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Spanish Train Crash - Such A Tragedy!

• thebigeasy707 5,885 Posts

  Thu, Jul 25 2013 10:06 AM

  I'd just like to say how sad this is. Such a tragedy. 80 people so far are known to have been killed (1/3 of the train's passengers) with well over 100 seriously injured, therefore that number will surely rise.

  Such a horrendous crash due to the train travelling at over double the speed limit.

  The crash was caught on CCTV.

  What a terrible terrible loss of life. My thoughts go out to the victims and their relatives in what must be the worst nightmare ever.

   

• MBaggese 15,367 Posts

  Thu, Jul 25 2013 2:29 PM

  thebigeasy707:

  What a terrible terrible loss of life. My thoughts go out to the victims and their relatives in what must be the worst nightmare ever.

  X2

  Holy Smokes!

   

  WTF was the Engineer thinking?

   

• frappefort 3,994 Posts

  Thu, Jul 25 2013 3:10 PM

  Terrible   ,   we had some thing similar  here in Quebec  not long ago .   Again   i  am thinking                80+ lives ,80+ relatives lost a loved one  ,some kids left alone  ..........     sad  sad day again .     

• alanti 10,564 Posts

  Thu, Jul 25 2013 9:18 PM

  MBaggese:

  WTF was the Engineer thinking?

  Yup, the train was apparently going a lot faster than the 50mph speed limit (supposedly was closer to 120mph). Why and what systems went wrong time will tell.

  Prayers and thoughts for those families and friends affected.

• russellfahey 4,286 Posts

  Fri, Jul 26 2013 8:42 AM

  My heart goes out to all the families who have lost loved ones in this horrific crash.From watching the news last night,although the driver seems to be getting the brunt of the blame,i think there was a safety system malfunction as the 1 on this track was an old version,unlike the new update modern safety system which is employed on most of the Countries Railway tracks.

   EDIT  I did write to say i hope the driver is exhonorated from all blame but after what i have just been told i HOPE THEY THROW THE FU%*ING BOOK AT HIM!!!!!!!!

   

  Russell

• Minkywinkster 1,777 Posts

  Fri, Jul 26 2013 11:54 AM

  I'm a train driver ( Locomotive Engineer) and have been so for 17 years...I can tell you that this will NEVER happen on my train! Why?

  A simple but ingenious safety mechanism called ATP ( Automatic Train Protection) will prevent such tragedies from occurring. In a nutshell, ATP is a signal that runs through the running rails that an on board train computer will pick up and tell it how far in front the next train is and any speed restrictions due to track gradients and curvature exist in the vicinity.

  IF I decide to try and drive my train over the speed limit for the area, my train will automatically go into emergency brake mode until my speed is safely below the  limit. If there is a break in signal from track to train then the train will automatically put the brakes on until it comes to a full stop and you figure out what's going on. 

  How the f&*%^ anyone can get away with driving a train at more than twice the speed limit is beyond me, the Spanish railway operating authorities need to invest in this system immediately, so people won't have to die unnecessarily. They're all in my prayers

• Wheels65 744 Posts

  Fri, Jul 26 2013 2:42 PM

  Learned a bunch from your post Minky - Thanks!!

• nickuk 967 Posts

  Sat, Jul 27 2013 7:43 AM

  Minkywinkster:

  I'm a train driver ( Locomotive Engineer) and have been so for 17 years...I can tell you that this will NEVER happen on my train! Why?

  A simple but ingenious safety mechanism called ATP ( Automatic Train Protection) will prevent such tragedies from occurring. In a nutshell, ATP is a signal that runs through the running rails that an on board train computer will pick up and tell it how far in front the next train is and any speed restrictions due to track gradients and curvature exist in the vicinity.

  IF I decide to try and drive my train over the speed limit for the area, my train will automatically go into emergency brake mode until my speed is safely below the  limit. If there is a break in signal from track to train then the train will automatically put the brakes on until it comes to a full stop and you figure out what's going on. 

  How the f&*%^ anyone can get away with driving a train at more than twice the speed limit is beyond me, the Spanish railway operating authorities need to invest in this system immediately, so people won't have to die unnecessarily. They're all in my prayers

  My condolences to al the families who have lost a loved one!

  Not on that part of the track......its old style driver warnings!(he was meant to slow down 4 miles before the curve....they get route training...he knew what he was doing!)

  Apparently he`s heard on the radio saying "im going at 190kph....were gonna derail"