Re: Implications of ICE crash

[billbolton.REMOVE-To-EMAIL@computer.org (Bill Bolton)]

On Tue, 9 Jun 1998 09:33:31, b.backway@trl.telstra.com.au (Bob
Backway) wrote:

>>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.

I haven't seen any mention of central piers and it seem to me from
examination of the various visual images of the crash site that have
appeared in the mass media that the bridge roadway collapsed because
one abutment had been pushed out of alignment, pulling the roadway
down off the far abutment.  If reports of the accident are generally
accurate, severe abutment damage is hardly surprising given that it
was successively hit by several large, heavy objects travelling at
approx 100 kh/m just prior to impact.

Cheers,

Bill

Bill Bolton                 billbolton@computer.org
Sydney, Australia