Moimenta-Alcafache train crash

Moimenta-Alcafache train crash
Details
Date 11 September 1985
Time 18:37 WEST (UTC+01:00)
Location Moimenta de Maceira Dão, Mangualde, Viseu
Coordinates 40°33′42″N 7°49′14″W / 40.56167°N 7.82056°WCoordinates: 40°33′42″N 7°49′14″W / 40.56167°N 7.82056°W
Country Portugal
Rail line Linha da Beira Alta
Operator Caminhos-de-Ferro Portugueses
Type of incident Collision
Statistics
Trains 2
Passengers 460
Deaths 49 (official)
50–150 (unnofficial estimates)

The Moimenta-Alcafache train crash (Portuguese pronunciation: [mojˈmẽ.tɐ ˌaɫ.kɐˈfa.ʃɨ]) occurred on September 11, 1985, in Mangualde, Portugal, in the Portuguese Linha da Beira Alta. It is estimated to have killed about 150 people,[1] making it the worst rail disaster ever in the country.[2]

Context

A CP Class 1400 locomotive and a Sorefame carriage, both similar to the ones that formed the Regional train involved in the crash.
A CP Class 1960 locomotive, similar to the one that hauled the International train involved in the crash.

The accident happened near the Moimenta-Alcafache Way Station,[3] in the Moimenta de Maceira Dão parish, in the Mangualde municipality. This way station is placed between the Nelas and Mangualde stations, in a single track zone.

The crash involved two passenger compositions. One was making the international service between Oporto and Paris,[4] and was running 18 minutes behind schedule; the other one was making a regional service, heading for Coimbra.[3] The regional composition was composed by the locomotive number 1439, from the CP Class 1400 of Comboios de Portugal (Portuguese trains), and by 6 or 7 carriages, built by the Sorefame company; the Sud Express (International service) was formed by a locomotive CP Class 1960, number 1961, and by about 12 carriages. In total, about 460 passengers were aboard.[3]

Crash

The regional service, stopping at all stations and way stations, arrived at Mangualde station, where it should stay until cross the International service. However, and notwithstanding the fact that orders had been given so that the priority in the circulation was given to the International service, the regional moved on, estimating that the delay in the International would be enough for arriving Nelas station, where the crossing could be done.[3] Yet the other service was running with a delay smaller than expected; wrongly considering that the line was free until Mangualde station, it also moved on. After the departure, the Nelas stationmaster phoned Moimenta-Alcafache way station to warn them about the International service departure, being then informed of the on-coming Regional. Foreseeing that the trains would collide, he tried to warn the guardman on a level crossing between both stations, so that he would stop the composition by holding a banner or placing petards on the line; however, this maneuver was not possible, because the train had already passed there.[4]

Around 18:37, both trains collided, while circulating at an approximate speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). The shock destroyed both locomotives and some cars in both compositions, and ignited several fires due to the fuel present in the locomotives and warning systems of the carriages.[4] Due to the fact that the materials used in the carriages were not fireproof, the fire spread quickly, producing great amounts of smoke.[5]

Right after the crash, panic was generated among the passengers, who tried to get out of the carriages. Many people, among them children, got trapped in the wreckage of the trains, having been helped by other passengers; others couldn't make it out in time, and died burnt by the fires[5] or asphyxiated.

Reaction of the rescue and aftermath teams

The alert was given by military personnel of the Portuguese Guarda Nacional Republicana (National Republican Guard), who were operating on EN234, near the crash site. Although the rescue services arrived only a few minutes after the accident, the situation there was chaotic, with fires on the trains and forest around, many people hurt, and several passengers in panic.[2]

It is estimated that, in this accident, some 150 people have perished, though the circumstances of the crash and the lack of control of the number of passengers in both services prevent an exact counting of the number of deadly victims. The official estimative points to 49 dead, from which only 14 were identified, with still 64 passengers officially missing.[3][6]

Most of the deadly remains that weren't identified were buried in a common trench near the crash site, where was also risen a monument in memory of the victims and the rescue teams.

Accident investigation

It was revealed that both stationmasters didn't communicate between them, neither to the control station in Coimbra, as regulamented, to tell them about the change of the crossing from Mangualde to Nelas; had this been done, the uncomformity of the circulation would have been noticed, and one of the compositions would have stayed on the station, so that the crossing could be made safely.[6]

On the other hand, due to the lack of equipment, it was impossible to communicate with the involved trains; the only way to warn drivers was through signaling, and installing petards on the line, which, in this case, was revealed insufficient.[4] Had this been done, trains could have been set in a halt in the stations. The communication system used at the time on that part of the route depended upon the use of phones to give information between stations and the control station.[7]

In the wake of the disaster, more advanced safety, signaling and traffic control systems were installed, like the Speed Control, allowing a greater efficiency and security in rail operations, and making accidents like this nearly impossible of happening again;[7] on the other hand, the introduction of ground-radio systems allowed a direct communication between drivers and control stations, and the use of materials that ease the propagation of flames was forbidden on trains.[8]

Chronology

References

  1. ↑ Carlos Cipriano (2010-09-11). "O 11 de Setembro de Alcafache foi há 25 anos". Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 S. P. (11 de Setembro de 2008). Pior acidente ferroviário de sempre em Portugal. Diário de Viseu.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 (11 de Setembro de 2007). Alcafache 11 Setembro 1985. Mangualde Online.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 S. P. (11 de Setembro de 2008). ALCAFACHE, 11.09.1985 - Foi o Maior Acidente Ferroviário em Portugal. PT Comunidades.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Sobreviventes de Alcafache recordam o maior acidente ferroviário português". Jornal de Notícias. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "O 11 de Setembro de Alcafache foi há 25 anos". Público. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 A. M. F. (10 de Setembro de 2009) Alcafache: O maior acidente ferroviário recordado 24 anos depois. Expresso.
  8. ↑ "Pior acidente ferroviário em Portugal foi há 25 anos, em Alcafache". SIC. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (1984). "Horário de Verão 1984" (in Portuguese). O Comboio. p. 66. Retrieved 12 September 2011.