Runaway train

This article is about uncontrolled train movements. For various amusements, cinema and music using this term as a title, see Runaway Train.

A runaway train is one of various types of incident in which unattended rolling stock is allowed to accidentally roll onto the main line, a moving train loses enough braking power to be unable to stop in safety or a train operates at unsafe speeds due to loss of operator control. If the uncontrolled rolling stock derails or hits another train, it will result in a train wreck.

A railway air brake can fail if valves on the pipe between each wagon are accidentally closed; the 1953 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck and the 1988 Gare de Lyon train accident were results of a valve accidentally closed by the crew, reducing braking power.

A parked train or cut of cars may also run away if not properly tied down with a sufficient number of hand brakes.

Incidents

Accidents and incidents involving defective or improperly-set railway brakes include:

• Landen, Belgium (2016), the driver left the cabin to do some check-ups on the train when it started moving. After 30 minutes and 12 km, the train was stopped by a driver who jumped into the train's cab. No one was injured nor did the train hit anything.
• Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, Quebec (2013), brakes were improperly set on unattended parked crude oil train, runaway tank cars derailed on a curve in the centre of town, spilling five million litres of oil and causing fires which killed forty-seven people.
• Ion Luca Caragiale village, Romania (2012), A freight train ran away from Ion luca caragiale station because of the improper brakes setting and hit a Dacia car on a level crossing, killing 2 people
• Congo-Kinshasa west of Kananga (2007) - 100 killed.
• Igandu train disaster, Tanzania (2002) – runaway backwards - 281 killed.
• Tenga rail disaster, Mozambique (2002) – runaway backwards - 192 killed.
• CSX 8888 incident, 66 miles, Walbridge – Kenton, Ohio, United States (2001) - freight train ran away under power without a crew after engineer incorrectly set the locomotive's dynamic brake. The incident inspired the 2010 motion picture Unstoppable.
• San Bernardino train disaster, California (1989) - brakes failed on freight train which crashed into houses
• Chester General rail crash, UK (1972) - brakes failed on fuel train which collided with parked DMU
• Chapel-en-le-Frith, Great Britain (1957) – broken steam pipe made it impossible for crew to apply brakes.
• Federal Express train wreck, Union station, Washington, DC, (1953) - valve closed by badly designed bufferplate.
• Torre del Bierzo rail disaster, Spain (1944) - brakes failed on overloaded passenger train which collided with another in a tunnel; a third train was unaware and also crashed into it.
• Asheboro, North Carolina (1898) - an Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad crew uncouples a locomotive from a freight train without setting the brakes on the cars properly; the cars soon roll downhill to collide with the locomotive, pinning the engine crew.
• Montparnasse derailment, Paris, France (1895) - Granville–Paris Express overran the buffer stop at its Gare Montparnasse terminus when its air brakes failed, crashed through the entire station, and fell onto the Place de Rennes killing one woman; five on the train and one in the street were injured.
• Armagh rail disaster, Northern Ireland (1889) – runaway backwards led to change in law.
• Shipton-on-Cherwell train crash, Oxford, UK (1874) - caused by fracture of a carriage wheel.

See also

• Dark territory
• Positive train control
• Railroad Safety Appliance Act
• Category:Runaway train disasters