Japan earthquake

[AndrewE]

BBC news has a short video of "Train derailed and buildings on fire" but I cant get a sensible link or webpage for it (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news) and edited again to include https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c1l1drq070jo It shows a Bo-Bo-Bo (?) loco on its side but no other detail at all. Any ideas?

 

[eldomtom2]

I've done some digging and found out that the derailed loco is a JR Freight EF510-300 class. It derailed at Yatsuhiro station. No injuries have been reported.

 

[Beebman]

Earlier today I was watching YouTube content from Japanese news sources and TBS News posted this video from their rolling coverage - it shows the loco on its side at a place called Yatsushiro:

Google translation:

According to JR Freight, a strong earthquake with a maximum seismic intensity of 7 was observed in Kumamoto Prefecture, causing one locomotive and several container cars pulling a freight train to derail and overturn at Yatsushiro Station in Kumamoto Prefecture. There were no injuries. We will show you footage from above.

 

[josh-j]

All things considered, not too bad (rail-wise) and it can't have been going very fast. But it must have been wild to watch how that happened, its hard to imagine! Looks like the loco went one way and the containers the other way.

 

[Acathater]

Similar drone film clip from the BBC

Train derailed and buildings on fire after earthquake

Aerial footage shows the aftermath of the earthquake in Kumamoto prefecture.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Beebman]

Two more Japanese news videos posted today which show damage to railway infrastructure:

The first from TBS News shows aerial views of buckled tracks and fallen OLE masts on the north-south JR Kyushu Kagoshima Main Line near Hikawa Town, Kumamoto:

Google Translate:

On July 28th, an earthquake with a maximum intensity of 7 struck Kumamoto Prefecture. Along the JR Kyushu Kagoshima Main Line, it was observed that the tracks, which should normally be straight, were bent, and utility poles were broken at their bases, likely due to the earthquake. We bring you a live report from above Hikawa Town, Kumamoto, where an intensity of 7 was observed. This is above the JR Kyushu Kagoshima Main Line, near Arisa Station. The tracks, which should normally be laid straight and parallel, are clearly bent quite severely. This is thought to be the effect of yesterday's earthquake. Further along the tracks, there is a bridge, and utility poles on both the left and right sides of the bridge have broken. They appear to be broken quite severely at their bases. The broken utility poles on both the left and right sides are blocking the view.

The second one from ANN News starts with ground level shots of the damaged Kagoshima Main Line in the same area, then shows fallen parapet panels from a viaduct on the Kyushu Shinkansen line (followed by damage to elevated road structures):

Google Translate:

The earthquake has severed various infrastructures. To what extent will this affect rescue and relief efforts? ■No prospect of Shinkansen and other lines in the prefecture resuming service A day after the earthquake, the impact on infrastructure is expanding. Distorted railway tracks. Numerous utility poles are looming over them. This is the Kagoshima Main Line running through Hikawa Town, Kumamoto Prefecture. Some conventional lines are suspended, and several stations, including Yatsushiro Station, have also suspended operations. The Kyushu Shinkansen has suspended operations since this morning. It is said that service will resume from around 5 p.m. on the 29th, with fewer trains running than usual between Hakata and Chikugo-Funagoya.

 

[AndrewE]

I've done some digging and found out that the derailed loco is a JR Freight EF510-300 class. It derailed at Yatsuhiro station. No injuries have been reported.

Looking at the videos and https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=yatsuhiro&atb=v379-1&iaxm=maps&bbox=130.69027634973614,32.82548037284734,130.7111289448629,32.81364910536219 it looks to me as though the train would have been stationary alongside a tarmaced area in a terminal.
I guess that is why with lateral shaking the loco (with a higher centre of gravity?) could have gone over on one side and the freight containers the other

p.s. with a "normal" loading gauge but 3'6" track gauge would a train be more susceptible to overturning than if it had been standard gauge?

 

[Prime586]

I guess that is why with lateral shaking the loco (with a higher centre of gravity?) could have gone over on one side and the freight containers the other

p.s. with a "normal" loading gauge but 3'6" track gauge would a train be more susceptible to overturning than if it had been standard gauge?

I think it's the centre of gravity more than the track gauge that caused the loco to roll over. None of the Shinkansens in the area derailed - they are standard gauge, but all the heavy equipment is underfloor. so they have a low centre of gravity.

I'm not sure the loco was even coupled to the container flats at the time - there is a sizable gap between it and the first car. All the cars after the fourth are also on their sides (on the tarmac, like the first car) The difference appears to be that cars 2,3,& 4 were not fully loaded with containers - all the cars that have tipped over have a full load of 5 12-foot JRF domestic containers (the rake of container flats of the opposite siding is largely empty and also remained on the rails).