Fatal train crash in France

[Swadian Hardcore]

Remember that all that is reported in the US news media are the few attempts that actually succeed to cause serious mayhem. Attempts that are detected and mitigated are not reported at all.
For eample, just the other day there was a track bombing just outside of Gaya Jn. in India on the Kolkata - Delhi route just ahead of the time when three Rajdhani Expresses are scheduled to pass that area. The track damage was detected by gangmen and trains were regulated so they did not get to the damaged track. The track was repaired and then the trains were again on their way afew hours behind schedule. The terrorists were not Islamic Jihadists but they were Maoists.

This sort of thing is reported only local press, and it is impossible to know about such from the press of the US where what Kim Kardashian did has way more importance that these sorts of things, and perhaps rightly so.

It would have been better for the Maoists to detonate the bomb when the train was about to pass over. Goo thing they did not, or at least one Rajdhani would have been devestated.

Were there other trains in the area? I don't understand how three Rajdhanis would pass through together without any other trains.

 

[jis]

One way you can keep a railroad fluid while running trains of vastly different speeds without affecting shedules of any class of train too adversely is to do bunching. Basically all the Rajdhanis are bunched together one after the other and sent through on clear track. A pilot engine is sent out before the first one which is there to detect such problems specially over Chhhota Nagpur Plateau in Chhattsigarh where there have been problems of lawlessness. This procedure was put in place after a Rajdhani was devastated many years ago. Since then there has not been any further incidents of that sort on this line.

The slower trains would follow the Rajdhanis.

 

[RRUserious]

Kinda like the cavalry leading the wagon trains?

 

[George Harris]

India-Pakistan are so violent, I can understand how world press would shrug at their stories. Europe NEVER wants to reach that condition. To me, India is barely a state. No matter how enthusiastic some investment advisors get over its promise. I don't know the occurrences, but buses falling into canyons from roads that cross mountain slopes are one of their favorite catastrophes. Not sure how much better the rail system is. Indian culture is fantastic, but I've read over and over people who got out saying "I'd never go back there".

I have never been there, so I cannot say about the "never go back" bunch, However, I have seen quite a few "never go back" people that showed up in Taiwan and either did not complete their contract or either verbally or mentally said "729 to go" on their first day on the job and never changed their mind. However, there were also a lot that somewhere along the way decided that they really liked the place and stayed as long as they could. I was one of those. I am saying this to say that just because someone comes back from India and says they will never go back proves absolutely nothing.

When going on about these traffic and other accidents with numerous fatalities, remember the population and passenger-kilometers involved. I do not know the actual stats or even if this statement is true, but I have heard that on the basis of passenger-km the transportation fatalities in India are lower than in Western Europe. Before getting in an uproar about the dangers of traffic in India the reality of the accident rates needs to be determined.

 

[RRUserious]

You misunderstand. I'm talking about Indians who get out and when asked if they make trips back shudder and say never.

 

[jis]

And yet it is those same Indians that sustain three or four non stop flights each day from New York to India, not even mentioning the one stop flights to India! The dynamics of the NRI population and its relationship to India is complex. But not going back is actually a very small minority, and that too usually more due to financial reasons. Trips to India are expensive.

 

[cirdan]

And yet it is those same Indians that sustain three or four non stop flights each day from New York to India, not even mentioning the one stop flights to India! The dynamics of the NRI population and its relationship to India is complex. But not going back is actually a very small minority, and that too usually more due to financial reasons. Trips to India are expensive.

I think the OP was referring to going back to live, not just going back to visit relatives or cure homsickness. There are several Indian guys in my office and they tell me they wouldn't go back to live, but they're on and off the plane all the time for other reasons. Western expats going to India for placements in Indian companies and working for Indian bosses are typically offered generous packages by those Indian bosses normally involving them being pampered in gated communities and kept as far away from everyday life as possible. A good friend of mine did that and his Indian workmates basically had kittens when he started catching the bus to work and started frequenting average Joe type blue-collar places in his free time. They pleaded with him not to. I think that reflects on the negative way many Indians perceive their own country. Wrongly so in my opinion.

