Earth:List of wind-related railway accidents

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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 cargo to blow off trains which can damage objects outside the railway or which other trains can collide with
  • 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 wagons 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 risk
  • February 28, 2007 – Wind blows 10 passenger rail cars off the track near Turpan, China.

Denmark

  • Great Belt Bridge rail accident. On 2 January 2019 a DSB express passenger train is hit by a semi-trailer from a passing cargo train on the western bridge of the Great Belt Fixed Link during Storm Alfrida, killing eight people and injuring 16.[8]

Germany

  • Rügen narrow-gauge railway, 20 October 1936: derailment of a train, five injured[9][10]

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 [11]

New Zealand

Norway

  • Makrellbekken (station)#Wind related accident – blowing snow disoriented a tractor driver who collided with a train

South Africa

Switzerland

  • In 1996, one train from the Wengernalp Railway derailed in Bernese Oberland with four people injured.[13]
  • On January 19, 2007, one train derailed near Wasserausen.[13]
  • In 2018, one train from the Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line derailed in the Simmental region, injuring eight people.[13]
  • On March 31, 2023, two trains derailed in the Canton of Bern due to strong winds, with fifteen people injured.[14]

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.[15]
  • Moston 2015 – out of gauge train hits platform, throwing stones onto other track.[16]
  • Scout Green 2015 – empty 30-foot ISA container blown off train [17]

United States

  • On April 24, 1883, 2 cars of a passenger train were blown from the narrow-gauge Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad tracks near Como, Colorado, with only minor injuries.[18]
  • Around 6:15 pm, May 6, 1876, a passenger train traveling south on the Illinois Central Railroad at about 23 miles per hour was derailed during a storm just south of Neoga, Illinois. Numerous minor injuries were reported.[19]
  • Around 7 am, Feb. 23, 1884, 2 cars were blown off the narrow-gauge tracks of the Colorado Central Railroad near Georgetown, Colorado.[20]
  • Around 2 pm, February 4, 1885, the wind overturned an entire 3-car Colorado Central Railroad train just east of Georgetown, Colorado. The express train had slowed to 8 miles per hour because of the wind. 18 out of 20 passengers were injured.[21][22]
  • At 3:30 pm, April 1, 1892, a narrow-gauge passenger train of the Burlington and Northwestern Railway was blown off the tracks while running at full speed 1 mile east of Butler, a station between Fremont, Iowa and Hedrick, Iowa.;[23][24][25] 4 were seriously injured, a dozen more suffered minor injuries.[26] Note that the location places this on the Burlington and Western Railway tracks.
  • On September 2, 1911, tram services in Charleston, South Carolina, were suspended due to winds.[27]
  • On June 28, 1986, a derecho derailed 18 piggyback cars on the Kate Shelley High Bridge over the Des Moines River in Iowa.[28]
  • On June 29, 1998, the Corn Belt Derecho blew several double stack and piggyback cars off the Iowa Interstate Railroad bridge across the Iowa River.[29]
  • A 2008 tornado in Northern Illinois derailed a Union Pacific train.[30] Dramatic footage of the event was captured by a camera mounted on the train.[31]
  • On April 27, 2015, a severe storm knocked several double stack cars off the track as a train crossed the Huey P. Long Bridge, New Orleans, Louisiana, with no injuries. The accident was captured by a WGNO News Team dashcam.[32]
  • On March 13, 2019, mid-day winds of around 80 mph derailed the rear 26 cars of a double stack train on the Union Pacific high steel trestle over the Canadian River south of Logan, New Mexico.[33]

One reason for choosing broad gauge (17% wider than standard gauge) for BART was the greater stability in high winds and perhaps earthquakes.[34][35][36]

Factors

  • Lightweight trains
  • Narrow gauge
  • Aspects of the terrain [37]
  • Tunnels [38]

