Twello train accident
The Twello train accident was a railway accident on 22 December 1900 at 21:00 in front of the Twello railway station, Twello. The express train from Amsterdam collided head-to-head with a regional train from Almelo to Apeldoorn; these trains pass each other at Bathmen, but due to a delay of the express train, the crossing was changed to Twello. The crash happened because the person who takes care of the railroad switch failed to set a switch, allowing two trains on the same track; the express train rode into the still standing regional train. Two men from Deventer died. Five passengers were injured and two conductors were minor injured. Two station officials were sentenced in January 1901 to six weeks' imprisonment
Automatic train control
Automatic train control is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. ATC systems tend to integrate various cab signalling technologies and they use more granular deceleration patterns in lieu of the rigid stops encountered with the older automatic train stop technology. ATC can be used with automatic train operation and is considered to be the safety-critical part of the system. Over time, there have been many different safety systems labeled as "automatic train control"; the first was used from 1906 by the Great Western Railway, although it would now be referred to as an AWS. The term is common in Japan, where ATC is used on all Shinkansen lines and on some conventional rail lines as a replacement for ATS; the accident report for the 2006 Qalyoub accident mentions an ATC system. In 2017, Huawei was contracted to install GSM-R to provide communication services to automatic train protection systems. ATC-1 is used on the Tōkaidō and Sanyō Shinkansen since 1964.
The system used on the Tōkaido Shinkansen is classified as ATC-1A and ATC-1B on the Sanyō Shinkansen. Utilizing trackside speed limits of 0, 30, 70, 110, 160 and 210 km/h, it was upgraded to utilize speed limits of 0, 30, 70, 120, 170, 220, 230, 255, 270, 275, 285 and 300 km/h with the introduction of new rolling stock on both lines. Variants include ATC-1D and ATC-1W, the latter being used on the Sanyō Shinkansen. Since 2006, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen's ATC-1A system has been superseded by ATC-NS. Used on the Tōhoku, Jōetsu and Nagano Shinkansen routes, it utilized 0, 30, 70, 110, 160, 210 and 240 km/h trackside speed limits. In recent years, ATC-2 has been superseded by DS-ATC; the Japanese ATC-2 system is not to be confused with the Ansaldo L10000 ATC system, similar to the EBICAB ATC system, as well as the ATC-2 system used in Sweden. The first implementation of ATC in Japan, it was first used on Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line in 1961 and on the Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line. Stands for Wayside-ATC. Both lines converted to New CS-ATC in 2007 respectively.
WS-ATC is used on 5 Osaka Municipal Subway lines. First used on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line in 1971, CS-ATC, is an analogue ATC technology using ground-based control, like all ATC systems, used cab signalling. CS-ATC uses trackside speed limits of 0, 40, 55, 75 and 90 km/h, its use has extended to include the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, most the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line. It is used on all Nagoya Municipal Subway lines and 3 Osaka Municipal Subway lines. Introduced on the Sōbu Line and the Yokosuka Line from 1972 to 1976, it utilized trackside speed limits of 0, 25, 45, 65, 75 and 90 km/h. ATC-5 was deactivated on both lines in 2004 in favour of ATS-P. Introduced in 1972, used on the Saikyō Line and Keihin-Tōhoku Line and Yamanote Line; some freight trains were fitted with ATC-6 as well. In 2003 and 2006, the Keihin-Tōhoku and Yamanote Lines replaced their ATC-6 systems with D-ATC. Used on the Chikuhi Line in Kyushu. Developed from ATC-4, ATC-10 can be compatible with D-ATC and compatible with the older CS-ATC technology.
ATC-10 can be seen as a hybrid of analogue and digital technology, although ATC-10 is not recommended for use with D-ATC because of poor performance of the full-service brake during trial tests. It is used on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line, Tōkyū Tōyoko Line and Tsukuba Express. Used on the Kaikyō Line along with Automatic Train Stop since 1988. Digital ATC is a digitized form of automatic train control in use on a few Japan Railway lines; the following forms of Digital ATC are in existence. Used on non-high speed lines on some East Japan Railway Company lines. Stands for Digital ATC, its main difference from the older analog ATC technology is the shift from ground-based control to train-based control, allowing braking to reflect each train's ability, improving comfort and safety. The fact that it can increase speeds and provide for denser timetables is important for Japan's busy railways. First D-ATC was enabled on the section of track from Tsurumi Station to Minami-Urawa Station on the Keihin-Tohoku Line on 21 December 2003 following the conversion of the 209 series trains there to support D-ATC.
