Pro-tip: don't crawl under trains blocking crossings

[railsquid]

 

Man killed by train while trying to crawl under it

YOKOHAMA — A 61-year-old man died after he was hit by a train while trying to crawl under it in Yokohama, police said Monday.

Police said the incident occurred on the JR Tokaido line in Tsurumi Ward at around 11:20 a.m. Sunday. TV Asahi reported that the train had to perform an emergency stop at a railway crossing after receiving a signal of an obstacle on the tracks.

 

 

 

Source

 

Not mentioned in the article, but it's been covered on TV. The location in question is a four-track crossing (Tokaido Honsen and Keihin-Tohoku lines), and there's a pedestrian footbridge next to the crossing.

 

(I was once offered an apartment in that area, but after checking it out on Google maps I saw it was on the wrong side of a similar crossing without a footbridge so rejected it - it would have taken too long to get across the tracks each day...)

[Sean]

I just saw that on the news. The crossing in question is so busy that it only opens for a few seconds at a time. They had a camera filming people crossing and they literally had to run as fast as they could when the gate opened on one end to get to the other side before it closed.

 

Just an accident waiting to happen really (though obviously a tremendous amount of stupidity was involved in this particular incident).  My 38-week pregnant wife would never be able to cross that in time (and climbing the stairs on the bridge would be a non-starter) so if we lived near that we would basically be trapped on one side. 

[Jcarlton]

Is that the crossing near Tsurumi Station? I look at that and cringe. What I find amazing is that there are all sorts of grade crossing elimination/track elevation projects going on, but not, it seems, on the Kehin Tohoku Line.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Jcarlton

[katoftw]

crossing 11 tracks is always gonna be a challenge.  there is a reason the built that overpass footbridge with ramps and elevators for a reason.

 

it is right near the university isn't it?

Edited October 7, 2014 by katoftw

[bikkuri bahn]

As katoftw said, the crossing in question (Furuichiba fumikiri) does have mitigation in the form of a pedestrian overcrossing- it was sheer impatience/stupidity that killed that man.

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6164/6172275981_16c563feef.jpg

[katoftw]

Actually I've had a look at google maps and there isn't any track level crossings near Tsurumi station.  Any idea where this happened?

 

Edit// Never mind I found it.  North from Tsurumi station.  6 lines to track.  Little green overpass.

Edited October 7, 2014 by katoftw