See also

  • Snowshed

References

  1. ↑ C. Proppe, C. Wetzel (2007). "Overturning Probability of Railway Vehicles under Wind Gust Loads". Iutam Symposium on Dynamics and Control of Nonlinear Systems with Uncertainty. IUTAM Book Series (Springer) 2: 23–32. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6332-9_3. ISBN 978-1-4020-6331-2. https://publikationen.bibliothek.kit.edu/1000011270/783759. 
  2. ↑ Kieper, Klaus; Preuß, Reiner; Rehbein, Elfriede (1982). "Bahnen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern" (in de). Schmalspurbahn-Archiv (2nd ed.). Berlin: Transpress. p. 116. 
  3. ↑ "SEVERE WINDSTORM.". The Argus (Melbourne: National Library of Australia): p. 8. 8 October 1928. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3961544. Retrieved 13 June 2013. 
  4. ↑ "LEVEL CROSSING ACCIDENT.". The Sydney Morning Herald (National Library of Australia): p. 10. 27 August 1931. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16816678. Retrieved 28 June 2015. 
  5. ↑ "Double-Deck Trams.". The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia): p. 4. 1 June 1943. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25936409. Retrieved 24 April 2012. 
  6. ↑ "Tornado derails outback freight train". http://www.railpage.com.au/news-8530.htm. 
  7. ↑ "FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.". Northern Star (New South Wales, Australia) 34: p. 3. 4 April 1910. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72241525. Retrieved 26 November 2016. 
  8. ↑ "Six dead in train crash on Denmark's Great Belt Fixed Link" (in English). The Local DK. 2 January 2019. https://www.thelocal.dk/20190102/six-dead-in-train-crash-on-denmarks-great-belt-fixed-link. Retrieved 2 January 2019. 
  9. ↑ "GALE DERAILS TRAIN.". The Sydney Morning Herald (National Library of Australia): p. 16. 21 October 1936. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29536000. Retrieved 4 May 2012. 
  10. ↑ "TRAIN DERAILED.". The Examiner (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia): p. 8 Edition: DAILY. 21 October 1936. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52105580. Retrieved 11 May 2012. 
  11. ↑ "RAILWAY ACCIDENT.". Zeehan and Dundas Herald (Tas.: National Library of Australia): p. 3. 31 July 1895. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79986462. Retrieved 28 June 2015. 
  12. ↑ "WIND STALLS CAPE TRAINS | Railways Africa". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131203011048/http://www.railwaysafrica.com/blog/2012/12/wind-stalls-cape-trains/. Retrieved 2012-12-12.  Wind stalls Cape trains
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "En Suisse, des trains ont déjà déraillé à cause du vent" (in fr). April 2023. https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/suisse-trains-ont-deja-deraille-cause-vent. Retrieved 2023-04-03. 
  14. ↑ "Two Swiss trains derail in strong winds, several injured - SWI swissinfo.ch". April 2023. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/two-swiss-trains-derail-in-strong-winds--several-injured/48409580. Retrieved 2023-04-03. 
  15. ↑ The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
  16. ↑ The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
  17. ↑ The Railway Magazine April 2015, p12
  18. ↑ Blown from the Track, Railroad Gazette, April 4, 1883; pages 285-286. Reprinted from the Apr. 25 'Denver Tribune'.
  19. ↑ Thrown off the Track, Chicago Daily Tribune, May 8, 1876, page 5. (Retrieved via Library of Congress Chronicling American archive).
  20. ↑ Two Cars Blown Off the Track, New York Times, Feb. 24, 1884.
  21. ↑ Train Wreck at Georgetown, February 4th, 1885, Rocky Mountain Railroad Heritage Society Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 9 (Winter, 2017); page 6. (reprinted from the Denver Tribune Republican, Feb. 5, 1885.)
  22. ↑ Derailed in a Hurricane at Georgetown, Feb. 4, 1885, photo in the Ted Kierscey Collection, retrieved Feb 2021.
  23. ↑ Exhibit No. 5. Casualties, 1891-'92, Annual Report of the Postmaster General of the United States for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1892, GPO, 1892; page 845. Gives time and location.
  24. ↑ Train Blown Over, St. Paul daily globe (Saint Paul, Minn.), 02 April 1892; page 1. Historic American Newspaper collection, Library of Congress.
  25. ↑ Swept by Fearful Winds, The Abbeville press and banner (Abbeville, S.C.), 20 April 1892; page 2. Historic American Newspaper collection, Library of Congress.
  26. ↑ "NEWS BY MAIL.". The Brisbane Courier (National Library of Australia): p. 7. 24 May 1892. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3542330. Retrieved 12 May 2012. 
  27. ↑ "AMERICAN WIND STORM.". The Northern Times (Carnarvon, WA: National Library of Australia): p. 5. 2 September 1911. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74889432. Retrieved 25 April 2012. 
  28. ↑ July 28-29 1986 Derecho "The Supercell Transition Derecho", part of the NOAA About Derechos web site, retrieved Aug. 2020.
  29. ↑ Archive photos: June 1998 derecho hits the Iowa City area, The Cedar Rapids Gazette, retrieved Aug. 2020.
  30. ↑ "Twisters hit Illinois and Wisconsin | ABC7 Chicago | abc7chicago.com - ABC7 Chicago". http://abc7chicago.com/archive/5875829/. 
  31. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: TRAIN Vs. TORNADO - BEST PART!!!!!. YouTube.
  32. ↑ Carlie Kollath Wells (April 27, 2015). "Train cars blown off tracks on Huey P. Long Bridge, FOX 8 reports". The Times-Picayune. http://www.nola.com/weather/index.ssf/2015/04/train_blown_off_track_elmwood.html. 
  33. ↑ Kyle Cheromcha, Bomb Cyclone Winds Blow Freight Train Off Railroad Bridge in New Mexico, The Drive, March 14, 2019
  34. ↑ "The deep-lodged problems with the BART system". 13 August 2009. http://www.wirewd.com/wh/blog/bart_sucks/. 
  35. ↑ "Crossing the Bay Again — but Not Necessarily with BART". 6 January 2010. http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/01/06/crossing-the-bay-again-but-not-necessarily-with-bart/. 
  36. ↑ http://homepage.mac.com/s_sloan/twar/ISSUE66/BODY.HTM [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  37. ↑ "BECCA Wiki : Rail vehicle overturning". Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110222163523/http://wiki.climatechangeadaptation.org.au/tiki-index.php?page=Rail+vehicle+overturning. Retrieved 2010-11-08. 
  38. ↑ http://www.yunlong.com.au/pdf/Liu-CFD.pdf [bare URL PDF]



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