List of wind-related railway accidents
High winds can blow railway trains off tracks and cause accidents.[1]
Dangers of high winds
High winds can cause problems in a number of ways:
- blow trains off the tracks.
- blow trains or wagons along the tracks and cause collisions.
- cause pantographs and overhead wiring to tangle.
- cause trees and other objects to fall onto the railway
Preventative measures
Risks from high winds can be reduced by:
- wind fences akin to snow sheds
- lower profile of carriages
- lowered centre of gravity of vehicles[2]
- reduction in train speed or cancellation, at high winds
- a wider rail gauge
- improve overhead wiring with:
- regulated tension rather than fixed terminations
- shorter catenary spans
- solid conductors
By country
Australia
- 1928 – 47 waggons blown along line at Tocumwal [3]
- 1931 – Kandos – wind blows level crossing gates closed in front of motor-cyclist [4]
- 1943 – Hobart, Tasmania; Concern that wind will blow over doubledeck trams on 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge if top deck enclosed.[5]
- 2010 – Marla, South Australia; Small tornado blows over train.[6]
Austria
- 1910 – Trieste (now in Italy) – train blown down embankment.[7]
China
- Lanxin High-Speed Railway#Wind shed
- List of rail accidents (2000–2009) – February 28, 2007 – Wind blows 10 passenger rail cars off the track near Turpan, China.
Germany
- Rügen narrow-gauge railway, 20 October 1936: derailment of a train, five injured[8][9]
India
- One reason for choosing broad gauge in India for greater stability in high winds.
Ireland
- On the night of 30 January 1925, strong winds derailed carriages of a train crossing the Owencarrow Viaduct of the 914 mm (3 ft) gauge Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway.
Japan
- Inaho
- Amarube Viaduct
- 1895 Gale blows train into sea [10]
New Zealand
Norway
- Makrellbekken (station)#Wind related accident – blowing snow disoriented a tractor driver who collided with a train
South Africa
- Wind tangles overhead wiring.[11]
United Kingdom
- Tay Bridge disaster 1879
- Chelford rail accident 1894 – during shunting
- De-wirements on the East Coast Main Line
- Leven Viaduct, Cumbria 27 February 1903
- Cheddington 2008 – two containers blown off train – design of "spigots" criticised.[12]
- Moston 2015 – out of gauge train hits platform, throwing stones onto other track.[13]
- Scout Green 2015 – empty 30-foot ISA container blown off train [14]
United States
- During the storm of 31 March / 1 April 1892 a narrow-gauge passenger train of the Burlington and Northwestern railway was blown off the tracks in St Louis, causing several persons to be injured.[15]
- On 2 September 1911 tram services in Charleston, South Carolina, were suspended due to winds.[16]
- A 2008 tornado in Northern Illinois derailed a Union Pacific train.[17] Dramatic footage of the event was captured by a camera mounted on the train.[18]
- On April 27, 2015 a severe storm knocked several cars off the line while they were traveling across the Huey P. Long Bridge, New Orleans, Louisiana, with no injuries. The footage of the complete accident was captured by a WGNO News Team on a dash cam.[19]
One reason for choosing broad gauge (17% wider than standard gauge) for BART was the greater stability in high winds and perhaps earthquakes.[20][21][22]
Factors
See also
References
- ^ Template:Cite article
- ^ Kieper, Klaus; Preuß, Reiner; Rehbein, Elfriede (1982). "Bahnen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern". Schmalspurbahn-Archiv (in German) (2nd ed.). Berlin: Transpress. p. 116.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "SEVERE WINDSTORM". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 8 October 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ "LEVEL CROSSING ACCIDENT". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 27 August 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ "Double-Deck Trams". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 1 June 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ http://www.railpage.com.au/news-8530.htm
- ^ "FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT". Northern Star. Vol. 34. New South Wales, Australia. 4 April 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 26 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "GALE DERAILS TRAIN". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 21 October 1936. p. 16. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
- ^ "TRAIN DERAILED". The Examiner. Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 21 October 1936. p. 8 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ^ "RAILWAY ACCIDENT". Zeehan and Dundas Herald. Tas.: National Library of Australia. 31 July 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Wind stalls Cape trains - ^ The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
- ^ The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
- ^ The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
- ^ "NEWS BY MAIL". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 24 May 1892. p. 7. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "AMERICAN WIND STORM". The Northern Times. Carnarvon, WA: National Library of Australia. 2 September 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ http://abc7chicago.com/archive/5875829/
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYubpuIe3cw
- ^ Carlie Kollath Wells (27 April 2015). "Train cars blown off tracks on Huey P. Long Bridge, FOX 8 reports". The Times-Picayune.
- ^ http://www.wirewd.com/wh/blog/bart_sucks/
- ^ http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/01/06/crossing-the-bay-again-but-not-necessarily-with-bart/
- ^ http://homepage.mac.com/s_sloan/twar/ISSUE66/BODY.HTM[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://www.yunlong.com.au/pdf/Liu-CFD.pdf
External links
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