If you want to really see something frightening, watch this news clip of a New Mexico “Railrunner” commuter train running through a wildfire this week. I’ll bet you the engineer will hear about that one!
Where do they run trains like this in North America? this looks like the Australian outback. Running through the fire is the proper thing to do, trying to stop and getting caught in the fire itself-not a good idea AND—AND do you think the train could have stopped in time??? I guess not ! Remember, see a large grass or prairie fire coming toward you, don’t try to outrun it, run directly at the fire and emerge on the other side safely, it’s a very narrow fire line.
ISLETA PUEBLO, N.M. – Rail Runner officials want to know why they were not notified about a brush fire on Isleta pueblo Thursday evening. That left passengers on a northbound commuter train to experience the drama of racing past approaching flames. Video from Skyranger 13 showed flames licking perilously close as the train sped past, and commuters told KRQE News 13 they could feel the heat. But the man in charge of the Rail Runner, Mid-Region Council of Governments executive director Lawrence Rael, said the train was a safe distance from the fire… Rael also it’s the responsibility of local law enforcement and fire officials to call the BNSF Railway about any dangers near the tracks so dispatchers can stop approaching trains. Rael says that didn’t happen. “The point being that emergency personnel responding to the fire did not use the protocol to get in touch with Burlington northern to shut the train down,” Rael said. Rael said he has talked with the governor of the Isleta Pueblo, and they agreed communication between fire personnel and the railroad needs to be improved.
Didn’t BNSF sell this trackage (or some of the Railrunner trackage) to the state? Or are they still dispatching it? I agree that someone somewhere should have been warned, but am glad that the engineer didn’t stop to investigate.
Wasn’t the engineer in a cab-control car? If so, he was in a good position to determine how close the flames were and be the first to suffer if he judged incorrectly. The telephoto lens in the chopper cam compresses distance, making things appear to be closer than they really are.
Carl: This is on some of the track that BNSF sold but still dispatches and maintains…
Depends on exactly where this was at Isleta (on the the Isleta Pueblo / Indian Nation or on privately owned land)…either way, State of New Mexico gets a turn at dealing with some of the bizzare things that happen down in there.
Train crew probably did the right thing.