(no subject)

[deckardcanine]

Readers in the U.S. may know by now of yesterday's D.C. subway collision. It's the first national news top story in years to have affected me on not just an emotional level, since I take the subway to work each day. I'm a bit ashamed of my callousness from this morning, when I found it not so much tragic as obnoxious for making me wait an hour for a train that wasn't too crowded.

Then my office mate told me that one of the crashed trains was the one she usually boards in the afternoon. She considers it the grace of God that she left work later than usual. I'm grateful for her well-being, too.

For a fleeting moment, I worried about the safety of future rides. Then I remembered how rarely trains crash, especially compared to automobiles and presumably buses. This was the worst in D.C. history, after all.

Comments

[marmoe.livejournal.com]

It hit the news in Germany, too, if only as a short report. I am glad, that nobody you know was affected.

[dhlawrence.livejournal.com]

Can't say I'm surprised it was on the Red Line. When I was in DC three years back, there was a stretch between Silver Spring and Union Station where the train was tilted to an angle while running along straight track.

Not related to this accident at all, but a bit unnerving and a sign that not all is quite right.

[carlfoxmarten]

Are the subway trains run by computer or by humans?

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

By humans. It must be one of the most boring jobs in the city, but I doubt that modern computers could do as good a job. You have to be attentive to the situations on your train and the ones ahead of yours, and you have to make announcements as necessary.

[dhlawrence.livejournal.com]

They have driverless metro trains in London and Vancouver, and Toronto's planning to introduce them. It actutally looks quite fun at first, though it must get dull after a while.

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

My mom has sent me a slight correction: Computers are supposed to be primarily in control to keep the trains from getting too close together. Still, they do have human co-conductors, one of whom died in the latest crash.

[thatcatgirl.livejournal.com]

I don't think I even noticed where you were until this entry.

Also glad noone you know was harmed.