Talk about timing: a derailment during a presentation about derailments.

Talk about timing. A Metra train derails at low speed going through a switch in downtown Chicago, while a thousand miles away, wheel-rail experts talk about switches being a top cause of derailments in the United States.

Here’s what we know about Metra first: about 1 a.m. on Wednesday, a Metra Electric train headed to Millennium Park Station from University Park (inbound to downtown) was moving through a switch at 10 mph when it derailed and damaged two tracks. Five passengers and three crew members on board were uninjured. The derailment made news in Chicago and earned a headline on the Chicago Tribune website by mid-morning.

So what? Well, the coincidence is overwhelming considering that the top track engineers in the world are meeting at the 21st annual Wheel-Rail Interaction conference in Atlanta. Two of four presentations this morning focused on the problems of freight cars and locomotives derailing through switches and corresponding problems with switch points, frogs, and transition rails. There was also discussion on how to tell (with measurements) the difference between good and bad switches. Another morning presentation addressed the problems railroads face with so-called “wide gage” derailments, or derailments where rails are too far apart to support a train.

Uncanny, right?

According to the Tribune, Metra says the derailment’s cause is undetermined. That sounds smart after listening to the wide gage presentation which says that rail investigators (who are worth their salt) should check for all possible defects contributing to a derailment before labeling a single cause. These defects might include excessively worn wheels, “stiff” trucks, worn rails, or a kink in track alignment, among other things.

Knowing what I know now, it will be interesting to see what Metra discovers on its derailment and if it is anything like what the experts here describe in a "typical" accident.

So, that’s what we’ve got for now from WRI 2015. I’ve got to get back to learning more about manganese switch frogs.

For more information on Wheel-Rail Interaction, visit the website.