Do you worry about traveling over bridges when you are on the train?

Question

I used to ride the train all the time and I have panic disorder but just in the past 4 months I have created a fear not fo the train but of the train falling in the water or the bridge collapsing...

Answer 1

Bridges are fine, unless you are in Minnesota.  Walking across the parking lot to the station is more dangerous than riding across a bridge.  You have to learn how to put such things into a perspective.

Kent in SD

Answer 2

don;t ride the train if you have these fears you should be comfortable however you travel

Answer 3

It could happen, nohting impossible but not very likely. Railroads have a signal system that detects a flaw or break in the rail so if the bridge was flawed or damaged before the train approached the crew would have a stop signal indication prior to going over the bridge.

Railroad bridges are made for holding up very heavy freight trains so the weight of a passenger train is almost miniscule by comparison.

Statistically you are far safer in the train than the cab ride to or from the train station.

Please relax, I have been railroading for over 30 years and have never been derailed on a bridge yet and to be honest that is one of the last things I worry about.

Answer 4

That's the last thing I'd worry about.  Why don't you worry about the train jumping the tracks instead?  That would make a lot more sense.  Two trains hitting head on would also seem more likely than the bridge collapsing.

Answer 5

Many people have a fear of bridges. I never knew just how many until recently. You're not alone. I can't recommend anything to help deal with this, because I really don't know anything about it. I'm a locomotive engineer, and think about it in a simple "what if" context. But I'm not afraid. It's kinda hard to give advice in this situation anyway, when your nickname is Derail. I had a GF a couple years ago. I went with her to deliver a horse. We went over the Bong Bridge at Duluth, MN. Both her and the horse really flipped out.

Answer 6

Hmmm, as much as I like to ride the rails I must admit I've never thought about that before.

Answer 7

Its natural!

Nowdays rail bridges are built to withhold 1000 tonne's. The average train weighs roughly 200 to 300 tonne. Thats a huge difference in weight.

When a car hits a rail brigde it is a precautionary measure to close the road and not allow any trains to cross so that it can be checked over to make sure no internal cracks are found.

I hope this helps to conquer your fear

Answer 8

You don't have anything to worry about.  Rail bridges in my experience tend to be built just as good or even better than automotive bridges.  There shouldn't be any reason for the bridge to collapse at all.  An incident where that happened that was on such a big scale was because a trash barge hit one of the pillars and consequently knocked the rails out of alignment.  What's more, the barge pilot didn't tell anyone, and that's the only reason why the train crashed there.  That aside, rail bridges are just as safe as any bridge out there.  And you need to remember that they're built much stronger to support more weight.  Put your fears aside, all is well.

Answer 9

No, I don't - why should a railway bridge collapse any more than a road bridge?