International Railroad Discussion > fatal train wreck in Mexico

Remember Mexico's Interoceanic train, proudly equipped with ex-Amtrak Metroliner and Amfleet cars? 

They wrecked it: 

DOZENS OF INJURED LEAVES INTEROCEANIC PASSENGER TRAIN IN CHIVELA 

Manuel Maza Sanchez, coordinator of civil protection and risk management of the government of the state of Oaxaca, who currently flies over the place of the accident, confirmed by telephone that until now twelve injured people and no death after the accident of the interocean passenger train in the Isthma region of Tehuantepec. 

Sharing the preliminary list of the injured passengers traveling on the train in order to warn their relatives Sebastian Martinez Calvo, Felipe de Jesus, Calvo Vazquez, Felipe Calvo Chiñas, Maria del Carmen Chiñas Reyes, Natalia Gabriela Ramirez Lopez, Azucena Divani Ramirez Lopez , Gabriel de Jesus Santos, Gilbert Josefina, Calvo Vázquez, Judith Guadalupe Lopez Calvo and Jaime Rafael Santos Calvo. 

Emergency bodies of Matias Romero, Juchitan and staff of the secretaries of the navy and defense, go to the site to provide support. 

Neighbors close to the site of the accident that occurred in the curve of the Nizanda-Chivela stretch, in the municipality of Asunción Ixtaltepec, in private vehicles move vehicles to the nearby hospitals of Juchitan and Matias Romero. It is unknown if there are fatal victims among the more than 200 people traveling in four passenger bags from Salina Cruz to Coatzacoalcos, the causes of the accident are also unknown. 

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Unfortunately, the derailed train does have fatalities:

Train derailment kills 13 in southern Mexico | CBC News

 

I don't know about the Metroliner cars, but the Amfleet cars should never have been sold. There were three Amfleets, as I remember.

Two of the cars pictured are actually former SPV-2000's, not Amfleet cars.

I wonder if they hit a big boulder or something, since the track in the pictures actually looks really good.

NPRocky Wrote:
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> I don't know about the Metroliner cars, but the
> Amfleet cars should never have been sold. There
> were three Amfleets, as I remember.

Just another bone-headed move by Richard Anderson at liquidating Amtrak. 

Accident involved ex Metrolink EMD F59PHI leading, ex GO Transit F59PH trailing. 3 SPV coachs and 1 Amfleet. 

The trailing F59PH either was hit by a boulder or randomly derailed (depending on your unreliale news source) and the lead SPV was launched down a hillside with another partially going over the hill. Third SPV stayed upright and the trailing Amfleet 1 stayed on the track.

Train was carrying roughly 241 people on rebuild track.

Adam

AltiplanoRailtours Wrote:
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> Accident involved ex Metrolink EMD F59PHI leading,
> ex GO Transit F59PH trailing. 3 SPV coachs and 1
> Amfleet. 

The picture in the news article had cars that looked nothing like those. Did the news agency use  a photo from somewhere else?

ts1457 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> AltiplanoRailtours Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Accident involved ex Metrolink EMD F59PHI
> leading,
> > ex GO Transit F59PH trailing. 3 SPV coachs and
> 1
> > Amfleet. 
>
> The picture in the news article had cars that
> looked nothing like those. Did the news agency
> use  a photo from somewhere else?

Weird...the CBC article shows what appears to be a former BR Mark IV coach.  I think there are some second-hand British HSTs in Mexico.

Dave

Had the wreck been the former British Rail train set, how would the injury/death results differed ? 

Reminds me of the Vermonter wreck a few years ago that totalled an P42 and 2 Amcoaches going off a cliff that hit a boulder. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/25 07:44 by joemvcnj.

DavidP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ts1457 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > AltiplanoRailtours Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Accident involved ex Metrolink EMD F59PHI
> > leading,
> > > ex GO Transit F59PH trailing. 3 SPV coachs
> and
> > 1
> > > Amfleet. 
> >
> > The picture in the news article had cars that
> > looked nothing like those. Did the news agency
> > use  a photo from somewhere else?
>
> Weird...the CBC article shows what appears to be a
> former BR Mark IV coach.  I think there are some
> second-hand British HSTs in Mexico.
>
> Dave

I think that photo shows the "relief train" that brought the injured to where an ambulance could take them to the hospital.

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think that photo shows the "relief train" that
> brought the injured to where an ambulance could
> take them to the hospital.

Thanks.  I think that you are correct. I saw another source which said that.

AltiplanoRailtours Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Accident involved ex Metrolink EMD F59PHI leading,
> ex GO Transit F59PH trailing. 3 SPV coachs and 1
> Amfleet. 
>
> The trailing F59PH either was hit by a boulder or
> randomly derailed (depending on your unreliale
> news source) and the lead SPV was launched down a
> hillside with another partially going over the
> hill. Third SPV stayed upright and the trailing
> Amfleet 1 stayed on the track.
>
> Train was carrying roughly 241 people on rebuild
> track.
>
> Adam

the rear of the engine looks mangled

Very good bet they hit rocks or a landslide.  Looking at the hillside next to the 3006, there appears to be some sort of netting or fencing that would be used to attempt to prevent rocks from getting to the ROW, so this area is likely a known slide area, and has clearly had some attempt at mitigation of same.  Just behind the rear axle of the 3006 there appears to be rock or dirt fouling the ROW.  As tragic as this is, it could have been much worse if the cars had completely overturned.  Evacuations are always a challenge in remote areas, and this appears to be one of those.  We have a "brother of a friend" who was aboard and suffered a broken leg; more info as it becomes available. 

looks like the plow /front was ok, but got broadsided from the one pic above of the engine

https://maps.app.goo.gl/s5eUupVv9qq3W2gf8?g_st=ipc

Based on the description and photos of the incident I'm guessing this is where the derailment happened.  This is only a guess. (Update:  I'd read a news article indicating the train was southbound when I was trying to find a matching location.  After posting this I looked at it again and realized it's not right, then I dug into some more articles and witness interviews and discovered the train was, in fact, traveling northbound.  So this link is absolutely the wrong location, but it is the correct rail line and within a few miles of the correct location, so it can still be used as a guideline for someone who wants to see what the terrain and area are like)

That imagery was taken in March of 2023.  The service was launched in December of 2023.  If you follow the line south into Nizanda you'll find that they replaced everything;  They tore out the track, built up an new bed, and poured fresh ballast and installed new rails/ties.  They rebuilt that whole line within the last three years.

There isn't a lot of photos or video from the accident site itself, basically just what we see here.  I've read some speculation on Mexican news that they went around the bend too quickly, but IMO that doesn't seem to match what I'm seeing in photos.  For one thing, the lead locomotive later continued light down to the next station to pick up rescue workers, so it had no damage and was not derailed. The damage on the side of that trailing engine is extensive, and looks like something hit it rather than it just rolled over (It would have had to have rolled to the inside of the curve to cause damage like that).  Unfortunately, even with that it's easy to ask "Then where's the boulder?" [EDIT:  The Boulder is inside the engine compartment of the F59PH, so I think we can call this theory "Confirmed".  Found and attached a photo below]  Because I can't see one in any photos. [Update:  Yes, there are photos.  One attached below]

I guess we wait for officials to release the cause, and trust that with the investment they've made into it that the Mexican government will take measures to correct it.

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/25 16:04 by OTG.

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