Amtrak Train Collides with Freight Car

[TheTimeGhoul]

The announcer sounds a bit like Ned Flanders.

[zwquilia]

The train obviously wanted "hamburgers"....0:15

[atsf3780]

ramtrak...

[sideslide23]

Amtrak needs to invest on a dedidacet tracks on only to avoid collison with freight train but Amtrak can speed up their train and travel top speed of 100 MPH or Faster.

[hearsedriver1968]

@sideslide23 Amtrak has no money to invest other than the handout from the democrats in the form of our tax money. Amtrak is a white elephant, hasnt produced dollar one in over 20yrs, and needs to be killed off. Use the tax money to invest in the roads, at least we the people will see some improvment. Amtraks free ride is coming to an end, nobody rides those filthy trains anyhow.

[sideslide23]

@hearsedriver1968 Amtrak are allreading working and constructing the route from Chicago to St Louis, it will top off the speed of 110MPH, there doing a study to see if they can do the 220MPH they just need to replace slower trains or get rid of them. Desert wind went banked rupt and died in 1997 because the train was going too slow and it average 50MPH because they share tracks with slower freight trains going from L.A to Las Vegas.

[absoluteGODhatred]

no shit..it takes miles to stop a train...hope everyone died..fuck everyone

[Infamousperson00]

Damn those random frieght cars on the tracks!!

[mikelight1805]

why do these passanger trains never have many people in them? trains here in the uk are full to bursting normally, lucky if you get a seat!

[SUBWAY125]

0:12 The freight car was carrying Hamburgers.

[cshubs]

I took a train from Chi to Portland OR. Took 2.5 days. Awesome experience.

[CHADwuvkittyz]

thats the accela express

IMAGINE THE AMOUNT TO PAY FOR REPAIRS! =O

[Trainz35]

@CHADwuvkittyz Au contre, sir. That's the Michigan Service, headed by a P42DC. The Acela only runs the northeast corridor. IF, the Acela ran there, that'd be a 35MPH zone.

[mrtrainboy019]

well thats your favorite video game SMASHED!!!!?!?!?!?!

[MrAirbuster57]

what happened to the drivers?

[CityFolk120]

Now son, when a daddy train and a mommy train love eachother, the daddy train gets on top like so...

[whenindoubtwhipitout]

The Amtrak engineer didn't read the writing on the freight car: 'DO NOT HUMP'

[teletubbykiller23]

@whenindoubtwhipitout hahahahahhaahahahahhahahah

[Trainz35]

@whenindoubtwhipitout Ha! That's bad man....

[AMTK24]

The posted speed was NOT 15mph... the SIGNAL speed was 15 (or able to stop within half the range of vision... Restricted Speed).

[jfsa380]

Train 371-Pere Marquette

[jfsa380]

Train 371-Pere Marquette

[teletubbykiller23]

Wow you'll never see a genesis mounting a freight car amtrak or ramtrak? You decide

[Steviethetornadokid]

@teletubbykiller23 How about slamtrack

[tjmviking235]

TRAIN SEX XD

[dust478]

@tjmviking235 lol omfg

[lespaulguy32]

@tjmviking235 HAHA lol 

[Quasi84]

There wasn't a red light? What kind of crap system is that? You're allowed to pass a signal when there's a train between that signal and the next one? The USA has waaay too many serious train accidents.

Optical signals isn't enough, the railway companies should know that by now.

[adtonko]

@Quasi84

there were, and the train was not moving at 15 MPH like it should, itw as moving faster than 30 MPH

[Quasi84]

@adtonko You're allowed to drive past a red signal at 15 mph?

[Tjita1]

@Quasi84 In sweden you're only allowed to pass a red signal with a written permission that the controller dictates for you to write down over the phone. If you accidentally pass a signal you get taken out of duty for a couple of days, unless it was turned red by accident right before you got there, by the controller (i.e not your fault).

[Quasi84]

@Tjita1 I know that, I'm a train driver myself.

[Tjita1]

@Quasi84 In sweden?

[Quasi84]

@Tjita1 Yes, in Sweden.

[Tjita1]

@Quasi84 Cool, me too. Well, not yet, really, but if everything goes well (if I don't pass any red lights the next few days ;) ) I will be on saturday. \o/

[Quasi84]

@Tjita1 Cool! :)

[fixierider97]

R.I.P. AMTK 8!

[mithb45]

i work for UP and when we have an idiot oporator like that guy we fire them and make sure other railroads know about him

[clineshaunt]

Why does it always seem like passenger trains, whether it is in the US or Europe are 100 times more likely to blow red signals than a freight train?

[Tjita1]

@clineshaunt Because the more stressed out driving style of passenger trains, especially commuter trains.

[clineshaunt]

@Tjita1 That's a good point. The stress is probably enormous to keep on schedule.

