{"id":28149,"date":"2018-07-10T06:34:45","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T06:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.agu.org\/landslideblog\/?p=28149"},"modified":"2018-07-10T06:34:45","modified_gmt":"2018-07-10T06:34:45","slug":"tekirdag-province-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.agu.org\/landslideblog\/2018\/07\/10\/tekirdag-province-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Tekirdag Province, Turkey: a geotechnical failure caused a derailment, killing 24 people"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tekirdag Province, Turkey: a geotechnical failure caused a derailment, killing 24 people<\/h4>\n

On Sunday 8th July 2018, a train travelling towards Istanbul from Erdine in Turkey<\/a> suffered a very major derailment in a rural part of Tekirdag Province.\u00a0 A number of carriages left the rails and overturned.\u00a0 In total 24 people were killed, and a further 73 people were injured.\u00a0 There are some quite distressing pictures circulating showing the aftermath of the accident (which I will not reproduce), but this one shows the overall situation after the accident (from Afternoon Voice<\/a>):<\/p>\n

\"Tekirdag

The aftermath of the train derailment in Tekirdag Province, Turkey on Sunday. Image via Afternoon Voice<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

This train derailment has been widely reported to be the result of a small landslide triggered by heavy rainfall, which is slightly intriguing given the topography shown above.\u00a0 Other reports have suggested a culvert failure, which seems more likely.\u00a0 This image, published in Hurriyet Daily<\/a>, appears to provide the answer:-<\/p>\n

\"Tekirdag

The possible cause of the rail accident in Tekirdag Provice in Turkey on 8th July 2018. Image via Hurriyet Daily<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

The accident seems to have resulted from the collapse of a retaining wall above a culvert on the rail embankment, which has allowed the ground and ballast to slip from under the rails.\u00a0 Presumably this is the culvert for the stream that is shown in the first image, just behind the last derailed carriage.\u00a0 The image above shows the distortion to the rails and the collapse of the sleepers (note the fragments) that presumably occurred as the train crossed the slipped section of the embankment.\u00a0 The image below<\/a> shows that situation in more detail, although the actual ground failure is just off the side of the image:-<\/p>\n

\"Tekirdag

The aftermath of the train derailment in Tekirdag Province on Sunday 8th July 2018. Image via Hurriyet Daily<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

The remarkable thing about this tragedy is that it was caused by such a small geotechnical failure.\u00a0 In total the amount of ground that has shifted is probably a few cubic metres.\u00a0 Landslide-induced rail accidents are not unusual; this accident illustrates the need for vigilance in the\u00a0 management of earthworks on the rail network.<\/p>\n

You may be interested in these previous posts about landslides on railway systems around the world:-<\/p>\n