Japan invents flying train ... 15 *dead* [Edit: Hurt]

[Taro Toporific]

15 hurt in Japan train-truck collision
Japan Times (Kyodo) Feb.13, 2013
KOBE -- Fifteen people were injured Tuesday afternoon in a collision between a train and a truck at a crossing in Takasago, Hyogo Prefecture, police said.
Of the 15 hurt, 13 were passengers on the six-car train operated by Sanyo Electric Railway Co.
More...

Japan train hits truck, mounts platform: police
Globalpost/AFP | February 12, 2013
An express passenger train hit a truck at a level crossing in Japan on Tuesday, police said, with footage and reports from the scene showing it had mounted a station platform...more...

[matsuki]

no brakes! no brakes!

[nikoneko]

Damn! That's what the signs were about at Hanshin Sannomiya yesterday! We rode that line the opposite way yesterday afternoon. They were going crazy with announcements and signs but I had no idea why, other than there was some kind of accident between Kobe and Himeji.

[BigInJapan]

15 hurt in Japan train-truck collision

Might want to change the thread title - it was 15 hurt, not dead.

[Taro Toporific]

15 hurt in Japan train-truck collision

Might want to change the thread title - it was 15 hurt, not dead.

Oops.

[yanpa]

I thought Taro was being facetious...

[Coligny]

15 hurt in Japan train-truck collision

Might want to change the thread title - it was 15 hurt, not dead.

Matter of time, they are now in the (in)competent hands of japanese medical system...

[Russell]

Hmm. I pass that station on that line occasionally, most recently last Saturday.

The problem with the Sanyo line is the road that runs along it. Many of the railway crossings have just enough space for a few cars between the tracks and the road, and I always have to be careful to not drive my car on the tracks before the other side is clear. The truck driver apparently was a bit more impatient...

Hope that the injured will recover soon.

[yanpa]

It's amazing accidents don't happen more often. There are still a few stretches of line even in Tokyo where you can look along the tracks and see cars and people crossing in multiple places, while in the distance there's a train approaching fast.

[Russell]

Yep, but Hyogo prefecture seems to have a patent on the most vicious accidents, witness the train crash in Amagasaki a couple of years ago.

[yanpa]

Hyogo has some bad-ass earthquakes as well.

[Russell]

Hyogo has some bad-ass earthquakes as well.

We will be safe for the next 400 years. The BIG worry now is the BIG one expected in Tokyo.

Hell, I go there tomorrow. Hope I won't bring my bad Karma with me...

[yanpa]

It will make these little quakettes in the provinces look very provincial.

Myself, I am betting on the Tachikawa fault doing its once-in-10,000-years boogie, as it's the biggest seismic threat to my personal property.

[Coligny]

. The truck driver apparently was a bit more impatient...

ehm...[mode asshole ON] if you follow the proper road and traffic law sequence, this situation just can't happen...[mode asshole OFF]

[Yokohammer]

...[mode asshole OFF]

You can turn it off??

[Coligny]

...[mode asshole OFF]

You can turn it off??

sumthing sumthing... your mom, sumthing sumthing...

There is an OFF button, but i think it's a dummy not connected to anything...

[nikoneko]

It only took me three years or so and getting stuck on the tracks 3 times while some old lady or kid on a bicycle stopped the car in front of me to figure out why people wait. I'm real quick lol. We are over close to Hanshin Ohgi in East Kobe and it's the same way. Even in Ashiya (the Beverly Hills of Japan) some of the fumikiri are just nuts if you're driving. I'm honestly getting close to selling my car, getting closer to Kansai driving PTSD every day. We had somebody die in between our two closest stations just a month or so ago and it didn't even make the news. Only reason I know is my wife saw the announcement on the way to work and mentioned it to me in passing. Waiting for 2014 and them to get our local part of that line elevated! (And/or moving haha)

Hmm. I pass that station on that line occasionally, most recently last Saturday.

The problem with the Sanyo line is the road that runs along it. Many of the railway crossings have just enough space for a few cars between the tracks and the road, and I always have to be careful to not drive my car on the tracks before the other side is clear. The truck driver apparently was a bit more impatient...

Hope that the injured will recover soon.

[matsuki]

Waiting for 2014 and them to get our local part of that line elevated! (And/or moving haha)

THIS is the solution. The way it should have been built from the beginning. Would eliminate a significant amount of traffic, accidents, train delays, etc. Not a cheap or easy fix now but it's the right one compared to all the bandaid shit that's used with the way most lines are currently run.

[nikoneko]

Yeah I agree for sure. If they did that and got rid of the GD power lines and poles this whole country would improve by leaps and bounds.

[Russell]

Yeah I agree for sure. If they did that and got rid of the GD power lines and poles this whole country would improve by leaps and bounds.

