Shinkansen hits person, driver doesn't notice

[railsquid]

Well apparently he did notice something was hit but assumed from previous experience it was an animal. Platform staff at the next station (Kokura) apparently didn't notice the very visible damage, shown from various angles (including from a helicopter) on the video linked below (deliberately not embedded), but a driver on a train in the opposite direction did; it was directed to proceed to Shin-Shimonoseki at low speed.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4syTydud5Ow

The deceased apparently climbed over several fences to get on a section of track between stations, and subsequently became distributed over a wide area.

Edited June 16, 2018 by railsquid

[bill937ca]

Gee they don't really hide the damage.  The photo I saw on Facebook had a blue tarp over the nose. The Mainichi Shimbun says the Fukuoka Prefectural Police Yawata West Police Station is investigating a stairway  for work and a ladder for entering the track for relevance to the incident. 

Edited June 16, 2018 by bill937ca

[kvp]

Imho that's kind of reckless even if it wasn't a person. Maybe animals and humans can't derail the train but a dislodged nose cone could and that coupler cover is barely hanging there.

[JR 500系]

Saw this news flash around facebook... wow... the 52 year old man climbed over several fences to be in the tracks... I thought it was somewhere inside the tunnel? I wonder if JR West will seek compensation over this... 

 

on another note, it's a 700 series... the one train that is going to be phased out soon... 

[katoftw]

yuk - saw this on the new this morning

[Das Steinkopf]

There are two island platforms one for the two up and one for the two down lines at Kokura Eki for the Shinkansen, if the train had pulled in on the outer up platform it would have been very difficult for the station staff to spot any damage to the train, it is on the Northern edge of the station and there is only a viaduct wall that runs along there. As to the driver not realizing that they had hit someone it is quite understandable given the speed the trains go through that tunnel, I have travelled a number of times through it when I stayed in Kyushu and the train is travelling at top speed through there, not to mention the tunnel boom you get when going through it the sound of the body hitting the train would have been muffled by the noise being generated by the train. 

Edited June 16, 2018 by Das Steinkopf

[Suica]

2 hours ago, JR 500系 said:

I wonder if JR West will seek compensation over this...  

Oh, I'm quite positive they will.

 

4 hours ago, kvp said:

Maybe animals and humans can't derail the train...

They can

[lesliegibson]

And a few years back a train was derailed between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Caused by a herd of cows which had got onto the track. There were several fatalities.

[Socimi]

At 300 Km/h you'll just heard a muffled "bang", there isn't much you can notice...

[bill937ca]

I won't be surprised if the driver is charged with Professional Negligence by the police. To be charged it only seems to matter that there was an injury or death not how it happened. The Mainichi has stated several times the driver did not follow procedure.  But he was not the only one. An attendant at Kokura station thought the blood smeared across the front of the train was colliding with a bird and also did not call in the damage.

 

"According to JR West's operation manual, if an unusual sound is heard, regardless of the magnitude, then the driver is required to contact the communications center. But the 50-something driver failed to do so, reportedly having been looking at the monitor for the train's controls when hearing the sound."

 

Today's The Mainichi story :  http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180616/p2a/00m/0na/018000c

 

[Socimi]

34 minutes ago, bill937ca said:

I won't be surprised if the driver is charged with Professional Negligence by the police.

 

 

I would be very surprised if he's found guilty.

 

After all, with at least 30 years of experience, the sound of hitting something would become less unusual, if not even familiar.

Plus when you see the blood and the crack on the train front, you can't really tell if it's from an animal or an human.

 

I recall a story from a driver i know, on the Codogno-Cremona line he was driving an ALe 582 at the line speed of 120 Km/h, then behind a blind curve he heard a muffled "thud" soud, so at the next station he got down and inspected the front of the unit.

A broken headlight and some blood. As he already had a similar incident he tought "must've been another goddamn duck!". Turns out it was a small horse.

[bill937ca]

18 minutes ago, Socimi said:

 

I would be very surprised if he's found guilty.

 

 

Japan is different. The conviction rate exceeds 99%.   

 

 

 

Charges after injury or death is the second most common criminal charge in Japan.  

