Keith Willshaw wrote:
> "Hatunen" wrote in message
> news:cvmma41sigql3vai8sjl666o1vrhm74hi4@4ax.com...
>>> Nope, in most cases what happens is the train limps into the next
>>> station
>> Unfortuantely, history makes tthat an optimistic appraisal:
>>
>> Eschede disaster
>>
>
> Which was the exception
>
>> The ICE accident near Eschede that happened on 3 June 1998 was a
>> severe railway accident and the worst ever to involve a
>> high-speed train, as well as the worst railway accident since
>> modern Germany's foundation in 1949. Trainset 51, travelling as
>> ICE 884 "Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen" from Munich to Hamburg, derailed
>> at 200 km/h (125 mph), killing 101 and injuring 88.
>>
>> The cause of the accident was a wheel rim which broke and damaged
>> the train six kilometres south of the accident site. The wheel
>> rim penetrated the carriage floor and lifted the check rail of a
>> set of points close to Eschede station. The broken-off check rail
>> then forced the point blades of the following set of points to
>> change direction, and the rear cars of the trainset were diverted
>> to a different track. They hit the pillars of a street overpass,
>> which then collapsed onto the tracks. Only three cars and the
>> front powerhead passed under the bridge, the rest of the 14-car
>> train jackknifed into the collapsed bridge.
>>
>
> A pretty exceptional sequence of events you'd have to say. Try
> flying a 747 into a mountain as a contrast and see how many
> survivors there are.
You seem to assume that simply describing the sequence of events makes
them into the condition for the catastrophe. Once the wheel broke, it
would only be a matter of time before the train derailed. At the speed
the train is travelling, it is hard to imagine how the train could
safely come to a stop - even assuming the driver was aware of what was
going on - without the cars overturning and jackknifing.
>
> Since the TGV entered service they have been involved in a
> number of incidents of wheel and bogie failure without fatalities
> as well as a number of high speed derailments. The most spectacular
> was the 1993 incident at Haute Picardie when sink hole 7 metres
> long and 1.5m wide opened up under the track. Depite the fact that
> the last four trailers and the rear power unit derailed only one
> passenger was injured.
>
> Then there was the incident when a TGV hit an asphalt laying machine
> stranded on a grade crossing while doing more than 80mph
>
> The engineer was slighly injured and no passengers were hurt
>
> Keith
>
>
Are you trying to tell us that derailments and collisions with other
vehicles are somehow miraculously harmless events?
If so, try this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_accidents
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