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High Speed Derailment in Italy

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LNW-GW Joint

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The BBC is reporting the derailment of what looks like a Frecciarossa 1000 (Hitachi/Bombardier) train near Milan.
It appears to have happened on the high-speed route between Milan and Bologna.
It was a very early service, with low numbers of passengers on board (28).
Two people have been killed after a high-speed train derailed near the northern Italian city of Lodi, emergency services say.
Both of the dead are thought to be drivers. At least one person, a cleaner on the train, had significant but not life-threatening injuries.
The train was travelling from Milan to the southern city of Salerno.
All services on the Milan-Bologna high-speed route have been suspended and diverted via conventional lines.
The train left the tracks some 40km (25 miles) from Milan at around 05:30 local time (04:30 GMT), the railway company said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51397027

Local report and picture (in Italian):
http://www.rainews.it/dl/rainews/ar...iti-e60cd5aa-38ae-4016-8b7f-cbfbd6178f89.html

Train was FR9595, 0510 Milano Centrale-Salerno.
The Italian text from RAI suggests line maintenance might have been in progress on the route at the time.
 
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Makes me think of the Grayrigg train crash although not the first train of the day, it was due to incomplete maintenance on a set of points.
I'll have to brush up on my Italian or paste it into Google Translate, I think.
 

adamello

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Makes me think of the Grayrigg train crash although not the first train of the day, it was due to incomplete maintenance on a set of points.
I'll have to brush up on my Italian or paste it into Google Translate, I think.
The version of the webpage (as translated by chrome)

ITALY Lodi, the Milan-Salerno high-speed train derails: two train drivers killed, injured

Accident on the high-speed line near Livraga station, in the Lodi countryside: the 9595 Milan-Salerno train, a Frecciarossa1000, with 28 passengers on board in addition to the Trenitalia traveling staff, is derailed. The two train drivers died, 27 injured, two of whom were transported to hospital in yellow code. The most serious, according to law enforcement officials, has a fractured leg.

According to a first reconstruction, shortly after 5.30 the engine of the convoy, practically empty, would have left the tracks ending first against a trolley that was on a parallel track, and then against a railway building, where it finished its race. The rest of the convoy, however, continued the race by remaining on the tracks for a while longer and at a certain point the second carriage overturned, stopping the train. The tractor is located about 100 meters before what remains of the second carriage, which is thrown to the side with respect to the ballast and beyond the railway building. The stretch where the accident occurred appears, from aerial images, straight. As far as we learned, there was only one passenger on the first carriage and there were very few in the second and third.

Of course, the causes of the accident are being investigated, but in the area, as far as has been learned, maintenance work had been carried out on the line. It could have been a problem to exchange one of the causes that led to the derailment of the. According to what is reported to ANSA, in fact, the 'departure' of the train would have occurred at an exchange, where just last night, or late yesterday evening, a 'turnout' would have been replaced, or a piece of the exchange itself .

"It could have been a carnage": this is what the prefect of Lodi Marcello Cardona said who carried out an inspection on the site of the derailment of the train that had left Milan in the direction of Salerno at 5.10. He should have arrived in Salerno at 11.27. "Some wounded were received at the Emergency Department of Piacenza and Castel San Giovanni. The 118 in Piacenza and all the Piacenza Ausl structures alerted and ready to intervene requested by the Lombard authorities", said the president of Emilia-Romagna Stefano Bonaccini , as the accident occurred about 30 kilometers from Piacenza.

Traffic on the Milan-Bologna high-speed line was suspended, all trains were routed on the conventional Milan-Piacenza line, with delays of up to 60 minutes. Trains are routed on an alternative route between Milan and Piacenza with a longer journey time of 1 hour. Italian Railway Network (RFI) announces that trains are being reprogrammed, while a dozen trains have been canceled.

Pain for what happened was expressed by the world of politics, with the Minister of Transport, Paola De Micheli, who is going to the place of the derailment. One wounded: I thought I was dead "I thought I was dead," "I can't describe what happened, I still don't realize it. The train was going very fast, perhaps at three hundred kilometers per hour. Suddenly I heard a violent blow. A very loud roar" . It is the story of one of the wounded in the Lodigiano railway derailment, a 21-year-old young man hospitalized in the emergency room of the Piacenza hospital, in a testimony collected from the online edition of the Piacenza newspaper Libertà. The boy, a foreigner, was traveling in the second carriage, near the window, together with a friend. "We shook hands tightly to avoid falling - he told a few hours after the derailment of the train on the high-speed line in Livraga, in the Lodi area - The wagon overturned and we, waiting for help, we went out through a hole to save ourselves. For a quarter of an hour, unfortunately, we were stuck on board. I thought I was dead. I am a Muslim, I closed my eyes and prayed ".

