In article , Matthew
Malthouse writes
This morning's Radio 4 news had it that "trains normally running at 110
mph" would be restricted to 60 mph.

Will such speed restrictions really make a significant difference in the
likelyhood of an incident such as you describe or is it aimed at
reducing the damage in such an event?

I'd forgotten about the "both rails bend together when the sleeper moves
within the ballast" case. This leaves a bend in the track which can't be
negotiated at too high a speed. Hence the speed restrictions.

Tangentially why should this happen now and not in past years? After
all it's far from being the first time we've had a remarkably hot spell.

And this isn't the first time this (speed restrictions and track
buckles) happened.

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Clive D.W. Feather, writing for himself | Home:
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