 

"In 1990 the police identified over 2.2 million Penal Code violations. Two types of violations — larceny (65.1 percent of total violation) and negligent homicide or injury as a result of accidents (26.2%) — accounted for over 90 percent of criminal offenses.[5]"

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Japan

Edited June 16, 2018 by bill937ca

[Suica]

Maybe he noticed it and just didn't dare reporting anything, hoping he would make it to the end of his shift.

Reporting would 100% result in a delay, the thing Japanese train drivers fear the most. There are harsh disciplinary penalties for causing a delay. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amagasaki_rail_crash#Investigation

I could imagine it's even more serious for Shinkansen drivers.

Edited June 16, 2018 by Suica

[Lina_Blue]

Beside the disobedience of the driver. I feel for him, and he is lucky to not have seen the Person or even noticing it as something about a Person.

 

I wonder what the investigation will uncover how the person got trackside.

[kvp]

In Hungary any collisions mean the train must stop, the driver has to report the event, secure the train and get out and inspect the train. If there is a conductor on board and there is no serious damage, both have to confirm that the train could move. For small animals the driver could say that he or she didn't see the event but if there is any damage on the train or the dashboard camera recorded it, it could mean serious consequences. The same is true for any items (larger pieces of trash or rocks) on the track.

Also on suburban lines there could be more serious injuries for the passengers if someone on a platform sees the blood and decides to scram the whole district using a platform switch.

[bill937ca]

6 minutes ago, Waisneed said:

I wonder what the investigation will uncover how the person got trackside.

 

He climbed an access ladder over a fence.

 

"JR West has explained that the accident occurred on elevated tracks roughly 600-meters west of the Ishisaka Tunnel in Kitakyushu's Yahatanishi Ward. It appeared that someone had trespassed into the area, climbing a ladder used for inspections. Fukuoka Prefectural Police have identified the man hit by the train as a 52-year-old male nursing care worker from the prefectural city of Nogata. The police believe there is a high possibility that the incident was suicide."

 

http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180616/p2a/00m/0na/018000c

Edited June 16, 2018 by bill937ca

[kvp]

3 minutes ago, Waisneed said:

I wonder what the investigation will uncover how the person got trackside.

That's already online. Had to cross two security fences/gates and used an access ladder/stairway to get onto the elevated tracks. Most shinkansen lines have these access points for maintenance and emergency evacuation.

[lesliegibson]

There appears to be a further development. Police visiting the dead persons home have found the bodies of 2 females. Cannot verify this however

[marknewton]

On 6/16/2018 at 2:46 PM, kvp said:

Imho that's kind of reckless even if it wasn't a person. Maybe animals and humans can't derail the train but a dislodged nose cone could and that coupler cover is barely hanging there.

 

Animals certainly can cause a derailment. Been there, done that. As for knowing what you've hit, it's all down to circumstance. At night you can pretty well guarantee you won't see anything, you just hear a thump. It's happened twice to me. One was a wallaby. The other wasn't.

 

Mark.

Edited June 21, 2018 by marknewton

[Welshbloke]

Tbh the driver not noticing is probably the best outcome for their mental wellbeing. I've read more than a handful of tales where the driver noticed a person on the track, nearly pulled the horn switch off from sounding it as hard as they could to warn them, and saw the impact. Many either don't drive again or give up within a short time. Doesn't say good things about JR that this poor chap may face criminal charges rather than an offer of counselling.

[kvp]

21 minutes ago, Welshbloke said:

Doesn't say good things about JR that this poor chap may face criminal charges rather than an offer of counselling.

He did notice something just didn't care that much. On the other hand if that nosecone fully detached and got under the wheels, and would probably cause a derailment at 300 km/h, that would have been a bad thing and not just for the driver. Maybe hearing it only is good for his mental health, but not checking afterwards was dangerous and will probably cost him his work. The same applies in most countries if you hit something on the road and don't stop to check what or who was it.

[katoftw]

Train hit things all the time.  Animals are fairly common.  So I understand this drivers thoughts.  In an area where humans aren't normally present.  Hears bang.  Feels nothing due to 50-60kg vs 160t @300kph.  Cannot see what he hit or see nose cone damage.  Continues on.