Just saw this on the news...anyone in London have details?

You turn to an internet travel forum for breaking news stories? Why?

Why not, xzx? I spend a lot of time here. I can't tell you how many breaking news stories I've gotten here then turned on my TV and waited an hour or more before they were reported. This is especially true of things happening in Europe that we don't hear about for a while in the US. I wonder how many people first heard about the World Trade Center situation on the internet first, by the way.

And before I'm attacked that "worried" already saw it on the news, yes, I'm aware of that. I'm also talking about getting more details, which someone in London may have.

Here's a link where I saw the details:<BR><BR>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2694361.stm

<BR>Oh God, those poor people! I hope all the injuries are minor, why do these things keep happening? Are he rail lines not kept up, or is it just so overwhelmed? <BR>Thank you for this news, we have not had the television on all day and while popping in here to check up on things, I am happy to get news from around the world.

I have http://news.google.com/ as my start page.

Kate, what are you talking about? How many hundreds of thousands (or is it millions in actual trips) travel the tube every day. Was there an accident yesterday and two the day before with six more happening last week? I don't think so. The rate of accidents is miniscule compared to the number of car accidents, particularly in the US. The tube seems extremely safe to me, but yes, once in a while something will happen.

Actually, auto accident and death rates are higher in most western European countries than in the US per kms driven.

OK even if you compare with the US with its lower number of deaths per mile travel than europe - tubes, trains and planes are statistically safer than car travel

The entire central line is closed this weekend. Even in Acton, which is far away, is affected.<BR><BR>Parts of the central line is closed for some other reason (Great Portland St and Baker Street, I think).<BR><BR>Tourists oftn don't take the bus because the maps are not as good as the tube maps. This is a good chance to learn where the buses go.

&quot;Doors were ripped off, windows smashed and a fire was sparked, as the derailed train hurtled into Chancery Lane station carrying 800 people. Several passengers were treated for cuts and smoke inhalation, but the most serious injury was a broken leg. <BR>&quot;

The latest news is that the whole of the Central Line is expected to be closed until at least tomorrow.<BR><BR>After that, there will be services between Holborn and the West and also between Liverpool St and the East. It is very likely that trains will not be running along the section between Holborn and Liverpool St for weeks, maybe even months, while investigations and repairs take place. There will, therefore, be no Central Line services to Chancery Lane, St Paul's or Bank tube stations nor any through services between Holborn and Liverpool St. For the latest information, go to www.thetube.com<BR><BR>For bus alternatives, look at <BR>www.tfl.gov.uk/buses<BR>

Browsing through the Guardian and some other papers regarding the rain system in London, I have noticed that there have been numerous train accidents in the past few years.<BR> Some blame them on privitization, engineers are saying that the industry has failed to tighten controls on maintenance.<BR> huh-While there surely must be more car accidents in the US, (comparing the number of cars and drivers to the number of trains and passengers confuses me though) the fact still remains that London train systems are having some difficutly with the numer of people using them and outdated systems. <BR>One of the larger rail crashes a year or so ago, when two trains crashed, could have been avoided if there had been an automatic braking system installed in the trains.<BR>Kate might have a point when asking &quot;why do these things keep happening&quot;..it does seem to be a weekly occurence that there is a rail mishap in London. <BR> While the subway system in NYC also carries thousands of riders, I do not see the same amount of accidents.<BR>I, too, hope that the people involved in this one are alright and that things do improve for train riders in London.

Lola, while there have been a few high profile rail crashes on the national network in recent years, the Tube, which is a separate system, actually has an extremely good safety record. This is the first major incident on the tube since the Kings Cross fire in 1987 (ish?). So people here are pretty stunned about it.<BR><BR>The national rail network, on the other hand, is a constant cause of concern and frustration, with much blame placed at Maggie Thatcher's door for years of under investment and privatisation in the 80s. Having the oldest rail network in the world has its distinct disadvantages, requiring constant updating. <BR><BR>The tube in comparison, even though it is also the oldest underground railway in the world, is much better maintained, although this incident has raised concerns about proposed part-privatisation that's going through at the moment.<BR><BR>But considering it carries over 3 million people a day with little incident bar delays and the odd pick pocket, the tube is a very safe mode of transport.

I second everything Kate says about the Tube's safety record. The problems on the national rail system are indeed a concern, although some lines are much better than others. Even with all the accidents in recent years, though (we seem to be averaging about one major accident a year at the moment), it is still far safer to travel by train than by road.

And the most important thing to remember is that nobody got seriously hurt, thank goodness. I saw some pitcutes of the damage and considering everything, the integrity of the cars must have held up very well to keep anybody from being seriously hurt.