Hmmm. Ever been in Seishin Chuo?!?

[nikoneko]

I'm not sure I don't get over to west Kobe a whole lot unless it is for hiking. Is it good or bad?

[Russell]

I'm not sure I don't get over to west Kobe a whole lot unless it is for hiking. Is it good or bad?

Seishin Chuo is one of those "new towns" erected in virgin hills some 30 years ago. No utility poles and all that stuff, but there is not really a town atmosphere. And even worse, most people are from the same generation. The strength of a real community is the variety of people's ages.

Where do you go hiking in West Kobe? Meko-san?

[nikoneko]

We go camp and hike all over Kansai really but mostly Rokko-san on the East side. If you know Sumiyoshi River we go up that valley and start from there a lot. Tomorrow things permitting we're gonna get up to the tops and play in that awesome snow that came today.

Edit: Sorry you said West Kobe. Suma we've been around several times, there is a hike through the arboretum and futatabi koen we have done a few around. Also we camped on the beach in Himeji that was pretty awesome, and we did a hike in Takasago where the accident was actually.

[Russell]

We go camp and hike all over Kansai really but mostly Rokko-san on the East side. If you know Sumiyoshi River we go up that valley and start from there a lot. Tomorrow things permitting we're gonna get up to the tops and play in that awesome snow that came today.

Edit: Sorry you said West Kobe. Suma we've been around several times, there is a hike through the arboretum and futatabi koen we have done a few around. Also we camped on the beach in Himeji that was pretty awesome, and we did a hike in Takasago where the accident was actually.

The east side of Kobe is indeed better hiking than the west. I interpreted your "west" as 西区 (i.e., even west of Suma, which is 須磨区), and this area is a a bit underwhelming for sightseeing and recreation, though not too bad to live. The only place I know for hiking in 西区 is Mt. Meko (type 雌岡山 in in google maps and it will point to the location). It is actually a small hike of 1 hour uphill, with a small shrine (or temple; I forgot; haven't been there for over a decade) sitting on top. The challenge is not so much the climb, as to find the hill in the first place.

The beach in Himeji: was that in Shosekiheki (小赤壁) in Yakka (the small bay near the hill)?

Have a good time tomorrow.

[nikoneko]

The beach in Himeji: was that in Shosekiheki (小赤壁) in Yakka (the small bay near the hill)?

It was at 福泊キャンプ場 it's free but only open in July and August. Tons of fun but on the weekend at least when we were there people were up partying all night and making noise both nights.

[Mike Oxlong]

The beach in Himeji: was that in Shosekiheki (小赤壁) in Yakka (the small bay near the hill)?

It was at 福泊キャンプ場 it's free but only open in July and August. Tons of fun but on the weekend at least when we were there people were up partying all night and making noise both nights.

Used to take my black lab with me camping when I was resident on the mainland. When morons would commune with nature by staying up all night partying and making much noise, I'd get the dog all worked up and barking, then take him for a run back and forth through the groups of city-folk. Worked like a charm...

[nikoneko]

I had thought of having a discussion with them with my camp knife on my hip...

[Russell]

The beach in Himeji: was that in Shosekiheki (小赤壁) in Yakka (the small bay near the hill)?

It was at 福泊キャンプ場 it's free but only open in July and August. Tons of fun but on the weekend at least when we were there people were up partying all night and making noise both nights.

Yeah, that is probably the place. There is a free (cold) shower, and there are some benches and tables under roofs along the sea at the right of the beach, isn't it?

[Russell]

Used to take my black lab with me camping when I was resident on the mainland. When morons would commune with nature by staying up all night partying and making much noise, I'd get the dog all worked up and barking, then take him for a run back and forth through the groups of city-folk. Worked like a charm...

Reminds me when I was sleeping in my car on a parking place deep in the mountains as part of the family's autocamping activities, and at 3:00 AM two 茶髪のお兄さん lighted some fire crackers. Boy, were they surprised when this 金髪ＦＧ came out in his pajamas and told them that someone tried to sleep. They apologized profusely and left. J-youth are pretty すなお I think.

[matsuki]

Used to take my black lab with me camping when I was resident on the mainland. When morons would commune with nature by staying up all night partying and making much noise, I'd get the dog all worked up and barking, then take him for a run back and forth through the groups of city-folk. Worked like a charm...

Reminds me when I was sleeping in my car on a parking place deep in the mountains as part of the family's autocamping activities, and at 3:00 AM two 茶髪のお兄さん lighted some fire crackers. Boy, were they surprised when this 金髪ＦＧ came out in his pajamas and told them that someone tried to sleep. They apologized profusely and left. J-youth are pretty すなお I think.

You should have used prerecorded bear roars or something and threw rocks around where they were