train derailment
Locomotive leaves rails
A train derailment occurs when railroad cars or locomotives leave the tracks.
Causes include track defects, excessive speed, mechanical failures, or collisions.
Derailments range from minor incidents where cars tip but stay upright to catastrophic events with casualties and hazardous material spills: The train derailment blocked the crossing for hours.
Investigators are still determining what caused the derailment.
- signal failureLoss of transmitted communication
- injuriesBodily damage or harm
- mechanical failureEquipment stops working properly
- emergency brakesBackup stopping system
- fatalitiesLosses of life
human error · evacuation procedures · property damage · sabotage · psychological trauma · weather conditions · twisted metal · safety audits · legal liability · public scrutiny · off-track · cleanup operations · black box · environmental contamination · first responders · mass casualty · wreckage · freight cars
- infrastructure failuresbridge collapse, potholes, dam breach, power outage, water main breaks
- Crash InvestigationsNTSB, crash investigation, crash site, crash scene, black box
- crashesaccident, collision, crash, head-on collision, pileup
- catastrophesdisasters, disaster, natural disasters, catastrophe, apocalypse
- travel woesjet lag, homesickness, lost luggage, flight delay, travel delay