Tag Archives: railroad

Motorsport

Watch Train Toss Tractor Like A Toy In Semi-Truck Collision

One of the last places a motorist would want to be stuck is on active railroad tracks. Trains are long and heavy and can need a mile or more to come to a complete stop, endangering anything in their path. Two videos show the destructive force a train carries when they capture the moment one collides with a semi-truck that’s hauling a wheel loader.

The train hit with such force that it nearly tossed the Caterpillar tractor onto the road parallel to the tracks. The loader crashed into the railroad crossing arm controls, showering the area with dirt and debris. The collision occurred on Wednesday, October 4, around noon in Redding, California.

A 25-year-old truck driver from Washington attempted to navigate the crossing at SR-273 and Breslauer Way when his low-clearance trailer got stuck on the tracks. The driver tried to free it but didn’t have enough time. According to the Redding Police Department’s news release posted to Facebook, the truck had only been stuck on the crossing for a short time, and no one had called Union Pacific about the blockage.

With the train unable to slow or stop in time, it collided with the semi. The police said the accident caused significant damage to the crossing arms and electrical system, forcing the crossing’s closure. Thankfully, no one was injured on the ground or the train, and the police’s news release made no note of the truck driver receiving any citation for the accident. 

According to the US Federal Railroad Administration, highway-rail incidents, collisions between vehicles/pedestrians and trains, steadily climbed until 2019. The number would fall to under 2,000 crashes in 2020 during the pandemic. They fell further in 2021, halving to 812, the last year of available data. Traffic fatalities are falling in general. 

This would be the seventh accident at the crossing since 1976, according to FRA data. The last occurred in 2019 when a train struck a 68-year-old pedestrian. The last vehicle-train collision occurred in 1999.

Trying to beat a train or weave through the gates is never wise. If your car does get stuck in the tracks, immediately get out of the vehicle and back away. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recommends walking toward the oncoming train and away from the tracks at a 45-degree angle. Once safely away, call the railroad’s emergency number that’s near the crossing and contact police.

Motorsport

What’s Causing the Delay in New Car Deliveries? It’s a Railway Shortage, Not Semiconductor Delays

The auto industry is facing a new obstacle as a scarcity of railroad cars is resulting in delays in delivering new vehicles. Due to this shortage, approximately 70,000 new vehicles are stranded across the country, unable to reach dealerships. Concerned about this issue, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the auto industry’s lobbying group, has requested the intervention of the US Surface Transportation Board.

This scarcity of rail cars is particularly troubling because freight rail typically transports nearly 75 percent of new vehicles and handles 1.8 million carloads of auto parts annually. The backlog of finished vehicles is disrupting the automotive supply chain, which is still recovering from the shortage of semiconductor chips. The delays in delivering vehicles are significantly impacting suppliers, employees, and the overall US economy.

The problem revolves around the shortage of autoracks, specialized rail cars that carry vehicles. Rail transport is preferred over carrier trucks due to lower costs and faster delivery times. An autorack rail car can transport 12 to 18 vehicles, compared to a truck hauler that can only carry a maximum of seven to eight vehicles.

The scarcity of rail cars is a complex issue due to the extensive rail network in North America and the complexities of rail shipping. Rail shipping involves multiple destinations and routes, making it a challenging puzzle to coordinate. Autoracks are part of a shared pool administered by a company called TTX. Manufacturing new autoracks takes two to three years, making it a non-quick fix.

The problem originates from a combination of factors. One notable factor is that the rebound in new-vehicle production after the semiconductor chip shortage has exceeded most railroads’ forecasts. Additional issues have arisen due to changes in supply chain patterns, such as redirecting vehicles through west coast ports instead of the east coast, resulting in longer rail car journeys than anticipated.

Meanwhile, several automakers are still dealing with the aftermath of the microchip shortage. Volkswagen stated earlier this year that the chip scarcity will continue to affect car sales in 2023. Automakers like Cadillac, Ford, and Genesis have also mentioned that the shortage has forced them to limit or exclude popular features on certain vehicles.