Railroad safety issues are in the news. The above accident in Los Angeles left 25 dead and spurred new interest in railroad-related legislation. The Wall Street Journal reports on the debate in Washington:
Passenger- and freight-railroad operators are pressing the White House to scale back proposed rules that would mandate billions in new safety hardware to prevent collisions, warning that the financial burden could lead to cuts in passenger-train service instead of the expansion President Barack Obama wants.
The rules, which the Federal Railroad Administration plans to put in final form in the coming weeks, would require freight railroads, Amtrak and commuter-rail operators to install “positive train control” systems by December 2015.
The goal is to prevent collisions like the one that occurred last year between a commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train near Los Angeles. That accident killed 25 people and spurred federal legislation mandating new technology that can automatically prevent trains from barreling through stop signals.
Popular Mechanics has an interesting piece on major railroad accidents and the resulting safety lessons. The following two examples, the first in England and the second in Japan, demonstrate what can go wrong and what we can learn from it.
Japan in 2005:
More than 100 people died in 2005 when a train jumped a curve in Amagasaki, Japan. The rail company, JR West, admitted the accident could have been avoided if the train had been equipped with an automatic stopping system to prevent the operator from taking the curve too fast.
The Lesson: The accident also provided a cultural lesson. While the driver took the blame for taking a corner 46 kilometers per hour faster than he should have, the rail company took flack for putting too much pressure on its drivers.
England in 1988:
Great Britain has seen plenty of rail accidents over the years. The deadliest in recent times occurred near Clapham Junction in southern London. Thirty-five people died in a rush-hour collision of two trains carrying an estimated 1300 people between them.
The Lesson: An inquiry into the accident recommended that the entire British rail system install automatic train protection. But the government balked at enormous bill—nearly £750 million—and instead privatized the rail system.
Finally, over at The Infrastructurist, they have examined “11 Beautiful Rail Stations That Fell To The Wrecking Ball”.
Almost like a rite of passage, cities across the country embraced the era of Interstates, Big Macs, and suburban sprawl by tearing down their train depots. (Frequently, they just did the Joni Mitchell thing and put up a parking lot.) But time and experience are showing that train stations are vital organs in a healthy city, and removing them deadens the entire organism.
love it site layout . How was it made. It is somewhat nice!