[PL]Train safety: Polish accident today

[gyuri_ft]

The "usual" scenario: :angry:

train against large truck. (Idiots are borderless). Truck driver in difficult condition, 3 other people in hospital, other passengers "bustituted".

As nasty as it looks at first - some food for thought. These are older, E. German cars. You know, what is my not-so-hidden agenda here (again). <_<

 

[AmtrakCrescent20]

Earlier we had a discussion here about why FRA regulations won't allow most European built lightweight trains. Now I don't know the nature of this crash but in one of the pictures the cars look badly damaged--one seems to be bent in half over a hill! Even though these may be older East European cars, the newer ones probably aren't much different.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Earlier we had a discussion here about why FRA regulations won't allow most European built lightweight trains. Now I don't know the nature of this crash but in one of the pictures the cars look badly damaged--one seems to be bent in half over a hill! Even though these may be older East European cars, the newer ones probably aren't much different.

Careful, now... this was not a 'lightweight' train: this was a locomotive hauled rake of old carraiges. The earlier discussion was about one, two and three car DMUs. I'm presuming that if a truck did this to a loco hauled train then it would have been travelling at quite a whack. While the Great Heck rail crash in Britain earlier this year (the Virgin Trains accident) was pretty bad, compare the shape of those (almost brand new) Pendolino cars after a major derailment.

Not a single one was seriously deformed or buckled, and I think that I read reports saying that not a single window broke open or popped out of its frame, keeping everyone inside the train instead of being thrown out onto the line or under the wreck. Obviously that meant people were thrown around inside the cars, but it was a hell of a lot better than what the poor souls in today's crash must have experienced.

*j* :blink:

 

[Guest]

Modern, lightweight composite materials used in most recent European trains have greater rigidity than conventional steel and aluminum cars, and in a derailment are far less likely to just crumple like their forebears....

 

[gyuri_ft]

Not a single one was seriously deformed or buckled, and I think that I read reports saying that not a single window broke open or popped out of its frame, keeping everyone inside the train instead of being thrown out onto the line or under the wreck. Obviously that meant people were thrown around inside the cars, but it was a hell of a lot better than what the poor souls in today's crash must have experienced.
*j* :blink:

Indeed, most of these souls got quite scared first - than annoyed because of bustitution. Four people were injuried. Under normal circumstances such crash on a freeway between a car and a truck would be pretty fatal. What I really want to say: if the outdated design produces this kind of crash results and the newer is even better, than Railroad Administration requirements are most likely baseless. And even if they are not baseless - there are enough factories in Europe currently producing US-blueprint passenger rolling stock. It just not arrives here.