[178][179]

21 March 2013 — England — 1 man dies after his car is struck by a High Speed Train at Athelney level Crossing in Somerset.[180] It is suspected that the driver attempted to weave around the half-lane barriers.[181]

26 April 2013 — United States — At a rural Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad crossing, in Butler County, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh), an Allegheny Valley Railroad freight train carrying asphalt (with 2 locomotives, 29 cars; traveling at the 25 mph limit) strikes an Alliance for Nonprofit Resources Inc. Butler Area Rural Transit Authority bus carrying impaired seniors and younger adults at the Maple Street intersection. It's unclear whether the bus stopped on or before the tracks; the train's brakes are believed to have been applied and the horn to have sounded. Two people are flown by helicopter to area trauma centres–one was in critical condition, and a 91-year-old woman dies later at Allegheny General Hospital. Ten others, including the bus driver, are also hospitalised.[182]

30 April 2013— Chile — A freight train derails near Collipulli and is then assaulted by men with fireweapons.[183][184] Interior minister Andrés Chadwick says the Chilean Antiterrorist Law would be applied to those responsible for the attack.[183]

2 May 2013— Serbia — Two passenger trains collide in a tunnel between Novi Beograd and Zemun. The two trains running in the same direction, one from Belgrade to Novi Sad, strike another running from Belgrade to Šid at 13.30 CET. No fatalities are reported, many are injured.[185][186]

3 May 2013 — Belgium — A freight train derails in Schellebelle near Ghent. Three wagons carrying acrylonitrile explode and catch fire. One person dies and 33 are injured from toxic fumes in local neighbourhoods.[187]

17 May 2013 — United States — Fairfield train crash – Sixty people are injured (five critically) and rail traffic from New York to Boston is shut down after a Metro-North commuter train derails and plows into a second train in Fairfield, Connecticut.[188]

20 May 2013— New Zealand — A morning peak Tranz Metro EMU commuter train derails near central Wellington after part of the undercarriage comes loose, puncturing a hole in the carriage floor in the process. Four people are injured and thousands of commuters affected as services are cancelled and 26 trains are withdrawn from service out of safety concerns.[189]

25 May 2013 — United States — Seven people are injured when two freight trains collide early in the morning at a rail intersection in southeast Missouri, causing a highway overpass to collapse (this occurred shortly after a bridge collapse in Washington state and the above-mentioned Fairfield, Connecticut commuter train collision). The accident occurs when a Union Pacific train T-bones a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train outside of Scott City, Missouri about 190 kilometres (120 mi) south of St. Louis, Missouri. One of the trains derails, sending rail cars smashing into an overpass support pillar. Five of the injured are in automobiles, and two are on the train. All but one of the injured are treated and released from the hospital. 37.209636°N 89.745727°W[190]

28 May 2013 — United States — A freight train derails outside Rosedale, Maryland, just outside Baltimore after colliding with a garbage truck. Fifteen cars from the CSX train Q409 derail and two catch fire. An explosion damages nearby buildings. Only the truck driver is injured. Those within a 20-block radius of the crash site are asked to evacuate. Hazardous materials crews are sent to the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board sends a team to investigate the accident.[191]

4 June 2013 — Denmark — A morning train collides with a tractor close to a crossing near the city of Holbæk. The tractor driver dies and six train passengers are injured.[192]

13 June 2013 — Argentina — 2013 Buenos Aires rail disaster – A passenger train travelling during the morning rush hour hits an empty stationary train, near Castelar station, in Buenos Aires Province, about 30 km (19 miles) from Buenos Aires. At least three people die and another 315 are injured.

20 June 2013 — Canada — A railbridge in Calgary, Alberta collapses with 4 empty tank cars hanging just above the still swollen Bow River. The bridge was weakened after the 2013 Alberta floods. No one is injured, and the cars are removed safely away from the collapsing bridge.

