Comparative Rail Safety

[Hamartia Antidote]

.
You are welcome to post them.

Pakistani news are not that well reported in Oz.

Why should I post them. I have better things to do than troll other countries by doing "mine is better than yours comparisons"

 

[AndrewJin]

.
You are welcome to post them.

Pakistani news are not that well reported in Oz.

Anyone can post....
I have only heard America's railway accidents here, because they claim the only super power in the world.
just ignore him.

 

[GS Zhou]

Why should I post them. I have better things to do than troll other countries by doing "mine is better than yours comparisons"

very funny logic.
you made complaint that a certain type of news is not post here. but you also said you don't want to post this type of news by yourself. you must be kidding to us.

 

[AndrewJin]

very funny logic.
you made complaint that a certain type of news is not post here. but you also said you don't want to post this type of news by yourself. you must be kidding to us.

Somebody is clearly more interested in China than their own tragic railway accidents....
Real Americans are now shocked by such accidents again and again, instead of trolling at Far East section and showing no respect to the dead and wounded.

 

[TaiShang]

Why should I post them. I have better things to do than troll other countries by doing "mine is better than yours comparisons"

Essentially, I am fine with comparisons although I myself do not think it means much at face value.

What I am more interested is the double standards. The other day, I was watching Fox on the internet and the commentator was advising that investigation results must be awaited before reaching a conclusion.

Now, that might be considered as a blind faith in investigators.

But I like the rule and it should be a global standard. Oftentimes, however, the grace period is never given to others.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Essentially, I am fine with comparisons although I myself do not think it means much at face value.

What I am more interested is the double standards. The other day, I was watching Fox on the internet and the commentator was advising that investigation results must be awaited before reaching a conclusion.

Now, that might be considered as a blind faith in investigators.

But I like the rule and it should be a global standard. Oftentimes, however, the grace period is never given to others.

Yeah, but there were probably even more screaming the opposite. When you have multiple sources you are going to get multiple opinions versus say a unified party line.

It's hard to do a blanket hypocracy statement when media opinions are all over the place.

 

[AndrewJin]

Its a case of what comes first Chicken or the Egg?
Had massive investment been made on rail infra in US, more people would've moved to using Rails rather than road, generating more revenue, introduction of new services and modernization. unfortunately that didn't happen and now system is slowly degrading, but i'm not sure if there are funds and more importantly projections that capital investment will increase ridership, hereby assuring good rate of return on investment.

Their leadership is hijacked by corporates, which of course have no interest in big infra projects.
Normal people are just ignorant to such critical issues.
They are probably more interested in commenting about accidents in South Asia than proposing real changes to their own system.....

 

[Three_Kingdoms]

Trains are huge monsters. Hope they can use technology to reduce accidents and fatalities.

========
New Jersey Transit crash at Hoboken station leaves 108 injured, one resident dead; investigators want engineer to explain what happened
BY
EDGAR SANDOVAL, JASON SILVERSTEIN, LARRY MCSHANE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Thursday, September 29, 2016, 9:39 PM

Investigators want a NJ Transit engineer to explain what went wrong in the moments before his runaway train killed a bystander on a platform and injured 108 people in a nightmarish Hoboken wreck.

Engineer Thomas Gallagher, rescued from his crumpled cab Thursday morning, spoke to authorities within hours of the rush-hour carnage caused when his four-car train hurtled off the tracks, said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

But there was no public explanation for why the train exceeded the 10 mph speed limit while approaching the busy Hoboken Terminal on Track 5 — and Gallagher, 48, was released from a Jersey hospital hours later.

“The train came in at a high rate of speed, and the question is ‘Why is that?’” said Christie. “We won’t know that for some time.”

Federal investigators arrived hours later in Hoboken as the probe continued, with no one providing an answer to the governor’s questions. A cop blocked reporters Thursday night from knocking on the door of Gallagher’s home in Morris Plains, N.J.

View attachment 339260
Passengers rush to safety after the NJ Transit train crashed into the platform.
(PANCHO BERNASCONI/GETTY IMAGES)
Most of the injured were rush-hour commuters aboard the 7:23 a.m. train from Spring Valley, N.Y., as Train No. 1614 arrived for the last stop on its daily 75-minute trip along the Pascack Valley line.

