Posted on 09/22/2006 1:00:54 PM PDT by kellynla
A high-speed magnetic train traveling at nearly 125 mph crashed Friday in northwestern Germany, killing 23 people and injuring 10 in the first fatal wreck involving the high-tech system, officials said. Karl-Heinz Brueggeman, a rescue services official, said the death toll rose to 23 after a search in and around the wrecked train, which derailed after smashing into a maintenance cart.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
I didn't see this already posted. So here it is.
Clearly human error.
This is terrible. Prayers for all the victims and their families.
Train travelling at 120 mph.
Yes...
I have ridden high speed rail over in Germany. Nice way to travel but if the train wipes out the results are rather messy.
Sad news for the families and loved ones of the people aboard.
This caught my eye also - but it is still just running on the test track.
I can't comprehend why we have not jumped on this technology as part of a solution to our transportation problems.
An L.A. to Las Vegas route would seem to be a perfect start, with stops at LAX and McCarran
Because many rail systems simply aren't economical. There are some exceptions, but it has to be able to earn its own way. Amtrak is still a big taxpayer subsidy.
Prayers for all involved.
I wonder what went wrong?
No way could that train be stopped in time.
How big is a maintenance cart? Wouldn't the train just push it out of the way?
I'll have to wait til someone posts a longer article.
"...derailed after smashing into a maintenance cart..."
That could be important. I was assuming it was a failure of the train, as opposed to a collision.
>>Don't they have sensors which would detect something like that?<<
That is in version 1.1.
Because it is an expensive piece of crap boondoggle technology. Even Germany, where it was invented, has rejected maglev technology, all they have is a test track. The plans for an intercity line were abandoned. China built a short segment not out of economic wisdom but rather to try and show how 'advanced' they have become. Smoke and mirrors, literally, as one of their trains caught fire about a month ago. It can't share existing tracks with normal railroads, so the entire route has to be newly built, elevated, and very expensive ROW has to be acquired for it to penetrate into cities (which is one reason why the Chinese line has been a failure, it runs only from the Shanghai airport to the outskirts instead of the business center.) The only reason this sham technology is being looked at in the US is because a few Senators from states wanting to build a shiny whiz-bang project tried to throw Congressional pork at it, along with the PA Senators since Adtranz based its maglev headquarters in Pittsburgh. In reality if they really want a high-speed train service they could use the conventional technology at a fraction of the cost per mile.
Maglev is a joke and potentially a huge waste of taxpayer money. Shiny, new, and sleek doesn't make it economical, practical, cost-effective, or competitive. Just another form of white elephant monorail.
So were the dozens of people killed or injured test engineers? Or was this a test commuter line? I rode high speed route between Frankfurt am Main and Munchen. Pretty impressive, even if I was a little dopey from jet lag to appreciate it. My husband who spent a few years in Germany kept pointing out landmarks which passed too quickly for me to even spot.
Train commuting is nice but it is not very economical, particularly in the wide open spaces of the Western U.S. Germany is only the size of the state of Oregon so its people are concentrated but it is still rather expensive even there.
Prayers for the victims' families. Hubby who is a European train nut won't be happy to hear this but he will also not be surprised. He's more retro, modeling 30s through 50s technology.
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