The Yamanote Line was D-ATC enabled in April 2005, following the replacement of all old 205 series rolling stock to the new, D-ATC enabled E231 series trains. There are plans to D-ATC enable the rest of the Keihin-Tohoku line and the Negishi line, pending conversion of onboard and ground-based systems; the ATC system on the Toei Shinjuku Line in use from 14 May 2005 is similar to D-ATC. Since 18 March 2006, Digital ATC has been enabled for Tōkaidō Shinkansen, the original Shinkansen owned by Central Japan Railway Company, replacing the old analog ATC system. D-ATC is used with the Taiwan High Speed 700T train built for the Taiwan High Speed Rail, which opened in early January 2007. Implemented on Shinkansen lines operated by JR East. Stands for Digital communication & control for Shi
Falmouth Docks railway station
Falmouth Docks railway station is situated in Falmouth, England. It was opened in 1863 as the terminus of the Maritime Line from Truro, although since 1970 Falmouth Town has been the principal station for the town. Falmouth Docks is 312 miles 46 chains measured from London Paddington. Services are operated by Great Western Railway; the original Cornwall Railway Act had provided for a terminus at Falmouth on the waterfront at Greenbank. By the time the line was built the packet ships, the commercial justification for the line, no longer called there. Instead new docks had been constructed near Pendennis Castle; the grand Falmouth Hotel was opened in 1865 just outside the station, with sea views across Gyllyngvase beach. The railway, Falmouth docks and hotel companies shared several directors, the hotel company leased the refreshment rooms on the station; the station was constructed out of granite was 200 feet long and 90 feet wide, the three tracks and two platforms being covered by a train shed.
As no other stations were provided in the town at the time it was known just as'Falmouth', was opened on 24 August 1863. A large goods shed and a 100 feet long engine shed were both provided just outside the station. A siding ran down to the docks from the end of the platform; the need to provide accommodation for all the staff were met by building twenty dwellings, known as Railway Cottages, in four terraces of five dwellings. These are situated just below the station by the entrance to the docks; the Cornwall Railway was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway on 1 July 1889. The Great Western Railway was nationalised into British Railways from 1 January 1948, in turn privatised in the 1990s; the station was closed on 7 December 1970 when a new station named'Falmouth', was opened 845 metres away and nearer to the town. On 15 May 1989, both were renamed:'Falmouth' became'Falmouth Docks', and'The Dell' became'Falmouth Town'. Passengers now have a choice of three stations in the town: Falmouth Docks, Falmouth Town, Penmere.
The single platform is on the left hand side of trains arriving from Truro. It is covered now by just a canopy but features a mosaic panel on its wall which depicts the link between the railway and the area's maritime heritage, it has level access from the car park. The station is at the south end of the town on the hillside above the docks and near Pendennis Castle and Gyllyngvase Beach; the railway from Truro to Falmouth is designated as a community rail line and is supported by marketing provided by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The line is promoted under the "Maritime Line" name. While passenger numbers have been growing at most Cornish stations in recent years, the growth at Falmouth Docks has been exceptional. More than 28,000 people passed through the station in the twelve months ending March 2003, but this had more than doubled just four years and quadrupled by 2014/15. Falmouth Town, continues to be the busiest of the three stations in Falmouth; the statistics cover twelve month periods.
All trains are operated by Great Western Railway to and from Truro. Until 2009 they ran no more than once each hour – much less than this – but they were increased in frequency, they are now every 30 minutes Monday - hourly at evenings and on Sundays. This is possible because of the new passing loop, now installed at Penryn
Paddington tube station (Circle and Hammersmith & City lines)
Paddington is a London Underground station served by the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. It is located adjacent to the north side of Paddington mainline station and has entrances from within the mainline station and from Paddington Basin; the station is between Royal Oak and Edgware Road and is in London Fare Zone 1. The station is one of two separate Underground stations of the same name; the other station, on Praed Street to the south of the mainline station, is served by the Bakerloo and District lines. Although shown on the London Underground map as a single station, the two stations are not directly linked and interchange between them is via the concourse of the mainline station; the station was opened as Paddington by the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863 as the western terminus of the world's first underground railway. The station building was located on the road bridge carrying Bishop's Road over the mainline tracks of the Great Western Railway. Services were operated with rolling stock provided by the GWR, the MR route to Farringdon was laid with dual-gauge track for both broad-gauge and standard-gauge trains.
