Naro-Fominsk rail crash explained

Naro-Fominsk rail crash
Image Alt:Nara station, Naro-Fominsk
Date:20 May 2014
Time:12:32 Moscow Standard Time
Location:Between Bekasovo and Naro-Fominsk, Russia
Location Dir:south west
Location City:Moscow
Location Dist Km:60
Country:Russia
Line:Moscow – Kyiv
Operator:Ukrainian Railways (freight)
Moldovan Railways (passenger)
Type:Derailment and collision
Cause:Under investigation
Trains:2
Passengers:394
Deaths:9
Injuries:51

The Naro-Fominsk rail crash occurred on 20 May 2014 when a freight train derailed near Naro-Fominsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia. The train was run into by a passenger train. Nine people were killed and 51 were injured.

Crash

At 12:32 Moscow Standard Time (08:32 UTC) on 20 May 2014,[1] a freight train derailed between Bekasovo and Naro-Fominsk on the Moscow–Kyiv railway. The derailed wagons fouled an adjacent track. A Moscow–Chișinău passenger train collided with the derailed wagons, killing nine people and injuring 51;[2] [3] 29 of whom were taken to hospital. There were 394 passengers on board. The passenger train was operated by Moldovan Railways. It was travelling at 95km/h before the driver made an emergency brake application, having seen the cloud of dust caused by the derailment of the freight train. The seventh and eighth carriages of the train were those most severely damaged in the accident.[1] The side of one of the carriages was ripped open in the accident.[4]

Victims were taken to hospitals in Moscow, Naro-Fominsk, Odintsovo and Selyatino.[1] Two victims were flown by helicopter to a Moscow hospital.[5]

The stretch of track which the freight train derailed on was under repair at the time of the accident.[6] A broken rail is suspected to have been the cause of the freight train derailing;[5] however, a broken axle on one of the wagons may also have caused the accident.[7] The line between Aprelevka and station, Naro-Fominsk was blocked by the crash, with buses replacing trains. By late evening, one line was reopened, allowing Moscow commuters to travel home by train. Passengers bound for Moscow were transported by bus.[8]

Investigation

The Russian Investigative Committee opened an investigation into the crash.[6] A criminal investigation was also opened into the crash. Causes under investigation included a broken rail, the condition of the freight train and the driving of the freight train.[3] [9] Speaking in Shanghai, China, Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out terrorism as a cause.[10] Subsequent inquiry revealed that the end reason of the derailment was the sun kink on the seamless rail due to thermal expansion and improper maintenance.[11] The problem with the rails was known and attempts to rectify them were made, but couldn't be completed in time before the accident, because the institutional culture discouraged the personnel from interrupting the traffic on a busy line.[12] Additional blame was placed on the maintenance team trying to rectify this problem, which failed to notify the controllers and the train crews about track work they were conducting.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: http://lifenews.ru/news/133524. ru:Машинист пассажирского поезда пытался избежать столкновения. Passenger train driver tried to avoid a collision. Life News. ru. 20 May 2014. 21 May 2014. 21 May 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140521035943/http://lifenews.ru/news/133524. dmy-all.
  2. News: Death toll in train collision near Moscow climbs to 9 — source. Vyacheslav. Prokofyev. ITAR-TASS. 20 May 2014. 21 May 2014.
  3. News: Over 50 People Injured in Train Collision Near Moscow – EMERCOM . Valery . Melnikov . RIA Novosti . 20 May 2014 . 21 May 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140521121820/http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140521/189997423/Over-50-People-Injured-in-Train-Collision-Near-Moscow--EMERCOM.html . 21 May 2014 .
  4. Web site: Several dead and dozens injured in Russian train crash. Deutsche Welle. 20 May 2014. 20 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140521031308/http://www.dw.de/several-dead-and-dozens-injured-in-russian-train-crash/a-17648851. 21 May 2014. live. dmy-all.
  5. News: 6 Dead, 25 Injured in Train Collision Near Moscow. Grigory. Duker. RIA Novosti. 20 May 2014. 20 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140521031515/http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140520/189978530/6-Dead-25-Injured-in-Train-Collision-Near-Moscow.html. 21 May 2014. live. dmy-all.
  6. Web site: Railway repairs reported to be in progress before trains’ collision near Moscow. Dmitry. Rogulin. ITAR-TASS. 20 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220755/http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/732358. 20 May 2014. live. dmy-all.
  7. Web site: Freight and passenger trains collide near Moscow, at least 9 killed. Pravda. 20 May 2014. 21 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140520215621/http://english.pravda.ru/news/hotspots/20-05-2014/127616-freight_passenger_trains_collide-0/. 20 May 2014. live. dmy-all.
  8. News: Commuter train traffic resumes on one of railway tracks after accident near Moscow. Dmitry. Rogulin. ITAR-TASS. 20 May 2014. 21 May 2014. 21 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140521040848/http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/732377. live. dmy-all.
  9. News: 25 remain in hospitals after Moscow region train crash on Tuesday . Dmitry . Rogulin . ITAR-TASS . 21 May 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140521122041/http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/732404 . 21 May 2014 .
  10. News: RIA Novosti. No Reason to Call Train Collision Near Moscow Terrorist Attack – Putin. Grigory. Dukor. 21 May 2014. 21 May 2014. 22 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222190434/http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140717182023/No-Reason-to-Call-Train-Collision-Near-Moscow-Terrorist-Attack--.htm. live. dmy-all.
  11. Web site: Ространснадзор возложил на РЖД вину за крушение поездов в Подмосковье. Vedomosti. 27 May 2014.
  12. Web site: Задержан еще один подозреваемый по уголовному делу о столкновении двух поездов в Наро-Фоминском районе. 29 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140602033015/http://www.sledcom.ru/actual/402968/. 2 June 2014. dead.
  13. Web site: Владимир Якунин объявил итоги расследования ЧП в Подмосковье. Gudok. 29 May 2014.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Naro-Fominsk rail crash".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.