Two metro trains collide in Rome, Italy

[e_m_frimbo]

There is still no word as to the exact cause of the accident. The macchinista or motorman of the train that crashed into the stopped train was not seriously injured and has been released from the hospital. He has maintained that he received permission to stop and proceed. One account said that the signal was permissive stop. The train was to proceed not exceeding 15 kmh. If I'm not mistaken, there is a significant curve between the next station south, Manzoni, and Vittorio Emanuele, so there would have been limited visibility of the track ahead.

The trainset is fairly new, manufactured by a firm in Spain. There was a problem of some sort with a similar unit about a year ago  that took place in the yard. For whatever reason the train did not stop in time and crashed through the bumper post. The same type of equipment was involved in the crash in Valencia, Spain, last summer, but that accident has been attributed to excessive speed.

[martin.knoepfel]

Good idea to post a map of Rome.

And an impressive video. The student who shot pictures in such a moment must have nerves like steel-ropes, as we would say in german.

[MStLfan]

And a video by a Dutch student of the first 2 minutes of evacuation of the train station.

After the screaming in the beginning you can hear a teacher give orders to the students. On the stairs there is speculation about a bomb but the student filming is sure it is a crash. He talks about another metro train crashing into the rear.

http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=1794858634241171204&pr=goog-sl

greetings,

Marc Immeker

 

[MStLfan]

From the BBC News website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6057876.stm

Two metro trains collide in Rome

One train rammed into the back of another at the Rome station Enlarge Image One person was killed and about 110 were injured when two metro trains collided during the morning rush hour in Rome, officials say. The crash took place at Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II station in the centre of the Italian capital. The trains were travelling on metro line A. The square above has been cordoned off. Police and firemen are at the scene. Passengers said the crash happened when one train arriving at the station crashed into the back of another. It has been confirmed so far that one passenger has died, a 30-year-old woman. It is a terrible tragedy Walter Veltroni Rome mayor In pictures: Rome crash 'I was horribly frightened' Collision aftermath It was earlier reported that the driver of the second train had also been killed, but the metro company denied this, saying he was seriously injured and in hospital. Everyone on board the trains has been freed from the wreckage, reports say. About 110 are said to have been injured, several of them seriously. Lights at the station had gone out, and there was a lot of dust and smoke, which hampered rescue efforts. 'Train was getting closer' The crash happened at 0937 (0737 GMT), one stop away from the mainline train terminus in Rome, reports say. One train was stopped at the station platform to let passengers get off when the second train crashed into it from the back, leaving its front carriage concertinaed, passengers said. "I saw the train in front and it seemed as though it was getting closer and closer to us and nothing was happening," Fabiano De Santis, a lawyer, told Italian television. "I realised there was going to be an impact and so I managed to move forward in the carriage and I saw the train came towards me. It was a very strong impact." Italian television showed images of victims being carried out on stretchers while other passengers emerged looking dazed. Some were spattered with blood. "We saw people streaming out of the entrance to the tube station," Francesco Quirinis, a porter with the Hotel Napoleon, opposite the metro entrance, told the BBC News website. "They looked shocked, disorientated, they were supporting each other. The police, ambulances - everyone was on the scene within 10 minutes and they immediately blocked off the piazza. There was a continuous coming and going of ambulances for about an hour after the crash. "We gave them bottles of water, a place to sit down. We did all we could to help them - as anyone would." The city's mayor later visited the crash site. "When I arrived at the scene of the crash and saw it, it was difficult to describe. It is a terrible tragedy," Walter Veltroni told Italian television. "Obviously, we don't understand why this happened - they are new metro trains so therefore in absolute working order. We have now asked the metro to try to give us the necessary information in order to help understand how something like this could have happened."

 

 

 

From later information there is speculation that the rear train stopped for a red signal and the driver was told by the dispatcher to go on and use reduced speed. Rumour has it that this happens everyday.

Of the 110 injured 5 are in serious condition. Several tourist were injured but some 60 Dutch students came away unharmed.

Greetings,

Marc Immeker

 

EUROPEAN TRAIN ACCIDENTS

October 2006: Five killed in collision between two trains in north-eastern France

September 2006: A German monorail train crashes during a test run killing 23 people

August 2006: A train derailment kills six and injures 36 in northern Spain

June 2006: Forty-one people are killed when a metro train derails in the Spanish city of Valencia

January 2006: At least 44 people are killed and more than 180 injured when a train plunges into a ravine in southern Montenegro