Derailment

Derailment takes place when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although most derailments are minor, all result in temporary damage of the proper operation of the railway system and they are a potentially serious danger.

A derailment of a train can be caused by a crash with another object, an operational error, the mechanical failure of tracks, such as broken rails, or the mechanical failure of the wheels. In emergency situations, on purpose derailment with derails or catch points is sometimes used to stop a more serious accident from taking place.

Derailment Media

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  Train wreck in Leavick, Colorado in 1897

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  A derailed freight train in Farragut, Tennessee (2002)

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  Detail of derailed express train in Prague, Czech Republic (2007)

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  A derailed British Rail Class 165 at London Paddington station. The train moved over a set of catch points which caused the derailment. After derailing, the rear of the train hit an overhead line stanchion, severely damaging the driver's side of the front coach.

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  A derailed locomotive unit in Australia at a catch point hidden from view (January 2007)

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  A broken rail, probably starting from hydrogen inclusion in the rail head

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  A derailed British Rail (EX. London North Eastern Railway) B1 being lifted back onto the tracks by a rail crane in 1951

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  Rerailing a locomotive using a rerailer and wooden blocks after a broken rail derailment

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  Train derailment at Gare Montparnasse, Paris in 1895