# Norristown HSL Accident



## brianpmcdonnell17 (Aug 22, 2017)

At 12:10 AM this morning, there was a crash between multiple Norristown HSL trains at 69th Street Station. There are currently 42 injuries, with many people in hospitals but no life threatening injuries. The train with the injuries was arriving at the station and hit the back of the train in front of it. Beyond this, the cause is not yet known. Trains are already running again on the line.

http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20170822/update-42-people-injured-as-train-going-like-super-fast-crash-at-69th-street-in-upper-darby-with-video

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## VentureForth (Aug 23, 2017)

I heard this train blew threw at least two other stations and had to stop and backtrack. Why he wasn't removed from duty after the 2nd overrun is beyond me.

When first reported on the radio, they only said a "High Speed train". I assumed it was Acela.


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## fairviewroad (Aug 23, 2017)

VentureForth said:


> I heard this train blew threw at least two other stations and had to stop and backtrack. Why he wasn't removed from duty after the 2nd overrun is beyond me.
> 
> When first reported on the radio, they only said a "High Speed train". I assumed it was Acela.


"Train" is a bit of a misnomer here. It's a single vehicle that runs on a dedicated track powered by 3rd rail. It's not super unusual to have to back up, since passengers signal stops by pulling a cord (much like on a bus) and passengers on the platform flag the driver by pressing a button that activates a light. If either of those things happen a bit too late, the driver can either skip the stop, or stop late and back up. Given that this would have been late at night, it's possible that the operator wanted to err on the side of making the stops, given the infrequent service at that time of day.

So the "missed" stops might not have been an omen of things to come...or, they might be. But that's what the investigation is for, I presume.


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## VentureForth (Aug 24, 2017)

fairviewroad said:


> VentureForth said:
> 
> 
> > I heard this train blew threw at least two other stations and had to stop and backtrack. Why he wasn't removed from duty after the 2nd overrun is beyond me.
> ...


Good info. I would love to spend a few days riding around on SEPTA. They have some of the most unique transit in the US.

Like "train" being a misnomer, so is "high speed". lol


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## MattW (Aug 24, 2017)

Eh, the cars can run in trains, it just seems to be rarer.


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