Railway accidents always lead to horrifying consequences. And, unfortunately, Russia, like other countries, has repeatedly experienced the veracity of this statement. Her story can recall more than a dozen accidents that occurred on the railway tracks.
Mountains of torn metal and thousands of shed tears are what remains after such tragedies. And also, the incomprehensible sadness of mothers and wives, whose loved ones were taken by an inexorable fate. Almost all railway accidents and disasters are filled with it. Therefore, let's remember the biggest tragedies that occurred on the territory of the USSR and Russia in order to honor the memory of those who died in them.
The danger hidden in progress
When the first trains appeared, no one thought about how terrible train accidents could be. And even after the first uncontrolled diesel locomotive took the lives of 16 people in Philadelphia in 1815, the world said: “Well, sometimes it happens.”
Indeed, onToday it is difficult to overestimate the benefits that trains bring to our lives. Indeed, thanks to them, trips even to the most distant corners of Russia no longer seem so incredible and long as before. And yet you should never forget that progress brings not only good, but also destruction. And the stories below are direct proof of that.
The first railway accidents in the USSR
1930 was a real horror for the railroad workers. The reason for this is two major accidents that happened in it. Subsequently, many residents of the country began to be afraid to use the services of "steam cabs", choosing more reliable means of transportation.
So, the first accident occurred on the night of September 7-8 in the Moscow region. Passenger train No. 34 arrived at the Pererve station, near the village of Maryino. The engine driver Makarov, who was driving the locomotive, immediately warned the station authorities that its train was damaged, and he had already stopped several times to fix the problems.
Makarov offered to replace his diesel locomotive with another in order to avoid possible troubles. However, his request was not fulfilled. Instead, he was given an additional engine to help him, which was supposed to insure him on the way. Unfortunately, this decision not only exacerbated the existing problem, but also led to tragic consequences.
So, when trying to move off, the reinforced diesel locomotive broke all connections between the cabin and the passenger train. As a result, the locomotive went forward, but the cars remainedstand still. And everything would be fine if the dispatcher had not transmitted a premature order to another train to arrive on the platform.
And here is another passenger train in full steam rushing to the platform. Only a few meters from the station, the driver notices passenger cars standing in his way. Even emergency braking did not help stop the train in time. Subsequently, more than 40 people were injured in the collision, and 13 died on the spot.
Train-tram collision
In the same year, another tragedy happened in St. Petersburg. On a railway passage, near the Moscow Gates, a freight train, turning back, knocked down a passing tram. From the impact, the last car came off and fell straight onto the passenger part. Alas, by the time firefighters arrived, most of the people had already died.
Like other train accidents, this one was due to an absurd set of circumstances. Indeed, as the investigation showed, on that day the control center suddenly stopped working, the workers serving the tracks did not have time to switch the switches in time, and the tram driver noticed the impending threat too late.
And such a ridiculous coincidence claimed 28 human lives, and 19 surviving passengers never used public transport again.
Great Post-War Rail Accidents
The end of the war brought peace to the Soviet Union. Everywhere new cities and towns began to be built, and the first conquerors of Siberia set off on their entertaining journey through the snowyedge. Millions of kilometers of tracks have been laid all over the country.
But the retribution for such a leap in progress was the large-scale railway disasters that occurred in the post-war years. And the worst of them happened near the Drovnino station, which is located in the Moscow region.
On August 6, 1952, locomotive No. 438 was supposed to deliver its passengers to Moscow. However, at about 2 am, he collided with a horse that was crossing the railroad tracks. Despite the small weight of the animal, the locomotive derailed and pulled the entire train along with it.
Cars one by one went downhill, crushing each other with their weight. When rescuers arrived at the crash site, they saw mountains of crumpled metal that buried a third of the passengers under them. And those who survived were still recovering from their injuries during the accident.
According to official figures, the railway accident in Drovnino led to the death of 109, injured 211 people. For a long time, this incident was considered the largest train crash in the USSR, until it was eclipsed by even greater grief.
1989 train crash
As mentioned earlier, the cause of many tragedies is an incredible set of circumstances. If not for them, then perhaps the world would never have felt the pain that the railway accident near Ufa (1989) brought with it.
It all started on June 4, 1989 with a gas leak 10 kilometers from the city of Auchan. It was caused by a small hole in the pipeline, which opened 40 minutes before the tragedy. howit is unfortunate, but the gas company knew about it, as the instruments showed a pressure jump in the pipes in advance. However, instead of cutting off the supply of blue fuel, they only increased its pressure.
Because of this, explosive condensate began to accumulate near the railway tracks. And when at 01:15 (local time) two passenger trains passed here, it detonated. The explosion was so strong that it scattered the wagons all over the area, as if they weighed nothing at all. Worse still, the condensation-soaked ground blazed like a torch.
The terrible consequences of the disaster near Ufa
Even the inhabitants of Asha, located 11 kilometers from the scene, could feel the destructive power of the explosion. A huge column of fire lit up the night sky, and many even thought that a rocket had fallen there. And even though it was just a ridiculous guess, the reality turned out to be no less terrifying.
When the first rescuers arrived at the crash site, they saw the burning ground and the wagons of the train burned to the ground. But the most terrible thing was to hear the voices of those who could not get out of the fiery trap. Their pleas and tears haunted the rescuers at night for years to come.
In the end, even the biggest rail disasters in the world seemed insignificant compared to this tragedy. After all, about 600 people died from fire and burns, the same number were seriously injured. Until now, this catastrophe resonates with pain in the hearts of people who lost their relatives and friends in it.
Accidents,what happened on the railroad in the 90s
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, railway accidents in Russia did not stop. In particular, in 1992 there were two major tragedies that claimed many lives.
The first accident occurred in early March, on the Velikie Luki-Rzhev section. Because of the great frost, the train warning system failed, and the two trains simply did not know about the approach to each other. After that, a passenger diesel locomotive crashed into the tail of a freight train, which was standing at the crossing. As a result, 43 people will never be able to see their family again, and more than 100 were left with serious injuries.
In the same month, a passenger train from Riga to Moscow, ignoring a traffic light, collided with a freight train. The frontal impact claimed the lives of 43 people, including the drivers of both diesel locomotives.
Tragedies of the new millennium
Sad as it may seem, but progress cannot yet protect passengers from risk. Rail accidents in Russia occur even today, despite the global improvement in the security system.
So, on July 15, 2014, another tragedy happened in the Moscow Metro. At the railway crossing Pobedy Park - Slavyansky Boulevard, an electric train carrying passengers derailed. As a result, 24 people died and more than 200 were injured.
