Why Trains Crash

While the average citizen is more likely to die in a car crash driving to a train station than while riding the rails, it's true that trains are threatened by an aging infrastructure, human error such as texting in the conductor's car, and motorists taking foolish chances at railroad crossings, as well as head-on crashes due to switch and siding failures, and speeding on curves. Filmmaker Larry Klein's PBS-aired NOVA documentary describes new efforts to improve American train safety, examining innovations such as train car "crumple zones," push back car couplers, and efforts to make train cars puncture-resistant. The film also revisits the longstanding question of the need for passenger seat belts, and the potential hazards of freight and passengers trains sharing the same tracks. Minor problems can cause deadly accidents, such as in 2015 when an Amtrak conductor lost "situational awareness" after he was distracted by reports of rocks being thrown at trains in the vicinity of Philadelphia; speeding up on a dangerous curve, the train derailed, killing eight passengers. And a series of mistakes led to an unmanned train careening into a Canadian town in 2014, causing a catastrophic fire and explosion that nearly wiped out the town's center. Experts look to Japan, where high-speed bullet trains operate with an almost unblemished safety record. The documentary also notes that train culture is deeply embedded in Japanese society, whereas Americans still look to cars for their primary transportation. Offering a concise overview of a public safety problem, this is recommended. Aud: P. (S. Rees)