[Cars5678]

Whoever parked that cargo car on the tracks is an idiot

[jbsjunk]

Heh. I know the first guy they talked to. He was my insurance agent.

[thehorseshoecurve]

@jbsjunk wow small world

[Trainz35]

@jbsjunk Who's the one who need insurance now? :)

[sideslide23]

that happened with the Metrolink in L.A. last year.

[pimpinhector]

@sideslide23 Well yeah only cuz the engineer was texting and did not even see the signal.

[sideslide23]

Unless there passenger train system has their own right away like Caltrain, they should not be texting, because with slow freight train, there going to crash into each other,

[solothyrn]

lawsuit

[LocalRailfan]

The engineer is clearly the one at fault, How can you go 30MPH in a 15MPH zone and don't you obey the signals?

[jahden2]

that was at my dads work

[CROSSFIRE94]

of course it runs into the hamburger goods train

[xxxyboy3000]

passenger train fucked up goods train

[degrasonz]

damn skittles ur right

[skittles569]

It's Not The Drivers Fault The Signal Was Green And He Didn't Know Their Was A Train Parked On That Track. It's The Signalman's Fault. People Need To Pay More Attention To Their Jobs Even With Train And Lives On The Line.

[jez90nj]

It IS the engineer's fault, the video said the signal indicated that the block was occupied!

[Ham549]

The engineer was used to a different set of signeals then the ones that were used.

[Boss302fan]

BS. The engineer was certified on that line which means he had to pass a rules test that proves he is familiar with the signal system. (And they are not complicated).

Engineer's fault...pure and simple.

[robertgift]

Why -2?

Boss is right in every area.

What is PTC? Positive Train Control?

Waz dat?

Thanks.

Was the train late and engineer trying to make up some time?

Would have been fine if not on a curve where he could not see far enough ahead to slow to a stop.

[Boss302fan]

PTC is positive train control. It is going to be required by law to be installed on certain trains on certain density lines with certain equipment. All of the above is still open to debate.

In general though on high density/speed lines that carry hazmat of certain types or passengers your trains must be equiped with electronic devices that provide far more protection than is currently available.

Short answer for complicated question where the rules keep changing.

[robertgift]

What a tremendous waste of money.

Just clearly label the signal so no mistake is made. "Red means occupied track ahead".

[Boss302fan]

I won't argue the 'waste of money' issue. People become upset when you start placing value on human lives.

PTC in theory takes the human element out of the decision making process by stopping the train when the engineer doesn't. Many of our transit systems work this way.

The possible cost to railroads may run in the hundreds of millions. Not sure how this will be funded. I predict line abandonments or sales and surcharges on TIH traffic that makes it not affordable to move by rail.

[blown503]

@Boss302fan (signed by the President on October 16, 2008, as Public Law 110-432) has mandated the widespread installation of PTC systems by December 2015.

[Boss302fan]

Yes, but what the law doesn't say is "what is PTC". Since that law was signed how to interprete that law has not been easy to pin down. That is why different railroads are checking different systems. Also the law is open interpretation as to "widespread". What does it really mean and what is impacted. You actually may find railroads diverting traffic or selling off lines to avoid "widespread".

[fafnir242]

Well, I did read about this in an issue of Trains, and it said that the engineer did mistake the signal for a different one. Either way, it's his fault for not making sure he read the signal correctly. He had to have been certified on that line, otherwise they wouldn't have let him run a train on it.

[killman369547]

amcrash your favorite rail service

[joeferrito]

Amwreck for America - I say privatize passenger rail

[Boss302fan]

WTF for. There is no "private" company that is going to take on a dramatic money losing operation. Maybe certain small portions, but the first thing a "private" company would do if they acquired Amtrak would be to abandoned 90 percent of the passenger train miles.

[joeferrito]

well, my theory is that if we privatized, gave the passenger rail back to the freight companies, they'd take passenger more seriously and we wouldn't have this happening. That's all im saying

[Boss302fan]

The freight railroads despise and detest passenger traffic. Why would they take something they do not want and something that is a huge money losing proposition. The stockholders of these companies do not want to lose money, they want to make money. And they are in business and have the expertise associated with moving freight....not people.

Just don't see it happening in the US in today's freight oriented for profit environment.

[landcmg]

oh amcrash....

[MrCSXboy98]

@landcmg or ramtrack xD

[dust478]

@MrCSXboy98 haha ramtrack xD

[TheWaluigiking]

@landcmg LOL

[dust478]

@landcmg dont u mean ramtrak

[Tom60062]

@dust478 Slamtrak?

[dust478]

@Tom60062 lol thats a good one to....

[dust478]

@Tom60062 lol thats a good one to....

