Accident in Amagasaki

[dimwit]

Why didn't you mention this before? I coulda hussled my ass over there and got in on the action!

My guess is a few people have. The same can be said of 9-11. The initial estimates of dead included quite a few people trying to cash in on life insurance policies as well as murderers trying to get rid of those inconvienent missing persons reports.

[GuyJean]

Can't seem to recall hearing anything in the J-Press about this third train accident in 4 days...

Third Train Accident in Japan
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/04/27/japan.rail.crash/index.html

n a week that has seen Japan's worst train accident in 40 years, another incident has further marred the country's normally trouble-free rail system.

A minivan collided with a commuter train in Yokohama early Wednesday, seriously injuring the driver of the vehicle, police said.

No injuries were reported among the 130 passengers on board the train.

The van crashed into the side of the train, operated by Sagami Railway Company, at a crossing at about 9 a.m. (midnight GMT).

It was the third accident this week after Monday's derailment of a train in central Japan, which killed at least 95 people and injured 456.

Hhhhhmmmm.. I wonder if this happens all the time, but it's only being reported (by gaijin press) now because the transportation industry is under the microscope..

I would guess train jumpers are a daily occurance..

GJ

[dimwit]

Hhhhhmmmm.. I wonder if this happens all the time, but it's only being reported (by gaijin press) now because the transportation industry is under the microscope..

I would guess train jumpers are a daily occurance..

GJ

In Shikoku, the land of level crossings, they are a regular occurance. In most cases the car driver dies and the train suffers light damage and a 'Black Spot' marker or stone Buddha appear at the site. The difference where is what the train hit, a point that seems to be completely lost on all the wide show experts.

[den4]

have they mentioned why the remains of the first car was all scorched? Impact causing a flash fire or some kind of super heated mini-explosion?
what a way to go

[Kuang_Grade]

This story is getting a surprising amount of coverage in some US print media...Above the fold front page story in US FT and this front page story in the NY Times. I personally found the NYT piece a bit surprising because it is rather blunt...esp for a front page piece.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/27/international/asia/27japan.html?pagewanted=print&position=

In Japan Crash, Time Obsession May Be Culprit
MAGASAKI, Japan, April 26 - Anywhere else in the world, a train running 90 seconds late would perhaps be considered on time. But in Japan, 90 seconds would foil commuters who depend on trains' connecting to one another with balletic precision, often with only a couple of minutes to spare.

And so to make up for a lost 90 seconds, a 23-year-old train driver, it became increasingly clear on Tuesday, was speeding when his train jumped off the tracks on Monday morning at a curve here in western Japan and hurtled into a nine-story apartment building.

In this rusting industrial town just outside Osaka, rescue workers continued to try to free other passengers trapped inside the twisted and crumpled cars.

Across the country, the accident has already caused much soul-searching over Japan's attention - some would say obsession - with punctuality and efficiency. To many, the driver's single-minded focus on making up the 90 seconds seemed to reveal the weak points of a society where the trains really do run on time, but where people have lost sight of the bigger picture.

"Japanese believe that if they board a train, they'll arrive on time," said Yasuyuki Sawada, a 49-year-old railway worker, who had come to look at the crash site. "There is no flexibility in our society; people are not flexible, either."

Mr. Sawada was one of many people who came to stand and watch behind the yellow police line here, and who saw deeper problems hidden in the accident.

"If you go abroad, you find that trains don't necessarily arrive on time," Mr. Sawada said. "This disaster was produced by Japanese civilization and Japanese people."

[The death toll in the accident, the deadliest in Japan in four decades, rose Wednesday to 91, Japanese news media reported.]

The Japanese search for rail perfection is relentless, from the humble commuter train to the country's most famous tracks. In 2004, on the 40th anniversary of the bullet train, there was much hand-wringing over the fact that a year earlier the trains on that line had registered on average a delay - of six seconds.

...

[gomichild]

Well they are a lot more relaxed about schedules on the Tokaido line let me tell you.

To be honest it sounds like the driver was in a panic. However the claim of inflexibility of a whole nation is going a little over the top. I've seen much more angst at an Adelade train station when a train was running late than in Japan.

