Limache railway accident

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The Limache railway accident was the head-on collision of two railcars on the Santiago de Chile – Valparaíso railway on February 17, 1986 between the Peñablanca and Limache stations , in the Valparaíso region, and the most serious railway accident in Chile . At least 58 people died.

initial situation

Infrastructure

The railway infrastructure in the area of ​​the accident site was severely restricted in its function: after an attack by the left-wing terrorist Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez on a railway bridge six months earlier, the double-track line in this section was only passable on a single track. The scene of the accident was in a cut in the terrain in a sharp curve so that the drivers could only see the other train at the last moment. The route's signaling system dates from 1928 and had failed a few days earlier. In addition, the telephone cable over which the train reports were carried out had been stolen, so that the dispatchers could not communicate with each other.

vehicles

Both trains were three-part AES (Automotor Eléctrico Suburbano) multiple units operated by the Ferrocarril del Norte railway company . Altogether there were about 1000 passengers on the trains . One train went from Los Andes to Valparaíso , the other was in the opposite direction from Valparaíso to Mapocho train station in Santiago de Chile .

the accident

Because of the defective infrastructure, traffic on the route could only be secured by allowing the trains to use the route strictly in the order in which it was scheduled . After that, the dispatcher in Limache should have kept the Los Andes train at the station until the return train from Valparaíso had arrived. But he did not do that, rather gave him the exit.

consequences

At around 7:45 p.m., the two trains collided head-on. The force of the collision was so strong that the vehicles in front of both railcars pushed into one another and formed a block of rubble only 5 meters long. At least 58 dead and 518 injured, 111 of them seriously, were the result. Most of the people died in the two front vehicles of the railcars, which were completely crushed together. The numbers were official. Much higher death rates were also mentioned later.

The rescue measures had to be improvised: it took more than an hour before external help arrived. The rescue work lasted until 11:30 a.m. the following day. A temporary first aid room has been set up on the platform of Limache train station . The platform loudspeakers called for blood donations .

The then Chilean President Augusto Pinochet visited the injured in hospital and promised compensation that should be based on that for road accidents .

As a result of the accident, passenger traffic on the railway line between Santiago de Chile and Valparaiso was abandoned. It was not resumed until train radio was installed in 1992. Today it is operated by the Valparaíso Metro .

Web links

Coordinates: 32 ° 59 ′ 14.2 "  S , 71 ° 20 ′ 39.4"  W.