 

[jis]

And yet it is those same Indians that sustain three or four non stop flights each day from New York to India, not even mentioning the one stop flights to India! The dynamics of the NRI population and its relationship to India is complex. But not going back is actually a very small minority, and that too usually more due to financial reasons. Trips to India are expensive.

I think the OP was referring to going back to live, not just going back to visit relatives or cure homsickness. There are several Indian guys in my office and they tell me they wouldn't go back to live, but they're on and off the plane all the time for other reasons. Western expats going to India for placements in Indian companies and working for Indian bosses are typically offered generous packages by those Indian bosses normally involving them being pampered in gated communities and kept as far away from everyday life as possible. A good friend of mine did that and his Indian workmates basically had kittens when he started catching the bus to work and started frequenting average Joe type blue-collar places in his free time. They pleaded with him not to. I think that reflects on the negative way many Indians perceive their own country. Wrongly so in my opinion.

I was responding to the following statement by RRUserious:

You misunderstand. I'm talking about Indians who get out and when asked if they make trips back shudder and say never.

I interpreted "trips" to mean visit, as opposed to immigrate.

 

[RRUserious]

And yet it is those same Indians that sustain three or four non stop flights each day from New York to India, not even mentioning the one stop flights to India! The dynamics of the NRI population and its relationship to India is complex. But not going back is actually a very small minority, and that too usually more due to financial reasons. Trips to India are expensive.

I think the OP was referring to going back to live, not just going back to visit relatives or cure homsickness. There are several Indian guys in my office and they tell me they wouldn't go back to live, but they're on and off the plane all the time for other reasons. Western expats going to India for placements in Indian companies and working for Indian bosses are typically offered generous packages by those Indian bosses normally involving them being pampered in gated communities and kept as far away from everyday life as possible. A good friend of mine did that and his Indian workmates basically had kittens when he started catching the bus to work and started frequenting average Joe type blue-collar places in his free time. They pleaded with him not to. I think that reflects on the negative way many Indians perceive their own country. Wrongly so in my opinion.

I was responding to the following statement by RRUserious:

You misunderstand. I'm talking about Indians who get out and when asked if they make trips back shudder and say never.

I interpreted "trips" to mean visit, as opposed to immigrate.

Well, my clarification is what I'm referring to. People who come to reside anywhere else on the planet and don't even visit because they are so glad to be away.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

One way you can keep a railroad fluid while running trains of vastly different speeds without affecting shedules of any class of train too adversely is to do bunching. Basically all the Rajdhanis are bunched together one after the other and sent through on clear track. A pilot engine is sent out before the first one which is there to detect such problems specially over Chhhota Nagpur Plateau in Chhattsigarh where there have been problems of lawlessness. This procedure was put in place after a Rajdhani was devastated many years ago. Since then there has not been any further incidents of that sort on this line.
The slower trains would follow the Rajdhanis.

Makes sense to do this without having to use quad-track. I assume that these overnight Rajdhani trains all run around the same time, so it's a good idea. What type of locomotive is the pilot engine?

I still think the Maoists could have dome much more damage. But they should not be going around killing civilians. If they are angry at the Indian government, these cowards should try to attack some police or military instead! Of course they don't because they are too weak to do it.

And yet it is those same Indians that sustain three or four non stop flights each day from New York to India, not even mentioning the one stop flights to India! The dynamics of the NRI population and its relationship to India is complex. But not going back is actually a very small minority, and that too usually more due to financial reasons. Trips to India are expensive.

Yes, R/T flights to India seem to run about $1600. Of course there are people that do it, there's also many flights from other cites, and AI seems to be considering SFO. EK also gets a lot of pax from India, helping to support the use of a massive 777 fleet, much larger than any other 777 fleets.