The tragedy was awful. But the sheer number of people on the trains everyday means that one accident is a catastrophe.

[GuyJean]

This story is getting a surprising amount of coverage in some US print media...

I'm curious why the US media won't critically analyze it's own government; They've been doing a great job researching Chinese hypocracy, Japanese obsessiveness, and Russian double-standards, yet proven incapable of self-bullshit-analysis..

The US media deserve nothing more than my piss in their face.. Men have long admired the ability of a dog to lick it's own balls; we are now witnessing a Fox sucking it's own dick..

Ok. I'm done...

GJ

[GuyJean]

Train Wreck Driver's Body Found
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/04/28/japan.rail.crash/index.html

e uniformed body of 23-year-old driver Ryujiro Takami was among those pulled from the scene, officials said Thursday, as the death toll stood at 106....

One issue in the crash was the inexperience of the driver, on the job for 11 months. The conductor, a 15-year veteran, has been questioned by police.

Police have said they were treating the crash as a case of "possible criminal negligence.".....

Currently, aircraft pilots and ship captains must pass state exams to operate commercial flights and vessels, but there is no state exam to officially certify train drivers, according to Transport Ministry official Yoshihito Maesato.

The driver in Monday's wreck was running 90 seconds late, and railway union leaders said Thursday that fear of severe punishment might have clouded his judgment, AP reported.

Osamu Yomono, vice president of the Japan Federation of Railway Workers, said superiors surround and berate drivers and force them to write "meaningless reports" as punishment.

He said Monday's driver had experienced such treatment for 13 days for a previous error.

"The driver in this accident probably was thinking that he would be subjected to this treatment," AP quoted him as saying. "Fear prevented him from making a rational decision."....

"We hear there was a stone on the rail. We hear the train was speeding. There is also speculation that the construction of the train itself may have been faulty. There could be many reasons," one analyst has told CNN.

I remember early in the reporting of this accident, a train official being interviewed saying he had called the conductor on his cell phone to reprimand him for being late at the previous stop. While he was on the phone with him, the train wrecked..

Did anyone else hear this? I was wondering why, if we can't drive and talk on cell phones, can train conductors receive calls from their keitai..

GJ

[jingai]

Currently, aircraft pilots and ship captains must pass state exams to operate commercial flights and vessels, but there is no state exam to officially certify train drivers, according to Transport Ministry official Yoshihito Maesato.

I thought that's what Densha de Go! in the arcades was for...

[blackcat]

HAHAHHAHA
A fox sucking its own dick CLASSIC

well said

gotta say tho this was a very sad story and I feel so sad for the victims and families.

but is this the price we pay for our obsession with punctuality? JR have heavy penalties for late drives much like in Australia truck drivers take spped etc. to stay awake for long hauls.....fucking dollar will be the end of us all.

[Mulboyne]

One of the saddest stories I saw on the news was a fireman who said that he kept hearing mobile phones going off as he tried to help people trapped in the carriages. He realized that family members were probably frantic and were calling their loved ones because they didn't know where they were. He said he was tempted to answer the calls but he decided that the best thing he could do for the families was to ignore them and try to save as many as possible.

[devicenull]

Ok, I cared for about a day about this, I don't care anymore. A train was going too fast around a turn and crashed into a building that was too close to the tracks. I don't need to see footage of a regular train from 5 months ago in slow motion with stops that show speed limits posted to understand this fact. If they had footage from the actual train that crashed and showed it while it was crashing, I might actually watch (because I have no soul and would find it funny in a sick way). Execute the engineer, sue JR, whatever, just get it done with if this means you are going to tack on another 10 yen to my fare.

Reference to 911:
It took TWO planes crashing into the WTC to make us care. If the first had been an accident, it would have been in the news for a while, and then everyone would go back to watching The View or whatever. This country needs to learn about Amtrak or something.