On 13 June 1864, GWR services were extended westward when the Hammersmith & City Railway opened to Hammersmith. MR services began operating to Hammersmith in 1865. Trains ran for about 1 mile on the GWR's mainline tracks between Paddington and the start of the Hammersmith branch, but delays on the mainline section led to a separate pair of parallel tracks for the Hammersmith service being constructed; these opened on 30 October 1871. On 1 October 1868, the MR opened a south-west facing junction 350 yards west of Edgware Road for a new branch to Gloucester Road. MR trains to Gloucester Road served a separate station named Paddington south of the main-line station. Paddington station was given its current name in 10 September 1933. From 1 August 1872, the'"Middle Circle"' service began operations through the station running from Moorgate over the Hammersmith branch to Latimer Road via a now demolished link, to the West London Line to Addison Road and the District Railway to Mansion House; the service was operated jointly by the GWR and the DR.
The service ended on 31 January 1905. Until 1990, services through the station were shown on maps as part of the MR and the Metropolitan line, they were separately identified as the Hammersmith & City line in 1990. In December 2009, Circle line services began serving the station. Operating as a loop-line using tracks constructed by the MR and the DR and serving only the station in Praed Street, the Circle line's route was altered to include the Hammersmith branch to increase train frequency on the branch and improve the regularity of Circle line trains. Trains run in a spiral anti-clockwise from Edgware Road around the loop, back to Edgware Road and on to the Hammersmith branch; the station was rebuilt during 2012 and 2013 to provide longer platforms, improved access and connections to the mainline station. A new entrance to Paddington Basin was opened. On 9 May 1864, the boiler of a Great Northern Railway 0-6-0 locomotive exploded as it was leaving Bishops Road. Two people were injured and the resulting debris landed up to 250 yards away, a section of the main station roof was dented.
The station is in London Fare Zone 1 between Royal Edgware Road stations. Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but Hammersmith & City line trains operate every 10 minutes from 04:50 to 00:42 eastbound and 05:22 to 00:53 westbound. Both lines use the same tracks. London Buses routes 332 serve Bishop's Bridge Road, north of the station. Other bus routes serve the station in Praed Street. Lancaster Gate Underground station on the Central line and Marylebone mainline station are within walking distance and out of station interchanges to these stations are permitted at no extra cost if made within the permitted time. London Transport Museum Photographic Archive Paddington station under construction, 1862 Entrance from Bishop's Bridge Road, 1950
1907 Birmingham Tramway accident
The 1907 Birmingham Tramway accident was a fatal tram accident which occurred on 1 October 1907 in the city of Birmingham, England. A tram operated by City of Birmingham Tramways Company Ltd was going downhill on Warstone Lane in the Jewellery Quarter area of the city; the brakes of the tram failed and it ran away. At the junction of Warstone Lane and Icknield Street the tram overturned at high speed, it skidded. Two people seventeen more were injured in the accident, it is the deadliest tram accident in the area covered by the modern West Midlands county. The tram's brakes were found to have been faulty. List of tram accidents
Charing Cross roof collapse
On 5 December 1905, the iron-and-glass overall arched roof of London Charing Cross railway station collapsed during a long-term maintenance project, killing six people. The original roof was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw and comprised a single-span trussed arch with wrought iron tie rods; the roof was 164 ft wide by 510 ft long and was designed as a contained arch, with bowstring principals. At 3:45 p.m. on 5 December 1905 one of the tie-rods of a main principal sheared, making a loud noise. Some passengers evacuated the station. Shortly before 4:00 p.m. two complete roof bays fell onto the platforms and rails, the western wall collapsed outwards on to the adjacent Royal Avenue Theatre, being reconstructed. The glass'wind-screen' at the river end was brought down. There were four trains in the station at the time on Platforms 3-6 and the girders and debris from the roof fell across them. Many passengers had boarded the trains, otherwise the total killed could have been greater; the apparent collapse of the roof was due to the structural failure of a flawed piece of ironwork.
The roof had been loaded with scaffolding and materials just before the final collapse. Six people were killed. One fatality was an employee of W H Smith's and the three remaining fatalities were workmen reconstructing the Royal Avenue Theatre, crushed by the western side wall. Eight other workmen were injured and taken to hospital and nineteen others suffered minor injuries; the station was closed for over three months and during this period the Charing Cross Bridge was examined and some girders added to reinforce it. The Charing Cross and Hampstead Railway company — now part of the London Underground's Northern line — was able to take advantage of this closure when constructing its Charing Cross Underground station, making a large excavation in the main-line station's forecourt that would not have been allowed otherwise; the Charing Cross roof was replaced by a utilitarian post and girder structure supporting a ridge and furrow roof. The curve of the original roof design can still be seen on the interior brickwork.
