A freight or passenger train derailment or accident can quickly turn into a deadly catastrophe involving multiple fatalities and serious injuries on a significant scale. Several issues alone or in combination often lead to catastrophic train crashes, including track problems, human error, equipment failures, and negligent maintenance. Understanding the key causes of fatal train crashes can help prevent more tragedies.
Equipment Issues
Technical malfunctions and defective train equipment contribute to many accidents each year. Broken or malfunctioning axles, wheels, and brakes put massive railcars at risk of losing control or the ability to stop. Improper automated signals can cause cars or entire trains to speed up unsafely or collide with other traffic. Regular inspection and maintenance should catch many equipment issues, but staffing shortages during maintenance checks can allow some dangerous problems to persist.
Human Error
Whether due to a loss of situational awareness, lapse in judgment, or distraction, mistakes made by onboard crews as well as dispatchers and station controllers have resulted in deadly collisions and derailments. Operator fatigue from extended shifts without adequate rest also contributes to critical human errors. Some major incidents have occurred when sources of driver distraction like cell phone use led to missing stop signals or speed restrictions.
Speeding Issues
Excessive speeds around curves and toward stopped trains or sections under slow orders directly cause certain catastrophic derailments. In multiple incidents, trains entered restricted slower speed limits while going as much as double the appropriate speed, tipping cars and rendering brakes inadequate to stop in time. While advanced safety control systems can automatically enforce speed limits, not all trains and routes use these updated systems. Regulations still rely heavily on human operators to reduce speeds proactively as needed.
Track Defects
Issues with broken or warped rails and ties, foreign debris on tracks, improper rail joints, unstable rail beds, and other physical track defects routinely trigger derailments. Worn or damaged sections of rail may fracture under heavy railcar weight. Inconsistent maintenance and inspection practices leave some defects undetected until an incident occurs. Track components also suffer cumulative damage from increasingly long and heavy freight trains over decades of use.
Natural Disasters
Hurricanes, flooding, avalanches, and wildfires can all displace, warp, obstruct, or completely wash out vulnerable sections of rail. Earthquakes pose unique risks, as soil liquefaction can warp rails and undermine strength. Extreme weather frequently catches crews off guard trying to move trains safely through rapidly deteriorating areas. Operators may not receive updated accurate estimates of real-time conditions ahead as environmental disasters unfold. Storm aftermaths with lingering floods, downed trees, and power outages further delay critical repairs to allow safe resumption of train traffic.
Seeking Legal Help
Victims and family members affected by any catastrophic train accident should contact an experienced railroad and train accident lawyer as soon as possible after the incident. An attorney can launch an independent investigation into all potential causes and liable parties at fault. By collecting and preserving evidence early, a lawyer builds the strongest injury claim or wrongful death case to pursue fair financial compensation for losses and damages suffered. Although legal action cannot reverse the tragic loss of life in deadly train incidents, it provides the best means to hold at-fault parties fully accountable. No one should endure the devastating impacts of major train crashes without just compensation.
If you’ve been involved in a train accident, contact us today. You can visit one of our offices at:
- Astoria – 32-72 Steinway St, Astoria, NY 11103
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Or call now for a free consultation on (347) 472-5080.