Rail accident - Washington DC

Definitely a tragedy, Ron.  I was leaving my building yesterday afternoon to go home and saw the breaking news on the telly in the lobby.  My building is just above one of the red line stations (not one involved in the crash) and I'm sure many of the people pouring down the escalator had not yet heard the news.  Thankfully, I ride a commuter bus (coach) in the opposite direction into Virginia.  At last count, there were nine confirmed deaths and as many as 70 injured, many of whom are in hospital.  I suppose if it had to happen, better that it happened above ground rather than underground in the tunnel.  That would have made rescue and recovery much more difficult.  It's terrible enough as is.  Many people in my office ride the red line every day, but I haven't heard yet if any of them were on those trains.  As always, kind thoughts and prayers are so much appreciated

Yes, it's all over the papers here Ron. Tragic. This sort of things seems to be happening more and more lately. Just a few weeks ago we had two trains collide on the Boston subway's green line. Fortunately the injuries were minor and there were no fatalities but they discovered that it was due to the driver being distracted while texting his girlfriend.

In similar collision last year a driver was killed and several people were seriously injured, again it appears to have been due to driver negligence.

The MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority) is cracking down on cell phones for their employees now not even allowing them to carry one. So far, a hand full have been caught with then despite the prohibition and have been promptly suspended. As they should be.

The train involved was recommended 3 years ago for upgrading or retrofitting.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090623/ap_on_re_us/us_dc_metro_train_derailment

Same here Barbara. Bostonians are starting to bristle at talk of another 20% fare increase the autumn (they just had a 20% increase two years ago), to cover the cost of repairs to the trains and tracks. Yet, they are losing literally thousands of dollars per week from fare evaders and they won't do a d**n thing to catch them. Meanwhile, the trains are breaking down and/or are being delayed due to "signal" problems on one line or another every day, and every time that happens anyone involved is late for work.

I thought it was just the UK's train services that are bad.

Condolences to the families of the dead.