Anchieta railway accident
In the Anchieta railway accident on March 4, 1952 , a freight train drove between the stations of Anchieta and Olinda , Brazil , in two derailed, wooden passenger cars from an overcrowded suburban train. 119 dead and at least 250 injured were the result.
Starting position
At around 8:40 a.m. on the day of the accident, an overcrowded suburban train pulled by a steam locomotive crossed the Pavuna River at low speed at Anchieta station on a railway line of the Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil (Brazilian Central Railway) . Anchieta is about 30 km north of downtown Rio de Janeiro . At that time it was common for these trains to be completely overstaffed, with passengers traveling on the roofs of the passenger cars as well as between and under the cars . The track on which the train drove had a broken rail , which resulted from the fact that the trains were much heavier than those for which the line was designed.
the accident
Two old wooden wagons of the passenger train derailed when crossing the broken rail and fell onto the track for traffic in the opposite direction. Immediately after this accident, a freight train pulled by an electric locomotive, which was traveling in the opposite direction, drove into the two derailed wagons, smashed them and pushed them into one another. Eyewitnesses reported that people were thrown in all directions.
consequences
The locomotive engineer of the steam locomotive committed to his machine hit and run . This was due to a criminal provision under which a train driver, who was arrested at the accident scene or 48 hours thereafter, indefinitely in custody could be taken, but then remained at liberty, if he was not convicted.
The Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil , a state railway , was known for the rotten state of its railway infrastructure . There were fatal accidents almost every day and 1,442 derailments were recorded in 1950 alone . This was the third serious accident with more than fifty deaths in Brazil within a year (see: Railway accident in Nova Iguaçu and railway accident in Piquet Carneiro ).
The accident sparked a public outcry led by the Brazilian press. The Dom Pedro Segundo train station in Rio de Janeiro had to be protected from demonstrators by the police . The railway company's investigation report concluded that the railway was in a deplorable and dangerous condition . President Getúlio Vargas then ordered the immediate repair of 200 km of the route, which was known to be in a dangerous state of safety. In addition, 200 new electric locomotives and a number of new cars were purchased to increase the safety and reliability of the railroad. This was financed by bonds issued abroad .
literature
- Edgar A. Haine: Railway Wrecks . 1993. ISBN 0-8453-4844-2 , pp. 146f. ISBN 0-8453-4844-2 .
- José Eduardo Castello Branco and Ronaldo Ferriera (Eds.): Tratado de Estradas de Ferro - Prevenção e Investigação de Descarrilamentos . 2002. ISBN 85-901545-2-1 .
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 22 ° 49 ′ 15.5 ″ S , 43 ° 24 ′ 26.2 ″ W.