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Videos from Tuesday’s light rail, truck wreck [Houston, TX]
blog.chron.com ^ | 5 Oct 2011 | unattributed

Posted on 10/05/2011 9:00:26 AM PDT by smokingfrog

Here is a series of videos from Metro showing the truck-train accident Tuesday morning (Related news article and photos).

(Excerpt) Read more at blog.chron.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Local News; Travel
KEYWORDS: boondoggle; dangertrain; lightrail; metro
Dump truck driver (Paniagua Prisciliano Espino) has now gone missing.

They're building another one of these on the east side of Houston.

Paging Willie Green.

1 posted on 10/05/2011 9:00:41 AM PDT by smokingfrog
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To: smokingfrog
In the beginning of METRORail's operation, the line averaged 11 crashes per track mile per year, compared with the national average of 0.55 for similar rail systems. Critics of the METRORail gave the line local nicknames such as "Streetcar Named Disaster", "Wham-Bam-Tram", and "Danger Train".
2 posted on 10/05/2011 9:02:33 AM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open ( <o> ---)
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To: smokingfrog

People who have never had to drive the Houston streets where the light rail runs could not possibly understand the situation.

An incredibly bad design. The whole thing is an accident waiting to happen.


3 posted on 10/05/2011 9:06:17 AM PDT by Rocky (REPEAL IT!)
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To: smokingfrog
Critics of the METRORail gave the line local nicknames such as "Streetcar Named Disaster", "Wham-Bam-Tram", and "Danger Train".

From this article:The accident - this year's 27th but first derailment - interrupted service for about three hours.

Since Metro light-rail trains began rolling on Jan. 1, 2004, they have been involved in 351 accidents, including "about five" derailments, Gray said. Most of the wrecks have been minor, he said.

The names are well deserved.

4 posted on 10/05/2011 9:25:12 AM PDT by CedarDave (My Sarah prediction: Announcing for President between October 12 and 28.)
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To: smokingfrog

That video shows a red light for the train.

Usually when the train is coming, they have solid green lights with right of way and the cross traffic has red lights.

I was opposed to those stupid trains being built because they are a pure waste of taxpayer money. They were pushed as a way to “relieve congestion”. Anyone who drives Houston traffic knows that was, at best, a boondoggle.


5 posted on 10/05/2011 9:28:58 AM PDT by Texas56
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To: smokingfrog

train of death

nothing beats a train (in a collision)


6 posted on 10/05/2011 9:33:15 AM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Happiness)
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To: smokingfrog

Smokingfrog... Please be advised that posting articles like this is considered highly offensive to:

La Raza
LULAC
The Restaurant Industry
The Hotel Industry
The Commercial Construction Industry
The Home building Industry
Big Agriculture Growers
Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez.
open borders lovers lurking on FR
Democrats
RINOs
Rick Perry (see above... “RINOs”)

Sorry... too many others to list here.

P.S. ...... You better watch your step. You don’t want to get in trouble with any of these folks. /s


7 posted on 10/05/2011 9:44:14 AM PDT by NeverForgetBataan (To the German Commander -- ..........................NUTS !)
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To: smokingfrog

“Paging Willie Green.”

LOL! I stopped in just to say that myself!

I think he may have been banned here. But I saw him the other day on LibertyPost. He’s still posting the same stuff.


8 posted on 10/05/2011 9:45:46 AM PDT by Pessimist
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To: smokingfrog; Rocky

Ah yes. The train to nowhere. The penultimate example of a waste of taxpayer money and federal grants.

A drive on Main Street in Houston is like playing roulette. Anybody could be confused by the layout. There is one place just south of downtown where the train crosses between buildings going from one street to another ambush style. A true accident looking for a place to happen.

The East side train is another path to nowhere.

Before the Katy freeway was widened to 20 plus lanes there was a perfectly good train track headed west to Katy, the place most commuters to downtown come from. It was a great alignment and would have made a wonderful rail corridor. It was torn up to make room for the freeway expansion. Why? Real estate interests in Houston will not allow one anther to have any rail advantage.


9 posted on 10/05/2011 9:50:44 AM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Half the people are below average.)
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To: GeronL

Maybe not, but a 10-ton dump truck puts a helluva good fight.


10 posted on 10/05/2011 10:01:33 AM PDT by jstaff
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To: smokingfrog

Reference data (by former Freeper ActionAmerica) from the early days of the Houston Wham-Bam-Tram

http://actionamerica.org/houston/whambamtram.html


11 posted on 10/05/2011 10:27:07 AM PDT by esarlls3
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To: CedarDave

I call it “The Grim Reaper Express”.


12 posted on 10/05/2011 10:43:21 AM PDT by texmexis best
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