The doomed woman was standing on a nearby train platform when she was struck and killed by a flying piece of debris. One witness said the train, with four 54-ton passenger cars, actually slammed into a bumper and went airborne.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said NJ Transit employee Michael Larson.

Authorities said the train was traveling too fast as it arrived eight minutes late — and never decelerated until crashing through a concrete and steel bumper, sending passengers and debris flying.

“It sounded like a bomb went off,” said construction worker Charles Frazier of Roselle Park, N.J., describing the chaotic 8:45 a.m. scene. “The roof collapsed. The steel beams came down...People were trying to climb out the (train) windows.”

A portion of the historic 109-year-old station was reduced to rubble, with a collapsed roof falling amid mangled steel and smashed glass.

Bleeding commuters wandered in a daze as first responders flooded the station, and 75 people were hospitalized with broken bones, oozing cuts, bumps and bruises.

A pregnant woman was lifted to safety by fellow passengers through a window in the train’s front car.

“People were running, obviously screaming,” said witness Tony Spina. “I saw folks bleeding from their heads. I saw folks limping. Folks were on the ground who couldn’t move.”

A NJ Transit spokesman estimated there were about 250 people aboard the morning train.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to Hoboken within hours. Their mission includes recovering data recorders from two locations on the train, each with an outward-facing camera.

It was unclear how long the terminal will remain closed, but metropolitan area commuters will face delays until the transit hub reopens.

View attachment 339262
Officials survey the NJ Transit train that crashed into the platform at the Hoboken Terminal Thursday.
(PANCHO BERNASCONI/GETTY IMAGES)

NTSB Vice Chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr said a second part of their probe would focus on whether Positive Track Control technology might have prevented the fatal crash.

The speed limit while entering the station is 10 mph, she said. PTC technology automatically slows or stops trains exceeding the limit.

“PTC has been one of our priorities,” she said. “We know that it can prevent accidents. Whether it is involved in this accident, that is definitely one of the things we will look at carefully.”

Federal investigators also intend to speak with Gallagher about the final fateful part of the daily trip.

Gallagher, who has 29 years on the job, was operating the train from a control cab in its front passenger car, and eyewitness William Blaine said he saw the engineer slumped over the controls immediately after the crash.

Though Christie said the engineer already spoke with investigators, the NTSB intends to sit down with Gallagher as well in its quest for answers.

Gov. Cuomo and Christie said they understood the desire for an explanation, but declined to provide any until the facts were clear.

“Was there a medical condition?” asked Cuomo. “Why did the train come in so fast?...It could be personal to the conductor, an equipment failure.”


View attachment 339263
A derailed New Jersey Transit train is seen under a collapsed roof after it derailed and crashed into the station in Hoboken.
(CARLO ALLEGRI/REUTERS)
But, the governor added, “There’s no real point to speculating what happened.”

Commuter Jamie Weatherhead saw the scene first-hand. She was among those trapped inside when the train finally screeched to a stop on the typically busy concourse outside the station’s waiting room.

There was never any indication of the engineer hitting the brakes before commuters were bouncing around like bowling pins, she said.

“The lights went out,” she recalled. “We felt more than a jolt. Everyone was thrown to the other side (of the car). The people in the front were very badly injured.

“I just toppled over,” she said. “I’m really shaken up.”

Station worker Rick Ciappa described a similar scene in the minutes after the wreck.

“People were bleeding,” Ciappa said. “People buried under the concrete. The whole roof fell down. I saw one woman that was really bad — bloodied.”

The dead woman was identified as Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, of Hoboken. She was a married mother of an 18-month-old girl.

The single fatality seemed almost impossible given the number of people on the train and in the station, and the amount of damage to the station.

Nassimi Toumi, nine months pregnant, was saying goodbye to her husband as the train narrowly missed killing him.

“Just missed him,” said Toumi. “There was a lady with her leg cut open. Blood everywhere.”

An eerie silence soon fell over the crash scene, with passengers helping one another amid the rubble, panic, concrete dust and hanging electrical wires.