The public prosecutor of Lodi opens an investigation file The Public Prosecutor of Lodi has opened an investigation into the accident that took place this morning in Ospedaletto Lodigiano along the high-speed railway line. On the spot, in addition to the carabinieri and the police with the Scientific departments, the Guardia di Finanza has also arrived at this time and the investigative nucleus of the firefighters is arriving from Milan. - See more at: http://www.rainews.it/dl/rainews/ar...iti-e60cd5aa-38ae-4016-8b7f-cbfbd6178f89.html
 

LNW-GW Joint

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The crash site is I think at Livraga, near 45.1885, 9.5689.
This is about 30km from the start of the AV route, so probably travelling near maximum speed.
From the Google map, there is evidently a maintenance depot nearby, with connections from the main line.
Most of the train seems to have stayed upright.
 

AndrewE

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The rough translation above says
the engine of the convoy, practically empty, would have left the tracks ending first against a trolley that was on a parallel track, and then against a railway building, where it finished its race. The rest of the convoy, however, continued the race by remaining on the tracks for a while longer and at a certain point the second carriage overturned, stopping the train
so it's not surprising that the different parts of the train are widely separated.
The drone footage is remarkable, the power car seems to have come down parallel to the running line and ended up behind the building, but coincidentally both it and the rest of the train stopped in about the same place.
 

EAD

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Think the key points have been covered. Not sure how everyone's Italian is, but if you do read it then Repubblica (one of the main national dailies) has an article here https://milano.repubblica.it/cronac...L-I0-C12-P1-S1.12-T1#gallery-slider=247794448 Of course there is plenty of rolling coverage too.

This paragraph seems to be key as to why the power car ended up where it did, sadly killing both in the cab, perhaps not surprising when you consider what they hit and that they were doing 280 Km/h according to reports. My on the fly translation is below.

"E' stata ricostruita una prima parziale dinamica del deragliamento del Treno Av 9595, il primo Frecciarossa del mattino partito da Milano alle 5.10, avvenuto stamani. Secondo le forze dell'ordine la motrice del convoglio, dopo essere sviata dai binari per cause ancora da chiarire, sarebbe uscita completamente dalla sede finendo prima contro due carrelli della manutenzione su un binario parallelo, e poi contro una palazzina delle ferrovie, dove ha terminato la sua corsa. Il resto del convoglio avrebbe invece proseguito la corsa ancora un po' con la seconda carrozza che ad un certo punto si sarebbe ribaltata. Potrebbe essere stato un problema a uno scambio una delle cause che hanno portato, stamani alle 5.34, nel Lodigiano, al deragliamento del treno Av 9595 che ha causato la morte di due persone e il ferimento di una trentina di passeggeri. Secondo quanto risulta all'ANSA, infatti, lo 'sviamentò del treno sarebbe avvenuto in corrispondenza di uno scambio, dove proprio la scorsa notte, o nella tarda serata di ieri, sarebbe stato sostituito un 'deviatoio', ovvero un pezzo dello scambio stesso"

"
The initial parts of how the derailment of train Av 9595, the first frecciarossa service of the day which left Milan at 05:10 have been pieced together. According to emergency services the power car, after having derailed for as yet unknown reasons, appears to have left the track completely and first hit two maintenance wagons on a parallel track, before it collided with a small building belonging to the railway where its came to a halt. The rest of the rake continued for a while along the track until at a certain point the second carriage tipped over. It could be that there was a problem with a point which could be one of the causes for the derailment high speed train Av 9595at 05:34 in Lodigiano, leading to the death of two people and injuries to around 30 passengers. In fact, according to ANSA [Italy's main news wire cooperative] the derailment took place where there is a point which last night, or late yesterday evening, was due to be replaced or have a part replaced." [clearly no technical details as to what e.g. switchblades, frog, etc.]
 

mpthomson

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Italian police also claiming that the train hit a 'freight cart' and that the bodies of the drivers were found approx. 500m from the scene, which gives an idea of the forces involved in this accident.
 

BRX

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It's as if the front struck something that deflected it way off to the side, and whatever that thing was, was moved out of the way by the impact and hence the following coaches were not affected by it.

The freight wagons mentioned seem to be off in the sidings - so they were hit after the loco was deflected from the track.
 

axlecounter

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The train hit the wrong-set point at speed, (290kmh is said, let’s say between 250 and 300). I suppose the first coach got so violently and instantly swept to the side that it literally was ripped off the rest of the train.
The maintenance services reported an hour before the derailment that this point was disconnected and set and blocked to the normal position. Screenshots of the registered message appeared on the web.
 

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30907

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Any chance the points were mis-wired? i.e set to divert when intended to be straight and vice versa.
It is also possible that the points were damaged by the derailment rather than the cause of it. But all this is speculation.
 

Railperf

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The
Wouldn't explain why the rest of the train carried straight on?
They didn't carry straight on. The points are set for a passing loop normally max speed 60 to 100kph. The train was doing 280kph and has jumped the track and ended up between the main line and the loop.
 

