Two Amtrak accidents in less than a week...

AP reports that, "The derailment of an Amtrak train Thursday night disrupted rail service through New Haven Friday, and temporarily halted service for some Metro-North commuters. The Acela Express, traveling from Boston to Washington, D.C., got stuck on the tracks in New Haven when the rear passenger car derailed, Amtrak said. Two passengers suffered minor injuries. After leaving the New Haven's Union Station shortly after 9 p.m., the train's engineer noticed some damage to overhead lines and the signal system, and the decision was made to send the train back to New Haven, said Cliff Black, an Amtrak spokesman. The train was backing up at a slow rate of speed when the rear coach derailed."

The Saint-Louis Post Dispatch reports, a "teenager was injured Tuesday when an Amtrak train smashed his car into three pieces as he crossed railroad tracks, ignoring warnings signaling the train's approach."

It'll Never Happen Here Dept.

Reuters reports that a London train conductor recently punched the ticket of a dead passenger who he thought was sleeping. "...It turned out that the passenger had expired, long before his ticket ever did," said a report in the Transport Police's staff magazine.