“It was quiet and subdued,” said Nancy Solomon, a managing editor at WNYC. “The train was right there. I mean, the train was right on the concourse.”

The flood of 66 patients at the Jersey City Medical Center forced officials to turn the cafeteria into a triage unit, with 13 people treated for trauma, said spokesman Mark Rabson.

NJ Transit immediately suspended service in and out of the station. PATH and light rail service was also suspended Thursday, but the PATH part of the terminal was not damaged. PATH service resumed Thursday afternoon.

The Hoboken Terminal serves an estimated 50,000 commuters each day with NJ Transit, PATH, light rail, buses and ferries.

The investigation into the wreck could be slowed by safety issues in the damaged station, where water was leaking and there was a threat of asbestos contamination. Electrical power to the building was also cut off.

The White House called Christie to offer help and condolences after the wreck, and both presidential candidates sent along their regards to the crash victims.

“My condolences to those involved in today’s horrible accident in NJ and my deepest gratitude to all of the amazing first responders,” tweeted GOPer Donald Trump.

Democrat Hillary Clinton sent her “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and their relatives.

A Mother’s Day 2011 PATH train crash in the Hoboken station injured more than 30 people. The train, in a similar scenario to the Thursday wreck, slammed into bumpers at the end of the tracks on a Sunday morning.

WITH LAURA BULT, DAN RIVOLI, DAN GOOD

Thanks for reporting
A tragedy
RIP and then lessons to be learnt

Here is another report which may have revealed the cause
Fri Sep 30, 2016 | 6:12am EDT
New Jersey crash highlights delays in railway anti-collision system

A derailed New Jersey Transit train is seen under a collapsed roof after it derailed and crashed into the station in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S. September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
By Nick Carey

A deadly commuter train crash in Hoboken station in New Jersey renews focus on a mandatory anti-collision system that has been plagued with lengthy, contentious delays.

Officials said train operator New Jersey Transit has not installed the positive train control (PTC) system in Hoboken or anywhere else on its network.

PTC works by hitting the brakes on a train if the engineer misses a signal to halt - the equivalent of running a red light. How long it takes a train to stop depends on its weight. Freight trains can take up to 2 miles to stop. The system combines GPS, wireless radio and other technologies, making it far more complex than originally envisioned and requires more investment and time to make it work, according to railroad companies.

By law, NJ Transit is required to have a system in place by the end of 2018. Amtrak has rolled out PTC on its network, while the freight railroads have mostly been rolling out the technology a section of track at a time.

Thursday morning's rush-hour crash killed at least one person and injured 108 others.

National Transportation Safety Board vice chair T. Bella Dinh-Zarr said at a news conference in Washington that the board would "absolutely" look at whether the lack of PTC was a factor.

"PTC has been one of our priorities," she said. "We know that it can prevent accidents."

It is unclear how fast the train in Hoboken was traveling or whether a PTC system would have prevented an accident.

Former NTSB managing director Peter Goelz said that PTC is most effective at higher speeds out on open track, adding it is far from clear it could have made a difference in Hoboken.

Goelz said other factors, such as the alertness of the locomotive engineer, could turn out to be more important.

The NTSB said it would also look for similarities with another crash at the Hoboken station in 2011, when a commuter train struck the bumping post at the end of the track, injuring 30.

Last year, neighboring New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority received nearly $1 billion in federal loans to implement PTC on its two commuter lines, although it was criticized last month by the federal agency that issued the loan for making almost no progress in installing the system.

New Jersey Transit ranked second for the most train accident reports nationwide for commuter railroads from January 2007 through June 2016, behind Amtrak.

New Jersey Transit had 271 accidents, or 18 percent of the total, compared to Amtrak’s 44 percent, according to data from the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis.

The rankings in part reflect the heavy use of rail transit in the U.S. Northeast compared to other parts of the United States.

According to a report by NJ Transit to the Federal Railroad Administration for the first half of 2016, the public transport system does not have PTC in operation on its 326-mile network.

None of the 1,100 New Jersey Transit employees who will need training to operate PTC have yet received it, the report said.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday "it is too early to tell" whether positive train control would have prevented the crash.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said the train was moving much too fast when it came into the station.

