Train derailments and explosions and chemical spills

[Anthony]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

It seems these derailments are connected to fireball activity.

'Great big flames way up high,' witness says of Gainford derailment, explosion
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Huge+fireball+streaks+across+Yellowhead+after+derailment+near+Edmonton/9057485/story.html

Residents for miles around saw and heard a “large fireball,” Phelan said.

“There’s been no explosion or similar event like that since,” he said.

Fireball Hits Sky as Train Carrying Crude Oil, Gas Derails
https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/19-1

One resident told the Associated Press he heard crashes before seeing a fireball hit the sky. "The fireball was so big, it shot across both lanes of the Yellowhead [Highway] and now both lanes of the Yellowhead are closed and there's fire on both sides," said the man identified as Duane.

 

[H-KQGE]

Some breaking news…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25176496#"

A passenger train has derailed in the Bronx area of New York City, prompting a major emergency services response amid reports of "multiple injuries".

Five of the Metro-North train's seven carriages had come off the tracks, New York's transport authority said.

The train was the 05:54 from Poughkeepsie, due to arrive at Grand Central Station at 07:43, ABC said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the derailment had occurred near Spuyten Duyvil.

Hudson Line services had been suspended, it added.

 

[Keit]

It's on SOTT too
http://www.sott.net/article/269403-Breaking-News-Metro-North-train-derails-in-the-Bronx-New-York

 

[H-KQGE]

It's on SOTT too
http://www.sott.net/article/269403-Breaking-News-Metro-North-train-derails-in-the-Bronx-New-York

Excellent, must've gone up around the same time!

 

[angelburst29]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

December 01, 2013 - Metro North, New York City - Passenger train derailment
http://news.yahoo.com/metro-north-derailment-133919511.html

and here: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/12/01/metro-north-train-derails-near-spuyten-duyvil/

The train was en route to New York's Grand Central Station from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., when it derailed near the Spuyten Duyvil station in the Bronx. According to the Daily News, at least four people are dead, and as many as 20 others were injured. CNN put the number of injured at 40.

It's unclear how many passengers were on board the train when it derailed. According to Metro North, the train left Poughkeepsie at approximately 5:54 a.m. and scheduled to arrive at Grand Central at 7:43 a.m. Service has been suspended indefinitely on the Hudson Line. Aerial photos taken above the scene showed several train cars laying on their sides, and one near the bank of the Hudson River. According to New York's CBS affiliate, between two and five cars derailed about 100 feet north of the station. Five of the train’s seven cars came off the track about 100 feet north of the Spuyten Duyvil station around 7:20 a.m., MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan told WCBS 880. One car came to rest feet from the water.

The derailment occurred near where a freight train derailed in July.

 

[Niall]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

It seems these derailments are connected to fireball activity.

'Great big flames way up high,' witness says of Gainford derailment, explosion
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Huge+fireball+streaks+across+Yellowhead+after+derailment+near+Edmonton/9057485/story.html

Residents for miles around saw and heard a “large fireball,” Phelan said.

“There’s been no explosion or similar event like that since,” he said.

Fireball Hits Sky as Train Carrying Crude Oil, Gas Derails
https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/19-1

One resident told the Associated Press he heard crashes before seeing a fireball hit the sky. "The fireball was so big, it shot across both lanes of the Yellowhead [Highway] and now both lanes of the Yellowhead are closed and there's fire on both sides," said the man identified as Duane.

I think when they use 'fireball' in this context, they mean the flame from an exploding train engine or carriage shooting upwards, not a meteor fireball coming down and hitting the train.

...however, I do wonder if at least some of these trains are derailing because tracks are warping due to shifts in land surfaces. If not that, then something else related to Earth changes. With sinkholes, earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions on the increase, we know the planet is rocking and rolling!

 

[Buddy]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

...however, I do wonder if at least some of these trains are derailing because tracks are warping due to shifts in land surfaces.

I think that's a possibility. About a year ago, the CSX rail line was hiring a bunch of folks in the South Georgia (USA) area for the explicitly stated purpose of traveling and doing inspection/repairs on the rail line.

 

[angelburst29]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

Prior to the Bronx New York train derailment on Sunday, 12-01-2013 - a train derailment happened Saturday afternoon in Bayard, New Mexico killing the three Train Operators.

