Wolverine Accident

[sitzplatz17]

From the Amtrak facebook page:

Wolverine Service Train 351 Disabled near Ann Arbor
There are no reports of life-threatening injuries from Amtrak passengers or crew from an incident involving Amtrak Wolverine Service Train 351 near Ann Arbor



The train made contact with a heavy vehicle in it's path at a public highway crossing, causing the engine to come to rest on its side and the first two cars of the train to lose contact with the rails. At the time of the incident, the train was eastbound from Pontiac, Mich., to Chicago with 71 passengers, five crew members and a train consisting of two locomotives and six railcars.



Service is suspended across central Michigan for the next several hours with alternate transportation being arranged for this and other Wolverine Service trains



Passengers who have paid for travel but wish to change plans can receive rail fare refunds or rebook for future travel without a fee or penalty. If tickets have not yet been printed, the modification or cancellation can be done on Amtrak.com or by using the free Amtrak for iPhone app.



Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant. Passengers are encouraged to call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com/alerts for Service Alerts and Passenger Notices. Schedule information and train status updates are available at the Amtrak.com home page.

Anyone else have information on this?

Sounds like a pretty hefty crash.

Cheers,

-Sitzplatz17

(P.S. not sure if quoting that much violates fair use or anything - if so I'll gladly remove/edit)

 

[GaSteve]

Oakland, MI, newspaper report here.

 

[PRR 60]

Here is report from 5 NBC Chicago with some video. It provides some clarity about what Amtrak means by "lose contact with the rails."

5 NBC

 

[hessjm]

Wood TV 8 in Grand Rapids has some pictures here

 

[benjibear]

I an Amtrak's defense the car perpindicular to the track isn't that far from the rails. :giggle:

 

[jis]

Here is report from 5 NBC Chicago with some video. It provides some clarity about what Amtrak means by "lose contact with the rails."

5 NBC

That Amfleet Food Service car appears to be a writeoff, one of the relatively rare Amfleet writeoffs,if it comes to that.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Here is report from 5 NBC Chicago with some video. It provides some clarity about what Amtrak means by "lose contact with the rails."

5 NBC

That Amfleet Food Service car appears to be a writeoff, one of the relatively rare Amfleet writeoffs,if it comes to that.

That will be a shame since this is one of the 2X1 Business Class/Cafe Cars with the old MetroLiner type seats that I always found so comfortable when I used to ride the Wolverine several times a year between Detroit and Chicago!

 

[Memphisdoug]

The train made contact with a heavy vehicle in it's path at a public highway crossing, causing the engine to come to rest on its side and the first two cars of the train to lose contact with the rails. At the time of the incident, the train was eastbound from Pontiac, Mich., to Chicago with 71 passengers, five crew members and a train consisting of two locomotives and six railcars.

It's going to be a long ride if they are going eastbound from Pontiac to Chicago!

 

[jis]

Here is report from 5 NBC Chicago with some video. It provides some clarity about what Amtrak means by "lose contact with the rails."

5 NBC

That Amfleet Food Service car appears to be a writeoff, one of the relatively rare Amfleet writeoffs,if it comes to that.

That will be a shame since this is one of the 2X1 Business Class/Cafe Cars with the old MetroLiner type seats that I always found so comfortable when I used to ride the Wolverine several times a year between Detroit and Chicago!

Further discussions with people more informed than I on such matters suggests that the damage is repairable, but will be expensive to repair. So it will probably just be offline for a while. So Amfleet will continue its reputation for having very few writeoffs.

 

[me_little_me]

Here is report from 5 NBC Chicago with some video. It provides some clarity about what Amtrak means by "lose contact with the rails."

5 NBC

Looks like some of the rail lost contact with the rails!

 

[PerRock]

Annarbor.com article:

http://annarbor.com/news/after-train-crash-amtrak-to-offer-ann-arbor-passengers-bus-service-to-chicago/

peter

 

[SarahZ]

Kalamazoo article reports no delays (with a nice shot of the interior of the station):

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2012/02/amtrak_trains_through_kalamazo.html

 

[GaSteve]

Annarbor.com article:

http://annarbor.com/news/after-train-crash-amtrak-to-offer-ann-arbor-passengers-bus-service-to-chicago/

peter

One of the comments to the article references supposed lack of crossing signals. Was it a protected crossing?

 

[SarahZ]

"Jackson News" article with 26 pictures:

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/02/update_10_people_injured_in_mo.html

 

[SarahZ]

Annarbor.com article:

http://annarbor.com/...ice-to-chicago/

peter

One of the comments to the article references supposed lack of crossing signals. Was it a protected crossing?

In one of the photos, the crossing arms are down.

 

[GaSteve]

Annarbor.com article:

http://annarbor.com/...ice-to-chicago/

peter

One of the comments to the article references supposed lack of crossing signals. Was it a protected crossing?

In one of the photos, the crossing arms are down.

Then the comment about lack of protection is way off base.

 

[Blackwolf]

Is this another instance of Truck Hits Train, like the CZ incident in Nevada this last summer?

It certainly looks plausible. The locomotive is not only on its side, but facing 180 degrees the opposite direction! And the front of it looks remarkably intact for having collided with a tractor trailer...

 

[PRR 60]

News reports indicate the truck got stuck on the crossing due to low ground clearance. Crossings with that issue usually have signs warning low clearance trucks not to attempt crossing, but this one allegedly had no warning signs.

 

[sitzplatz17]

Thanks everyone.

Yikes! That looks a lot worse than I'd imagined it to be. Very very glad there are no fatalities.

The track looks pretty messed up so I imagine it'll take them a bit to get the service up and running properly again.

 

[SarahZ]

Current reports state the track will be fixed Thursday morning.

They're running a bus bridge between Jackson and Ann Arbor.

 

[afigg]

Since the grade crossing is on the NS tracks which is being sold to Michigan as part of the 110 mph upgrades for the Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac corridor, that particular crossing is likely on the list to be upgraded to quad gates and vehicle detection sensors. A sensor system that detected the truck hung up on the tracks would have avoided this accident if the truck was stuck long enough for the Amtrak engineer to see the sensor alert and stop the train.

Looking at Google Earth street view, there is a slight slope on either side of the tracks, but the track bed does not look to be that high with respect to the road. But this is NOT a high rez or detailed view. The truck must have had really low clearance. Would not be surprised if there was regrading done on the road to reduce the crown effect for the tracks as part of the corridor upgrades.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

I haven't seen a good clear picture of the lead unit and how bad off it is. Any ideas?

 

[Old MM]

The driver of the vehicle needs to be thoroughly investigated. How long was he hung up on the track? Was he under the influence of something? Did he have a cell phone?

 

[taking the cars]

Here is a view of the crossing:

My daughter live a few miles from the site. The crossing approach grade is steeper than it appears on the map.

http://www.bing.com/maps/#JnE9LmdyYXNzJTJibGFrZSUyNTJjJTJibWklN2Vzc3QuMCU3ZXBnLjEmYmI9NTYuMTUwNTE5OTE0ODkyNCU3ZS01My43OTgwOTU3MDI1JTdlMjQuODE0NzgwNTMxOTE0MSU3ZS0xMTIuOTQ4NDg2MzI3NQ==

 

[Ryan]

I haven't seen a good clear picture of the lead unit and how bad off it is. Any ideas?

It was laying on its side in the only picture I saw of it.