Train derailments and explosions and chemical spills

[Keit]

Seems like France keeps getting hit this year.

France train crash: At least 60 people injured as train smashes into fallen tree during violent storms
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/france-train-crash-least-60-8650873

At least 60 people have been injured after a train crashed into a tree which fell onto tracks during violent storms near Montpellier, France.

The train crashed during violent storms near Montpellier and at least 10 people are said to have been seriously hurt

The train crashed between Baillargues and Castelnau-le-Lez and emergency services are currently at the scene.

Pictures taken by passengers at the scene show extensive damage to at least one carriage and broken glass strewn across the floor.

 

[Gawan]

What is really rare in this case, that the train got hit by a tree while driving. The driver got severely injured and flew out of the front window, luckily he is out of danger now.

Here is a picture by the way:

 

[Chu]

According to several French sources (link in French), that was a violent hail storm. In August!

And very recently, there were big fires around that region (link in French) (and even bigger ones further down, near Marseille).

Very strange weather, for sure.

 

[treesparrow]

Also featuring the (now) ubiquitous 'hailstones the size of golf-balls'

Dozens of people were hurt, eight of them seriously, when a regional train hit a tree uprooted during a hailstorm in the south of France.

Witnesses said one passenger had been thrown out of the train by the force of the crash, at Saint-Aunes in the Herault region.

Emergency services said one person was critically injured and airlifted to hospital.

The front of the train was badly damaged and windows were knocked out.

The double-decker train had been travelling at 140km/h to the east of Montpellier when it rammed into the tree at around 15:45 local time (13:45 GMT), reports said.

The accident left the Montpellier to Nimes line completely blocked during the evening rush-hour.

The hailstorm hit large areas of the south and local residents in the area tweeted pictures of hailstones the size of golf-balls.

The area is known for its vineyards and there were concerns that this year's harvest could be affected by the storm.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37109170

 

[Ca.]

So the front of the engine impacted the fallen tree. Or did the tree fall just seconds before impact?

Chu's Link:
http://www.jeanmarcmorandini.com/article-357572-accident-de-ter-pres-de-montpellier-le-train-a-percute-un-arbre-plusieurs-blesses-graves-le-train-roulait-a-140-km-h.html

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Railcars Fall Into Creek After Coal Train Derails Near Dallas

http://sputniknews.com/us/20160822/1044503104/train-derailment-dallas.html

A Union Pacific train carrying coal derailed near Dallas in the US state of Texas on Sunday, sending five railcars into a creek, local police said, adding no one was injured.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Police officers responding to the emergency said they had observed some 20 railcars derailed, with five plunged into Denton Creek.

"At approximately 6:00 p.m., the Roanoke Police Department received multiple 911 calls about a Union Pacific train derailment," the Roanoke Texas Police said in a statement.

Flower Mound police and Roanoke Police Department have shut the southbound highway into Roanoke, a northwestern Dallas suburb. Northbound traffic remained open.

Canada rail safety questioned after train derailment diesel leak

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-railways-idUSKCN10W0K1?il=0

A Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd train derailment in Toronto caused a diesel leak near a residential area on Sunday, authorities said.

While a regulation body said there were no injuries, Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters about 1,200 liters (317 gallons) of diesel fuel were leaked.

The incident began with a westbound train striking an eastbound one that was changing tracks early in the morning, said Transportation Safety Board of Canada spokesman Chris Krepski.

He said both trains derailed, with the westbound one, comprising two locomotives, leaking diesel.

The eastbound train carried "small quantities" of dangerous goods in one of its last cars, but there was no leakage, Krepski said.

He said the goods included non-flammable gas under pressure, compressed nitrogen, aerosol containers, wet batteries and alcoholic beverages.

It was not immediately clear when the track will reopen.

Canadian Pacific spokesman Martin Cej confirmed the car contained dangerous goods, but said there were no public safety concerns.

"The incident was a result of human error, so there were no track issues, no signaling issues, no mechanical issues," he said.