ALSO IN U.S.

• Investigators seek clues on why New Jersey train failed to stop
• U.S. Supreme Court returns to work with glaring vacancy

"We don't know what the cause of the high rate of speed was," he said.

PTC was mandated by Congress in September 2008, after a Metrolink train ran a stop signal in Los Angeles and hit a Union Pacific freight train, killing 25 people. Federal investigators faulted the commuter train's engineer, who was sending text messages while on duty.

Last year, the major U.S. freight railroads successfully lobbied for a three-year extension of the December 2015 deadline for implementing PTC, with the option to apply for two one-year extensions. Several railroads have said that they will need both extensions to fully implement PTC.

In June, Lance Fritz, chief executive of No. 1 U.S. railroad Union Pacific Corp told Reuters the company would have the system fully installed on its 32,000-mile network, but would need the extra two years to "debug" it.

While critics say the railroads are dragging their feet on PTC, the railroads say they have spent more than $6 billion on PTC so far and expect to spend $4 billion more to complete implementation.

John Ireland, a project manager at Arlington, Virginia-based railroad consulting firm R.L. Banks & Associates, said cash-strapped public transport operators face a dilemma: They are under pressure to implement PTC while struggling to maintain crumbling infrastructure and handle rising passenger numbers.

"Even the major for-profit freight railroads with their tremendous resources have had a hard time installing PTC," Ireland said. He said putting in the system was "a real scramble" for public transportation agencies because "they operate at a loss and they are not a budget priority for governments in most regions."

(Reporting by Nick Carey in Chicago; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Jeffrey Dastin in New York; Editing by Eric Effron and Grant McCool)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-jersey-traincrash-safety-idUSKCN11Z306

 

[bobsm]

Train derailment injures dozens, disrupts service on Long Island, N.Y


October 9, 2016

View photos
A train sits derailed near the community of New Hyde Park on Long Island in New York, U.S., October 8, 2016. Sarah Qamar/Handout via REUTERS
By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Long Island Rail Road passenger train derailed on Saturday near the community of New Hyde Park, New York, injuring as many as 29 people and halting service on the key transit line in both directions, railroad officials and police said.

Official details were not available on the precise circumstances of the incident, which occurred at about 9 p.m. local time (0100 GMT) when a passenger train struck a work train about 20 miles (32 km) east of Manhattan, according to police.

It was not immediately clear if the work train was stationary at the time.

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano told a news conference 29 people were treated in hospitals for non-life threatening injuries such as broken bones and concussions. Scores more were evaluated or treated at the scene for scrapes or bruises.

A statement from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, citing "early reports," put the number of injuries at 11, "none of which are considered to be serious."

According to Cuomo, the 12-car train was heading eastbound on the railroad's main line carrying about 600 passengers when the first three cars derailed a half mile east of the New Hyde Park Station.

Photos from the scene of the wreck posted on social media showed at least two of the derailed train cars leaning upright but askew and partly off the track.

People riding on the train told local media they saw sparks or fire outside the windows after the train, which had been moving at a normal speed, began shaking mildly, then more violently before striking something and coming to a halt.

The New Hyde Park stop is just east of the border with the New York City borough of Queens. The rail line, one of the busiest commuter routes into America's largest city, said the derailment had forced suspension of service in both directions.

Saturday's accident on Long Island comes nine days after a passenger train crashed into a terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey, a major commuter route from New York City's western suburbs. That crash killed one person and injured more than 100.

(Additional reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Bill Rigby and Paul Tait)


https://www.yahoo.com/news/derailed-train-injures-100-disrupts-long-island-n-030451202.html

 

[AndrewJin]

Train derailment injures dozens, disrupts service on Long Island, N.Y


October 9, 2016

View photos
A train sits derailed near the community of New Hyde Park on Long Island in New York, U.S., October 8, 2016. Sarah Qamar/Handout via REUTERS
By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Long Island Rail Road passenger train derailed on Saturday near the community of New Hyde Park, New York, injuring as many as 29 people and halting service on the key transit line in both directions, railroad officials and police said.

