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Police: Train hit Hyde Park man at 120 m.p.h.
By adamg on Fri, 08/05/2011 - 2:42pm
Via FacebookMBTA Transit Police report Benjy Barlatier, 28, of Hyde Park, died last night when hit head on by a speeding Acela train.
According to the report, Barlatier was hanging with two friends near the benches on the inbound platform when he "unexpectedly" got up and dashed across the tracks nearest the platform onto the center set of tracks:
Barlatier reversed his direction and proceeded back to the platform and was fatally struck while attempting to cross over [the tracks nearest the platform].
The engineer of the inbound train estimated it was doing 120 m.p.h. when it hit Barlatier around 10:30 p.m. Police say the engineer saw Barlatier before the strike and immediately applied the emergency brakes, but at that speed, it took 1.26 miles to stop the train - it came to a halt just past the West Street bridge.
Barlatier's remains were brought to the state medical examiner's office for examination.
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Comments
Too fast?
I had no idea the Acela's could go that fast inside of 128. I knew they had to be going at least 60 but with all of the local commuter rail stations it passes through, should they really be going that fast this close to an urban area? When I used to ride it about 8-9 years ago, they never seemed to go faster than the traffic on 95 until we got outside of Providence.
Why should they slow down?
Nobody is supposed to be on these tracks. Period. Doesn't matter whether it's in Hyde Park or in Stonington, Connecticut.
Crossings?
I'm not prevy to where exactly these trains go through, but my guess is they do go through crossings.
120MPH doesn't leave much room if a car is stuck, or some other circumstance happens. As stated above, it takes miles to stop a train at that speed.
I don't think anyone is arguing people should be expected to be on the tracks, but that speed through stations and crossings seems reckless.
There are no crossings there at all
The only way a car would get stuck on the Northeast Corridor in Boston is if it fell off an overpass or rammed through a fence.
Which happens, sadly
Yes, autos have fallen off overpasses and rammed through fences -- both -- and landed on the Amtrak tracks within the greater Boston area.
As usual, Thanks Adam!
happened last week
took out a bunch of wires and knocked out NE corridor service
Repeating, but as already
Repeating, but as already said voices must be heard.
First, there are NO grade crossings until you are past New Haven. However, as was seen in Maine, even a relatively slow train can do catastrophic damage when anything, even an 18 wheeler, wanders onto the tracks.
And as my personal favorite Acella video shows (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvhOac-Sxa4&feature...) there are plenty of audible and visual warnings that a train is about to come through. Although when it comes right down to it everyone should know not to stray anywhere near tracks, for any reason, ever.
Trains go as
fast as they are made to go. Acela trains travel at that speed because that is the speed they travel at. Most of the time, it is not a problem unless someone or something is on the track.
This poor unfortunate person was on the rails for some strange reason. Maybe he had a death wish? Maybe he was messed up? Maybe he just make a mistake? It does not matter, really. Very sad story.
Acela speed
There are only 2 things that should be slowing down the Acela: 1) stops at train stations, and 2) sections of track that are not made for the high speed. Otherwise, Acela gets to go fast. It's already far slower than it could be due to the fact that the track is the same track that's always been there and they didn't give it new, straighter right-of-ways between Boston and New York (follows the coast too much).
why Acela isn't as fast
Acela was *designed* to run on tracks that aren't straight. That's why it tilts.
But the designers screwed up and made it 4 inches wider than it was supposed to be. As a result, Metro North wouldn't let it tilt on their tracks south of New Haven, so it's limited to 90 mph there.
It should go at least that fast!
The ROW conditions there are such that trains can travel safely at a very high speed. Even MBTA trains are rated to travel at 79 MPH on this section of track, and they often do. The point of a grade separated, fenced and relatively straight rail bed is speed. This is one of the only spots in the entire country that's properly designed for such speeds, and if I had my way, we'd have a few thousand more miles at the same specification.
A tragic accident is just that, not an indication of systemic failure.
At least that fast and then some.
Roger that, and I said as much on the other thread.
Unfortunately, the grade separation requirement, whilst a very good idea for many reasons, is probably what is going to prevent a bonafide HSR system from being built in this country because each one is hugely expensive and disruptive.
I felt like joining the chorus
Every time somebody thinks it is legitimate to blame this accident on high speed, we all need to speak out. I saw you and Ron Newman and a few other folks doing just that, figured I should add my voice.
You're right, though, it's incredibly expensive, and sadly not a major priority to the controlling elites. At least we got something resembling high speed rail in our small corner of the country.
60? 120 mph? Doesn't matter
If you're on the tracks, bad things are probably going to happen. Anything short of a crawling, Green Line speed is going to require some serious stopping distance.
We don't tell people to slow down on highways because of pedestrians that might wander onto them. We set the speed limits and determine the safe design speed of the roadway based on the design of the highway and the other vehicles sharing the right of way.
Max speed is on this leg
The ONLY part of the entire trip when the Acela is at top speed is between Boston and Prov. The rest of the infrastructure (Prov to DC) is a piece of shit and the Acela crawls through.
Not true
There are 150 MPH sections between Providence and New London, including the section where the Kingston, RI station is located, through which the Acelas pass at full track speed. There are also numerous 120 & 130 MPH sections between there and Washington, DC.