Neither he nor Krepski nor specified the amount of dangerous goods or said what was in the other cars.

Canada's rail safety measures have come under scrutiny since a July 2013 incident when a runaway train crashed, killing 47 people and destroying buildings in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic. Canadian Pacific had transported the tank cars of oil involved to Montreal before they crashed under another operator.

In March, Toronto city councilors and Mayor John Tory sent a joint letter to Garneau calling for the federal government to improve protection for communities living along commercial rail lines.

Councilor Mike Layton told reporters at the scene of Sunday's incident that authorities need to examine whether the trains were carrying appropriate cargo and whether all safety measures were taken.

Speaking in Sudbury, Ontario, at a federal cabinet retreat, Garneau said the government already requires train companies to inform municipalities beforehand about their cargo.

"We also have speed restrictions," he said. "We also put in measures with respect to immobilizing trains when they are unattended."

He added responders were using "materials to put into the ground" to soak up the diesel.

"There is no concern that it's gone into a waterway," he said.

Toronto police said there were no charges involved in the incident.

 

[Ca.]

Train ploughs into pylon and derails near station in northern Spain
Published on Sep 9, 2016

https://youtu.be/oBRLLXL5zo0

At least two people have died after a train derailed in Galicia, northern Spain, a spokesman said today. The train, made up of four carriages, left the tracks and ploughed into a pylon as it was travelling under a

DIRECT. Espagne : un train déraille en Galice et fait au moins trois morts (Beaucoup d'images - Muchas imagenes)
Ce train effectuait le trajet entre Vigo et le Portugal. L'accident est survenu non loin de la frontière.
http://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/europe/espagne-un-train-deraille-en-galice-et-fait-au-moins-deux-morts_1817223.html#xtor=EPR-51-

https://twitter.com/GxDRadioGalega/status/774156014593544193/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

 

[Cleo]

13-car train derailment prompts hazmat precautions in west Eugene

http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/34835321-75/13-car-train-derailment-prompts-hazmat-precautions-in-west-eugene.html.csp

The above happened in Oregon yesterday. I was driving down the street when I first noticed the freight train at a complete stop on the tracks, which I found pretty odd. Didn't know at this point that a train had derailed several miles away at the rail-yard. I was on my way to a building across the street so eventually I watched from the building as the train alternated between no motion to inching slowly one way, then the other. Occasionally I'd hear loud 'whoosh' or crash sounds in the distance from the trains slack (I believe it's called). This went on for more than an hour before the train picked up some speed and left toward the rail-yard. The Amtrak train eventually made its way in, after being at a stop further on down the tracks. Cause is still under investigation.

 

[angelburst29]

October 8, 2016 - Saturday - New Hyde Park, New York Passenger train derailment

LIRR Train Derails Near New Hyde Park, 29 People Injured (Video)
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/10/08/lirr-derailment/

A Long Island Rail Road train derailed near New Hyde Park around 9:10 p.m. Saturday. A Huntington-bound train derailed a half mile east of the New Hyde Park station. The passenger train collided with an LIRR work train. The first three cars of the 12-car passenger train derailed. There were approximately 600 passengers on board. Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano said 29 people were injured.

LIRR train service was suspended in both directions on the Ronkonkoma, Oyster Bay and Port Jefferson branches. Passengers from the derailed train were being taken to New Hyde Park Village Hall at 498 Stewart Ave, where their family and friends could meet them.


Service Changes, Delays After LIRR Train Derails In New Hyde Park
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/10/09/lirr-derailment-cleanup/

Crews are still on the scene after a LIRR commuter train derailed in New Hyde Park late Saturday night, injuring 33 people. The impact sent the first three cars of the 12-car passenger train off the tracks. The work train then caught fire. MTA chairman Thomas Prendergast said 33 people were injured, 26 customers and seven employees. There were approximately 600 passengers on board.

