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| Europe |
| None Injured in Germany Train Incident |
| 2004-04-05 |
| EFL - Is AQ sending Germany a friendly reminder. A high-speed train carrying 200 passengers struck six metal slabs attached to tracks in an apparent attempt to derail it, authorities said Sunday. The train was able to slow down in time and stayed on the rails. None of the InterCityExpress train’s passengers were injured in the collision with the metal pieces early Saturday. The 38-pound metal slabs had been screwed onto tracks between the towns of Kamen and Nordboegge on a line linking Cologne and Berlin. The driver braked after spotting the slabs, and the train came to a halt after dragging the metal along the tracks for about 400 yards, police said. It was traveling at 56 mph. The incident comes amid a flurry of attacks and attempted attacks on European train lines. On March 11, 10 bombs planted on Spanish commuter trains killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800. On March 24, a bomb was found half-buried on a train track near the town of Troyes, some 100 miles southeast of Paris, triggering a massive inspection of the nation’s rail network. Spanish authorities on Friday discovered a bomb planted under a high-speed rail line 40 miles south of Madrid. Dortmund prosecutor Henner Kruse said it was unclear whether the metal slabs could have derailed the train had the driver not braked. Kruse said prosecutors had no information yet as to who might have been responsible. The slabs apparently were attached to the track shortly before the high-speed train arrived because a local train passed the site on the same track about 18 minutes earlier, police said. That is pretty fast work, but I don’t inderstand why they chose to screw the slabs in place. With respect to protecting transportation targets, trains should be much harder to protect than airlines. One way that security could be improved cheaply would be to declare 200 yards on either side of train tracks a free deer hunting area 365 days a year with no fee or licensee requirement. Checking tracks with UAV’s or remote controlled train engines might also be advisable. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #5 Our concern with airline safety while largely ignoring other forms of transport that are more vulnerable is an irrational fear similar to the irrational fear of nuclear power. High speed trains, cruise ships and ferries are more vulnerable than planes. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2004-04-05 11:47:18 PM |
| #4 Actually, it doesn't take much (comparatively speaking) to derail a train, all you need to do is get one wheel far enough above the track for the flange to slip off. There are devices called "derails" that are designed to intentionally derail train cars to protect maintenance-of-way workers or to prevent loose cars on a siding from accidentally rolling onto a main line. You can see a permanently-installed one here (scroll down to the bottom picture... explanation is adjacent). Western-Cullen-Hayes makes portable derails for use by work crews (site uses frames, click on "Catalog" and look under "Maintenance of Way Equipment," all PDFs, unfortunately). Finally, to keep you from sleeping tonight, there's this, from March of 2003, which I found on the RAILROAD Digest messageboard (scroll down to bottom message): Subject: SECURITY ALERT STOLEN DERAILS"Potentially dangerous." Yes. Pleasant dreams. |
| Posted by: Old Grouch 2004-04-05 11:36:55 PM |
| #3 Those must have been some hella stout sheet metal screws! |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-04-05 3:46:18 PM |
| #2 Looks like the Islamist want bratts with their paella... Hey Ahmed, don't forget the croissants! |
| Posted by: Hyper 2004-04-05 2:51:42 PM |
| #1 Deer Season? This is even better. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-04-05 1:43:46 PM |