Thursday, Mar 28 2024
All Cities
Choose Your City
'Irkutsk has the sins, the false hair, and the perfume for which Paris is noted'
0

World’s longest railway blocked by derailed cargo train

By 0 and 0 and 0
12 January 2019

0

The train engine and 38 carriages remained on the rails. Picture: Ministry of Emergencies

The accident happened on Saturday 09.20 local time in the south-eastern part of Irkutsk region, on the Delyur-Tyret stretch of the rail route.

Pictures show some of the 29 carriages derailed in incident. 

The train engine and 38 carriages remained on the rails.

There were no casualties. 

World’s longest railway blocked by derailed cargo train


World’s longest railway blocked by derailed cargo train


World’s longest railway blocked by derailed cargo train
Currently two trains - number 5 and number 100 - will be delayed from five to eight hours. Pictures: Ministry of Emergencies


Three hundred metres of rail track was damaged in both directions, as well as contact network pillars. 

Four trains were sent from nearby stations to start recovery works, fire and rescue rescue team of the regional Ministry of Emergencies. 

Train movements in both directions on the Trans-Siberian railway were blocked in the aftermath of the accident. 

'Currently two trains - number 5 and number 100 - will be delayed from five to eight hours', said Arkady Petshik, chief of corporate communications for the East-Siberian Railway. 

'The East-Siberian Railway is doing everything to fix the damage as soon as possible, and to restore the normal train timetable.' 

The delayed trains are Ulaanbaatar to Moscow and Moscow to Vladivostok. 

Comments (3)

Former Alaskan,

Thanks for the update! Once snows return, though, we will be back to the old conundrum.

For those who don't know, moose instinctively seek clear, flat ground in sheltered spots during snowy-spells. They create 'moose parks' where they hide-out, loiter, trample the snow firm, and generally lay-low. They pick such spots to also provide handy browse.

They affirmatively claim and will defend these spots. They may resist being shooed or chased off. Railroads, highways, city streets, private driveways are all attractive in this sense. And a moose that is standing just off the road nibbling brush will suddenly step out in front of an oncoming car, to assert its claim ... "Hey! I'm here already, this is my spot!".

Increasing effort is put into removal of suitable browse-species from roadsides. At the same time man-made 'moose parks' are created nearby, but further off the road. In some locations, fencing is necessary, but it has its own wildlife downsides.

In one report, we see that 4,400 moose died of starvation in one bad-snowy winter in one relatively small district, near Anchorage. A wolf-pack in moose-country will generally take one, maybe two moose, each week. There are about 1,000 packs (not all in moose-country). Bear, especially the common Black Bear, come out of hibernation and seek out a pregnant moose, which it shadows until (or as) the calf is delivered. The bear creates a diversion, to momentarily separate mother & baby, and quickly kills or maims the calf, then retreats & waits. In some hours or days, the cow abandons the calf ... and this prize essentially makes the entire year for this bear.

In large & highly moose-productive regions of Alaska, this particular form of bear-predation is the main factor acting to suppress the moose-population below the sustainable carrying capacity of the environment & habitat.

Perhaps technology will finally offer a solution to the problem of moose seeking roads ... but it will remain a very rough - natural - life for moose in the northlands. Long-range/duration drones will offer many new valuable wildlife management tools.
Ted Clayton, Forks, Washington, USA
15/01/2019 20:45
0
3
@Ted Clayton, Moose kill numbers by the AK Railroad have decreased greatly in the 2000's, mainly due to decreased snowfall. It used to be that 500-1000 moose were killed each year on the Alaska Railroad, but that was back in the 80's and 90's. In the 2000's, many years had less than 100 moose killed. In both 2012/13 and 2013/14 2014 54 were killed. In 2014/15, only 24 were killed.

There is a reason that the train engine has what is called a "cow catcher" mounted to the front to deflect objects that would otherwise derail the train. Cow catcher's are what keeps the Alaska Railroad trains moving despite the moose sadly getting killed in it's path.
Former Alaskan, Oregon
15/01/2019 07:33
3
1
Because the Trans-Siberian railroad is also an important tourist-attraction & mode of transportation, as well as a vital domestic Russian transport link, the cause of this derailment should be identified clearly, and any needed measures taken to resort the confidence of visitors & citizens alike. [In the USA, important accidents have failed to receive timely and 'credible' accounting ... and AMTRAK continues to suffer for this. Big opportunity here, for Russia, to do better.]

Perhaps the simplest & 'best' cause is speeding. Track-conditions that are acceptable at proper speeds, can cause derailment if a train goes too fast. Second-best will be one or more deficiencies with this particular train, or one or more of the carriages in it.

After that come objects on the track ... the also-wonderful Alaska Railroad strikes and kills an average of 750 moose each winter, and it's not risk-free for the train, either (even though the engine is reinforced for this persistent hazard). Small objects on the rails can create havoc ... coal sometimes spills, freezes to the rails, and can lift wheels.

Problems with the road-bed, cross-ties and rails can be more-difficult, long-term and expensive. The Trans-Siberian is more-exposed to the ongoing upkeep factors than typical railroads. But there are step-wise improvement options to uphold safety, and defray or delay costs.

Being forthright is the best thing ... for the global audience to hear of such things, but never hear what the problem was or whether it was fixed, undercuts good things that people are trying to get-going in the region.

As a runaway teenager, I lied about my age and hired onto the Burlington Northern tie-gang, replacing the old wooden ties through the US state of Montana, late-winter, early spring. How totally wonderful.

No reports of injuries? That's good.
Ted Clayton, Forks, Washington USA
13/01/2019 01:48
1
4
1

Add your comment

We welcome a healthy debate, but do not accept offensive or abusive comments. Please also read 'Siberian Times' Privacy Policy

Name

Town/Country

Add your comments

The views expressed in the comments above are those of our readers. 'Siberian Times' reserves the right to pre-moderate some comments.

Control code*

Type the code

* obligatory


News

Business

The Bank of Russia official exchange rates of foreign currencies
EUR100.27USD92.59GBP116.93Other...