At approximately 11:30 a.m. Sunday, a train traveling 25 mph will crash into a car on Buffalo Southern Railroad tracks in North Collins.
Although there will be two or three occupants of the car, no one will be injured.
Organizers are calling it a “mock crash,” but the crash will be real. It is being organized by New York Operation Lifesaver to show the devastating effects of the impact with a train. It also will serve as a training simulation for emergency responders.
“I hope it will raise the issue of rail safety,” said Philip Merens of New York Operation Lifesaver. “Every three hours a person or vehicle is hit by a train in the United States.”
The event, which is open to the public, will close out Rail Safety Week. Operation Lifesaver is a nonprofit organization that provides public education programs to prevent collisions, injuries and fatalities on and around railroad tracks and highway-rail grade crossings.
People are also reading…
The simulation is a car stalled on train tracks. In this case, it’s the Buffalo Southern tracks at Milestrip Road in North Collins.
Calspan has donated crash dummies and high-speed cameras to capture the crash from the car, and will compile safety data. The 2012 model year vehicle was donated by Towne Automotive Group, Merens said.
CSX is providing a locomotive that has been out of service for five years that will strike the car. It will be pushed by a Buffalo Southern locomotive pulling several empty railroad cars.
The North Collins Emergency Squad and Fire Department will be training after the crash, and Erie County Sheriff’s deputies, State Police, state Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration representatives also will be on hand.
The public is invited to watch the mock crash. Parking will be available at Town Chevrolet, 11208 Gowanda State Road (Route 62,) which is near the crash site.
Milestrip Road will be closed at 10:30 a.m. A program is scheduled to start at 10:45 a.m.
A freight train traveling 55 mph can take a mile or more to stop, Merens said. He estimated the Buffalo Southern train, which is smaller and traveling slower than a freight train, may take 200 to 400 yards to stop.
About 1,000 people die each year from railroad incidents, but that number has come down in the last 50 years. In 1972, when Lifesaver began its efforts, there were more than 12,000 collisions, Merens said.
He said railroad crossings are required to have an emergency notification sign on the signal post with a telephone number to call if a vehicle is stalled on the tracks or the signal is malfunctioning.
“It’s the only way to stop a tragedy, and no one knows about that,” Merens said. “Our goal is to give people the information so they make better decisions at railroad crossings.”