07-18-2019, 08:12 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-18-2019, 08:14 AM by danbrotherston.)
(07-18-2019, 07:07 AM)MidTowner Wrote:ac3r Wrote:And another one. This says it was a "collision on LRT tracks" and doesn't explicitly say a car hit the train, but as the article says, there was visible damage and people on the train felt the impact. Two in one day...keep it up Kitchener.
https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/collision-o...-1.4512562
https://twitter.com/GoldDwaggy/status/11...3533185030
Someone commuting with me this morning was on that train yesterday. There was no collision, but the train braked hard and he was thrown to the floor. He says (this is all hearsay, remember) that the train was stopped for around 25 minutes, part of that time shut down with no HVAC, before a linesman or someone showed up to inspect the train and ask if everyone was okay. He said communication from the driver was good, except for the fact that there was nothing really to communicate.
He thought there was no collision at all, but that the car was stuck on the curb between the rails and the road.
Whether or not 25 minutes was subjective or objective time, there was obviously a delay and he told me the train was quite busy. Calling out paramedics, Keolis staff, and a couple of cops, all of whom have other things they could be doing, along with wasting a few dozens or potentially a hundred commuters' time, is a huge cost. There should be a significant charge against that driver.
It's very likely that a collision would not be particularly perceptible to people on the train. A small sedan weighs about a ton, the LRV weighs about 50 tons unloaded, and the braking is particularly powerful. If you watch videos of trams hitting cars, the drivers of the trams are usually not even jostled by the collision, I doubt it would be any more jarring than the usual jostling the LRV undergoes during normal operation.
His account, and the newspaper reporting does not match the position of the car that I saw and photographed (it was clear of the tracks when I came upon it, and had substantial damage to the rear quarter panel), nor the damage to the LRV (scuffs on the front right bumper and dislodging of the centre panel)...
Honestly, I cannot understand how this is still a question...are our newspapers this careless? Is there a cover-up?