November 30, 2013 - Bayard, New Mexico - Freight Train derailment
http://www.scsun-news.com/silver_city-news/ci_24630639

SILVER CITY >> Three train operators were killed Saturday when a locomotive for Southwestern Railroad derailed around noon and fell 40 to 50 feet into an arroyo off State Highway 356 at mile post three, three miles from Bayard. The cause of the accident was unknown as of late Saturday afternoon. The families of the men have not all been notified, so police would not release their names as of 5 p.m. Saturday. At least one man was a local resident, New Mexico State Police Sgt. Oscar Sosa said. The three men were all inside the locomotive at the time of the accident. No one else was hurt.

The train derailment caused a diesel fuel leak, and members of the Silver City Fire Department worked to contain the leak and a hazmat operation was underway late Saturday to clean up the spill. The train, operated by Southwestern Railroad, was carrying a form of iron that is not hazardous, Operations Manager for Southwestern Railroad Chris Grimes said.

At approximately 3:30 p.m. Silver City Fire Department were still trying to extract the bodies of the three dead men from the locomotive. The locomotive was pulling eight cars south to Santa Rita when it fell off the track. The eight supply cars continued to run along the track until they reached a curve in the tracks and then derailed. The Federal Railroad Administration has been contacted and will investigate the cause of the accident, Sgt. Sosa said.

 

[l apprenti de forgeron]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

I think when they use 'fireball' in this context, they mean the flame from an exploding train engine or carriage shooting upwards, not a meteor fireball coming down and hitting the train.

...however, I do wonder if at least some of these trains are derailing because tracks are warping due to shifts in land surfaces. If not that, then something else related to Earth changes. With sinkholes, earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions on the increase, we know the planet is rocking and rolling!

Hope it's not noise, but perhaps the following case could be influenced by Earth changes?:

http://www.sott.net/article/269517-Update-Helicopter-crashed-into-Glasgow-pub-leaving-8-dead-14-injured-Tragic-event-marked-black-St-Andrews-Day-for-Scotland

Or maybe this has been due to other causes. But thinking that air transport could be affected in a future in this way, it is horrible.

 

[angelburst29]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

December 05, 2013 - Thursday - Carteret, New Jersey - Freight train derailment
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/hazmat-spill-freight-train-derails-new-jersey-turnpike-article-1.1538175#ixzz2mbV9rOjg

Emergency workers were still trying to clean a noxious, flammable material from the scene where a freight train derailed early Thursday. No injuries were reported.

A train carrying hazardous materials derailed near New Jersey highway early Thursday, officials said. The train was backing into a facility near Exit 12 of the New Jersey Turnpike in Carteret — across the border from Staten Island — when one car of the train flipped on its side about 1 a.m., authorities said. Another car partially overturned in the wreck.

 

[angelburst29]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

December 17, 2013 - Tuesday - Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Freight train Derailment

http://wnep.com/2013/12/17/train-derails-dumps-coal-in-luzerne-county/
HAZLE TOWNSHIP — It will take days to clean up the mess in one part of Luzerne County after three railroad cars carrying coal derailed Tuesday. Reading and Northern Railroad officials were on scene investigating after the train went off the tracks.

Other train news:
December 15, 2013 - Sunday Boston, Massachusetts Small fire forces 200 riders from Blue Line train
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/12/15/small-fire-forces-riders-from-blue-line-train/SAQ2tuMje8rTeAkn6fba3O/story.html

A Blue Line train was evacuated just after midnight on Sunday when a small fire started on the tracks inside of the Aquarium Station tunnel, according to an MBTA spokeswoman. The fire was started by a spark emitted from an insulator on the rail and was very minor, MBTA spokeswoman Kelly Smith said. When firefighters responded to the scene, power on the tracks was turned off while they extinguished the smoldering rail, according to Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald. Nearly 200 passengers were evacuated from the train, he said. The MBTA provided shuttle busses for Blue Line passengers though the end of service and trains operated on a normal Sunday schedule in the morning, Smith said.

December 15, 2013 - Sunday Veles, Macedonia Passenger train and Freight train collide
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=VI-20131216-41954-MKD

Police in Macedonia say a passenger and a freight train have collided near the central town of Veles and several carriages have derailed. At least two people have been injured. Veles police spokeswoman Anita Stojkovska said the passenger and freight trains collided around 5:55 p.m. (1555 GMT) Sunday near Veles, 56 kilometres (35 miles) south of the capital, Skopje. Stojkovska said "a prosecutor and an investigation team are at the scene." Rail traffic from Skopje to the southern town of Gevgelija, at the border with Greece, has been suspended. A man with head injuries has been admitted to a Skopje hospital. Staff would not say whether the injuries are life-threatening. Another person, slightly injured, was admitted at the same hospital.

