• Bus driver's haste derails train, leaves 7 dead, 162 hurt

    By Jonathan Woods, msnbc.com

    At least seven people were killed in Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires on Tuesday, in a rush-hour crash involving two passenger trains and a bus whose driver allegedly drove around barriers in an attempt to beat them across the tracks.

    Rodolfo Pezzoni / AP

    A wounded passenger is removed from a train after it crashed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

    Police said 162 people were injured, many seriously, and they were taken to at least seven hospitals around Buenos Aires, some by helicopter. Officials warned the death toll could rise.

    Reuters

    Rescuers work at the site of a train derailment.

    "Doctors have confirmed the deaths of seven people, but there still isn't a definitive toll of the victims," federal police spokesman Fernando Sostre told the AFP news agency.

    Reuters

    Rescuers work at the site of a train derailment after two suburban commuter trains collided with a bus in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

    The rush-hour crash involved two passenger trains and a bus whose driver drove around barriers in an attempt to beat them across the tracks, Argentine authorities said. Continue reading...

    The death toll stands at seven but is expected to rise in Buenos Aires where a bus collided with trains after the driver allegedly drove around barriers to beat the trains across the tracks. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.

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  • Mary Altaffer / AP

    A subway construction worker, known as a "sandhog" works on the tracks in the Second Avenue subway construction project on April 7, 2011 in New York. The south-bound track has been completed to 65th Street and the north-bound track is expected to be completed to 65th Street by the end of the year. The Second Avenue subway line will run from 125th Street to the Financial District in Lower Manhattan.

    The secret world of New York City subway construction workers

    From wikipedia.org
    When the subway debuted in 1904, the typical tunnel construction method was cut-and-cover. The street was torn up to dig the tunnel below before being rebuilt from above. This method worked for digging soft dirt and gravel near the street surface.

    However, mining shields were required for deeper sections, all of which used rock or concrete-lined tunnels.

    About 40% of the subway system runs on surface or elevated tracks, including steel or cast iron elevated structures, concrete viaducts, embankments, open cuts and surface routes. All of these construction methods are completely grade-separated from road and pedestrian crossings, and most crossings of two subway tracks are grade-separated with flying junctions.

  • Jonathan D. Woods/msnbc.com

    Commuters pack tightly onto the 6 train at 59th street in New York on Wednesday, June 30, 2010. A stalled train on the express line between the Brooklyn Bridge and 14th St. caused delays and overcrowding during peak usage times Wednesday evening.

    Passengers packed like sardines into crowded New York City subway

    By Jonathan Woods, msnbc.com

    For as patient as I typically am with mass transit and the inherent delays that come with it, waiting over an hour for a train tonight was mildly frustrating. Thousands of customers were affected by the delay.