This morning, service remains suspended in both directions with delays on other branches. The Port Jefferson line is offering shuttle buses to bypass the area to get commuters to where they need to go.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the NTSB will be on the scene to investigate the cause of the incident and all hands will be on deck to get service back up and running by the Monday morning commute. The MTA says the maintenance crew was just finishing track work for the night when the work train got in the path of the passenger train.

 

[angelburst29]

Nov. 9, 2016 - Croydon, South London - tram derailment

Croydon tram crash leaves at least five dead and 50 injured (Guardian video - 0:37 min.)
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/09/croydon-tram-crash-five-trapped-40-injured

A tram that crashed killing five people and leaving 50 injured was travelling at “significantly higher speed than is permitted”, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch has said.

The tram derailed in Croydon, south London, early on Wednesday morning, and the driver of the tram has been arrested. Some of the 50 who were injured in the incident were seriously hurt, and the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has warned that the death toll is likely to rise further.

British Transport police said: “At present, we can confirm five people have sadly died following this incident.” Sources at the scene said eight people were feared dead.

Khan, visiting the scene, said: “I can confirm that five people have died and we think that number may well increase,” he said. “A number of those who are at hospital are in a serious condition.”

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch said the tram derailed as it was negotiating a “sharp, left-hand curve” which has a speed limit of 12mph, near the Sandilands tram stop in Addiscombe Road. A spokesman said: “Initial indications suggest that the tram was travelling at a significantly higher speed than is permitted.”

Images uploaded to social media showed emergency services working at the scene of what police described as a “serious incident”.

Police confirmed the driver of the tram had been arrested but did not give any further details.

 

[angelburst29]

Nov. 13, 2016 - CITRA, Fla Two trans collide - derail

Trains collide, derail in Marion County, causing massive fuel leak (Video)
http://www.clickorlando.com/traffic/trains-collide-derail-in-marion-county-causing-3000-gallon-fuel-leak

Two CSX trains collided and derailed early Wednesday in Marion County, causing 20 cars to overturn and a fuel leak of up to 15,000 gallons, officials said.

The collision was reported about 4:15 a.m. at a train crossing on 175th Street at NE 23rd in Citra, just north of Ocala.

Two locomotive operators were on each the train at the time of the crash, one crew member was treated for injuries, the Marion County Sheriff's Office said.

CSX said a train transporting non-hazardous phosphate rock collided with another CSX train that was loaded with coal. Diesel fuel was released from at least one locomotive, the Marion County Sheriff's Office said. CSX environmental experts are on scene assessing and containing any possible product releases.

The phosphate train was traveling from Mulberry, Florida, to Chicago, with three locomotives and 100 loaded phosphate cars, CSX said. The coal train was traveling from Pembroke, Kentucky, to Tampa, with three locomotives and 110 loaded cars of coal, officials said. "CSX appreciates the professional and swift response from the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and Marion County Fire and Rescue. We are thankful that no one was seriously injured," the company said in a statement.

Video from News 6 helicopter Sky 6 and photos released by Marion County Fire Rescue show several mangled train cars piled up.

"Please avoid Pine Church Road/2500 NE 175th Street as the road has been blocked off by a portion of the train," the Marion County Sheriff's Office said. "Please plan your travels accordingly." The sheriff's office encouraged residents to use Highway 318 as an alternate route so crews can access the other roads to bring in heavy equipment to be used in the cleanup effort.

As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, the rail cars not affected by the derailment had been removed, deputies said.

CSX is working to move all the rail cars and clear Pine Church Road for traffic, according to the sheriff's office. Pine Church Road is expected to reopen Wednesday evening. Clean up efforts are expected to last several days. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee which oversees the nation’s railroad industry, said a thorough investigation into the derailment will be conducted.

 

[angelburst29]

Friday Nov. 18, 2016 - Northern Groningen province, Netherlands - Passenger train derailment

At Least 18 Injured as Train Derails in Netherlands
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201611181047600498-train-netherlands-derail/

At least 11 people were hospitalized, while the other seven were treated at local fire stations, after a train collided with a milk tanker in the northern Groningen province, according to local media.