[UnknownZerggling]

i bet his ass got sued lol

[globularV]

The reason the engineer disobeyed the signal, according to Trains Magazine, was that he was trained to recognize only his railroad's signal type. The collision occured when he misread ANOTHER railroad's signal. It's odd. A signal on the Northeast corridor isn't the same as one on the BNSF transcon. This should be a wake-up call to standardize U.S. train signals.

[decline2state]

Do the railroads refuse to standardize signals because it's cheaper just to keep a few lawyers on retainer to defend (or even settle) a wrongful-death or injury lawsuit than it is to replace or modify signaling equipment?

[leebob86]

...i'd say your right on the money, cheaper to have lawyers... man that's messed up.

[Boss302fan]

Not messed up at all.

Accidents of this nature are extremely rare. The cost of changing signal systems would run into hundreds of millions that the railroads do not have and would not be justified.

Eventually with the upcoming PTC systems this will all become moot anyway.

[darkyoda]

In the case of Amtrak versus other signals, yes. It's cheaper for the railroad to not standardize than to try to do so. The Amtrak trains are designed to use "in cab" signals, so the engineer never needs to look up out of the cab. Much safer, but you don't see other routes using it.

[bigredf150]

they are required to know other railroads signals for tracks that they will be occupying. so him saying he was told he didnt have to know them is crap. and the reason that signals are not standardized across the US is becuase most signals are in place from many years ago and it was cost a huge amount of money to to change them all over. and typically you dont go outside of your own signals anyway. at least around chicago.

[typhoon7205]

"in cab" signal system can reduce the rate of accident. But it can not prevent the train from an accident which caused by chaotic management and wrong signals.

[charlieb640]

Where is "management" at fault here. Bad hiring practices for hiring an engineer that ran too fast and ignored signals?

How was the signal at fault. It indicated the block ahead was occupied?

And, btw.....with PTC it can prevent an accident like this. It's coming.

[Boss302fan]

Oh balony. They do not standardize because it would be dramatically expensive to do so. And there's no compelling reason to standardize. Mishaps such as this one are almost non-existent.

In this case the engineer took and passed tests familiarizing himself with the signals. He was qualified to operate on this line. He just blew it.

[Phyrescape]

there's something about a train.... that's MAGIC!

[currawongee]

hey long say something mate

i'd be pushing it at the congress level

do your representaive

you never know yuh luck

considering oil price rail is the only game

lets pick up our game america,remermember your heritage

[LongHuII]

I see them speeding all the time. Faster than any thing else around here. Now day's the freight trains are about just as fast and they have increased the tonnage. I just hope that the companies realizes that safety should be a priority. With GPS systems and computer software something should had warned the man.

[csxtxxb069]

There was plenty of warning obviously he was not in compliance with restricted speed rule if he had a signal it would have been a restricting indication therefore he should have stopped in half the range of vision not exceeding restricted speed.

[RCdash9]

Thats a High Profile train wreck. It was in the trains magazine.

[railfanner91019]

DAMN at the end it looks like the cab caved in on the operators. Again another video with amtrak crash

[HondaVTECR01]

imagine if this was one of those Metra trains that have a F40PH pushing like 6 passenger cars.

[Ham549]

Yeah The F40PH would have held up better

[DNAngel50000000]

Damn why is it ALWAYS Amtrak

[and0243]

Amtrak hires brain donors right off the street. The dipshit running the engine that day was grandstanding and got into a huge jackpot. Hats off to Amtrak's training program.

[DNAngel50000000]

yeah amtrak is also the only line that i know of that carries passengers

[clarko95]

Sincerely yours, -Amtrak

[tacosandtrains]

Why is the superliner so short?

[rando4038]

actually the genesis loco design wasn't just happen stance, they were designed to do just this , causes less damamge to engine & designed not derail the entire train & for the engine to absorb the impact, not just the entire train

[Ham549]

It is a POS stemless design when a F40PH crashed they tended to hold up.

[produKtNZ]

lol! at 50 seconds why is there a guy (in the yellow helmet thingy) writing on a papercup? lol :)

[Kartracer6]

Most likely he either placed something in the cup and was marking it or he is using it as a source to write something vital down like a phone number or he is just marking it as water...lol I'm not sure but there's some food for thought...good question

[produKtNZ]

heh!

I thought it was just a dire shortage of paper :P lol

[MarkConductor775]

anyone know the engine number?

[buffbrad]

The engine reminds me of a shark

[crazy2222222222]

I went down on the south side and check the trains out,its unbeliveable

[MMMMMDIESEL]

i just think its amazing that it just went on top of the freight train! you would think it would just derail and bunch up ya know!!

[MarkConductor775]

Indeed!

[StephenTCooney]

Actually, take a minute to look at a lot of other train crash test footage. Since the rear of trains are generally hallow and the engines are very strong, they have a tendency to ride up onto the tail of the train that they collide with. I wouldn't be shocked if they were designed this way too.