Official details were not available on the precise circumstances of the incident, which occurred at about 9 p.m. local time (0100 GMT) when a passenger train struck a work train about 20 miles (32 km) east of Manhattan, according to police.

It was not immediately clear if the work train was stationary at the time.

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano told a news conference 29 people were treated in hospitals for non-life threatening injuries such as broken bones and concussions. Scores more were evaluated or treated at the scene for scrapes or bruises.

A statement from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, citing "early reports," put the number of injuries at 11, "none of which are considered to be serious."

According to Cuomo, the 12-car train was heading eastbound on the railroad's main line carrying about 600 passengers when the first three cars derailed a half mile east of the New Hyde Park Station.

Photos from the scene of the wreck posted on social media showed at least two of the derailed train cars leaning upright but askew and partly off the track.

People riding on the train told local media they saw sparks or fire outside the windows after the train, which had been moving at a normal speed, began shaking mildly, then more violently before striking something and coming to a halt.

The New Hyde Park stop is just east of the border with the New York City borough of Queens. The rail line, one of the busiest commuter routes into America's largest city, said the derailment had forced suspension of service in both directions.

Saturday's accident on Long Island comes nine days after a passenger train crashed into a terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey, a major commuter route from New York City's western suburbs. That crash killed one person and injured more than 100.

(Additional reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Bill Rigby and Paul Tait)


https://www.yahoo.com/news/derailed-train-injures-100-disrupts-long-island-n-030451202.html

Super Power has a super nice railway system!

 

[beijingwalker]

Commuter train derails in Long Island
https://www.yahoo.com/news/commuter-train-derails-long-island-181336855.html

Again in just a few days...Amazing

 

[AndrewJin]

Commuter train derails in Long Island
https://www.yahoo.com/news/commuter-train-derails-long-island-181336855.html

Again in just a few days...Amazing

Super achievement for the super power, 2 derailments in one week....

 

[AndrewJin]

wow, on a major line, they still use a lot of crossings....
They should really start working on upgrading crossings into flyovers or tunnels....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recent train accidents prompt safety reminders for residents
Thursday, October 13th 2016, 1:45 pm AEST
JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -

In the last week, there have been three serious train accidents in Jackson and the metro area.

The most recent one happened at the intersection of Bullard and Columbia Wednesday. Although investigators are not sure what led to the crash, it is possible the driver was trying to beat the train and the car stalled.

Jackson police say a husband and wife were inside of the car.

Police say the woman managed to escape before the train hit, but her husband remains critical at a Jackson hospital. Feet away from where that accident happened, is another intersection that residents in the area say is also dangerous.

Joshua Thornton says people try to beat the train at that intersection and at others along Bullard Street.

"Today we got people so stubborn and try rush a lot of situations that they don't care if they jump the track or not and if someone get hit it could be a terrible situation. Could be fatal," said Thornton.

Last week in Holmes County, a truck driver died while trying to cross the track. This past weekend, a woman was hit on Boling Street.

"People don't really pay attention to how fast they maybe going, how close they are to the tracks," said Kristopher Yarbrough, of Jackson.

Kansas City Southern Railroad want to stress some important safety reminders. Their Office of Communications sent us this statement:

"For public safety, The Kansas City Southern Railway Company would like to remind the community that whether the crossing is public or private or regardless of what type of warning is in place, motorists and pedestrians are urged to always expect a train. In addition, pedestrians are urged to stay off railroad rights-of-way. Do not walk along the track or trespass on railroad rights-of-way and only cross the tracks at designated crossings."

"For public safety, The Kansas City Southern Railway Company would like to remind the community that whether the crossing is public or private or regardless of what type of warning is in place, motorists and pedestrians are urged to always expect a train. In addition, pedestrians are urged to stay off railroad rights-of-way. Do not walk along the track or trespass on railroad rights-of-way and only cross the tracks at designated crossings."

It is the 21st century....
A railway crossing should be upgraded to 21st century style....
You don't ask pedestrians and car drivers to look out, you tell them the train is coming a few minutes later!

 

[ahojunk]

Some good news from EU.

