Person hit by Amtrak Acela train near Newport, DE

[Henry Kisor]

Why is it that every time someone dies on the tracks, the ghouls come out of under their rocks with their blamethrowers?

 

[Bob Dylan]

As Bob Dylan said "..Meanwhile Life goes on all around you.." And the Beat goes on, No Cure for Stupidity! (Sigh)

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

The Acela keeps striking trespassers. This must be a suicide, but it's even worse because you just gave the engineer nightmares for days. Amtrak should take measures to stop these, especially on its own tracks.

They police the right of way pretty regularly and have installed heavy duty fences in some parts to discourage trespassers just looking to cross. A teenage girl was hit where kids had cut a hole in a chain link fence a couple of years ago and used the NEC tracks north of Baltimore as a shortcut. Amtrak put up an iron fence in response.

I don't know what steps they'd take to stop someone who wants to step in front of a train on purpose, especially outside of the corridors. If they're that determined, they'll find a way.

Add more steel fences. Not just iron, at least some carbon steel. No backing down from trespassers, especially when it compromises safety.

And carbon steel fences will stop trespasser problem? Guess what, people looking for suicide or just shortcuts can cross rail tracks from platforms too.

Jump off the platform in the path of an oncoming train. Now what? Simple. Install platform-edge glass walls like some subways have. Only few million dollars more.

But then, people can also get on to the tracks from railroad crossings. Now? Well, eliminate all grade crossings. Build bridges, elevate entire railway lines. Few billion dollars only.

I am sure Amtrak and the US Government in general has a few billion dollars in surplus lying around that can be put to use for this purpose, right?

Long story short, you cannot stop a person from killing him/herself if he has determined to do so. Remember the famous quote from when it was proposed to fence entire US-Mexico border? "You show me a 50 foot wall? I'll show you a 51 foot ladder"

But the border was fenced anyway.

 

[Ryan]

Actually, it wasn't.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Actually, it wasn't.

It looked fenced in all the pictures, even through unsettled areas.

 

[Ryan]

It most assuredly isn't.

 

[rusty spike]

Actually, it wasn't.

It looked fenced in all the pictures, even through unsettled areas.

No, the border is NOT fenced---only certain "sectors" are fenced.

 

[shinkansen]

How do so many trespassers end up being hit by Acela all so often? Has it got to do something with the fact that Acelas are popular as the fastest trains in the country and potential suicide seekers feel somehow getting stuck by the fastest train will be a guaranteed way to death and choose that over, say, SEPTA or NJTransit or even Regionals?

In the 25 years of railfanning the NEC between Washington DC and Perryville, I've seen two trespassers struck in front of my lens.I've seen only one struck in total along the Met, OML, and Cumberland subs combined. I shoot the three CSX subs two to three times a week over 25 yeas and the NEC maybe once every other month. So based on personal experience, the rate of trespasser strikes appears much greater along the NEC. Always just attributed this fact to the reality that an electric train moving at 125mph is still quieter than a CSX freight train at 59mph.

It looked fenced in all the pictures, even through unsettled areas.

In both places where I saw a trespasser struck (Aberdeen and Bowie) both areas had fencing. And in the case of Aberdeen, I witnessed the trespasser craw under the fence about 500 yards down the line.

EDIT: I freak out every time I see anyone even looking like they are about to walk down the RoW.