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macross1984 t1_j9gzkow wrote

Train derailments are preventable accidents so long as proper maintenance is done. Companies should be either fined or executives jailed for skimping on properly maintaining trains and rails.

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Phreakiture t1_j9ko0mk wrote

It will go a long way for sure.

It's not a complete answer, though. We also need to improve people's sensibilities around grade crossings. I saw a video last week of a derailment caused by a truck carrying an I-beam stuck at a grade crossing. You can see from the video how abruptly the lead locomotive slowed, and the effect that follows is essentially the same phenomenon as when a trailer jackknifes.

Now, here's where I do have a problem there: with the extremely long trains they've been running, they've been inserting additional locomotives mid-train. If the lead locomotive gets slowed down abruptly by a collision, that mid-train locomotive is going to be still pushing, exacerbating the problem already caused by the weight of all of that train's cargo moving forward.

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