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A comment on Spanish track was fractured before high-speed train disaster, report finds. Parent comment

Re:Spanish track was fractured before high-speed train disas... by NewJazz on Sunday January 25, 2026 @10:02PM (#46761365)
Different soil? Different climate/weather patterns.

Japan having to build to earthquake standards, so being more robust overall? Or to specific failure modes, at least.

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Re:Spanish track was fractured before high-speed train disas... by Animats on Sunday January 25, 2026 @10:39PM (#46761608)
Doctor Yellow.[1] Full rail inspection every ten days.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Yellow

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Re:Spanish track was fractured before high-speed train disas... by wvbdmp on Monday January 26, 2026 @04:12AM (#46763415)
At full speed!
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Re:Spanish track was fractured before high-speed train disas... by Animats on Monday January 26, 2026 @04:09PM (#46771572)
Which matters, because Doctor Yellow inspection trains can be put into the schedule with the regular trains. There's no need to shut down traffic while a slow inspection car chugs along.

BART recently got a full-speed inspection car.[1] They needed a specially built one because BART has a non-standard track gauge.

The Federal Railroad Administration has track inspection cars, but only six of them for the whole country. One was seen on CALTRAIN track.[2]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHa1Si7CW8Q

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQcRHn9YiPg

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