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High-speed train collision in Spain kills at least 39

bbc.com

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Re: High-speed train collision in Spain kills at least 39

#5

[flagged]

Unusual for a train though. We already know Americans can't drive but with trains like... how do you mess up a straight line?

> For the last decade, an average of 1,300 trains derailed each year (in the US), accounting for 61% of all train accidents.

https://usafacts.org/articles/are-train-derailments-becoming...

> In 2024, there were 1,507 significant railway accidents in the EU, with a total of 750 people killed and 548 seriously injured.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derailment

Re: High-speed train collision in Spain kills at least 39

#6

[flagged]

FWIW: a single car crash killing 21 people would still be newsworthy in America. And I think if you math it out with something per capita equivalent, this would actually be an exceptionally bad day/incident for the US.

But of course you're not wrong, trains are vastly safer than private cars. If anyone uses this as evidence against having a proper rail system, they're ignorant.

But - until someone does that, there's no reason to make this about the US or cars vs. trains. It's borderline offensive to reflexively politicize this before anyone else had; it almost feels like you're intentionally trying to sow conflict, here.

Re: High-speed train collision in Spain kills at least 39

#7

[flagged]

Unusual for a train though. We already know Americans can't drive but with trains like... how do you mess up a straight line?

> how do you mess up a straight line?

One thing I learned working on a system that did train positioning for the 7 Line subway in NYC is that train systems are a lot more complicated than just straight lines. They are complicated networks with custom signaling and the trains don't necessarily travel on the usual side in the usual direction at all times.

That said, in this particular case it basically was just two straight lines side by side and one of the trains derailed and travelled into the path of the other track.

Trains don't often derail on straight sections, likely either someone fucked up really bad on rail maintenance or someone sabotaged the rail.

Re: High-speed train collision in Spain kills at least 39

#10
post #6

[flagged]

FWIW: a single car crash killing 21 people would still be newsworthy in America. And I think if you math it out with something per capita equivalent, this would actually be an exceptionally bad day/incident for the US. But of course you're not wrong, trains are vastly safer than private cars. If anyone uses this as evidence against having a proper rail system, they're ignorant. But - until someone does that, there's…

~107 people die per day from car accidents in the USA [0].

0. Per 2024 stats from the NHTSA (https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/nhtsa-estimates-39345-t...)

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