December 14, 2013 - Saturday Labrador City, Canada Passenger train - lost power
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/12/14/nearly_300_stranded_for_hours_in_labrador_in_freezing_cold_after_train_loses_power.html

LABRADOR CITY, N.L.—The Canadian Red Cross says 270 passengers huddled together for warmth in freezing temperatures for about eight hours Friday after the train they were travelling on lost power in western Labrador. The Red Cross says the Tshiuetin Rail Transportation train — which was travelling from Schefferville, Que., to Sept-Iles, Que. — was stopped about 65 kilometres east of Labrador City when it would not restart. The passengers, including children and seniors, used a few blankets and huddled together for hours as temperatures hovered around -30 C. After several attempts to fix the train’s electrical problems were unsuccessful, the passengers were evacuated around 4 p.m. and taken by bus to a high school gymnasium in Labrador City to arrange lodging. Some people were taken to hospital as a precaution, but no injuries were reported. Most of the passengers stayed in mining camp bunk houses in Labrador City and Wabush, N.L., while others were bused to similar camps in Fermont, Que. The railway was making arrangements to fly the passengers to Sept-Iles, Que., on Saturday.

December 12, 2013 - Thursday - Waverly, Virginia Amtrak Passenger trains hits vehicle
http://www.fireengineering.com/ap-news/2013/12/12/amtrak-train-collides-with-vehicle-in-virginia.html

WAVERLY, Va. (AP) — Authorities say an Amtrak train has collided with a vehicle in south central Virginia and there are injuries. Virginia State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Anaya says in a news release that the accident occurred on Route 40 in Waverly around 6 a.m. Thursday. Anaya says there are unknown injuries and a medical flight is heading to the scene. Amtrak spokeswoman Christina Leeds tells The Associated Press in an email that the Northeast Regional train 174 was traveling from Norfolk, Va., to Boston with 46 passengers on board. Leeds says there are no reported injuries to the passengers. She says the train will continue its route when authorities release it. Troopers are investigating the crash.

December 06, 2013 - Friday - Nyack, New York Freight train hits car hauler truck
http://nyack.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/train-car-carrier-collide-in-nyack-neighborhood

The train is carrying flammable liquids, believed to be crude oil. The car carrier was heading eastbound when it attempted to cross over the tracks. There are no crossing gates at the location. Two of the five cars on the carrier were totaled. The three other cars and one motorcycle had minor damage. EKO Transport of Jacksonville, FL owns the car carrier. Sgt. Cummings said the unidentified tractor-trailer driver was ejected from the vehicle and first responders found him conscious and moving although incoherent. He was taken to Nyack Hospital with a cracked pelvis and other severe injuries. The train engineer and assistant were not injured. He said the force of the collision between the northbound train and the tractor-trailer pushed part of the tractor-trailer 300 to 400 yards down the tracks.

December 05, 2013 - Thursday - Carteret, New Jersey Freight train derailment
http://www.myfoxny.com/story/24141594/2-cars-of-freight-train-derail-in-nj

CARTERET, N.J. (AP) -- No evacuations have been ordered after two tanker cars carrying a flammable liquid derailed from a freight train in New Jersey. Conrail spokesman John Enright says one car is leaning and the other overturned. Enright says the tankers were not compromised and are not leaking.

December 05, 2013 - Thursday - Berkeley Hills tunnel, San Francisco Train breaks lock while in tunnel
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Smoking-BART-train-stuck-in-East-Bay-hills-tunnel-5034506.php

The beleaguered BART system suffered another high-profile breakdown Wednesday when the emergency brakes on a train speeding through the Berkeley hills tunnel locked up, filling the cars with fumes. The fumes, which some passengers mistook for smoke, prompted several riders to seek medical treatment after being stuck onboard the crippled train for an hour, officials said. BART officials said a short circuit caused the train's emergency braking system - technology from the 1980s - to engage, which is relatively rare, having happened just three times this year, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said. Late in the day, BART officials were still investigating the cause of the incident, which occurred about 8:30 a.m. after the westbound Pittsburg/Bay Point-line train, packed with 700 passengers, pulled out of the Orinda Station and entered the 3.2-mile tunnel. When the brakes locked up, she said, they released a small amount of light smoke - or dust - but also a strong odor. Battalion Chief Melinda Drayton of the Oakland Fire Department said the noxious fumes were brake dust. BART also switched on a ventilation system in the tunnel that causes gates to lower at the Orinda portal. When the tunnel was cleared, one of the gates failed to lift automatically and needed to be raised by hand. That forced BART to run alternating trains on a single track, slowing them even more.

