Tsurumi rail accident on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The occurred on November 9, 1963 between Tsurumi and Shin-Koyasu stations on the Tōkaidō Main Line in Yokohama, Japan, about south of Tokyo, when two passenger trains collided with a derailed freight train, killing 162 people.
The 43rd wagon (type WaRa 1) of a long freight train hauled by a
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsurumi Rail Accident Derailments in Japan Tōkaidō Main Line Transport in Yokohama Railway accidents in 1963 1963 in Japan Rail transport in Kanagawa Prefecture Accidents and incidents involving Japanese National Railways November 1963 events in Asia
Accident
The 43rd wagon (type WaRa 1) of a long freight train hauled by a JNR Class EF15
The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987.
Network Railways
As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...
electric locomotive on the down freight line derailed and the two following wagons overturned, blocking the adjacent up passenger line. Within seconds, a 12-carriage electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
(EMU) train traveling to Tokyo collided with the freight wagons and the front three carriages (KuHa 76039, MoHa 70079 and KuMoHa 50006 respectively) derailed, falling into the side of the fourth and fifth carriages of another 12-carriage train to Kurihama passing on the down passenger line. The multiple collision left 161 dead and 120 injured.
Investigation
The initial JNR investigation found that the speed of the freight train (60 km/h) was not excessive, nor were any problems found with the line or rolling stock. For five years from 1967 until 1972, the RTRI carried out tests on a test track located atKarikachi Pass
is a mountain pass at the north end of the Hidaka Mountains of Hokkaidō, Japan. The pass traverses the mountains at and is long. The road is wide with a maximum grade of 5.3%. The minimum curve radius is . Snow is possible on the pass from O ...
in Hokkaido on an abandoned alternative route of the Nemuro Main Line ( Shintoku - Niinai) using the same rails and rolling stock and found that the combination of wheelset design, rail cross section and wear, and track geometry all had a role in the derailment. As a result of the investigation, the old method of static track inspection was replaced with new track inspection cars employing dynamic inspection methods and data collection.http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr33/pdf/f04_sai.pdf Japanese Railway Safety and the Technology of the Day
Similar accidents
* Beresfield train collision * Clapham Junction rail crash *Southall rail crash
The Southall rail crash occurred on 19 September 1997, on the Great Western Main Line at Southall, West London. An InterCity 125 high speed passenger train (HST) failed to slow down in response to warning signals and collided with a freight trai ...
See also
* Lists of rail accidentsReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsurumi Rail Accident Derailments in Japan Tōkaidō Main Line Transport in Yokohama Railway accidents in 1963 1963 in Japan Rail transport in Kanagawa Prefecture Accidents and incidents involving Japanese National Railways November 1963 events in Asia