Re: Implications of ICE crash

[b.backway@trl.telstra.com.au (Bob Backway)]

In article Bill writes:
...
>Another aspect that surprises me is that the bridge apparently collapsed so
>easily. There were many postings on the Granville accident recently, so I know
>it is still widely remembered. I thought railway civil engineers everywhere
>recognised, as a result of Granville, that central overbridge piers alongside
>high speed tracks should be "hardened" or protected to reduce the likelihood of
>collapse if struck by derailed trains.
...
Wouldn't it be best to protect the bridge AND the passengers? I was surprised 
that any brigde over a 200kph rail line would have any central piers at all. 
The average freeway overpass today spans a double track width easily without 
any great engineering feats.

Bob
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