[kotatsuneko]

not everybody gave a shit about the 9/11.

you can even recreate it at home, in fact

[GuyJean]

[devicenull]

[dimwit]

[quote="GuyJean"]I just saw some footage from the scene and they were destroying the cars]

I noticed that too. Also, the carriages number 5 thru 7 that were more or less intact were kept at the scene for several days. Why?

[Mulboyne]

It's a crime scene. From the beginning, the police said they were considering criminal charges. So any removal of carriages is a police decision and not a JR West decision. I remember the big rail disasters in the UK and I don't think the situation is being handled any differently. I was also in Spain for the Madrid railway bombing and I can tell you that they got the trains off the track very quickly. It's a trade-off between getting the evidence and getting the trains running again so some semblance of normality can be restored.

[GuyJean]

So any removal of carriages is a police decision and not a JR West decision.

Oh, so there's a difference? ] It's a trade-off between getting the evidence and getting the trains running again so some semblance of normality can be restored.[/quote] And we all know what's more important.. ; )

But they couldn't remove the cars whole and inspect them at another location? I mean, they were chopping them into scrap metal at the scene! They plan on removing whole sections of the track for inspection. I don't see why they had to destroy everything at the scene one week after a disaster with no solid clues as to the cause..

GJ

[dimwit]

In another remarkable display of poor judgement...



Just think of them as train crash victims

JR West staff bowled, partied despite crash

OSAKA (Kyodo) West Japan Railway Co. has come under fire over revelations that 43 of its employees took part in a bowling contest just hours after the deadly accident on the Fukuchiyama Line in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, on April 25.

[GuyJean]

West Japan Railway Co. has come under fire over revelations that 43 of its employees took part in a bowling contest just hours after the deadly accident on the Fukuchiyama Line in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, on April 25.

I believe about 22 of bowlers continued on to a nijikai because 'reservations were already made, and it is difficult to cancel reservations'.. The actual excuse that was given..

And yet another fuckup from JR (Just Retarded)..
Passengers Furious that JR Drivers Left Crash Scene Without Helping
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/archive/200505/04/20050504p2a00m0dm005001c.html

Passengers on a speeding train that derailed and crashed on April 25, killing 107 people, are furious following an announcement by West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) that two JR drivers were on the train but both of them left the accident scene to go to work without helping victims.

The two drivers were riding in the 4th and 6th carriages at the time of the accident. After the crash, one of them informed his workplace of the accident, but his superior did not tell him to help the victims. Neither of the drivers informed police or rescue officials about the accident....

After the accident, the driver from the Morinomiya Section walked to JR Amagasaki Station, then traveled to work by train. The younger driver walked directly to work on foot. Neither driver was injured in the fatal crash.

Both drivers reportedly worked as usual after turning up at work.

If this was a crime scene, couldn't these numb-nuts be charged with something? It would seem the invastigators would need their 'professional' accounts of what happened as soon as possible.. Much less, ignoring 107 of their 'customers' trapped and slowly dying..

I think the wa is disturbing me..

GJ

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: JR West staff assaulted, harassed after derailment
West Japan Railway Co. employees have been the subject of about 70 cases of physical assault and harassment following a fatal derailment on the JR Fukuchiyama Line in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, on April 25. A series of incidents, including overruns at stations and inappropriate recreational activities, appear to have contributed to the harassment. According to a JR West union, a sign reading "Life" (inochi) was discovered posted upside down on the back window of the driver's cabin in a train on the JR Tokaido Line on April 27 when it reached Osaka Station. Six similar cases have been reported. On Friday, a driver who was overseeing a train departing from a platform in Osaka Station, almost fell onto the tracks when a man kicked her. A station attendant at Yasu Station on the Tokaido Line was punched by a man who reportedly said, "What's JR doing when so many people died in the accident in Amagasaki?" A young conductor was dragged out of a cabin at Takarazuka Station on the Fukuchiyama Line and a man threw a drink can at a driver in Osaka Station.

[canman]

I think the people that went bowling made a big mistake. The golfers, well in defence of them, if they got to the golf course early, were out playing, didn't take a lunch break but played 18 holes straight, they may no have known what was going on until after.
But all the other events that happened the next day, or during Golden week, of course people are going to continue on with their lives. I think its just become a game to pile on JR West and try and make them look bad any way the media can. The are an easy target. But also I can't understand why JR West is releasing some of this info. I think it was written before here by someone, maybe they are trying to steer the publics wrath in a different direction. I don't know.

