Is it more dangerous when a train engine pushes cars vs. pulling them?

Question

I ride tri-rail every day, and in the morning, the train engine pulls the passenger cars, but in the afternoon, it pushes them...

Are BOTH equally safe, or is one better than the other???

Answer 1

According to the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration), which I believe studied the push-pull method after the accident in California a few years ago it, they came to the conclusion that there is virtually no different in safety regarding the cars being pushed by the locomotive rather than pulled.

Answer 2

Definetly pushing is more dangerous since if the power is coming form behind, the train car in the front has the risk of getting de-railed or tipping. Also, I think with the engine up front, it is more efficient. I hope this answers your question! Good luck!

Answer 3

if its pulling its prolly safer.

think of it like this

if you push a line of a train, and it comes to a turn, theres a good chance the line could buckle in a certain place, causing derailation.

pulling the worse thing that could happen is maybe a bomber is on board and wants to kill you

Answer 4

YO! Kupo wiht the popo with the Wonk. YO.-

Answer 5

From an operating standpoint they run equally well in both directions.

But as a practical matter, having the locomotive in the rear is less than ideal.  For one thing, it is the heaviest piece of equipment in the consist and therefore has less tendency to be derailed in a collision with a vehicle.  It is also more dangerous for the (engineer, driver, motorman) as there is less protection in the same instance.

It has been asked many times here where is the safest place to ride on the train.  It doesn't matter where one is seated.  Its all the luck of the draw, the same as when there are survivors of plane crashes when others lose their lives.

And yes, the people running the train know their stuff but sometimes, that just isn't enough, as evidenced by yesterday's rear end collision of two commuter trains (Boston?).  In that instance, for example, both the front of one train and the rear of the other were the wrong places to be riding that day.

There were injuries.  The engineer of the train that struck the one ahead paid for her (or someone else's) mistake with her life.  I have seen the engineer's job description and responsibilities minimized from time to time in this forum, usually by the ignorant, citing "over pay" and collective garbaining in some cases, or even calling the job "easy."  The truth is, when one of us does s***w up, someone usually dies.

So how much is a qualified engineer worth?

That having been said, might as well relax and enjoy the ride.  When the Man upstairs tugs on the chain, ya gotta go... and it won't matter where you're at or what you're doing.

Answer 6

dude...i won't really worry much about it....the engineers know what they are doing...they get paid well.