Lac-Megantic wreck fire from space, as bright as the lights of Quebec City

6 July 2013— Canada — Lac-Mégantic derailment — An unattended freight train containing 72 tank cars of crude oil runs away and derails in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. Several cars explode, resulting in 42 confirmed dead and 5 missing and presumed dead, 15 days after derailment); over 30 buildings in the town centre are destroyed.

6 July 2013 — Pakistan — At least 14 people die and one person is injured when a rickshaw collides with a train near Shekhupura, Punjab, Pakistan, at a level crossing. [193]

7 July 2013— Russia — Krylovskaya derailment — 70 are injured in a train from Novosibirsk to Sochi.

12 July 2013
France — Brétigny-sur-Orge — A passenger train with 385 passengers derails at speed by a track defect soon after leaving Paris, and smashes into a station platform. Six are confirmed dead and almost 200 are injured.[194]

France — Bessines-sur-Gartempe — A train carrying nuclear waste derails and travels about 90 m (300 ft) before coming to a stop. It is reported that the Le Populaire du Centre newspaper received a message from an unknown anti-nuclear group taking responsibility for the Areva train derailment, although its authenticity was not confirmed.[195]

21 July 2013 — United Kingdom — Two passenger trains collide at Norwich, injuring eight people.[196]

24 July 2013 — Spain — Santiago de Compostela derailment — A high-speed train from Madrid to Ferrol, travelling at 190 km/h, well above the speed limit of 80 km/h,[197] derails on a curve in Santiago de Compostela; at least 79 passengers die and 140 are injured.[198]

25 July 2013 — Pakistan — A passenger train travelling from Lahore to Rawalpindi overshoots and runs aground on a closed track in Gujranwala, Punjab; at least 2 people die and many are injured.[199]

29 July 2013 – Switzerland – Granges-près-Marnand train crash – Two passenger trains collide between the towns of Moudon and Payerne, at Granges-pres-Marnand. One person dies and more than 40 are injured.[200]

5 August 2013 - "United States" - More than 20 cars of Union Pacific train derail in Louisiana near Lawtell. [2]

It would be good to integrate the two lists.

 

[Gawan]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

Yes, that's a huge list!

Eventually to get some statistics this site may be help a bit (at least for one country):

_http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Query/statsSas.aspx

Plus a some other stats from fra:

_http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/officeofsafety/publicsite/summary.aspx

But I guess no list will be complete, since not all news are available in English.

A tiny comparison (from wiki data) with the records on incidents per month:

11 2006: 8
09 2009: 8
08 2012: 8
07 2013: 9 (wiki) 20 (angelbursts list) + even some more that I read about

 

[Sylvie]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

Another here : http://www.trtfrancais.com/fr/informations/detail/monde/14/55-blesss-dans-un-accident-de-train-au-kazakh/9316

Sorry, this article is in french.

 

[angelburst29]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

Hi Kniall,

"Wow that is some list!"

I find the high incidence of train derailments to be unsettling! I was always under the impression, that trains were a safer mode of transportation verses car, plane or boat but due to the recent reports of serious train derailments and loss of life, including fires and explosions in some of the incidences, I was curious of the probable causes. The Santiago de Compostela derailment in Spain, was one example, that sparked my interest.

In my search for more information, as to why trains were jumping or sliding off tracks or head on collisions with another train, I came across more train derailments within the 2013 timeframe. In the beginning, it wasn't my intension to make a list, only to get a better understanding, as to what was happening and why? The list developed in separating "passenger verses freight" and area (State or Country) of the accident. In the compilation, it became evident that "Freight mishaps outweighted passenger trains" which affects our commodities and pricing of products. Considering, we're now facing scarcity of products and higher prices, damage and loss of inventory due Freight train derailments, filter down to the consumer.
General Freight (food and products) is unloaded into warehouse's and transfered to outlining locations - generally by semi-trucks. In the case of fuel and chemical's, tanker's load up and transport to distributor's. Loss of product and cost of replacement affects the consumer in higher prices or in scarcity, depending on circumstances. So, train derailments and damaged or loss of products and commodities affect us on the distributor and purchase end.

