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South of Hanford, CA a truck ran into the side of another Amtrak train. I think it was today.
My info indicates that the train destined for Bakersfield from Oakland was struck near the rear of the train which had a locomotive in the push position. The crossing gates were down and flashing. If this is correct then most of the train had already passed the crossing when it was hit.
George Harris Member # 2077
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Here are the facts with some extrapolation from pictures in news reports and a little opinion.
The accident: The train was operating in push mode, southbound. Based on the pictures the train was struck by the truck in the side of the third of four cars, that is either the second car in front of the engine. Remember, the train was in push mode. The truck was traveling west on Kansas Avenue. The time has been reported as being at 12:20, which would make the train just about on time.
The railroad: The is the BNSF's former AT&SF line up the central valley of Calif and is their main line into the San Francisco bay ports. It is mileposted south to north. Relevant points: 886.6 Bakersfield Amtrak 913.0 Wasco 950.9 Corcoran 959.34 south switch Gurnsey siding 959.88 Kansas Avenue grade crossing (accident location) 961.20 north switch Gurnsey siding 967.8 Hanford (Amtrak) 994.9 Calwa (UPRR crossing) 998.0 Fresno Amtrak
The railroad speed limit is 79 mph for passenger trains and 70 mph for freight trains. The railroad is in general straight and level in the area of the crossing and throughout this section of line. There is a 1 degree curve concave eastward extending between about mileposts 960.2 and 960.9. The maximum grade in the area north of the crossing is down 0.21 southbound for a short distance and averaging 0.066% down southbound over the 6.9 miles from Hanford. From the south the average grade is up 0.029% with none above 0.08%. Therefore both freight and passenger trains can be expected to be moving at or near their respective speed limits.
There are 6 passenger trains in each direction and an unknown but large number of freight trains in each direction, with the traffic appearing to be primarily containers and agricultural products.
The truck: An 18-wheeler (really, not as a category) carrying an open top load of cotton gin trash, that is, the left over hulls and stems after the fiber and seed have been removed in the ginning process.
Location: Kansas Avenue Road crossing, which despite its name is a two lane rural road. It is a straight two lane road oriented on a due east-west alignment and has a 55 mph speed limit.
The crossing is equipped with gates and flashers. Both the road and the railroad are straight and level in the vicinity of the crossing. The angle of the crossing is about 60 degrees. The country is near dead flat and is open agricultural in use. Visibility is excellent.
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