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The Boylston collision
By adamg on Fri, 11/30/2012 - 2:56pm
The MBTA has released this surveillance video of yesterday's incident at Boylston station. The Globe reports the T has ruled out equipment failure.
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Comments
Someone needs to look up "bump"
That was a pretty significant impact. Knocked one guy clear out of the train. I'm also curious where the definition of "minor injuries" comes from. Didn't I hear that one of the drivers had a couple of cracked vertebra?
I am somewhat amused, in a gallows humor sort of way, by the guy who came out of the rear door, walked carefully away from the train, and then checked his watch in that resigned "I'm gonna be late, aren't I?" sort of way we all get on the MBTA...
Yeah, that was intense.
I feel bad for that girl who rushed to get on the train, only to be in the crash 15 seconds later.
Also, what's the deal with Falling Out of the Train Guy? Adrenaline head rush made him dizzy?
The front train was easily
The front train was easily pushed forward ten feet. That is no bump, and could have easily been a major catastrophe.
It's like a broken record around here every time there's a Green Line collision. What is T management waiting for? 50 passengers to be murdered?
This is no accident. It is negligence, plain and simple. Whether that negligence was because of a distracted operator in the second train or defective brakes or defective signaling, it is negligence nonetheless.
Talk about
Melodramatic! I bet you wear a helmet when it snows!
You're right. There is
You're right. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a train system where driver error can cause a collision that pushes an 80-ton train forward by at least ten feet.
Silly, silly me.
Fact is, accidents are going
Fact is, accidents are going to happen regardless of anything the T does. Exactly what do you propose they do to have this NEVER happen again? If you ask me, the T actually has a pretty good safety record, all things considered, especially with one of the tightest, smallest and most congested cities in the world.
Luckily nobody was killed, but unfortunately this isn't the last time trains will collide.
The technology is there to
The technology is there to physically prevent two trains from colliding. Heck, the original NY subway in 1904 (granted, totally grade-separated heavy rail) had trip arms that would engage a train's brakes if a train ran a red signal.
Of course to completely revamp the Green Line's signaling and dispatching, that would also have the side effect of more trains running through the central subway, would likely cost countless hundreds of millions of dollars.
So does the T leave everything as it is, with only luck keeping one of these too-frequent collisions from causing mass casualties?
I don't think many people would argue with the observation that the Green Line as it currently stands is a failed mass transit system, with the potential to be so much more.
The side effect of advanced
The side effect of advanced signal installation would be fewer trains not more. Right now, 48 trains per hour are scheduled on the Green Line, and the number can be higher after delays cause backups. In practice, even advanced signal systems would have trouble accomodating that throughput.
Let's skip the "advanced" signalization...
and proceed directly to a driverless train system for all lines.
Yeah, it's expensive, but I would bet that it is less expensive than paying salaries, pension benefits, healthcare benefits etc. for a workforce that is allowed to retire too early and which will live for at least another 20-40 years after retirement.
And oh yeah, it would greatly increase throughput and allow for all kinds of other dynamic adjustments to service.
I think it's also worth mentioning, if you haven't yet clicked on the link, that this is being done by a supposedly less-than-enthusiastic about efficiency country of painters and pastry chefs. More seriously, however, is the lesson for the Carmen's Union: when you keep driving up costs and driving down efficiency (or, putting people at risk), the tide will turn against you, even in a VERY labor-friendly environment. Watch out, boys and girls.
being thrown out of the train, that's what
I believe an eyewitness was saying that he landed on his face.
He got up, noticed that he was dizzy, and got down again, and then up to grab his pack and go lay on a bench.
concussion, probably
Even a slight concussion can cause confusion and disorientation.
Or
Just shock. People tend to do weird things when startled.
Train Bouncer?
Ummmm, that looked like a pretty significant collision.
What was up with that guy who got bounced off the train, stood up, laid down on the ground, and got up again?
Looks like he got knocked out
Looks like he got knocked out of the train, but his bag was still inside. So after exiting the train, he lay down a bit just to recover, but once the door opened again and he could grab his backpack, he got up to retrieve it.
Seems pretty standard to me.
Seems pretty standard to me. He got tossed out of the train and his instinct was probably to get back on his feet as soon as possible. You can see he is already leaning on the pillar as soon as he pops up and probably readily recognized that maybe he shouldn't be standing right now. When the door reopened, he crawled over the get his bag then got to his feet so he could sit down in a more appropriate spot.
That's one hell of a bump.
That's one hell of a bump. How far apart are the columns at Boylston? It looked like the door of the one train moved about that distance from the jolt.
You people are a bunch of pussies!
The end.
Thank You!
I bet Saul lives in a bubble!
How does it feel to live your
How does it feel to live your life anonymously?
Fall down...get up...fall down again...?!?!
I like the guy that fell...then got up......thought for a minute and laid down again Was he checking his cell for the nearest lawyers office?
I take it ....
You've never fallen down and taken a serious drop like this guy did.
That's okay - mommy will throw you down through the bulkhead door into your room one of these days.
Please......
I've fucking see 10 yr old take harder hit than that playing hockey/football. I think you spent to much time making cupcakes with you mommy!
I did remind me of that video
I did remind me of that video that the MBTA put out a while ago of some people on a bus which got in a minor fender bender and they looked around and then calmly lay down on the floor and began to pretend they were injured.