In regards to the Passenger trains, there seems to be a higher incidence of injury and death from head on collisions with another train (human and/or computer error?) and derailments. Explosions are another factor that compound the loss of life, injury and property. There's also a question, as to, the use of electronics and computer software within the transit system, that regulates track transfers, speed, etc. and liability in collisions and derailments? In the recent announcement - that cars can be electonically high jacked, have there been any derailments, as a result of the same? It poses an interesting question but a quick over view, of cause and affect is insufficient without proper and repeated evidence.

"You've put it in Earth Changes... do we think these all happened due to environmental factors?"

I may have been in error, placing this Post in "Earth Changes?" Please feel free to re-locate it, if necessary.

In going over the information I listed, environmental factors do seem to play an important part in the various causes in train derailment. Although, human and possible electronic/computer error can't be ruled out in some incidences.

Possible environmental factors include reports of "a deformed track" ( July 07, 2013 - Sunday - Russia’s Krasnodar Region ), a derailment that sent two railcars plunging into the Brandywine Creek, due to soil erosion around the tracks on the embankment (July 08, 2013 - Monday - Brandywine Creek, Pa.), train derailed after a section of the bridge dropped two feet (June 27, 2013 - Thursday - Calgary, Canada - Bonnybrook bridge train derailment), storms packing winds strong enough to form a tornado overturned more than 40 BNSF Railway cars (June 19, 2013 - Tuesday - Frionia, Texas), derailment was caused by a washed-out rail line caused by flooding in the area (May 21, 2013 - Tuesday - Charles City, Iowa), a fractured segment of track was found (May 17, 2013 - Friday- Connecticut: Metro-North), cars went off the tracks near the Comerford Dam, and two cars are almost completely submerged. Vermont State Police say it appears the cars tumbled because of bank erosion (May 07, 2013 - Tuesday - Passumpsic River, Vermont), A defect on the bottom of a metal bar that holds two sections of rail together caused a 26-car train derailment (May 03, 2013 - Friday - Lytle, Texas), a severe bend to the tracks near where the cars flipped (May 02, 2013 - Thursday - Sagninaw, IL), a derailment in eastern Saskatchewan that appears to have been caused by water (April 29, 2013 - Monday - Saskatchewan, Canada), a passenger train veered off the tracks in central Italy due to a landslide (April 08, 2013 - Monday - Perugia in Umbria region, Italy), A mudslide derailed an Amtrak train in Washington state (April 07, 2013 - Sunday - Everette, Washington), a rockfall has derailed a train (April 05, 2013 - Friday - Cabezon de la Sal, Spain), trees and debris on the line caused a derailment (January 31, 2013 - Thursday - Bargoed, Wales).

Most reports never list a possible cause and only state, "under investigation." But after reading report after report and taking in factors of heavy rain falls and flooding in many locations, heavy winds and tornado's displacing soil and property, along with dust bowl conditions in some areas, including sinkholes, I get the impression that soil erosion and displacement figure into some of the train derailments, and fixed train tracks losing their footing due to expansion and coming apart. Human involvement in maintenance could be to blamed in most cases but there is also the thought, the earth is expanding in movement along with the changes in topography?

"Did you research each of these yourself, then connect them with surrounding events? Or did you find this list somewhere else?"

My search began with the most recent event's in train derailments featured on SOTT and occurred over several days, as time permitted. I was mainly interested in details of the incident and where it happen. The list evolved from that and accelerated when I typed the month + train derailment 2013 into search. A whole list of articles would appear for the same month. In a few incidences, 2 or 3 were listed for the same date but in different parts of the world, which was interesting.

As for Wikipedia, I don't trust the site, for anyone can alter it's contents and rarely use it.


"What can we do with this data?!"

Good question! Personally, I never thought of that angle of it but I was overwhelmed with the amount of data gathered - just for 2013. Plus, by only using Google, this list is probably only a sampling of the true amount of train derailments, world-wide. That, in itself, is scary.

 

[Laura]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

Well, it very well may be due to earth changes, increasing electrical charge or flow through the planet making all kinds of things go kaflooey.