train tracks

18 Stories

Daring Rescue Rewarded: 'We Need More Anthonys in the World'

Chicago man Anthony Perry, 20, pulled a man off electrified rail at subway station

(Newser) - A Chicago man who jumped onto train tracks to rescue someone who'd fallen onto an electrified rail at an L station earned more than praise for his heroic act: He's also been given a car. Anthony Perry, 20, was surprised this week with a 2009 Audi A8 from...

Poles Fixing Century-Old Railroad Tracks to Help Rescue Refugees

'Poland cannot be indifferent to the tragedy of the Ukrainian people,' says nation's infrastructure chief

(Newser) - Poland is receiving praise the world over for embracing refugees fleeing Ukraine as Russian forces continue their assault . Now, Poles are supplementing this "tidal wave of support" for their desperate neighbors by rebuilding a long-abandoned railroad line, placed more than a century ago, to help expedite rescue efforts at...

Thieves Are Feasting on Cargo Trains in Los Angeles
Train Derails Near Site
of LA Cargo Thefts
UPDATED
Jan 17, 2022 6:25 PM CST

Train Derails Near Site of LA Cargo Thefts

Union Pacific says 17 cars came off tracks

(Newser) - Update: Crews made railroad repairs in Los Angeles on Monday after a train derailed near the location where thieves have been raiding cargo containers, leaving the tracks littered with emptied boxes of packaged goods sent by retailers. It wasn't immediately clear if the derailment that happened Saturday was caused...

Stranger Pushes Woman, Son Off Platform Into Train's Path

Boy, 8, was killed; his mother rolled to safety

(Newser) - A man standing among passengers at a train station in Germany on Monday pushed a woman and her 8-year-old son onto the tracks, in the path of a high-speed train. The boy was hit and killed instantly; his mother survived. Witnesses at the main Frankfurt station ran after the attacker,...

Moments After Photo Was Taken, Aspiring Model Was Dead

Fredzania Thompson struck by train in Texas

(Newser) - It was Fredzania Thompson's dream to pursue a career in modeling, so much so that her family says she decided to pause her college studies and go after it. "It's what she had started to do the day she was deceased," her mom tells the Bryan-College ...

Teen Saves Man Stuck on Tracks Just in Time

'I look up, and the train's literally right there'

(Newser) - Ashley Aldridge was at home in Auburn, Illinois, last week when she heard a man screaming. The 19-year-old ran outside to the railroad tracks near her house, heard a train blaring its horn, and saw 75-year-old Earl Moorman, whose wheelchair had gotten stuck on the tracks. "She came over...

Woman Thinks She Sleepwalked Onto Train Tracks

2 men jump on Boston tracks to help

(Newser) - A woman who walked straight off the platform and onto the tracks at a Boston T station yesterday may have been sleepwalking, CBS Boston reports. The 31-year-old woman can be seen on surveillance video walking across an empty platform at the Davis Square MBTA station, then falling down onto the...

'Hero' Ex-Con Saves Guy From Train

Christopher Knafelc 'kind of surprised' himself with selfless act

(Newser) - Most days, recovering drug addict and ex-con Christopher Knafelc has plenty to regret. But not Thursday, when he didn't hesitate to save the life of a perfect stranger. As the AP reports, Knafelc was sitting on a bench in a Philadelphia train station when he saw a man in...

PayPal Exec Killed on Train Tracks

No details yet in Eric Salvatierra's death

(Newser) - Eric Salvatierra, a 39-year-old PayPal executive, was killed on Caltrain tracks in California Friday morning. The married father of three was struck on the northbound tracks, and his death remains under investigation. "All I know is he had his bike," Salvatierra's uncle tells the San Jose Mercury ...

Mom Pushing Stroller Killed by California Train

But Susan Dibene manages to push her daughter to safety

(Newser) - A Southern California mom struggling with a stroller over tracks was killed by a train, but first managed to push her 2-year-old daughter to safety. Susan Dibene, 33, was pushing the stroller along a sidewalk near the tracks when she attempted to cross as the guardrail of the Metrolink train...

Desperate, Sick Indonesians Turn to Railroad 'Therapy'

Rumored to cure everything from paralysis to high-blood pressure

(Newser) - Ignoring the red-and-white danger sign, Sri Mulyati walks slowly to the train tracks outside Indonesia's bustling capital, lies down, and stretches her body across the rails. Like the nearly dozen others lined up along the track, the 50-year-old diabetes patient has given up on doctors and can't afford...

Amtrak to Build NY-NJ Train Tunnels for $13.5B

'Gateway Tunnel' project has planned 2020 finish

(Newser) - Amtrak plans to dig two new tunnels for commuter trains between New York and New Jersey, Reuters reports. The project, called the Gateway Tunnel and projected to cost $13.5 billion, has a loose finish date of 2020. "The two new trans-Hudson tunnels will provide long-sought, peak-period operational capacity...

Spanish Train Kills 12 On Tracks

High-speed train hits group crossing train tracks

(Newser) - Twelve people were killed last night when a high-speed train smashed into a group of people crossing the tracks at a station near Barcelona. At least 13 others were injured, three critically, the BBC reports. Witnesses said the group were young people heading for a summer festival who crossed the...

2 Teen Girls Hugged, Stepped in Front of Train

Third Pennsylvania girl got cold feet just before suicide

(Newser) - Two girls killed by a speeding Amtrak train last week in Pennsylvania actually committed suicide, according to a witness and autopsy results. Vanessa Dorwart and Gina Gentile, 15 and 16, stepped on to the tracks Thursday morning just before an Acela from Boston to Washington, DC, came through town. A...

Train Kills 3 Girls Crossing Fla. Bridge

Fourth teen shouted for them to jump, to no avail

(Newser) - Three teenage girls crossing a bridge in central Florida were killed by a freight train as they desperately tried to get out of its way and a friend on the other side yelled for them to jump, police said today. The girls and the fourth teenager, a boy, were hanging...

Federal Study Tries to Derail Train Suicides

Railroad Administration looks into ways to block tracks

(Newser) - The Federal Railroad Administration is out to challenge the notion that suicide-by-train is an unfortunate but unavoidable phenomenon. The agency is four years into a study that will look into whether improved fences or other barriers could deter potential suicides, the Boston Globe reports. “When you reduce access to...

After 4 Suicides, Calif. Parents Guard Rails

Four Palo Alto teens dead in last 6 months spark vigil

(Newser) - After four teenagers from the same high school committed suicide on the commuter rail tracks that run through Palo Alto, Calif., in just 6 months, parents set up a daily vigil at the offending crossing. When the train comes through—every half hour—there's a nervous pause in the chatting,...

Boston Subway Just Misses Woman
 Boston Subway 
 Just Misses Woman 
WATCH THE VIDEO
Nov 10, 2009 12:10 PM CST

Boston Subway Just Misses Woman

Driver, another employee honored for quick action

(Newser) - A Boston subway train came to a screeching halt just before hitting a woman who had fallen onto the tracks. She told authorities afterward she'd been drinking. Both the train's driver and another Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority employee have been hailed as heroes for their quick action.

18 Stories