The station was re-opened on 19 March 1906. Because one undetected flaw caused such a large failure, questions were raised about the design and the safety factor against failure. A similar roof at Cannon Street station was taken down in 1958
Slough railway station
Slough railway station, in Slough, England, is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway from London Paddington to Reading, Didcot Parkway and main line services to Reading and stations to Worcester Shrub Hill, Great Malvern and Hereford on the Cotswold Line. It is the junction for the Windsor branch, it is 18 miles 36 chains down the line from Paddington and is situated between Langley to the east and Burnham to the west. The station is just to the north of the town centre, on the north side of the A4; the first section of the Great Western Railway, between the original station at Paddington and the original station at Maidenhead, opened on 4 June 1838, but although trains stopped at Slough, there was no actual station: tickets were sold at the Crown Inn. This was because the Act which authorised the construction of the GWR contained a clause which forbade the construction of a station within 3 miles of Eton College without the permission of the Provost and Fellows of the school.
Following the repeal of the relevant clauses in the GWR Act, the first proper station at Slough opened on 1 June 1840. The arrival of the railway led to Queen Victoria making her first railway journey, from Slough to Bishop's Bridge near Paddington, in 1842. A branch to Windsor & Eton Central was built for the Queen's greater convenience. Nowadays, the journey time between Windsor and Slough is six minutes; the headmaster of Eton College, Dr. John Keate, had resisted efforts to place a station closer to Eton College than Slough, because he feared that it would "interfere with the discipline of the school, the studies and amusements of the boys, affecting the healthiness of the place, from the increase of floods, endangering the lives of boys." This led to Slough station becoming, temporarily at the Royal Station. It is grander than other stations in the area to accommodate its role at the time. Windsor & Eton Central railway station and Windsor & Eton Riverside railway station both opened in 1849 despite the opposition from the College.
Its approach road, Mackenzie Street, which ran from the Great West Road to the station, was much wider than an approach road would otherwise have needed to have been. This was to accommodate the Queen's entourage. Slough High Street was part of the Great West Road, which has now been diverted via Wellington Street, allowing the High Street to be pedestrianised, thus Mackenzie Street became a cul-de-sac in 1970 when Wellington Street was redeveloped, is now part of the Queensmere Shopping Centre. The remainder of Mackenzie Street, north of the redeveloped Wellington Street, was renamed Brunel Way. Opposite the railway station once stood the grand Royal Hotel. On 1 January 1845, John Tawell, who had returned from Australia, murdered his lover, Sarah Hart, at Salt Hill in Slough by giving her a glass of stout poisoned with cyanide of potash. With various officials in chase, Tawell boarded a train to Paddington; the electric telegraph had been installed between Paddington and Slough in 1843, a message was sent ahead to Paddington with Tawell's details.
Tawell was trailed and subsequently arrested and executed for the murder at Aylesbury on 28 March 1845. This is believed to be the first time that the telegraph had been involved in the apprehension of a murderer. From 1 March 1883, the station was served by District Railway services running between Mansion House and Windsor & Eton Central; the service was discontinued as uneconomic after 30 September 1885. On 8 September 1884 the original station was closed and replaced by the present station, situated 220 yards to the west of the old. On 16 June 1900, an express train from Paddington to Falmouth Docks ran through two sets of signals at danger, collided with a local train from Paddington to Windsor, standing in the station; the driver of the express only noticed the signal before the platform. Five passengers on the local train were killed; the official enquiry ruled that a primary cause of the accident was the poor physical condition of the driver, due to his age and fatigue. The guard and fireman of the express were criticised for failing to notice that their train had passed the danger signals.
This accident was instrumental in the introduction of Automatic Train Control on the Great Western Railway. On the evening of 2 November 1994 a Class 165 Turbo train crashed through the buffer stop of platform 6, after failing to slow down due to poor rail adhesion on the approach to the crossover, it is estimated that the train had only reduced its speed from 56 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour at the time of collision skidding for some 1,200 yards through three sets of points. Evidence gathered at the scene by investigators suggested that the train, had it not hit the buffers, could have continued for another 910 yards. There had been light drizzle on the evening in question; this was only one of a number of instances in which Class 165/166 Turbo trains had overshot platforms and run through red lights. These incidents led to driver retraining and the teaching of defensive driving techniques during the autumn leaf fall season; the main contributing factor w
2000–present
