Post by Linalin on May 18, 2005 21:38:10 GMT -5
Train drivers say they thought speeding would not cause derailment
OSAKA — 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.
"When I was an apprentice, a teacher at drivers training school told me that speeding by 5 to 10 kilometers per hour is all right," said a driver in his 40s serving on the Fukuchiyama Line, on which the April 25 derailment took place.
Investigations so far indicate that driver Ryujiro Takami, 23, was operating the train at 126 kph, well above the speed limit, on a section of track leading up to a curb and entered the curb at more than 100 kph when the speed limit was set at 70 kph. The train was then about 90 seconds behind schedule.
Investigators said they believe speeding was the chief cause of the accident that killed 107 people.
Another driver serving on the Osaka circular line said, "Railway men think that going up to double the speed limit is OK," adding that that's what he was taught and everyone thinks that way.
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."
Hyogo prefectural police have also received similar accounts from drivers, prompting them to suspect there may have been some inherent problems in training drivers, the police said. (Kyodo News)
double speed!? Those things go fast enough as it is.
OSAKA — 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.
"When I was an apprentice, a teacher at drivers training school told me that speeding by 5 to 10 kilometers per hour is all right," said a driver in his 40s serving on the Fukuchiyama Line, on which the April 25 derailment took place.
Investigations so far indicate that driver Ryujiro Takami, 23, was operating the train at 126 kph, well above the speed limit, on a section of track leading up to a curb and entered the curb at more than 100 kph when the speed limit was set at 70 kph. The train was then about 90 seconds behind schedule.
Investigators said they believe speeding was the chief cause of the accident that killed 107 people.
Another driver serving on the Osaka circular line said, "Railway men think that going up to double the speed limit is OK," adding that that's what he was taught and everyone thinks that way.
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."
Hyogo prefectural police have also received similar accounts from drivers, prompting them to suspect there may have been some inherent problems in training drivers, the police said. (Kyodo News)
double speed!? Those things go fast enough as it is.