[PRCo] Re: OT: Five streetcar collison in Prague

[John F Bromley]

Whoever said a Tatra PCC was better?  They're just an average car compared
to many European cars, especially of the same era (late 1950s-70s).
European systems have accidents the same as anywhere else - I've seen a few
spectacular crashes both in print (several) and in person (one).

You can't generalize something as being better, European or American (well,
mostly non-American but with American content rules whose to say what is and
what isn't any more).  The same postwar situations that killed US systems
didn't exist, for the most part, in Europe, so after we built the last North
American PCC in 1952 and let the technology and people slip away our systems
died out, while the Europeans were just getting started at modernization.
Better?  Maybe.  More modern?  No question.  What this unfortunate accident
has to do with Europeans being better or not is a complete mystery to me,
Jim.  It's just another &*(&$&^$ streetcar accident.  Why the rant?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Holland" <pghpcc at pacbell.net>
Sent: Saturday, August 03, 2002 3:56 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: OT: Five streetcar collison in Prague


>
> HI!
> No pleasure is taken in the misfortune of others but this is more evidence
> that they don't always get it right  'over there'  concerning transit.
>
> Reading beyond the the actual accident, operators of trams complain about
> inferior maintenance on the equipment.
>
> I get tired of those who say that transit in the US doesn't hold a candle
> to  'over there'  and that everything they do  'over there'  ala transit
is
> perfect.   There are those who say that trolley poles (for the equipment
> that has them, like TCs) never dewire.   If they have accidents, the poles
> dewire  --  whether or not an accident has happened.
>
> Yes, we need to continually look toward improving transit   ---   this is
> true of  EVERY--thing in life.   But these unrealistic comparisons of 'the
> grass is greener' really get old!
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [PCCstreetcar] Five streetcar collison in Prague
> Date: Sat, 03 Aug 2002 15:35:12 +0000
> From: bill937ca <bill937ca at ...>
> Reply-To: PCCstreetcar at ...
> To: PCCstreetcar at ...
>
> Ouch! Found this article while looking for something else.  If you go to
> the links below there are two photos of the damaged cars.
>
> http://www.radio.cz/pictures/ctk02/tramvaje_srazka.jpg
>
> http://www.radio.cz/pictures/ctk02/tramvaje_srazka1.jpg
>
> I believe these cars are PCCs or near PCC copies. Checkout the truck in
> the first photo. The accident happened just over a month ago.
>
> Bill Robb
>
> http://www.radio.cz/en/article/29574
>
>
> Tram collision in Prague leaves 18 injured
>
> [25-06-2002] By Alena Skodova Listen
> A multiple tram collision occurred in Prague's Modrany district on Monday
> morning, involving a total of 5 trams. The accident left 18 passengers
> injured, some of them seriously, and has also raised questions about the
> safety of Prague's aging fleet of trams. Alena Skodova has the details:
>
> The spokeswoman of Prague's Transport Authority, Zuzana Knoblochova, said
> the first two-carriage tram was standing at a stop while another was
> arriving at the stop with a broken-down engine.   Behind these two,
another
> two trams were stopping for passengers when a fifth slammed full speed
into
> the rear of the last one. Mrs. Knoblochova said that human error was most
> likely responsible, with the driver either having fallen asleep or having
> been distracted.
>
> The director of the Transport Authority's Tram Division, Milan Pokorny,
> says this is the biggest accident he has seen during his seven years in
the
> job. But he says it's too early to say what caused the crash:
>
> "There could have been many causes, from a simple mistake to a possible
> technical defect on the tram, but to find out the real cause, a thorough
> technical analysis must be carried out, and it was not possible to do it
on
> the spot immediately after the collision."
>
> From a total of 18 injured passengers, two ended up in intensive care.
> Thirteen others were taken to three Prague hospitals, some were treated on
> the spot. The CTK agency reported that rescue workers had to pry some of
> the injured from the mangled wreckage of the trams.
>
> Officials say rain may have been a factor in the accident. Police are now
> trying to determine what led to the multiple collision. The Tram System
> press department told me the police investigation was still going on on
> Tuesday morning, and no more details could be disclosed.
>
> This was the second major tram wreck in six days in the Czech Republic.
> Last week, 16 people were injured in a tram accident in the West Bohemian
> city of Plzen. Some drivers told TV Nova that the older trams - which date
> back to the 60s and 70s - were prone to technical failure, and one said
his
> brakes were unreliable. The Prague tram system has received several dozens
> of new vehicles in the last five years, but the vast majority are more
than
> 25 years old. This latest accident will raise questions as to the safety
of
> Prague's aging trams.
>