Helvecia level crossing disaster
Encyclopedia
The Helvecia level crossing disaster occurred at Helvecia, Hungary
on January 30, 1973. A commuter train smashed into a regular route bus which was weaving around the half boom barriers.
At least thirty-seven people were killed and eighteen people were injured.
Local drivers knew this and many came to the conclusion that it would do no harm to weave around the barriers for the first period of warning.
On the day of the accident, a train was running that did not conform to the normal pattern. It ran express without stopping at the station, so that the warning time was reduced to the standard 30 seconds. Some road traffic including the bus assumed that the longer 90 second warning time still applied, and was thus caught out when this did not apply.
circuits which are made by a number of manufacturers. However predictors have certain limitations; they cannot always be installed where there is complicated pointwork, and sometimes where the lines are electrified. It may also be possible that the type of predictor available in 1973, and which may have had to be bought with hard currency, were less able to handle these problems.
, Victoria
there are a large number of level crossings, and there is also a mix of express and stopping trains. To prevent excessive delays to road traffic when stopping trains stop on the approaches to a level crossing, special circuits are provided to hold the railway signal protecting the level crossing at red until the train is ready to leave, thus minimizing delays to road traffic.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
on January 30, 1973. A commuter train smashed into a regular route bus which was weaving around the half boom barriers.
At least thirty-seven people were killed and eighteen people were injured.
Special circumstances
Most of the trains on this line are stopping trains, and as the platform was located within the warning zone of the level crossing, the warning times were necessarily longer than would be the case of a level crossing located away from any station, say 90 seconds instead of 30 seconds.Local drivers knew this and many came to the conclusion that it would do no harm to weave around the barriers for the first period of warning.
On the day of the accident, a train was running that did not conform to the normal pattern. It ran express without stopping at the station, so that the warning time was reduced to the standard 30 seconds. Some road traffic including the bus assumed that the longer 90 second warning time still applied, and was thus caught out when this did not apply.
Level crossing predictors
Ideally the level crossing warning times should be the same for all trains. This can be implemented with so-called predictorPredictor
Predictor may refer to:* a predictor variable, also known as an independent variable* the Kerrison Predictor, a military fire-control computer* something which makes a prediction* a branch predictor, a part of many modern processors...
circuits which are made by a number of manufacturers. However predictors have certain limitations; they cannot always be installed where there is complicated pointwork, and sometimes where the lines are electrified. It may also be possible that the type of predictor available in 1973, and which may have had to be bought with hard currency, were less able to handle these problems.
Express and Stopping Trains
In MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
there are a large number of level crossings, and there is also a mix of express and stopping trains. To prevent excessive delays to road traffic when stopping trains stop on the approaches to a level crossing, special circuits are provided to hold the railway signal protecting the level crossing at red until the train is ready to leave, thus minimizing delays to road traffic.