Correct
The sections in which the Acela can hit its high speeds are between Route 128 and Providence, Providence to New London, then the speed downgrades between New London and New Haven due to grade crossings. Speed is severely limited between New Haven and New York as MetroNorth owns the tracks, but outside New York 125mph for the Acela is the norm, especially in rural northeast Maryland.
The trip I took last September had me going from Philadelphia's 30th Street Station to Baltimore - a distance of 97 miles - in about 55 minutes, and that was with a stop in Wilmington, DE.
Read a magazine and then
Read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore.
it could be doing 1/4 of the speed and still not avoid him
There are warning signs everywhere, and automated, repeated, audible warnings in the stations when trains are approaching.
The train could have been doing 30mph and still not avoided him.
Also: the sound of the Acela passing through Boston is often/usually quieter than the commuter rail trains because the rails and wheels have to be of higher quality/better maintained, and it is electrically propelled, not diesel.
Play stupid games, win stupid
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
What are u sick ! That was a
What are u sick ! That was a friend.of.mine
Plain and simple , a good
Plain and simple , a good person and friend died on the commuter rail and there is a few people that are saying this like a " death wish" or " play stupid games and get stupid prizes" come on now ... What is wring with you people ? No matter what that was someone's child that mind you didn't do anything such as rape nor hurt anyone. Why be so cold ? He was a great person and should should aeast if anything from another is some respect! Like another that doesn't know the situation not " knows" be atleast thoughtful on that a HUMAN BEING has died and not just say whats the first cold hearted thing that comes to your mind!
Welcome to the web
It sucks, but the best course of action is just shutting it down until the next thing to comment comes by. There's no stopping it, nor fixing it; but you do have a choice to ignore it.
With the rampet trolling, and any number of messed up people with access to the net, it's just not a battle worth fighting.
Man hits train?
...at least, according to the URL of this story. Amtrak vs Superman?
URL generating algorithm at work
My original headline was something like "Man hit by train going 120 mph." The software that comes up with a human-readable (sorta, really more for Google) URL omits certain common words such as "by," "the," "and" etc., so you wind up with man-hit-train...
everybody seems to miss the
everybody seems to miss the point that this guy was 28 years old hanging out on the tracks
From Facebook: Favorite
From Facebook:
Favorite Quotations: "live life to da fullest because tommorow is not promising ya dig?"
Nuff said. R.I.P.
YES! R.I.P MAC MUCH LUV BABY
YES! R.I.P MAC MUCH LUV BABY
wow that dude
was sure walking fast
Here's video of the Acela
Here's video of the Acela going through Sharon station, which I've witnessed in person (and is pretty dramatic):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye0BMRKlxLU
They're not coy about letting you know a train is coming with signs flashing and announcements blaring for at least a minute. We don't yet know the details of what happened but it would be difficult to imagine someone somehow being caught unawares. There isn't any room for error if you ignore the warnings; the train goes from a speck in the distance to thundering by in seconds.
Darwin Award?
Could he have been playing chicken for a video?
I've seen other such stuff online.
No yellow line?
The narration on that video says there is no yellow line to stand behind, which is plainly false as you can see for yourself.
I see no yellow line.
I see no yellow line.
Yellow line
OK, I meant the written description of the video, not the narration, but still ... doesn't that painted stripe at the platform edge look yellow to you? It even has the words STAND BACK painted behind it.
wow stupid people got nothin
wow stupid people got nothin better to do than sit there and disrespect the dead.. now how would u feel if this was youe mother and people were talking this way about her>>
I wonder if alcohol or drugs
I wonder if alcohol or drugs played a part in his decision to play Frogger with a bullet train.
Hmmmm......
This:
Sounds like a possibility to look into.
You have no idea
It's one thing to state facts about the mechanics and functioning of the train, but to pass judgement, critisize, and offer your opinion of the person; not knowing what precipitated the event, is not only insensitive and ignorant, but inhumane. I do not know this man personally, but I wish he would have spoken to someone about how he was feeling, prior to his tragedy.
You cannot tell what someone has gone through, or is going though, based on appearance.
My heart mourns for this man. I pray he is in a better space; mind, body, and soul.
Thank you for saying that
Thank you for saying that because he was and is my friend and I will miss him so vary much.
Unreal the amount of false
Unreal the amount of false info being posted here. I am not going to correct each one, but here is the bottom line.
Their are plenty of grade crossings on the Corridor. Starting in Westerley RI with the last one just after New London. The fastest speed over them? 80mph. They ALL have lights, bells and gates.
As for maximum speed? Their are stretches of 150mph between RT. 128 and Providence and then Providence and Kenyons RI.
At stations like Attleboro and Kingston, the trains pass through at 150mph.
Their are automated warnings at every station where the Acela passes through at high speed. Every platform (ALL) has a yellow line showing how far to stand back.
Nobody has ever been struck by a train who followed the basic safety precatuions. In this incident, witnesses have said the person who was struck ran in front of the train. So the very idea that their is some sort of safety issue is ridiculous. And whether the train was going 110 or 10 mph, you can still be killed. Speed had nothing to do with this incident.
A grown man made a poor choice and it cost him is life. That is the bottom line. Everybody does something stupid at some point in their life. The hope is that when you make a stupid decision that you learn from that mistake. But it does not always work out that way. The train crew and the persons freinds and family will now live with the horror of this mans poor choice.