Just saw this on Amtrak’s website.
Sounds like maybe all of the cars and the locomotive came off the tracks.
Sounds like to me someone tried to race a train again. Thank God no one was killed and that the cars stayed upright. Here is my big question who do you hold liable for the accident, the engineer or the truck driver. I hold the truck driver liable and think the trucking company should pay for the damages as well as the driver.
From the Alton Telegraph:
Amtrak derails after collision with truck
Nine passengers, one crew member hurt
December 8, 2008 - 11:57 AM
By JILL MOON and MAGGIE BORMAN
The Telegraph
At least 10 people were injured today when an Amtrak train derailed after a collision with a semitruck two miles north of Brighton.
The incident occurred on the tracks crossing Miles Station Road.
Around eight ambulances responded to the scene. None of the injuries was believed to be serious. The injured included nine passengers and one member of the train crew, authorities at the scene said.
The train held 39 passengers. About 30 of them were being loaded onto a bus and taken to Brighton Village Hall where authorities were going to determine their next move. The remainder were taken to area hospitals. Five went to Alton Memorial, two went to Saint Anthony’s Health Center in Alton and two went to Jersey Community Hospital in Jerseyville.
All the patients taken to Alton Memorial were in stable condition and expected to be released later today, spokesman Rusty Ingram said. The pair taken to Saint Anthony’s were being evaluated for what appeared to be minor injuries, spokeswoman Diane Schuette said.
The train was the Amtrak 301 en route south from Chicago to St. Louis. The crash occurred at 11:13 a.m.
The truck that collided with the train was split in two, with the cab remaining near the crossing and the trailer being dragged a couple of hundred feet to the south, causing three cars and the train’s engine to derail, authorities said.
Macoupin County Sheriff Don Albrecht said the “low-boy” trailer attached to the cab had become stuck on the crossin
Well, from the article it sounds like the trailer was a low-bed one, was too low for the crossing and got stuck. The question is, does the crossing have signs that warn that the angles on the approaching roads are too steep for a low-boy trailer to clear? If not, then it’s not the driver’s fault. He didn’t race the train or break any laws, he just got stuck. I doubt most people would be able to tell if their truck is about to get stuck just by looking at the crossing.
I’ve seen signs warning trucks against this in Concord, MA.
Here’'s a photo.
I have never seen any signs like that anywhere I have been in the midwest. And yes I would hold the driver responsible for knowing whether or not his rig will be able to navigate a piece of roadway. And if he was stuck I hold him responsible for not notifying the authorities using the 1-800 number that is posted at every crossing.
The engineer is not responsible since he has the right of way and in most cases couldn’t stop before reaching the crossing.
While I agree that most of the time the driver of the car/truck crossing the tracks seems to be at fault, in this case it doesn’t seem to be the truck driver’s fault as he had no way of knowing he was going to get stuck without any signs to warn him of the high pavement. I have taken this Amtrak route a number of times and I am surprised the situation did not end up worse than it did given the speeds Amtrak travels at there (typically up to 79 mph). Glad to hear no really serious injuries.
(1) If you have a specialized piece of equipment like a lowboy, you have an obligation to operate it safely and within the limits of the trailer’s design… Truck driver is at fault, but he may share that fault (not with the railroad).
(2) The approach grades, in Illinois and most other states, are the responsibility of the local road agency or highway department. If the road is maintained at anything beyond the suggested AREMA/AASHTO minimum standard, then they get what’s coming when the the lawyers slither in.
Once again Mudchicken has it right.
It is always best in these opinionated discussions to have rational and informed participants; although there will always be some of us who will choose to not understand.
Dave H., I’ve seen signs of two types warning motorists about potential problems:
In LaGrange, on the BNSF, a couple of crossings are posted with a sign warning that some trailers and lowboys will not clear the tracks.
In Elmhurst, on the UP, there’s a sign warning that pavement drops sharply beyond the tracks. I guess the truck-drivers are required to think about that one.
In both of the instances I’ve cited, there are limitations, such as intersections with nearby streets, that keep the municipalities from doing much about the profile of the crossing. This wreck site, however, looks like there was nothing else around and the county (or whomever) chose to leave the crossing in that condition.
This probably happened at U.S. DOT - AAR Crossing Inventory No. 294-413F, on UP RR’s Chicago Division, Springfield Subdivision, Mainline, at MP 0242.90, with TR 415 - Mile_ Station Road, per the FRA’s website database at:
http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/officeofsafety/publicsite/crossing/xingqryxing.aspx
From the same source: [emphasis in original]
Typical Speed Range Over Crossing: From 5 to 79 mph
Maximum Time Table Speed: 79
Other interesting facts or data are:
Is Highway Paved ? No
Hump Crossing Sign ? [blank]
Other Signs: 0
Train Activated Devices:
Mast Mounted FL: 2 [“FL” = Flashing Lights]
For what it’s worth.
- Paul North.
This has happened here in memphis before, a semi got stuck at a crossing just a mile down the road from NS’s yard on Southern ave. My buddy on his way to work at BNSF saw and said any idiot could see the crossing was way to steep up and down for a semi to get through. And u guessed it a train was coming but it was able to stop about 10 yards from the truck! They had that sign too for trucks to use caution while using the crossing oh well you cant fix stupid!
I saw this sign along the Union Pacific transcon east of Grand Junction, Iowa a couple months back. I think it’s a fairly new sign, but I agree something like this should have been at the crossing. However, this crossing doesn’t look like something a semi would be running over regularly.