========
Tuesday, October 04, 2016
European railway accidents down 14% since 2014
Written by Dan Templeton

ACCORDING to an International Union of Railways’ (UIC) report released on October 4, improved safety in railway operations led to a 14% drop in 2015 in accidents compared with 2014, and a 32% decrease since 2006.

The report also highlights the causes of accidents. Of the accidents that occurred, 80% were due to external causes, and 47% were caused by trespassers.

The UIC safety database recorded that 20% of the significant accidents had internal causes, comprising technical, organisational, and human failures within the railway operation system, including passengers and other rail users.

For every 20 fatalities in 2015, one was a passenger or employee while 19 were third parties, mainly trespassers and level crossing users. Only one fatality of a train driver in collisions between trains and derailments was recorded in the 2014-2015 period. A total of 1624 significant accidents were recorded in 2015, significantly less than the 1879 significant accidents recorded in the previous year.

The report also presents a Global Safety Index (GSI), which reflects more than the number of events, because each accident is weighted according to the type of accident, number and category of victims, and responsibility. Therefore an overall safety trend can be produced without being influenced by isolated outliers such as infrequent major events.

The GSI highlights that 2015 was the safest year yet, scoring 7.81.

The full report can be read here.

 

[AndrewJin]

Infra in UK is rust....
They need a strong leader to overhaul the entire system

Commuters killed, trapped as London tram overturns in Croydon tunnel

London: At least seven people were killed and more than 50 injured when a tram overturned in south London, police say and later confirming the driver has been arrested.

Early indications were that the tram was travelling too fast on a sharp bend, investigators said.

Emergency services were called early on Wednesday morning to reports that the two-carriage tram had derailed near a stop close to central Croydon, a large suburb to the south of the British capital and a major transport hub.

"We can confirm a total of at least seven people have sadly died at Croydon," police said in a statement. "Officers continue to work at the scene.

London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, warned that the death toll from the crash could rise

Asst Chief Constable Robin Smith, of British Transport Police, said detectives where investigating whether the driver had been asleep "alongside a number of factors". The BTP said a 42-year-old man from Beckenham was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

The independent Rail Accident Investigation Branch said the derailment had happened on a sharp curve with a 12 mph (20 km/h) speed limit.

"Initial indications suggest that the tram was travelling at a significantly higher speed than is permitted," it said in a statement.

A London Ambulance spokesman said 51 others had been taken to hospital, some with critical injuries.

Eight fire engines, five specialist rescue units and more than 70 firefighters attended the scene using heavy cutting equipment to free those trapped.

Television pictures showed the tram lying on its side across the tracks not far from the Sandilands stop near a junction where the line divides. Police said investigations were ongoing into the cause of the accident which took place in heavy rain.

Passenger Martin Bamford, 30, from Croydon, said: "Everyone just literally went flying."

He said people were screaming and there was "blood everywhere". Asked about the driver, Mr Bamford, added: "I asked him if he was OK. He said 'yeah'. I said to him 'what happened?' He said he thinks he blacked out."

Other passengers said drivers often went too fast around that bend. Andy Nias wrote on Facebook that he and 29 fellow travellers had feared the worst when their tram "took the hard corner to Sandilands at 40mph". He added: "I swear the tram lifted on to one side."

Martin Harris, who was on his way to work, told his mother he had been left badly hurt, with a dead passenger lying on top of him.

Jane Harris said: "My son was on the tram, I spoke to him for a few seconds and he said that the tram driver was going really fast, it looked like the driver had fallen asleep, the next thing he knew the tram had derailed and gone over."

Kudirat Okesola, 46, said she went to the scene after hearing that her husband, Taiye Ajibola, had been hurt on his way to work. She said she could hear trapped people calling for help and crying and added: "My husband was covered with blood."

Prime Minister Theresa May said her thoughts and prayers were with those affected by "this terrible incident".

Finn Brennan, of the train drivers' union Aslef, said: "This is a tragedy for all those involved. For the women and men who set out this morning on their journey to work and suffered this awful accident and their families, the grief and pain must be terrible."

Wednesday's incident was the greatest loss of life in a British rail accident since seven people were killed and 70 injured when a high-speed train from London came off the tracks at Potters Bar station north of the capital in 2002.

Reuters, London Telegraph