Calgary Public Transit - Discussion

[Addick]

Doesn't the CTrain use some sort of Automatic Train Protection or Train Protection System that would stop the LRVs? I'm pretty sure they do because if you peek into the driver cabin, there is usually a sheet covering the override procedure.

[frinkprof]

Something similar happened, but not as severe, several years ago at the Dalhousie tail tracks when it was the terminus station. If I recall correctly, that one was a medical issue with the operator. He had some sort of episode where he blacked out and went through the fence at a low speed.

I would guess that the lead car is a write off, second may be as well, and the third will be repaired.

[You Need a Thneed]

2.5 cars off the end of the track, that's about 65 metres. That train must have hit the end of the track going nearly full speed to get that far.

That's not a simple operator error. Obviously speculation, but Operator health emergency or mechanical failure are the only likely causes that I can see, and I would tend to think there are multiple redundancies to prevent mechanical failures of this kind.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

So the 2 posts above mine guessing what happened are OK, but mention something beyond anyone's control and it is over the line? Well OK then.

I read a tone into your reply (coming on the heels of HotHotHeat's) that obviously wasn't there. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[woob]

Damnit! Why couldn't it have been one of the old car trains!

[nik-]

I don't think the cars are meant to drive off road like that.

[Redliner]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

All cars look completely destroyed.

Damage actually looks pretty minor to the 2nd and 3rd cars to me, but who knows what is going on mechanically underneath them. The first one is iffy - it looks bad with the smashed front end but unless there are structural issues it could probably be repaired as well. Rail equipment is generally very robust and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see these cars back in service in a year.

Equipment aside, I'm just glad everyone is OK. (or at least alive - I haven't seen any updates on the driver's condition) It's just really fortunate that this didn't end up a lot worse than it was. A nearly empty train obviously is the best case scenario - if it had been packed with commuters at rush hour it may have been a different story.

Strangely though, it's actually kind of comforting to see that in a situation where something obviously went horribly wrong that the infrastructure did pretty much what it was designed to do. The train cars all stayed upright during a high-speed derailment, they didn't crumple or accordion on top of each other, and the gravel "catch pad" at the end of the line stopped the train the way it was supposed to. The C-train is actually a very well-designed and safe method of public transportation.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Redliner

Strangely though, it's actually kind of comforting to see that in a situation where something obviously went horribly wrong that the infrastructure did pretty much what it was designed to do. The train cars all stayed upright during a high-speed derailment, they didn't crumple or accordion on top of each other, and the gravel "catch pad" at the end of the line stopped the train the way it was supposed to. The C-train is actually a very well-designed and safe method of public transportation.

I'm pretty sure the end piece here was actually designed to catch water as a ditch and they filled it with the same bedding material as the rest of the track bed. It just happened to work out well at keeping the train upright due to the depth of said ditch considering how far the train made it.

If you look at other end points, usually it's loose filled bedding with the stop block and the terminating catenary pole at the same elevation as the rest of the track.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by Redliner

Damage actually looks pretty minor to the 2nd and 3rd cars to me, but who knows what is going on mechanically underneath them. The first one is iffy - it looks bad with the smashed front end but unless there are structural issues it could probably be repaired as well. Rail equipment is generally very robust and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see these cars back in service in a year.

Equipment aside, I'm just glad everyone is OK. (or at least alive - I haven't seen any updates on the driver's condition) It's just really fortunate that this didn't end up a lot worse than it was. A nearly empty train obviously is the best case scenario - if it had been packed with commuters at rush hour it may have been a different story.

Strangely though, it's actually kind of comforting to see that in a situation where something obviously went horribly wrong that the infrastructure did pretty much what it was designed to do. The train cars all stayed upright during a high-speed derailment, they didn't crumple or accordion on top of each other, and the gravel "catch pad" at the end of the line stopped the train the way it was supposed to. The C-train is actually a very well-designed and safe method of public transportation.

True but he blew through a stop (according to a witness in a post above), what if it happened beside a road crossing? Isn't it luck this happen at the end of the line?

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Burninator

It was around 7am. It was going north to the end of the line so not surprising it was almost empty.

aha lucky there is nothing there. The 69 Train has the high school at the end of the line to it's busy both ways.

[Redliner]

Originally Posted by Kavvy

True but he blew through a stop (according to a witness in a post above), what if it happened beside a road crossing? Isn't it luck this happen at the end of the line?

As far as I know, all of the road crossings on the C-train lines are protected with lights and/or gates. The crossing circuits are completely independent of the train controls and would function regardless of whether the train's movement was "expected" or not. I realize that despite the safeguards people still manage to run into the C-train on an alarmingly regular basis, but no system is completely idiot proof and 99% of those collisions are due to driver error on the part of the motorist.

Ballast is definitely used for drainage (and to help anchor the tracks in place) but it's my understanding that the gravel pads at the end of the line do double duty as a secondary safety feature to stop or prevent unintended movement of anything that gets past the stop blocks. It's a technique employed on highway runaway lanes as well - the gravel will slow the object rolling into it without stopping it too suddenly. Admittedly the gravel pads aren't very long, but typically something at the end of the line shouldn't still be going track speed.

Full disclosure here...I didn't design the C-train infrastructure, nor do I work for Calgary Transit, so anything I've written here is just speculation on my part based on my personal work experience with railways & railway infrastructure. Take it for what it's worth.

[Fuzz]

The crossings downtown don't have flashing lights/gates.

[Burninator]

Is there stop blocks there? I looked on google earth and couldn't see any. There is a pole that holds up the power line.

[Madman]

Looks like driver error or medical potentially.

Bryan Labby @CBCBryan
C-Train operator accelerated to full speed in the wrong direction causing derailment. #Tuscany #Ctrain

[Burninator]

Looks like the first car is a write off.

Although there is no damage estimate yet, Calgary Transit’s acting director Russell Davies says one of the cars — worth $3.5 million dollars — is destroyed.

“The first car looks like it is a write off,” he stated. “There has been significant damage on the underside, damage to all the major systems and wiring. We are in the process of cutting that train in half, so we are able to remove it from site.”

http://www.660news.com/2016/09/20/mo...in-derailment/

[KevanGuy]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Looks like the first car is a write off.



http://www.660news.com/2016/09/20/mo...in-derailment/

The driver of the train, a woman in her 60s, remains in hospital in serious but stable condition.

Davies says she is an experienced driver and there is nothing to suggest she suffered a medical problem.

[Swift]

I'm somewhat confused by this. The piece on Global today said the three passengers had just got on and were expecting the train to reverse the other way. Does that mean that the driver literally forgot to get out of her cabin and walk to the other end of the train before driving off? Like she somehow thought she was facing the right way and accelerated?

[puckedoff]

Originally Posted by Cameron Swift

I'm somewhat confused by this. The piece on Global today said the three passengers had just got on and were expecting the train to reverse the other way. Does that mean that the driver literally forgot to get out of her cabin and walk to the other end of the train before driving off? Like she somehow thought she was facing the right way and accelerated?

Get off your high horse man, trains ain't easy.

[Clarkey]

It's likely that a few people get on at Crowfoot to go backwards to get seats before it goes to Tuscany.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

It's likely that a few people get on at Crowfoot to go backwards to get seats before it goes to Tuscany.

It stopped at Tuscany and people got on there.

$7 million in damage apparently?