December 02, 2013 - Monday - Nashville, Tennessee Freight train hits dump truck
http://www.wsmv.com/story/24115291/train-collides-with-dump-truck-in-bellevue

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - No injuries have been reported after a freight train collided with a dump truck Monday afternoon in Bellevue. The crash was reported about 3 p.m. near Scarcroft Lane and Gloucester Lane. Further information has not been released.

 

[angelburst29]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

December 18, 2013 - Wednesday - Bengal, India Passenger train ploughs into a large herd of Elephants
http://finance.yahoo.com/photos/laying-the-wild-elephants-to-rest-1387573471-slideshow/

A passenger train in eastern India ploughed into a herd of elephants, killing seven including two calves, as they walked across the tracks in a forest, authorities have said. Dozens of elephants have died in recent years after being hit while crossing railroad tracks that run through India's national parks and forests. In December, a train killed five elephants in neighbouring Odisha (formerly Orissa) state. The crash was the worst of its kind in recent memory, said Hiten Burman, forestry minister in West Bengal. Ten other elephants were seriously injured and the death toll could rise, he said.

Another report here:
http://www.whatsontianjin.com/news-8232-passenger-train-ploughs-into-herd-of-elephants-in-eastern-india-killing-7.html

The crash was the worst of its kind in recent memory, said Hiten Burman, forestry minister in West Bengal. Ten other elephants were seriously injured and the death toll could rise, he said. One of the elephants was left hanging from a railroad bridge. The train was travelling at 80km/h through the Chapramari Forest when it struck the herd of 40 elephants crossing the tracks on Wednesday at dusk, Mr Burman said. "The herd scattered, but returned to the railway tracks and stood there for quite some time before they were driven away by forest guards and railroad workers who rushed to the spot after the accident," he said.
Mr Burman said railway authorities have ignored requests from his department to have trains reduce their speeds inside the elephant corridor in Jalpaiguri district, about 670 kilometres from Kolkata, the state capital. Dozens of elephants have died in recent years after being struck while crossing railroad tracks that run through India's national parks and forests. In December, a train killed five elephants in neighboring Orissa state.

"It is an irony that elephants are being killed by speeding trains in north Bengal on regular intervals, even though it has been declared as the heritage animal in India and an elephant cub is the mascot of Indian Railways," said Animesh Basu, a wildlife activist and coordinator of the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation. Basu, who blamed unrestricted movement of trains for the accident, said at least 50 elephants have been killed by trains since 2004 in West Bengal state. India's wild elephant population was recently estimated at about 26,000.

 

[GregP507]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

Many of these derailments are due to greatly increased rail traffic, which is partly due to the large increase in transportation of crude oil. Until we have found a way to do without oil, our delay in building pipelines will force much of it through the much less safe railways.

 

[Keit]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

Another train derailment in France on 23d of December, this time with nuclear waste.

http://www.sott.net/article/270989-Freight-train-carrying-nuclear-waste-derails-near-Paris

A rail freight wagon carrying nuclear waste derailed at a depot in Drancy, 3 km (2 miles) northeast of Paris on Monday, the mayor of the town said.

There was no leakage of nuclear waste, Jean-Christophe Lagarde said by telephone.

 

[l apprenti de forgeron]

Re: Train Derailments and Explosions 2013

And this: "Year of major train derailments ends with massive explosion after oil train derailment in North Dakota"

http://www.sott.net/article/271126-Giant-explosions-reported-after-train-derailment-in-North-Dakota

A train is derailed west of Casselton, North Dakota. It happened at 35th Street and 154th Avenue Southeast just before 2:20 p.m. Monday.

No injuries have been reported so far. Several area emergency teams are on scene and are setting up an incident command center. A viewer who is about a half mile from the derailment tells Valley News Live she can see large flames.

Several train cars are on fire and huge plumes of black smoke can be seen for miles. Emergency crews are urging people to stay inside and a code red alert has been sent out to residents in a two mile radius of the accident.