Train collides with shopping trolley

[me123]

Why does it not surprise me that this was, for most of my life, my local station? :roll:

From BBC News

A person who threw a trolley onto train tracks is lucky to be alive, transport police have said. Officers described the incident near Blairhill Station, in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, on Sunday night as "stupid and dangerous".
The shopping trolley was hurled through overhead power lines which could have electrocuted the person. A train hit the trolley, but there was no serious damage to the vehicle or any injuries on board. British Transport Police have appealed for anyone with information to contact them.

'Stupid and dangerous'

PC Mark Harrington said: "We believe the trolley was thrown onto the tracks before the train struck it. "It's incredible that whoever threw it was not electrocuted, as the trolley has gone between the overhead wires. "This was a stupid and dangerous thing to do and could have had very serious consequences, not only for the person throwing the trolley but also for the driver and all the passengers of the train that collided with it. "This happened in a residential area so it is likely that someone will have seen or heard people by the tracks around the time of the incident.

"I would like to speak to anyone who has any information that could help with this investigation."

Going on the quotes, it would appear that the trolley in question was thrown from the new station over bridge - picture below.

I can't really put it any better than the BTP. "Stupid and Dangerous" just about sums it up. Thankfully no-one was hurt, and hopefully the train won't be out of action for too long.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Did anyone manage to get the £1 coin back?

Obviously the new regulation parapet height is not enough of a deterent. We need to tell Network Rail to change all the EGIP and Shotts parapets to 2.8 m. :roll:

What I find incredible is the stupidity and pointlessness of the action, not the lack of an electrocution (whether in it literal or colloquial sense) as the perpetrator would be unlikely to have attached a conducting wire to the trolley and held on to it as (presumably) he wheeched it over the side of the footbridge.

There must surely be CCTV footage of this idiot - most stations on the line are fair bristling with cameras.

 

[Merseysider]

A person who threw a trolley onto train tracks is lucky to be alive...

Because if the driver/passengers had gotten hold of him it wouldn't have been a pretty sight

I fail to see how this is anything other than attempted murder given the potential consequences (train derails, trolley goes through front, hits driver, etc).

 

[me123]

There must surely be CCTV footage of this idiot - most stations on the line are fair bristling with cameras.

At least nine cameras in the picture above (at both lifts) - here's hoping.

 

[trainmania100]

Normally there is an RFID system in the trolley which locks the wheels if it goes out of the vicinity of the supermarket making it very hard to move. Heavy too, what a silly thing to do

 

[Mag_seven]

It's incredible that whoever threw it was not electrocuted

More's the pity.

When they catch the scroat who did this I hope its a stiff sentence and no namby pamby slap on the wrist and told not to do it again.

 

[me123]

Normally there is an RFID system in the trolley which locks the wheels if it goes out of the vicinity of the supermarket making it very hard to move. Heavy too, what a silly thing to do

A favourite local pastime amongst residents of Coatbridge is trolley racing. I'd hazard a guess that there're more trolleys outwith the boundaries of the supermarkets than there within.

 

[Qwerty133]

Because if the driver/passengers had gotten hold of him it wouldn't have been a pretty sight

I fail to see how this is anything other than attempted murder given the potential consequences (train derails, trolley goes through front, hits driver, etc).

Because murder requires intention to kill or seriously harm, and while this can be fulfilled with oblique intent it is unlikely that it could be said he knew that death or seriously injury was a virtual certainty of his actions.

 

[GB]

I fail to see how this is anything other than attempted murder given the potential consequences (train derails, trolley goes through front, hits driver, etc).

To be attempted murder there has to be a degree of malice or forethought. This may or may not be the case in the instance.

Edit: beaten to it by Qwerty133

 

[AndrewE]

"We believe the trolley was thrown onto the tracks before the train struck it. "It's incredible that whoever threw it was not electrocuted, as the trolley has gone between the overhead wires.

I think the risk of electrocution of the Scrote (short for scrotum?) who threw it was probably as low as the risk from throwing a stick!

I remember a school visit by a railway person, maybe a driver, when the south end of the WCML was being electrified. We were told that anyone throwing a stick like a javelin would undoubtedly be electrocuted by the arc travelling back down the path of the missile!
A

 

[ValleyLines142]

I think the risk of electrocution of the Scrote (short for scrotum?) who threw it was probably as low as the risk from throwing a stick!

I remember a school visit by a railway person, maybe a driver, when the south end of the WCML was being electrified. We were told that anyone throwing a stick like a javelin would undoubtedly be electrocuted by the arc travelling back down the path of the missile!
A

I was just about to say how on earth would the suspect have been electrocuted when they released the trolley?!

 

[D365]

I was just about to say how on earth would the suspect have been electrocuted when they released the trolley?!

25kV doesn't behave like your normal household supply.

 

[AlterEgo]

I was just about to say how on earth would the suspect have been electrocuted when they released the trolley?!

Arcing, depending on distance.

 

[DarloRich]

what a moron the trolley chucker must be

Because if the driver/passengers had gotten hold of him it wouldn't have been a pretty sight

I fail to see how this is anything other than attempted murder given the potential consequences (train derails, trolley goes through front, hits driver, etc).

understanding what attempted murder actually is might help..........

 

[furnessvale]

Because murder requires intention to kill or seriously harm, and while this can be fulfilled with oblique intent it is unlikely that it could be said he knew that death or seriously injury was a virtual certainty of his actions.

Even harder than that, attempted murder requires nothing less than an intent to kill. Intent to inflict serious injury is insufficient, which would only prove a wounding with intent offence.

In that sense, attempted murder is harder to prove then murder itself. From a police point of view, it is much easier all round if the intended victim actually dies!

 

[AM9]

Arcing, depending on distance.

Yup, about 25mm on a dry day. If the trolley is, say, 1.5 metres from the front top to the diagonally opposite wheel, a 1.8m tall person would need arms nearly 2 metres long to hold it close enough to the catenary wire to get within range of a flashover. That would make them too freakish even for a real knuckle dragger.
Still no harm in trying to scare everbody with a bit of misinformation.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Like I said

 

[Tetchytyke]

Yup, about 25mm on a dry day.

How does that fit with people who have been electrocuted after climbing on top of trains, including (tragically) one kid who climbed on a Voyager at Durham after thugs threw his shoes on the train roof?

Genuinely curious, as I thought 25kV could jump further than that.

 

[GB]

The jump depends on a number of factors such as distance, air temperature and humidity etc. The railway has a minimum safe distance of 9 feet for live OLE so I suspect it could jump at least a couple of feet if the conditions are right.

Edit: Theres probably a technical difference between arching and jumping.

 

[CharlieSpotted]

One of my year when I was at high school was electrocuted on a railway bridge over the Cross City line. The story goes that he was tearing off bits of tin foil and throwing them over the edge, watching the foil catch fire. Apparently the current arced (jumped?) from the overhead wires, to the foil, to the keys in his pocket... and the young fellow was unfortunately brown bread.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

There was no thuggery at Durham. The shoe ended up on the roof of the voyager as a result of drinking buddies mindless banter.

 

[furnessvale]

How does that fit with people who have been electrocuted after climbing on top of trains, including (tragically) one kid who climbed on a Voyager at Durham after thugs threw his shoes on the train roof?

Genuinely curious, as I thought 25kV could jump further than that.

In perfect conditions AC electricity will arc 10mm per 10000 volts, or so my O level physics said.