# High Speed rail crashes (2026) **URL:** \ **Category:** International Travel\ **Created:** [October 28, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489 "2026-10-28T15:43:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DKaoshuing](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dkaoshuing/32/127142_2.png) [@DKaoshuing](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/DKaoshuing)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/1 "2026-10-28T15:43:32Z")
It seems more rail crashes in 2026 .Sad day in Spain, 64+ dead in high speed rail crash. [https://www.reuters.com/world/two-high-speed-trains-rear-end-spain-rail-operator-says-2026-10-28/](https://www.reuters.com/world/two-high-speed-trains-rear-end-spain-rail-operator-says-2026-10-28/) Seems 2026 not good year started with > **[Sikhio train disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhio_train_disaster)** > > On 14 January 2026, at 09:13 (ICT; UTC+07:00), a construction crane fell on a passenger train with 157 passengers on board in Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, killing 30 and injuring 69 others. The train involved was an express train from Krung Thep Aphiwat in Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani. The accident took place at the construction site of the Bangkok–Nong Khai high-speed railway network under Contract 3–4 (Lam Takhong to Sikhio), associated with China's Belt and Road Initi... ---
**Author:** ![Andrew0409](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/andrew0409/32/69821_2.png) [@Andrew0409](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Andrew0409)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/2 "2026-10-28T18:41:49Z")
2x in the same year! I’m curious if it was a human error or not. Surely there’s some system built in to automatically detect incoming collision? Idk about trains but it seems like this type of thing should never happen if they are on set tracks. It’s not like planes where they could be anywhere. Trains can onlt be on a train track. Surely not having 2 trains hit each other on the same track would be the first thing you get right with multiple points of fail safe that can withstand even some points of failure happening. ---
**Author:** ![ponlaihop](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/ponlaihop/32/102107_2.png) [@ponlaihop](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/ponlaihop)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 3:32am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/3 "2026-10-29T03:32:13Z")
I guess the details are still emerging but I did read a report (Reuters) that the traffic control system failed but for inexplicable reason , breaking protocol, a human controller gave a go-ahead to one train. link: How a high-speed train crash unfolded in central Spain - [https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/how-high-speed-train-crash-unfolded-central-spain-2026-10-28/](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/how-high-speed-train-crash-unfolded-central-spain-2026-10-28/) ---
**Author:** ![slawa](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/slawa/32/112823_2.png) [@slawa](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/slawa)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 5:53am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/4 "2026-10-29T05:53:00Z")
> [@Andrew0409](#): > > Surely not having 2 trains hit each other on the same track would be the first thing you get right with multiple points of fail safe that can withstand even some points of failure happening. Since its 1964 launch, Japan’s Shinkansen has carried over 6.5 billion passengers with zero fatalities. ![image](https://forumosauploads-12829.kxcdn.com/original/4X/1/8/7/187b943bef1d4d3bed418d7be36e136b3272a2a4.jpeg) [The Shinkansen’s legendary operation and safety record | High Speed Rail Alliance](https://www.hsrail.org/blog/the-shinkansens-legendary-operation-and-safety-record-2/) ---
**Author:** ![afterspivak](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ccd318/32.png) [@afterspivak](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/afterspivak)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 6:02am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/5 "2026-10-29T06:02:19Z")
I understand that human error is behind this awful incident. I also understand that the two trains are operated by different companies? That’s something we’d never see on Japan or Taiwan’s HSR systems (though it does appear on regular rail in Japan). > **[High-speed train crash in Spain kills at least 64 people - Taipei Times](https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2026/10/29/2003866806)** > > Spain suffered its second deadly high-speed train accident this year when one train on Wednesday slammed into another that had stopped on the tracks, with the impact shredding cars and killing at least 64 people.The regional government for Castilla... Guy ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 6:04am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/6 "2026-10-29T06:04:28Z")
And that is why Taiwan’s HSR decided to switch halfway through designing the entire thing based on the European system. There was a huge ICE accident at the time, and they decided it’s safer to go with the Japanese system, despite all the contract violation penalties. ---
**Author:** ![afterspivak](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ccd318/32.png) [@afterspivak](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/afterspivak)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 6:06am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/7 "2026-10-29T06:06:40Z")
I had always assumed that Lee Teng-hui used the convulsive impacts of the 921 earthquake as a way to pivot to get what he wanted: Japan’s shinkansen trains, which are of course engineered to deal with similar earthquakes in Japan. Did I get this wrong? Guy ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 7:57am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/8 "2026-10-29T07:57:04Z")
> [@afterspivak](#): > > I had always assumed that Lee Teng-hui used the convulsive impacts of the 921 earthquake as a way to pivot to get what he wanted: Japan’s shinkansen trains, which are of course engineered to deal with similar earthquakes in Japan. Well, Taiwan HSR picked the European system in September 1997. Then the Eschede train disaster happened in June of 1998. The Japanese Shinkansen began promising that their system won’t allow similar accidents, and that they would give Taiwan HSR low interest loans. The European system offered to match Japan’s loan rate, but then 921 happened on Sep 21 1999, and the switch to the Japanese system finalized on Dec 28 1999. So while the 921 earthquake definitely played a part in the final decision, the pivot was already put in motion a year earlier, otherwise I doubt they’d be ready to make the switch 3 months after 921. ---
**Author:** ![DKaoshuing](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dkaoshuing/32/127142_2.png) [@DKaoshuing](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/DKaoshuing)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 8:07am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/9 "2026-10-29T08:07:33Z")
> [@hansioux](#): > > Then the Eschede train disaster happened3 months after 921. Since that time, Deutsche Bahn has seem get worse over time (and seldom on time nowdays). Used be at top of Euro trains, now not so much. ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 9:25am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/10 "2026-10-29T09:25:19Z")