 

[RRUserious]

I still think the Maoists could have dome much more damage. But they should not be going around killing civilians. If they are angry at the Indian government, these cowards should try to attack some police or military instead! Of course they don't because they are too weak to do it.

Not exactly. They've attacked the police and military over and over. Wouldnt be that hard to find many news stories. Seems to me its the jihadists that attack public transportation.

The conflict in Andhra Pradesh intensified as Naxalite rebel groups, in particular the PWG, continued guerrilla attacks on police and government targets while the security forces stepped up counter-insurgency efforts. An October assassination attempt on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was consistent with the PWG’s practice of targeting government officials to draw attention to their cause. According to independent media reports, as many as 500 people were killed in the conflict this year, half of these Maoist rebels.[53]

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I still think the Maoists could have dome much more damage. But they should not be going around killing civilians. If they are angry at the Indian government, these cowards should try to attack some police or military instead! Of course they don't because they are too weak to do it.

Not exactly. They've attacked the police and military over and over. Wouldnt be that hard to find many news stories. Seems to me its the jihadists that attack public transportation.

The conflict in Andhra Pradesh intensified as Naxalite rebel groups, in particular the PWG, continued guerrilla attacks on police and government targets while the security forces stepped up counter-insurgency efforts. An October assassination attempt on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was consistent with the PWG’s practice of targeting government officials to draw attention to their cause. According to independent media reports, as many as 500 people were killed in the conflict this year, half of these Maoist rebels.[53]

What the heck? What's going on with all these Maoists, Jihadists, and I assume Marxist-Leninists as well? Then there's problems in Kashmir and with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the China border dispute. India sure is confusing, but they seem to doing pretty well in day-to-day life. Improving economy, life expectation, and the slow-but-steady decrease of poverty seem to point towards a good future.

Plus, you have to admit, Indian Railways is a grand system.

 

[RRUserious]

Never been on it. Can't tell from video if it is or not. I wonder who in the world does have the premier rail system. I can guess easily where it is not, but not where they've done the best job.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Never been on it. Can't tell from video if it is or not. I wonder who in the world does have the premier rail system. I can guess easily where it is not, but not where they've done the best job.

I'd say Germany. They have huge rail mode-share in transport, and very high ridership per capita. Switzerland has the highest, but their system is so small that it might as well be consdered huge commuter rail.

 

[RRUserious]

Never been on it. Can't tell from video if it is or not. I wonder who in the world does have the premier rail system. I can guess easily where it is not, but not where they've done the best job.

I'd say Germany. They have huge rail mode-share in transport, and very high ridership per capita. Switzerland has the highest, but their system is so small that it might as well be consdered huge commuter rail.

My Swiss teacher friend says their engineers run red lights all the time.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Never been on it. Can't tell from video if it is or not. I wonder who in the world does have the premier rail system. I can guess easily where it is not, but not where they've done the best job.

I'd say Germany. They have huge rail mode-share in transport, and very high ridership per capita. Switzerland has the highest, but their system is so small that it might as well be consdered huge commuter rail.

My Swiss teacher friend says their engineers run red lights all the time.

The Swiss, but I don't know about Germany. I haven't ridden in a German cab, of course, so I wouldn't know anyway. AFAIK, the light always turns red after the train passes it. How does your friend know?

 

[jis]

As I mentioned before, any information about running red lights from someone who does not know the rulebook is mostly spurious.

All Amtrak, LIRR, Metro North and assorted other outfits drivers regularly run red signals on the NEC too. But that is according to rules as I explained earlier in this thread.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

As I mentioned before, any information about running red lights from someone who does not know the rulebook is mostly spurious.
All Amtrak, LIRR, Metro North and assorted other outfits drivers regularly run red signals on the NEC too. But that is according to rules as I explained earlier in this thread.

Unless an engineer himself says it, of course.

 

[jis]

It would be a reasonable assumption that an engineer qualified on a route knows the rule book that applies to that route/territory.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

It would be a reasonable assumption that an engineer qualified on a route knows the rule book that applies to that route/territory.

Yes, yes.