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Runaway train

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
This article is about uncontrolled train movements. For various amusements, cinema and music using this term as a title, see Runaway train (disambiguation).

A runaway train is a type of railroad incident in which unattended rolling stock is accidentally allowed to roll onto the main line, a moving train loses enough braking power to be unable to stop in safety, or a train operates at unsafe speeds due to loss of operator control. If the uncontrolled rolling stock derails or hits another train, it will result in a train wreck.

A deadman's control, if the brakes are working, can prevent unattended rolling stock from moving.

A railway air brake can fail if valves on the pipe between each wagon are accidentally closed; the 1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck and the 1988 Gare de Lyon train accident were results of a valve accidentally closed by the crew, reducing braking power.

A parked train or cut off cars may also run away if not properly tied down with a sufficient number of hand brakes.

Discover more about Runaway train related topics

Rolling stock

Rolling stock

The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars, and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can be un-powered, or self-propelled, single or multiple units. A connected series of railway vehicles is a train.

Train wreck

Train wreck

A train wreck, train collision, train accident or train crash is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an accident, such as when a train wheel jumps off a track in a derailment; or when a boiler explosion occurs. Train wrecks have often been widely covered in popular media and in folklore.

Dead man's switch

Dead man's switch

A dead man's switch is a switch that is designed to be activated or deactivated if the human operator becomes incapacitated, such as through death, loss of consciousness, or being bodily removed from control. Originally applied to switches on a vehicle or machine, it has since come to be used to describe other intangible uses, as in computer software.

Railway air brake

Railway air brake

A railway air brake is a railway brake power braking system with compressed air as the operating medium. Modern trains rely upon a fail-safe air brake system that is based upon a design patented by George Westinghouse on April 13, 1869. The Westinghouse Air Brake Company was subsequently organized to manufacture and sell Westinghouse's invention. In various forms, it has been nearly universally adopted.

1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck

1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck

The 1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck occurred on January 15, 1953, when a passenger and mail train from Boston to Washington DC failed to brake sufficiently on its approach to Union Station, Washington, jumping the platform and plunging through the floor of the concourse. There were no deaths, but 43 people were injured.

Gare de Lyon rail accident

Gare de Lyon rail accident

The Gare de Lyon rail accident occurred on 27 June 1988, when an SNCF commuter train headed inbound to Paris's Gare de Lyon terminal crashed into a stationary outbound train, killing 56 and injuring 60, resulting in the third deadliest rail disaster in peacetime France.

Incidents

Accidents and incidents involving defective or improperly-set railway brakes include:

Date Location Cause Details References
August 22, 2019 Upper Palatinate, Germany Improper brake setup A 1900 t freight train with two engines ran without brakes 90 kilometres (56 mi) through Upper Palatine, starting at Cheb near the Czech border and coming to a stop safely on flat terrain in Irrenlohe. Brakes were ineffective due to a closed angle cock between the locomotives and the first car of the train. [1]
February 27, 2019 Ramses Station, Cairo, Egypt Train driver left train to fight with another train driver Unmanned train rolled into buffer, fuel tank burst and fuel exploded, killing 20 and injuring another 40 [2]
2018 Port Hedland, Australia Train driver left engine to inspect a wagon An iron ore train consisting of 4 locomotives and 268 loaded wagons en route from Newman to Port Hedland (operated by BHP on the Pilbara railways) travelled driverless 92 kilometres (57 mi) at high speed, after the driver went out to inspect. The company deliberately derailed the train to avoid an uncontrolled incident. [3]
2017 Wadi, India An electric locomotive traveled without a driver for 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) after it was being swapped for a diesel locomotive to pull the train on a non-electrified section of track. Railway personnel chased after the locomotive by motorbike, and the train was stopped safely after 50 minutes [4]
December 22, 2017 North of Brenner, Austria Improper brake setup While setting up the lead engine, the driver closed the angle cock between lead and slave unit to perform the ATP test. He forgot to open the cock before departure. The train went down the 2.5% grade North ramp of the Brenner Railway and reached a speed of 125 kilometres per hour (78 mph) before cars at the end of the train derailed and broke off emptying the brake pipe. Despite 2nd locomotive was coupled to the brake pipe, it did not vent it because the emergency brake signal from the first unit was not transmitted over the train bus. [5]
2016 Landen, Belgium Driver error The driver left the cabin to do some check-ups on the train when it started moving. After 30 minutes and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), the train was stopped by a driver who jumped into the train's cab. No one was injured nor did the train hit anything. [6]
2013 Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada Combination of neglect, defective locomotive, poor maintenance, driver error, flawed operating procedures, weak regulatory oversight, lack of safety redundancy Train driver did not set enough hand brakes to stop the crude oil train from rolling down the slope, train rolled down the slope and derailed in a curve. Several tank cars burst and caught fire, killing 47 people [7]
2012 Ion Luca Caragiale village, Romania Improper brake setup A freight train ran away from Lon Luca Caragiale Station because of the improper brakes setting and hit a Dacia car on a level crossing, killing 2 people [8]
2010 Pretoria, Johannesburg, South Africa during a locomotive changeover, the carriages ran away out of control for 12 miles (19 km) until they derailed at Pretoria 7 injuries and 3 deaths were reported with total damage to the carriages of about R15,000,000.
June 15, 2010 Braz, West ramp of Arlbergbahn, Austria Technical defect A low hanging air coupling between two permanently coupled car racks got kicked by rails laying in track. It broke in two and the rear part ended up kinked and jammed in the underframe of the car rack. Air was bottled in the rear part of the train leaving the brakes released. Train could only apply brakes of the locomotive and the first car on the 3.1% grade. Train derailed, driver was slightly injured. [9]
2007 Congo-Kinshasa Brake failure 100 killed [10]
May 27, 2006 Switzerland near Thun Improper brake setup During the brake test it was not discovered that the angle cock between the locomotive and the first car was still closed. The construction train run down the 1.5% grade of the North access ramp to the Lötschberg Tunnel. Dispatchers did have another option then diverting the train in an active construction site, which had to be evacuated on short notice. 3 killed. The incident inspired the motion picture Der Geisterzug von Spiez.[11] [12]
December 19, 2005 Świnna rail crash Improperly manufactured composite brake blocks caused loss of braking power in EN57-840 EMU operating as passenger train between Sucha Beskidzka and Żywiec. The cooperation between the crews of Sucha-Żywiec and Żywiec-Sucha trains and train dispatcher in Jeleśnia resulted in controlled collision near Świnna, Silesian Voivodeship instead of head-on collision. Both drivers and 6 passengers were injured. [13]
June 20, 2003 Los Angeles, United States a cut of 31 freight cars rolled away after they were improperly secured and left unattended in a yard east of Los Angeles. Initial reports claimed there were 10 freight cars. The consist later derailed in Commerce at an estimated speed of 95 mph (153 km/h) 13 people suffered minor injuries. [14]
2003 2003 Melbourne runaway train 11 people were injured. [15]
May 15, 2001 CSX 8888 incident Incorrectly configured dynamic brake. Train driver left train to pull switch, and was unable to get back onboard. CSX #8888, an SD40-2, ran away under power without a crew after the engineer incorrectly set the locomotive's dynamic brake and was unable to get back into the locomotive after it began moving. The train - nicknamed Crazy Eights - proceeded to travel at speeds of over 50 km/h for just under 2 hours, being successfully brought to a halt by a second locomotive's crew, who were able to couple to the rear of the train and apply their brakes. The incident inspired the 2010 motion picture Unstoppable.[16] [17]
  • Igandu train disaster, Tanzania (2002) – runaway backwards - 281 killed.
  • Tenga rail disaster, Mozambique (2002) – runaway backwards - 192 killed.
  • Martín Coronado, Argentina (1999) – Train's brakes failed during motoman's distraction, passing by six stations without him. Stopped by a passerby train keeper after noticing hysterical people inside the train.[18]
  • Colorado Springs, Colorado (1989) 67-car Burlington Northern coal train runaway [19]
  • San Bernardino train disaster, California (1989) - brakes failed on freight train which crashed into houses
  • Wasserburg am Inn, Upper Bavaria, Germany (1988) - on New Years Eve morning an EMU of Munich S-Bahn became a runaway train after the train driver went to the toilet in the terminal station Ebersberg. Train run the complete line till Wasserburg, where it ended at a buffer stopp. Nobody hurt, but equipment damage.[20]
  • New Brunswick, Canada March (1987) Canadian National ore train derailed.[21][22] The engineer was in the second engine while the conductor was in the caboose back at the rail yard. There are recordings from dispatch available on YouTube.
  • Chester General rail crash, England (1972) - brakes failed on fuel train which collided with parked DMU.
  • Jersey Central "ghost engine" incident, New Jersey (1959) - A single ALCO RS-3 locomotive of the Central Railroad of New Jersey left a terminal yard in Jersey City as a runaway and covered 22 miles in 36 minutes before it was stopped by a crewed locomotive on the tracks ahead. Incident suspected of being sabotage as throttle was open, air brakes set for running.[23]
  • Chapel-en-le-Frith, Great Britain (1957) – broken steam pipe made it impossible for crew to apply brakes.
  • Federal Express train wreck, Union Station, Washington, DC, (1953) - valve closed by badly designed bufferplate.
  • Wädenswil, Switzerland (1948) – Winter sport train was guided deliberately in a siding after the driver of the crocodile locomotive did not realise that he was in electric traction instead of dynamic brake while going downhill on a 5% grade. 21 killed.[24]
  • Torre del Bierzo rail disaster, Spain (1944) - brakes failed on an overloaded passenger train which collided with another in a tunnel; a third train was unaware and also crashed into it.
  • Asheboro, North Carolina (1898) - an Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad crew uncouples a locomotive from a freight train without setting the brakes on the cars properly; the cars soon roll downhill to collide with the locomotive, pinning the engine crew.[25][26]
  • Montparnasse derailment, Paris, France (1895) - Granville–Paris Express overran the buffer stop at its Gare Montparnasse terminus when its air brakes failed, crashed through the entire station, and fell onto the Place de Rennes killing one woman; five on the train and one in the street were injured.
  • Armagh rail disaster, Ireland (1889) – runaway backwards led to change in law.
  • Shipton-on-Cherwell train crash, Oxford, England (1874) - caused by fracture of a carriage wheel.