> [@DKaoshuing](#): > > Since that time, Deutsche Bahn has seem get worse over time (and seldom on time nowdays). Used be at top of Euro trains, now not so much. I recall in one of the NVIDIA GTC I attended remotely, Deutsche Bahn was saying how they used AI to improve scheduling. Guess it didn’t really work in the real world? ---
**Author:** ![DKaoshuing](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dkaoshuing/32/127142_2.png) [@DKaoshuing](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/DKaoshuing)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 9:40am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/11 "2026-10-29T09:40:41Z")
> [@hansioux](#): > > I recall in one of the NVIDIA GTC I attended remotely, Deutsche Bahn was saying how they used AI to improve scheduling. Guess it didn’t really work in the real world? Maybe this is better to DB > **[Verifying Device](https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/delaybahn-app-germany-delayed-trains-cw7sfpt2r)** ---
**Author:** ![ponlaihop](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/ponlaihop/32/102107_2.png) [@ponlaihop](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/ponlaihop)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 9:52am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/12 "2026-10-29T09:52:45Z")
Since the focus is on signaling, I’ll include this link to describe the (probable) system involved. > **[European Rail Traffic Management System](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Rail_Traffic_Management_System)** > > The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is the system of standards for management and interoperation of signalling for railways by the European Union (EU). It is conducted by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and is the organisational umbrella for the separately managed parts of The main target of ERTMS is to promote the interoperability of trains in the EU. It aims to greatly enhance safety, increase efficiency of train transports and enhance cross-border interoperabilit... The section on ERTMS implementation strategies describes the way it works and gives an example of the mixed operations on the Spanish high speed line to Malaga ---
**Author:** ![Andrew0409](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/andrew0409/32/69821_2.png) [@Andrew0409](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Andrew0409)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 10:20am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/13 "2026-10-29T10:20:21Z")
While maintaining cleanliness, profitability, and generally being on time. It’s very impressive. ---
**Author:** ![hannes](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hannes/32/161150_2.png) [@hannes](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hannes)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 10:35am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/14 "2026-10-29T10:35:03Z")
I don’t think scheduling is the main issue, but hardware malfunction, never-ending construction and lack of digitalization. I think Belgium’s system is fully digitalized while the Deutsche Bahn often still relies on systems from the dark ages. ---
**Author:** ![Membrillo](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/membrillo/32/139669_2.png) [@Membrillo](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Membrillo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 10:48am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/15 "2026-10-29T10:48:24Z")
Madrid-Sevilla line is the oldest in Spain and still not fully in ERTMS. The equivalent system (LZB) went offline and several trains automatically stopped. Short after, for some reason a train was verbally ordered (from central command) to restart at normal speed while another train was stopped several km ahead. Despite various calls, including several from the conductor of the stopped train saying she couldn’t restart, and a conductor of a third train saying that “normal speed” was against protocol and it should be “visual speed” (40 km\h), nobody tried to stop the incoming train. ---
**Author:** ![Andrew0409](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/andrew0409/32/69821_2.png) [@Andrew0409](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Andrew0409)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 1:55pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/16 "2026-10-29T13:55:27Z")
Not the AI thread. But this is one reason AI might be more useful in the future. Autonomous driving is already proven to be safer with less human errors. Even those videos you see of those autonomous taxi’s doing weird stuff, humans do that all the time like drive the wrong way. ---
**Author:** ![DKaoshuing](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dkaoshuing/32/127142_2.png) [@DKaoshuing](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/DKaoshuing)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 2:57pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/17 "2026-10-30T14:57:36Z")
> [@hannes](#): > > never-ending construction and lack of digitalization. Is this because still doing upgrades from the old Eastern systems, or has it all be upgraded? A few of the Eastern Euro nations still has hardware from the USSR times (though a lot has updated) ---
**Author:** ![DKaoshuing](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dkaoshuing/32/127142_2.png) [@DKaoshuing](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/DKaoshuing)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 3:02pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/18 "2026-10-30T15:02:26Z")
That is quite sad, as it looks like human error (s), hopefully they fix it and spend a more time (and money if needed) to be 100% safe (as is Japan & Taiwan) ---
**Author:** ![Membrillo](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/membrillo/32/139669_2.png) [@Membrillo](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Membrillo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 3:40pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/19 "2026-10-30T15:40:00Z")
But the system is designed to be human error proof. So either a machine or another human should detect and correct a human error. And vice versa. The question is why this crash still happened. Specially just 9 months after another terrible one. ---
**Author:** ![Andrew0409](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/andrew0409/32/69821_2.png) [@Andrew0409](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Andrew0409)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 4:17pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489/20 "2026-10-30T16:17:27Z")
> [@Membrillo](#): > > But the system is designed to be human error proof. It should be at least. As mentioned in my first post. How did they fuck this up so badly? It’s bizzare. [Next page](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/high-speed-rail-crashes-2026/260489.md?page=2)