All articles tagged with #train safety
Kids in New York are risking their lives by subway surfing, with over a dozen deaths and injuries, prompting safety campaigns and discussions on physical barriers and technology solutions to prevent access to train roofs.
Railroad unions are raising safety concerns about the increasing use of remote-controlled trains following a series of fatal accidents, including an incident in Buffalo where a young boy lost his leg. The technology, previously considered safer, is now under federal review as unions demand enhanced safety measures for these trains operating on open tracks.
Solar storms have the potential to disrupt train safety by interfering with railroad signals, according to a study. The powerful eruptions from the sun can cause electrical signaling stations to switch from red (stop) to green (go), potentially leading to accidents during peak train-travel times. The study focused on two UK railroad routes but highlighted that other jurisdictions worldwide have been impacted by past solar storms. The researchers emphasized the need for the rail sector to be included in planning for mitigating the risks posed by space weather events.
The death toll from a train derailment in eastern India has risen to over 280, with more than 900 people injured. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but a possible signal error has been cited. Train accidents are not uncommon in India, which has the largest train network under one management in the world. Meanwhile, in the US, safety data from 2021 to 2022 found an average of three derailments reported every day on railways, with most happening in freight yards at lower speeds.
The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety advisory to railroads, warning them about the potential problems and derailments that long trains can cause. While the advisory did not recommend limiting train size, it did suggest precautions such as ensuring engineers are trained to handle long trains and that locomotives don't lose communication with devices at the end of trains. Members of Congress and state lawmakers have proposed establishing limits on train size, but major freight railroads have pushed back against the idea. The Federal Railroad Administration cited three derailments involving trains longer than 12,250 feet where train length was a factor in its advisory.