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Germany

Germany

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second-most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south; it covers an area of 357,022 square kilometres (137,847 sq mi), with a population of over 84 million within its 16 constituent states. Germany borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr.

Cheb

Cheb

Cheb is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře.

Irrenlohe station

Irrenlohe station

Irrenlohe station is a railway station in the Irrlaching district of the municipality of Schwandorf, located in the Schwandorf district in Bavaria, Germany. It is classified as a category 6 station.

Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east.

BHP

BHP

BHP Group Limited is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

India

India

India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area and the second-most populous country. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.

Brenner railway station

Brenner railway station

Brenner railway station is the border station of Italy and Austria. It serves the town and comune of Brenner in the autonomous province of South Tyrol, northeastern Italy.

Austria

Austria

Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous city and state. Austria is bordered by Germany to the northwest, the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The country occupies an area of 83,871 km2 (32,383 sq mi) and has a population of 9 million.

Brenner Railway

Brenner Railway

The Brenner Railway is a major line connecting the Austrian and Italian railways from Innsbruck to Verona, climbing up the Wipptal, passing over the Brenner Pass, descending down the Eisacktal to Bolzano/Bozen, then further down the Adige Valley to Rovereto/Rofreit, and along the section of the Adige Valley, called in Italian the “Vallagarina”, to Verona. This railway line is part of the Line 1 of Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T). It is considered a "fundamental" line by the state railways Ferrovie dello Stato (FS).

Landen railway station

Landen railway station

Landen is a railway station in the town of Landen, Flemish Brabant, Belgium. The station opened on 2 April 1838 and is located on lines 21 and 36. The train services are operated by National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS).

