Rome MetRo Line A Crash
 

Today 17th October will be remembered as a sad day in the eternal city's history.
An underground train has crashed into another stopped at Piazza Vittorio Station just after 9.37 am.
How something like this can happen? It's just impossible, given there is an automatic block system.
It's possible, because there is a "waiver" protocol when the driver of a train can ask the control room if he can be allowed to overrun the red lights and proceed at very slow speed.
The driver this morning has asked this to the control room and has been allowed to proceed, but has failed to travel at low speed.
Moreover, the fact that the Manzoni station is closed and is speeded through owing to restructuring works shows that no care has been taken by the driver. The fellow drivers blame the fact that Manzoni is under reconstruction. The attached picture shows the incoming train having breaked through the standing train.

The next picture shows the crash from outside.

The casualties stand at one dead, 164 people having been attended by doctors, of which 5 heavily wounded. A japanese tourist lady is the most grevious patient. The driver was not seriously injured.

The passengers that were on the offending train, which was travelling north-bound from Anagnina to Battistini, noticed that the train travelled at very low speed having left San Giovanni for the next station- Piazza Vittorio. The train had even stopped in the closed Manzoni station, without opening the doors, and again stopped in between stations, then accelerated until it crashed into the previous train. This means that the driver must have made its calculations on how distant he was from the previous train and, having called the control room, was confident that the station ahead was clear, but it WAS NOT SO!
Another factor is intrinsic in the train deceleration capabilities: these new CAF trains Made in Spain have emergency deceleration 1.6 m/s/s, as against 2.6 m/s/s of the old trains Made in Italy.

Has the driver been arrested? It seems to me from what you have written that the driver wasn't very sure of the road. :(

The driver has certainly been adviced with the "advice of guarantee" by the inquiring magistrate, and simultaneously there are two investigations, one legal and one by the Ministry of Transport.
Public pressure calls for the resignation of the Met.Ro. top manager, but he insists on the need of being at his post to aid in the investigations.
Unfortunately, it was not just an accident, but a scandal on how the safety of passengers is jeopardized.
It seems to me that the main responsibility was in the Control Room, shared by the driver.
It is not altogether sure whether an electronics failure in the final moments has overrun the brake command and sent an acceleration command.
The train set involved has had such an accident on test at the depot - it has been stated by the drivers and recorded by the Company.

At this time, the matter is still to be cleared.
I have been told that the figures I mentioned for emergency deceleration are to be corrected to 1.3 m/s/s for the new trains and 2.5 m/s/s for the old trains, thanks to electromagnetic pads (otherwise known as linear-motor brakes). Question: why the new trains have not been so fitted?

In the trial held at the beginning of October 2007, the driver has been found guilty for the disaster, and jailed.