I joined this to find out if any who is wise on trains, has a theory about why trains all over the world are suddenly derailing? It seems like that has happened a lot. It happened in Maryland and some other place in the last couple of years in the US and in other nations also. Any ideas? Is it sabotage and the government is keeping quiet about it? Or is it faulty, old equipment or computers? Or bad people? What??
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I don’t think there is a conspiracy,but the media pays a lot of attention to railroad accidents.I do feel railroads have cut costs on all aspects of their business and this cost cutting contributes to accidents. For instance the collision which caused the chlorine leak in Georgia would have been prevented if the stopped train had set out a flag man.The commutor wreck in California wouldn’t have been so bad if the locomotive would have been at the front of the train.This would have cost more in manhours though.I don’t know what is happening with foreign railroads.This Classic Trains Forum we are on is primarily about railroads from the “Good Old Days” and not current events.If you like to talk about current things try going to the Trains Forum.To get there look at the top of the page where it says Forum Index click it and go down to the Trains Magazine forum and then to Railroads.Its a lot busier then this one and some other ladies post on there also. Cordially,Joe Goebel
Thank you for your answer and instructions.
gloria
Keep in mind, there are hundreds of trains operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week in the u.s.a. Rail freight traffic is extremely busy and just as when highways are more crowded more fender benders occur, the same holds true on railroads. and many times the media seems to love blaming the railroads for accidents caused by vandals, careless motorists and even boat operators that hit bridges and mis align tracks.
The internet & 24 hour news stations and the like means that news reaches farther and quicker. If you examine the statistics there are actually less derailments these days.
The barge hit that mis aligned the rail bridge was partly the railroads fault. The railroad didn’t properly secure the bridge. It was an unfinished swing bridge that the swing was left free to move. The tow boat was wrong in hitting the bridge, but if it had been properly secured the impact, which was minimal, wouldn’t have knocked it out of alignment. There was a documentary on 60 seconds from disaster about the accident.
Check the NTSB report.
Tow boat operators have alot of problems with the rail roads. Very narrow bridges, poorly maintained fendering systems, lighting systems that blind the boat operators or that don’t work at all, difficulty contacting the bridge tenders. Lack of maintenance on the railroads part and, or doing things on the cheap, contribute to alot of the accidents.
I’ve been running tow and tug boats for 37 years.
Old track
Track deformed by the elements
Poor maintenance
I have been a train lover for 50 years now. To me there are more derailment now then ever.
Several years ago, I was told the statistic for train derailment worldwide, was close to one train each 28 minutes. I think it’s amazing that we only hear about a few!