Firetruck drove around rail crossing arms after waiting for earlier train to pass, according to person briefed on details

Summary

A Brightline high-speed train collided with a firetruck in downtown Delray Beach, Florida, injuring 15 people, including three firefighters.

The firetruck reportedly drove around lowered crossing arms after waiting for a freight train to pass.

The crash, which severely damaged both the train and firetruck, is under investigation by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Brightline trains, known for having the nation’s highest death rate since launching in 2017, have faced scrutiny over safety.

The incident adds to growing concerns about railroad safety following other recent accidents nationwide.

  • @Vikthor
    25•5 days ago

    What it is considered a high-speed train in the USA and how come they don’t have grade separated crossings as they do in every civilized country?

    • @AA5B
      1•1 day ago

      On those tracks, people are used to very slow cargo trains. That also means that if you have to wait, it can be a very long time. Idiots may be tempted to go around because of the long wait, and there’s usually lots of time. Their whole lives, they e gotten away with this

      Then a medium speed train comes through. They wouldn’t have had to wait. There’s no time to go through and still avoid. But the idiots don’t know that, despite the regular news for the last several years

    • @AngryCommieKender
      21•5 days ago

      IIRC it’s any train capable of doing either 70mph or 100mph.

      Because we haven’t invested in rail infrastructure in over 100 years

    • @[email protected]English
      3•5 days ago

      I would be very interested to know which countries have 100% grade-separated crossings, especially if they’re mostly flat, so they can’t take advantage of terrain (and also aren’t micronations).

      • @[email protected]
        6•5 days ago

        For high speed rail, most countries with any real HSR infrastructure will have grade separation unless absolutely impossible for some reason. France, Japan, Spain.

        • @AA5B
          1•1 day ago

          Note also the new California High Speed Rail is being built with grade separations.

          I don’t believe Acela is, but probably faster sections are. That’s not high speed rail though

        • @[email protected]English
          3•5 days ago

          Ah, that’s why. It’s because Brightline service isn’t really high speed rail, and in countries where they do have real high speed rail, the infrastructure is built out to actually support it.

          I was looking around at French rail service, and the true high speed rail is grade-separated, but the regional rail service still has grade crossings.

          • @[email protected]
            2•4 days ago

            That makes sense. If you’re actually running high speed rail that’s actually high speed, grade separation is not really optional. A few wood barriers (that cars can drive around if the drivers are dumb enough) don’t cut it when a train is going 350-400km/h.