Circumvesuviana derailment
Encyclopedia
The Circumvesuviana Derailment was a railway accident which occurred on Friday August 6, 2010 in Naples
, Italy
. A train of the Circumvesuviana
line, a local railway providing transport in the area around the Mount Vesuvius
, derailed between the San Giorgio a Cremano
and Naples
stations.
The accident led to a single fatality, seventy-one year old Giuseppe Marotta, who lost his legs in the wreck and died shortly after arriving at Loreto Mare hospital. Among the fifty-eight injured, a twenty-five year old man entered a coma
, and a woman had to be treated for severe wounds of the thorax and head. Eleven other people had severe wounds and had to be hospitalized.
route from San Giorgio a Cremano to Naples. The rolling stock involved was an ETR 200 Metrostar, one of the latest acquisitions from the Circumvesuviana administration, just one year old and with a perfect maintenance record.
At 11:10, after leaving the Centro Direzionale station, the train left the rails and hit a wall at the rail-side. The three permanently joined passenger-cars overturned, and the engine hit an electricity pole. The first car was crushed under the second one. First aid was provided by workers from a nearby factory to a man with crushed legs: they used their belt
s to stop blood loss, but the man died shortly after being transported to the nearest hospital. Medics of Loreto Mare hospital were on strike (due to salary conditions), but suspended the protest to provide first aid to the injured passengers.
While people promptly called the 118
medical emergency number, response from ambulances was slow, taking more than twenty minutes to bring the fifteen ambulance
s required to transport the injured from the disaster scene. Twenty technician and three cranes from Protezione Civile
later joined the rescue operations.
shortly before the crash, and he could have missed the speed limit signal. The driver had fled the scene of the accident after the train derailed.
Maintenance work to provide structural reinforcement to the side walls had been completed three days before the accident, but allegations that the line had structural problems and reports of anomalies were dismissed. Although the train was equipped with an automatic speed control system, the required rail components were not installed.
Local newspapers blamed the accident on cost cutting and bad maintenance by Circumvesuviana, and on the privatization of local mass-transport services.
On January 22, 2009, a tree toppled by the wind hit the overhead electric wires and fell onto a train passing below. The train driver and guard were severely injured, but ultimately recovered.
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. A train of the Circumvesuviana
Circumvesuviana
Circumvesuviana is a group of narrow-gauge railways connecting towns to the south-east of Naples, Italy. Its tracks run around the base of Mount Vesuvius, and , they completely encircle it, as well as running on down the Sorrento peninsula...
line, a local railway providing transport in the area around the Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
, derailed between the San Giorgio a Cremano
San Giorgio a Cremano
San Giorgio a Cremano is a primarily residential town and comune in the province of Naples, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is located on the foothills of Mount Vesuvius to the west of the volcano, and is six kilometres to the south east of the centre of Naples...
and Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
stations.
The accident led to a single fatality, seventy-one year old Giuseppe Marotta, who lost his legs in the wreck and died shortly after arriving at Loreto Mare hospital. Among the fifty-eight injured, a twenty-five year old man entered a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
, and a woman had to be treated for severe wounds of the thorax and head. Eleven other people had severe wounds and had to be hospitalized.
Derailment
The train was traveling on a junction shared between the Circumvesuviana service and a Naples subwayRapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
route from San Giorgio a Cremano to Naples. The rolling stock involved was an ETR 200 Metrostar, one of the latest acquisitions from the Circumvesuviana administration, just one year old and with a perfect maintenance record.
At 11:10, after leaving the Centro Direzionale station, the train left the rails and hit a wall at the rail-side. The three permanently joined passenger-cars overturned, and the engine hit an electricity pole. The first car was crushed under the second one. First aid was provided by workers from a nearby factory to a man with crushed legs: they used their belt
Belt (clothing)
A belt is a flexible band or strap, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. A belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing.-History:...
s to stop blood loss, but the man died shortly after being transported to the nearest hospital. Medics of Loreto Mare hospital were on strike (due to salary conditions), but suspended the protest to provide first aid to the injured passengers.
While people promptly called the 118
118
Year 118 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hadrianus and Fuscus...
medical emergency number, response from ambulances was slow, taking more than twenty minutes to bring the fifteen ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
s required to transport the injured from the disaster scene. Twenty technician and three cranes from Protezione Civile
Protezione Civile
The "Protezione Civile" department is the national body in Italy that deals with the prediction, prevention and management of exceptional events....
later joined the rescue operations.
Causes
The main cause of the accident was excessive speed, apparently the train was travelling at twice the maximum allowed speed, in a section where the speed limit was just 20 km/h. The train driver, Giancarlo Naso, said he did not remember anything from the moments before the accident, and appeared confused to the police officers who eventually got him into custody. He was an experienced driver, with twenty years experience on the line. One witness, a nineteen year old passenger named Patrizio Straiano, said the driver was talking on his mobile phoneMobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
shortly before the crash, and he could have missed the speed limit signal. The driver had fled the scene of the accident after the train derailed.
Maintenance work to provide structural reinforcement to the side walls had been completed three days before the accident, but allegations that the line had structural problems and reports of anomalies were dismissed. Although the train was equipped with an automatic speed control system, the required rail components were not installed.
Local newspapers blamed the accident on cost cutting and bad maintenance by Circumvesuviana, and on the privatization of local mass-transport services.
Aftermath
The derailment caused severe damage to the railway infrastructure. Local service was provided using buses for a number of weeks afterwards.Other incidents
Circumvesuviana had been involved in two previous accidents. On December 6, 1992, a switch malfunction, instigated by bad weather, caused a derailment.On January 22, 2009, a tree toppled by the wind hit the overhead electric wires and fell onto a train passing below. The train driver and guard were severely injured, but ultimately recovered.