"Hello viewers, Keiko here...*I say this while traditionally bowing to the viewers, before bringing my head, my attention, and my eyesight, back up again, to once again continue to address the viewers*...
Now then...here is the next not action packed chapter...*I say this while smiling with both eyes closed, and my head, tilted to one side, in a cute manner*...
And keep in mind viewers, that this is now going to be one of the only other times, that I am going to be giving this sort of permission to all of you in the exact same manner...
As you viewers, as of now, once again, have my absolutely full permission, to skip this chapter...But just know viewers, that once again, if you choose to do so...
You will, like the last chapter in which I wound up giving this exact same permission...You will once again, be missing out on vital information...But don't let that stop you viewers...By all means, do as you please, and take my permission to the letter...But like I have already said, you will wind up missing quite a bit...
Now then, who here, has studied rail accidents over their spare time?...
Because like a chapter a bit back in this fanfics...we will be covering three of them...
Now then viewers...here is the first one...
On June 3, 1998...Intercity Express (ICE) #884...Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen...derailed at 125 mph...or 200 kph...in Eschede, Germany...
At the time of the accident...ICE 884...was carrying 287 passengers, and 6 crew members...
And in just three minutes...due to a fatigue crack, in one of the outer flanges, of the trains dual block wheels...in combination with a check rail from a switch that the train had passed over...and the train slamming into the concrete pillars of a road bridge...as it passed through the town of Eschede...
All combined, to lead to the deaths...of 101 people...in what is still the worst high speed accident...in the history of high speed rail travel...
And the worst rail accident...in peacetime German history...
But, as one Christian Wolmar once said...'the railway always learns from its mistakes'...
Well Christian...while that is all fine and good...101 people still wound up dead...all because Deutsche Bahn didn't want to lose money...or any ridership to air travel...
And furthermore, the ICE train, wasn't built at the time, to withstand a crash, at 200 kph...
Which was why when the train jackknifed into the collapsed road bridge...and the rear six carriages and power car...slammed into each other...the carriages broke along their weld lines...which wound up accounting...for most of the 101 deaths...
105 more were injured...and you mean to tell me...that the railroad learns from their mistakes?
That's great...but it is still at the cost of peoples lives...
Now then, onto the next rail accident...
On 27 June 1988, SNCF commuter train 153944...that was inbound to Paris' Gare de Lyon terminal from Melun to the southeast was running its routine 80 km journey, using one of SNCF's electric multiple units...a Class Z 5300...
But as the train neared Paris, and passed through the Le Vert de Maisons station, which was usually a stop on the route...However, SNCF had recently implemented a new summer timetable, which meant train 153944 no longer stopped at the station...
As the train pulled past the platform, a passenger in the second car of the train suddenly stood up, pulled the emergency brake, and left the train...
After working for 26 minutes, the trains crew reset the brakes and continued...
However, this procedure had taken longer than usual, prompting more passengers to leave the train...
And in order to make up the lost time, the station controller at Gare de Lyon...instructed the driver, to skip the next scheduled stop, Maisons-Alfort–Alfortville...and continue direct to Gare de Lyon...
So, after the train passed Maisons-Alfort–Alfortville, it then reached a 4% grade that led to Gare de Lyon. But when it passed a yellow signal instructing the driver to slow the train, in preparation for being switched to an empty platform...
The driver discovered his brakes barely worked. And as the train picked up speed from its descent, the driver desperately radioed an emergency warning...
But, he failed to identify himself to the controller. And to make matters worse, he pressed the general alarm button on his radio, and left his cab to evacuate the passengers to the rear of the train.
Train 153944, now a runaway...wound up crashing into a delayed outbound train, which was in the midst of evacuating its passengers...
The outbound train's driver, bravely remained in his cab to lead the evacuation effort, repeating a warning over his train's intercom numerous times until he was killed in the collision.
In all, 56 people were killed in the head on collision at Gare de Lyon...including the struck trains driver...
And a further 57 more...were injured...
As for the cause of the accident...it was determined to be human error...as the driver and guard of the train bound for Gare de Lyon...had misinterpreted a non-existing airlock in the trains brakes, while it had been stationary at Le Vert de Maisons...
Well, when I say that...I mean that the driver, had accidentally closed the trains main brake pipe lever...while trying to reset the brakes...
And, wound up manually unlocking the brakes...by letting out the air...from seven of the trains eight carriages...
But, with the main brake pipe lever in the closed position...there was no way for new air to get in, to replenish the system...which meant, that the train, had only 1/8 of the braking power that it needed, to safely descend the 4% grade, leading down into Gare de Lyon...
And, when the driver had hit the general alarm...it forced the Gare de Lyons signalers...to issue what is called a General Closure Procedure...
Which involved, turning every signal on the SNCF network, to red...to allow them manual control over the networks switches...
However, in their haste to do so...the procedure...wound up clearing any preprogrammed routing...which had included the preprogrammed route, that would have taken the runaway train, into an empty platform...
Now then viewers...onto the third, and the last incident...
On the evening of 4 December 1957, two trains crashed in dense fog on the South Eastern Main Line near Lewisham in south-east London, causing the deaths of 90 people and injuring 173...
An electric train to Hayes had stopped at a signal under a rail bridge, and the following steam train to Ramsgate...wound up crashing into it... the collision wound up destroying a carriage... and caused the bridge to collapse onto the steam train...
The bridge had to be completely removed...and it was over a week later...before the lines under the bridge were reopened, and another month before the bridge was rebuilt and traffic allowed over it...
And as for the cause...the driver of the Ramsgate train had failed to slow down after passing two caution signals...
And as a result...he was unable to stop at the danger signal...
In what is a SPAD...or a Signal Passed At Danger...
And this had concluded...that the use of an Automatic Warning System would have prevented the collision.
And also, would've prevented the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash...which had happened 5 years before the crash in Lewisham...
Not then viewers...this now marks the end, of this filler chapter...And more importantly viewers...we will be getting right back into the story, in the next chapter...Which for those non Toaru fans...will be the first episode of Railgun Season 3...or Railgun S...
So then viewers...I will see all of you lot there...okay?...*I say this, while smiling with both eyes closed, and my head, tilted to one side, in a cute manner*"