Belgium

Belgium

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,528 km2 (11,787 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 376/km2 (970/sq mi). Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.

Lac-Mégantic rail disaster

Lac-Mégantic rail disaster

The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster occurred in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada, on July 6, 2013, at approximately 01:15 a.m. EDT, when an unattended 73-car Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) freight train carrying Bakken Formation crude oil rolled down a 1.2% grade from Nantes and derailed downtown, resulting in the explosion and fire of multiple tank cars. Forty-seven people were killed. More than thirty buildings in Lac-Mégantic's town centre, roughly half of the downtown area, were destroyed, and all but three of the thirty-nine remaining buildings had to be demolished due to petroleum contamination of the townsite. Initial newspaper reports described a 1 km (0.6-mile) blast radius.

Source: "Runaway train", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 4th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaway_train.

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Further Reading

Railway brake

San Bernardino train disaster

CSX 8888 incident

1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck
References
  1. ^ "Zug in Bayern außer Kontrolle: Verdacht richtet sich gegen Lokführer". Merkur. September 28, 2019.
  2. ^ "Cairo Train Driver Left Brakes Off". BBC News. February 28, 2019.
  3. ^ "BHP counts cost of runaway ore train derailment after suspending rail operations". ABC News. November 5, 2018. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019.
  4. ^ Mouneshwar Sonnad (November 9, 2017). "Driver chases runaway engine on his bike, stops it after 13km". The Times of India.
  5. ^ "Untersuchungsbericht Entgleisung von Z 43144 zwischen den Hst Gries und St. Jodok am 22. Dezember 2017" (PDF). 2018.
  6. ^ "Belgian runaway train prompts alert". BBC News. February 19, 2016.
  7. ^ Huffstutter, P.J. (July 8, 2013). "Insight: How a train ran away and devastated a Canadian town". Reuters. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  8. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Accident tren IL Caragiale Dambovita iulie 2012 VEZI IMAGINI DE LA ACCIDENT". YouTube.
  9. ^ "Zugunglück am Arlberg: Bremssystem versagte". Die Presse. June 17, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "DR Congo crash toll 'passes 100'". BBC News. August 2, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  11. ^ "Der Geisterzug von Spiez". September 7, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "Schlussbericht zum Unfall eines Dienstzuges der BLS in Dürrenast (Thun)". September 10, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  13. ^ Wojciech Trzmiel; Antoni Trzmiel. "Jeleśnia zróbcie coś, bo nie mam hamowania". Wolna Droga (in Polish). Archived from the original on December 3, 2017.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "CNN.com - Human error blamed for runaway train". CNN. June 26, 2003. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  15. ^ Runaway of Suburban Electric Passenger Train 5264 and collision with Diesel Locomotive Hauled Passenger Train 8141 Australian Transport Safety Bureau October 2003
  16. ^ David Patch (November 12, 2010). "At times, 'Unstoppable' goes off track from reality". Toledo Blade.
  17. ^ Kohlin, Ron. "CSX 8888 Runaway Investigation". Kohlin. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  18. ^ "Un tren sin maquinista descontrolado por la Línea Urquiza". Clarín (in Spanish). May 6, 1999.
  19. ^ The Colorado Springs Runaway 30 years later, archived from the original on December 12, 2021, retrieved January 5, 2020
  20. ^ "Die Geisterfahrt des ET 420". OVB Heimatzeitungen. December 31, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  21. ^ "Runaway - Arbitration Case of Wesley MacDonald". www.cwrr.com. December 17, 1987.
  22. ^ "Nepisiguit Junction". Traingeek - Trains and Photography.
  23. ^ "Runaway Engine on the Main Line!". Popular Science. October 1961. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  24. ^ "Archivbilder: Der Zugunfall von Wädenswil". SRF. May 18, 2006.
  25. ^ "A Wreck at Asheboro". Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. January 23, 1898. p. 8. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  26. ^ Winston Daily Journal (January 27, 1898). "A Horrible Accident on the Asheboro & Aberdeen Railroad". Webster's Weekly. Reidsville, NC. p. 2. Retrieved October 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
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