At least 18 people were injured in the Netherlands after a train collided with a milk tanker in the northern Groningen province, local media reported Friday. The collision occurred earlier in the day with up to 75 traveling between Groningen to Roodeschool on a train operated by the UK-based Arriva transport company.

At least 11 people were hospitalized, while the remaining seven were treated at local fire stations, the DutchNews.nl news website reported. The milk truck driver was reportedly unhurt while train traffic was canceled on the entire line. The Voslaan crossing, which was the site of the crash, saw a fatal incident in 2014, when a 24-year-old car driver died in a collision with a passing train.

 

[Aeneas]

Deadly train crash in India

I know that there is a thread about train crashes, but I am seem unable to find anything using the Search function so I will put it here.

https://www.sott.net/article/334305-At-least-91-people-killed-hundreds-injured-as-train-derails-in-India

At least 91 people killed, hundreds injured as train derails in India

Indian rescue workers search for survivors in the wreckage of a train that derailed near Pukhrayan in Kanpur district on November 20, 2016
At least 91 people were killed and scores injured when 14 cars of an express train derailed near the town of Pukhrayan in Uttar Pradesh in northern India, AFP reported, citing police. Relief teams have rushed to the scene.

"The death toll has unfortunately increased and it is 91 now," Daljit Singh Chawdhary, additional police director general of Uttar Pradesh state, said, as cited by AFP.

https://youtu.be/PtnUIStGMks
Rescue operations are under way," Indian Express cited Anil Saxena, a spokesman for Indian Railways, as saying.

However, the death toll is expected to rise as the rescue operation is under way. All the hospitals in the area are mobilized to receive the injured.

The incident happened some 100 kilometers from the city of Kanpur, the second-largest industrial city in India, at about 3:00 a.m. local time, when most of the passengers were asleep.

It has not been made clear what caused the derailment. Indian Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu ordered that an inquiry be "immediately" opened into the circumstances of the derailment.

"The strictest possible action will be taken against those who could be responsible for the accident," he wrote on Twitter, adding that "all possible mobilization relief" has been initiated.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the victims of the crash, adding that the Minister for Railways has been put in charge of overseeing the situation.

Along with ambulances, buses have been sent to the site of the crash to help those who were unharmed in the catastrophe and became stranded unable to continue the journey, said Vijay Kumar, spokesman for Northern Central Railways, Punjab Update reported.

 

[Arwenn]

Re: Deadly train crash in India

The thread you might have ben thinking of is this one: Increase in train derailments and explosions since 2013? Global incidents list. The train accident above caused a lot of fatalities- what a nightmare for the people involved, and no word yet on what could have caused it.

 

[angelburst29]

Re: Deadly train crash in India

Train accidents are fairly common in India, where much of the railway equipment is out of date and as much as 23 million passengers every day use the country's vast network, the fourth largest in the world.

Most of the victims were located in two carriages near the engine which overturned and were badly damaged.

The cause of the crash near the village of Pukhrayan is not yet known.

However, the Times of India quoted sources as saying a fracture in the track could have been to blame.


India's worst rail disasters

Bihar, 6 Jun 1981: 250 deaths confirmed as passenger train derails on a bridge and plunges into the Baghmati river. Hundreds more are never found, with an estimated death toll ranging from 500 to 800

Firozabad, 20 Aug 1995: 358 people are killed as an express train hits a stationary express train

Gaisal, Assam, 2 Aug 1999: At least 290 killed as two trains carrying a total of 2,500 people collide

Khanna, 26 Nov 1998: At least 212 killed as a train collides with a derailed train

Rafiganj, 10 Sept 2002: Rajdhani Express derails on bridge, killing at least 130

West Midnapore, West Bengal, 28 May 2010: The Calcutta-Mumbai passenger train derails, killing at least 100. Police blame Maoist sabotage of the track.

India train crash: 100 killed in derailment near Kanpur (Photos)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38041755