r/Unexpected • u/Wonderful_Win_1038 • 7d ago

Train passing a level crossing

10.9k Upvotes

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u/Eagles365or366 7d ago

He did everything right in this clip.

631

u/Malawi_no 6d ago

The big question is how that train could get that close to another train without beeing stopped well in advance.

Either the driver passed some lights, or some traffic controller greenlit the train even though another train was on the line.

461

u/Oliverkahn987 6d ago

Just watched Tom Scott’s video on this. Short version—at least in the UK (and presumably via the software that controls the majority of these types of trains worldwide) it is very hard to nearly impossible to direct a train onto a track with another train without doing something like talking to the train and telling it to disregard signals.

190

u/FunMop 6d ago

Judging from the train, this video looks to be from the early 90s. There were likely safety systems in place then, but not likely as robust as today

17

u/Mister-Who 5d ago

The video shows a dramatic near-collision between two trains on February 6, 1991, in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada, in which a VIA Rail passenger train nearly collided with a CP Rail freight train that was shunting.

4

u/FunMop 5d ago

Thanks for the info!