List of wind-related railway accidents

High winds can blow railway trains off tracks and cause accidents.

Dangers of high winds 
High winds can cause problems in a number of ways:

 blow trains off the tracks.
 blow trains or wagons along the tracks and cause collisions.
 cause pantographs and overhead wiring to tangle.
 cause trees and other objects to fall onto the railway

Preventative measures 
Risks from high winds can be reduced by:
 wind fences akin to snow sheds
 lower profile of carriages
 lowered centre of gravity of vehicles
 reduction in train speed or cancellation, at high winds
 a wider rail gauge
 improve overhead wiring with:
 regulated tension rather than fixed terminations
 shorter catenary spans
 solid conductors

By country

1928 – 47 waggons blown along line at Tocumwal 
 1931 – Kandos – wind blows level crossing gates closed in front of motor-cyclist 
 1943 – Hobart, Tasmania; Concern that wind will blow over doubledeck trams on  gauge if top deck enclosed.
 2010 – Marla, South Australia; Small tornado blows over train.

Austria 
 1910 – Trieste (now in Italy) – train blown down embankment.

Lanxin High-Speed Railway#Wind shed
 List of rail accidents (2000–2009) – February 28, 2007 – Wind blows 10 passenger rail cars off the track near Turpan, China.

Rügen narrow-gauge railway, 20 October 1936: derailment of a train, five injured

One reason for choosing broad gauge in India for greater stability in high winds.

On the night of 30 January 1925, strong winds derailed carriages of a train crossing the Owencarrow Viaduct of the  gauge Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway.

Inaho
 Amarube Viaduct
 1895 Gale blows train into sea

Rimutaka Incline railway accident

Makrellbekken (station)#Wind related accident – blowing snow disoriented a tractor driver who collided with a train

Wind tangles overhead wiring in Cape Town, 2012.

Tay Bridge disaster 1879
 Chelford rail accident 1894 – during shunting
 De-wirements on the East Coast Main Line
 Leven Viaduct, Cumbria 27 February 1903
 Cheddington 2008 – two containers blown off train – design of "spigots" criticised.
 Moston 2015 – out of gauge train hits platform, throwing stones onto other track.
 Scout Green 2015 – empty 30-foot ISA container blown off train

During the storm of 31 March / 1 April 1892 a narrow-gauge passenger train of the Burlington and Northwestern railway was blown off the tracks in St Louis, causing several persons to be injured.
 On 2 September 1911 tram services in Charleston, South Carolina, were suspended due to winds.
 A 2008 tornado in Northern Illinois derailed a Union Pacific train. Dramatic footage of the event was captured by a camera mounted on the train.
 On April 27, 2015 a severe storm knocked several cars off the line while they were traveling across the Huey P. Long Bridge, New Orleans, Louisiana, with no injuries. The footage of the complete accident was captured by a WGNO News Team on a dash cam.

One reason for choosing broad gauge (17% wider than standard gauge) for BART was the greater stability in high winds and perhaps earthquakes.

Factors 
 Lightweight trains
 Narrow gauge
 Aspects of the terrain 
 Tunnels

See also 
 Snowshed

References 

Category:Fences
Wind
Railway
Railway