The Runaway Mine Train is a powered

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roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are ...

made by MACK Rides of

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. The ride is located in the Katanga Canyon area of

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water pa ...

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. The train normally makes two circuits for each ride, although on quiet days it has been known to run for three or more circuits. The ride runs alongside the Congo River Rapids, with which it shares a tunnel section. Passengers on the two rides occasionally wave to each other if they pass in the shared tunnel. Passengers must be at least 0.9 m tall to ride with an adult, and over 1.1 m tall to ride separately. As of 2013, it is officially the park's oldest roller coaster, after The Beastie was removed prior to the 2013 season.

Incidents

On 20 July 2006, the failure of a coupling on the train caused it to split into two sections, which then collided in the tunnel. 20 people were injured, 6 of whom were taken to a hospital; 4 of the 6 were sent home, and 2 were kept in overnight. On 6 April 2007, the Runaway Mine Train reopened after being closed for over 8 months. The train was not returned to its full length until the end of June 2007, because some of the carriages were still undergoing refurbishment at MACK Rides.

References

External links

* {{John Wardley Roller coasters in the United Kingdom Roller coasters operated by Merlin Entertainments Roller coasters introduced in 1992 Alton Towers Rides designed by John Wardley