Re: English Railway Accident

["KaMaK" <mckinnon@interact.net.au>]

I have just read the posts on uk.railway newsgroup - while there can be no
doubt the cause was automobile in it's genesis the consequences are out of
all proportion. The magnitude of the destruction and carnage can be
explained by the shear bad luck of the proximity of the crossover and coal
train. However I believe train design is also a significant factor.

I have always had deal doubts about the legitimacy of higher speed push pull
trains - such configurations are quite common but defy safety logic. The
survivability of 'loco first' crashes is much higher than for a light weight
driving trailers where the mass is pushing from the rear. The UK East Coast
Main Line electrification and speed upgrade was a political el-cheapo; the
concept of DVTs and passenger carriages being propelled at 125 to 140 mph on
tracks without "high speed line" intrusion protection is just a disaster
waiting to happen.

The chances of a 70t loco (XP) being lifted or pushed off the rails in any
impact is significantly lower than a 30+t driving trailer. Generally the
retardation capabilities of carriages are superior to locos so in an
emergency brake application with a trailing loco the loco is going to
continue to push down on the train making the probability of it remaining in
line and upright significantly reduced.

Lets hope that no cheap skate 'higher speed' push-pull trains are ever
introduced into this country - and that particularly includes half XPT sets
to Broken Hill. - Its just not worth the risk.

The British experienced the risks of push-pull in Scotland about 20 years
ago when a push-pull hit a cow and derailed at high speed with several
deaths. A pity they didn't see fit to run top and tail locos on their higher
speed ECML. It will be really interesting to see what comes out of this
incident.

As has been expressed in many different ways in uk.railways newsgroup -
surely there must be severe speed restrictions places on all road-over
bridges until their safety can be inspected and certified - remember the
railway was there first.