Railperf

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Lots of questions needing answering here: work had been carried out on the points leading onto a passing loop the night before. Had the correct testing been done to ensure the points were fully functional? And if so, why did the signalling system - ETCS level 2- not detect that they were in a diverging state and slow the train down? we know that ETCS does display a dynamic speed display related to the trains braking curve. So if the driver had been given a warning to slow down, the brakes would have been applied at no more than 10 to 20kph over the braking curve speed at any point. Having been aboard trains that stop at Reggio Emilia AV (high speed) station, the turnouts there are only 60kph. So unlike French LGV turnouts designed for 170kph and allow a fast approach speed, the Italian trains stopping at Reggio Emilia seem to slow down and be doing 60kph at least 1 kilometre before the station turnouts.
It seems that somehow the signalling system was 'fooled' into thinking the points today were locked in the straight ahead position. Either that or there was a fault with the interlocking or even the drivers indication, or maybe even the safety systems. Luckily only a few dozen on board. Imagine the carnage if it had been a busy peak service.
 

edwin_m

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As far as I can see this is the first fatal accident on high-speed rail in Europe. Other fatal accidents involving high-speed trains have been on classic lines or on connecting track between the two.
 

Railperf

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As far as I can see this is the first fatal accident on high-speed rail in Europe. Other fatal accidents involving high-speed trains have been on classic lines or on connecting track between the two.
This may be the first tragedy on a relatively newly built high-speed line involving fare paying passengers. The French suffered a tragedy on their LGV Est high speed line when a test train approaching the end of the line had not slowed down enough and went too fast round a bend killing many on board who were technicians and their friends and family.
Until then the French were very proud to say they had never had an accident on their high speed lines. The majority of TGV accidents occurred on the 'classic' lines -particularly at level crossings.
 

Railperf

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Been analysing the picture. The bogies off the front car are circled and the lines indicate the pathView attachment 73540
It looks as though the force of the initial impact caused the leading vehicle to jump the tracks. They are reporting it hit another vehicle in the loop - where it seems that the force of that impact caused it to spin around 180 degrees and become detached from the rest of the coaches, and it has carried on striking the building and coming to rest beside it on the left hand side.
What the newspapers are reporting this morning is that the points facing the train had been worked on. Workers had replaced a hydraulic actuator and claim they left the points facing the normal position on completing the works around 4am. They claim to have left the points deactivated electrically, though it isn't clear whether that also includes any interlock sensors that confirm the actual position of those points.
The pictures clearly show the points diverging into a passing loop. Could the force of the incident have caused them to change direction?

This is the google translated version of the newspaper story:
According to what is learned from Rfi (Rete Ferrovie Italiane - Italian network rail), the maintenance intervention on that exchange (points) was ordinary and scheduled, the sensors arranged along the network had not reported any failure. The technicians only needed to replace a part of the diverter, as required by the safety practice on material wear. Around 4 o'clock last night, the intervention (works) ended and the foreman informed the Livraga headquarters, which in turn reported to the Bologna Area Management responsible for traffic on that stretch of the High Speed line. Hence, this phonogram (message) is inserted in the Ertms system (European Rail Traffic Management System) used by the network operator to communicate with the trains, headed to the Livraga Movement Post: "Dev. 05 (points number 5) disconnected and confirmed in normal position as per phono 78/81 until further notice ". Outside of technical jargon it means that the electrical system of the Ospedaletto Lodigiano exchange, which allows it to be opened and closed remotely, has been deactivated, probably for maintenance needs, but that the exchange - here is the crucial point - has been left "in normal position". The two drivers of 9595 read the phonogram, the train can travel safely at 292 km per hour which is the speed allowed in that section by the Ertms system. Even if they wanted to exceed the limit, the system would brake them because it is totally automated. Although advanced, however, the computer does not see, and cannot see, the possible human error of the workers along the line."
 

edwin_m

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This may be the first tragedy on a relatively newly built high-speed line involving fare paying passengers. The French suffered a tragedy on their LGV Est high speed line when a test train approaching the end of the line had not slowed down enough and went too fast round a bend killing many on board who were technicians and their friends and family.
Until then the French were very proud to say they had never had an accident on their high speed lines. The majority of TGV accidents occurred on the 'classic' lines -particularly at level crossings.
I consider that one to be on a lower-speed connecting track not an actual high speed line. Similarly for the one at Santiago de Compostela.

There have been accidents on the French high speed lines - a derailment on TGV Nord due to undetected WW1 excavations springs to mind. But no fatalities.
 

Railperf

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What i do note here is how well the rest of the train has seemingly fared considering the speeds involved and impacts sustained. The leading vehicle is the one that sustained the worst damage. Out of the thirsty or so passengers on board only a couple with more serious injuries. Italians seem to classify injuries as green or yellow.
 

LNW-GW Joint

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The track of the debris is unbelievable.
There could so easily have been severe casualties on the ground as well as on the train.
I can't see the line reopening quickly.

As you might expect, there is extreme disruption to High Speed services in Italy.
Services not truncated or cancelled are using the classic line Bologna-Piacenza-Milan, with local disruptions as a result.
It might even be quicker/more reliable to reroute via Verona or Padova.
https://www.trenitalia.com/it/informazioni/Infomobilita/notizie-infomobilita.html

Trenitalia also have a headline offering condolences to the deceased, with maximum support for their families.
 
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