[Mulboyne]

Japan Times: Police set to probe JR West timetable
Police plan to question West Japan Railway Co. about its timetables, suspecting a 2003 revision that added a new stop for rapid trains on the Fukuchiyama Line may have put too much pressure on drivers and contributed to the deadly April 25 train crash, officials said Wednesday...As part of its efforts to beat out Hankyu Corp. for commuters in the area, JR West added a stop at Nakayamaera Station for rapid trains in the Takarazuka-Amagasaki section of the line. But despite the additional stop, the scheduled time for completing the Takarazuka-Amagasaki section remained the same at 17 minutes, according to police investigations. The new stop at Nakayamadera requires one minute...JR West controls train operations by seconds. While the timetable shows that Takami's train was to cover the Takarazuka-Amagasaki section in 17 minutes, JR West actually designated that the time for completing the section should be 16 minutes and 25 seconds, according to investigations...The 4-km straight stretch just before the curve was known among JR employees as the only section where train drivers can make up lost time.

[dimwit]

Amagasaki City Newsletter Issue no. 41 January 2005
"Don't forget ready for disasters"

Found this in the English edition of the Amagasaki City Guide

http://www.city.amagasaki.hyogo.jp/web/contents/info/lib/sihou/sihoutoku_e_frame/index.htm

[FG Lurker]

NHK must be absolutely in LOVE with JR these days. Ever since the JR accident happened the entire NHK scandal has vanished. Recently there have been a couple of stories about the loss of revenue, but that's it.

[FG Lurker]

Train drivers say they thought speeding would not cause derailment
JT, May 19, 2005

Some train drivers with West Japan Railway Co have said they thought speed limits are set with latitude and going beyond them would not cause derailments, following the fatal derailment and crash of a JR West train in April in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.

[...]

Another driver who works in the same service area as Takami said, "I was led to believe that going double the limit would not cause a derailment. I thought the speed limit was set with a margin for consideration of safety."

(Full Story)

Double the limit?? Yikes...

JR's pile of trouble seems to be turning into a mountain.

[FG Lurker]

New steps eyed for bullet train safety
asahi.com, May 19, 2005

Prompted by a shattered myth and a stroke of luck, bullet train operators are trying to create the first system that can prevent derailments of high-speed trains from becoming greater disasters.

[...]

No specific studies have been conducted for post-derailment measures on high-speed transit systems anywhere in the world, said Masao Saito, who was in charge of Shinkansen operations at Japanese National Railways.

JR companies are planning to come out with blueprints by year-end, but there are many hurdles to clear.

(Full Story)

I guess it isn't only Japan who is living on a wish and a prayer...

[FG Lurker]

JR West to Spend Y60 Bln More on Safety After Crash
Bloomberg, May 31, 2005

West Japan Railway Co., the operator of Japan's worst rail accident in four decades, said it would spend 60 billion yen ($556 million) more money over four years to install brakes and other features to make its trains safer.

JR West, as the company is also known, said it plans to spend a total of 290 billion yen on safety measures and equipment in the four years ending March 2009. That raises the capital spending by the company, based in western Japan's Osaka city, to 500 billion yen, from an earlier estimate of 440 billion yen.

(Full Story)

[cstaylor]

A stitch in time, for example computerized controls of all trains, overrides not allowed in critical track sections, could have prevented this trajedy. A little late to be adding those features now...

[FG Lurker]

A stitch in time, for example computerized controls of all trains, overrides not allowed in critical track sections, could have prevented this trajedy. A little late to be adding those features now...

The Osaka Transport System "New Tram" tried to use computerized "trains" (they have rubber wheels) with no driver override. They had some accidents with it and had to go back to allowing the driver to override the computer.

Certainly stopping at stations should be a computerized process, and speeds should be limited via computer... But in the end I think the driver needs to be able to override things if it is necessary.