this morning a train wreck involving 5 people died in a train wreck at Graniteville,SC it was across a school the crossing had lights but,no bars NS is trying it put bars on that crossing (there still going to go around it[:(!]). The lead unit was NS 5011 it had minor damage it was on a OCS train with 2 cars it was going from Augusta to Columbia only about 4 trains go through there(yeah right!!!)Brad Means said it was a rock train. Crew was not hurt[:D] it was going 45MPH a woman news reporter said the speed limit was 49MPH (it’s 50 numnut). the camera was on the unit that NS put on there units.
since 1979 at the crossing 13 wecks
crossing 7107B
14 wrecks
7 injurys
5 deaths
2 ???
in SC
1,003 crossings
386 has bars
165 lights no bars
372 signs
59 stop signs
it will cost 12,000-140,000 to get bars
WJBF will talk to a CSX engineer
This is a pure shame. I feel sorry for those people. I think NS should put those bars or arms on the Xing in ur area. Espually, if it is a major intersection lor it crosses a busy highway. I know of a Xing about 15mins from my house in which a NS mainline goes across N and S 202 aka DelKalb Pike. The pike has a total of 4 lanes. There is lots of heavy traffic along this route and no cross bucks, only lights.
Anyway, I wander if the people who died ran the signal?? If they did that was stupid. People in the community should learn from this. TRAINS DON’T STOP FOR U, YOU STOP FOR TRAINS!! Every time I hear about people runing grade Xings it upseats me and angers me. I did my senior seminor project on Railroad safety. I thought I could teach my fellow classmates and some teachers about railroad safety, espually since many people my age (18) or younger, sometimes older don’t know jack about trains.
What’s up with drivers today?! It’s not just a railroad/highway issue either. It’s everywhere! Last week I was driving home from work and a kid coming head on jerks the wheel and pulls right in front of me as he enters his driveway. I missed him by less than 10 feet. I wanted to confront him, but what would be the result of the confrontation? I could go too far and get arrested for road rage, assault and battery. It’s just not worth it. I just go about my way knowing full well if he continues to drive like that he will end up in serious trouble. If he wants to try beating Amtrak to the crossing here in town, he will eventually become the latest recipient of the Darwin Award … and that’s that.
The Darwin Awards honor those who improve our gene pool… by removing themselves from it. Of necessity, this honor is (generally) bestowed posthumously.
One 240’ long train traveling 45 MPH.
Three impatient drivers try to cross in the 27 seconds after bell/lights activate.
One doesn’t make it.
Price of being too impatient to wait 30.64 seconds—
The rest of 5 peoples’ lives.
A very heavy price to pay indeed. Why do so many people take such a large risk for such a small potential payoff?
My sympathies to the auto passengers, train crew, and driver. And their families too.
What about the accident in the state of Texas the the UP had. A crew was shoving a set of cars and went too far and then the Cars went onto a werehouse killing one crew member.
Don’t you just hate being a passenger in a car with a realy bad and dangerous driver. My sympathies do go to the passengers in the car the train crew but not the drver of the car.
I dont feel sorry for them, they said “the crossings here are not safe”, well duh people, if the lights are blinking, DONT GO OVER THE TRACKS! its your falt if you get hit, dont blame it on the crossing, crew or the railroad.
thats a shame that the crew now has to live with the fact that they killed 5 idiots, which it was really the idiots falt. Shame on all who think hey can make it.
Every trip I see at least one if not more cars run the crossing lights (usually driving around the gates) in front of us. You feel pretty helpless knowing what will happen if they don’t make it. I haven’t had to do it yet, but the scariest thing for me as a conductor is the thought that one day I’m going to have to climb out of the cab and check on the mess. Suicides are also relatively common. Both cars and pedestrians stopping in front of a train, looking the crew in the eye, and forcing a couple of innocent RR employees to do their dirtywork! Other dumb stuff: last week we stopped the train as we were crossing the Mississippi river in North Minneapolis. Two families had taken their kids onto the catwalk to fish! It was hard to maintain my cool while explaining how they would all be dead if we hadn’t stopped on time.
I think we cn assign some blame to the media. There’s plenty of show and commercials that show peope walking on the tracks. It’s the attitude the public has towards railroads. The railroads aren’t important in their daily lives, so way should a train come along when they’re on the tracks? They don’t get it. Secondly…Our great media news folk. An auto or truck goes around a gate and it’s reported as an “Amtrak Train crash.” But then watch how many people run red lights nowadays.
Mitch
We don’t know that everyone in the car was an idiot. Chances are, four sane people were victimized by one idiot, which is sadder than sad, not to mention the two idiots who made it across in front of him.
When the ambulance chasers sue on this one, I hope the lawyers filing charges get a good look at the video tape from the train that hit it. It was pulling the NS Geometry Car Consist and I guarantee that there is probably videotape from the front and rear of the train that caught the whole incident on tape.
My thoughts are for the NS crew and the folks on the geometry car and anyone else affected with the exception of the driver who gets a direct ticket to where angels don’t go.
I was watching the news this morning and somebody said that they need to take the train speed limit down to 25MPH it’s not the trains fault it is the driver of the car that thought that she can get past the train at 45MPH. in North Augusta,SC some body went infront of a NS train with 3 or 5 cars at only 5MPH there are stupid people out there and watch out