Norfolk Virginia, (VA) will soon welcome passenger rail back to the area, beginning with one train a day departing the Harbor Park area in the early morning for Richmond and then on to Washington, DC, and poits north. As a Virginia (VA) railroad accident attorney and a lifelong resident of Hampton Roads, I’m all for expanding the ease and means of travel for area residents.
However, I want to caution residents and lawmakers of the dangers that railroad can pose to citizens. The light rail trains in Norfolk, which only reach an average speed of 21 mph, have already been involved in several collisions. I credit the lack of fatalities from these incidents to the slow speeds at which the accidents occurred.
The heavy passenger trains that will soon be zipping across the area travel at a speed of 77 mph. We frequently report on companies such as Amtrak but usually when things go wrong. Just last month I reported on how a Amtrak train known as the California Zephyr, which runs between Chicago and Los Angeles, experienced its second major accident within two months when it derailed in Nebraska (NE) in late August 2011, leaving 22 people injured.
As a Virginia FELA attorney, I urge all motorists to respect the right of way of trains at all crossings. I also hope that with the new railroad service will come the newest in railroad safety warnings and crossings.
CT