12/21/2019, 7:33 am
An environmental reporter in Massachusetts posted a video on Twitter late Monday that she said showed a freight train hauling coal being met with a group of climate change activists on a dark track.
The train was seen moving slowly through Worchester, Mass., and about a dozen activists with small lights could be seen surrounding the tracks. The train's horn was blaring, but the activists appeared to continue to give it chase. The train was headed to New Hampshire, the reporter wrote.
The clip was posted by Boston NPR-WBUR reporter Miriam Wasser, who also noted railway authorities had been alerted that people were on the tracks by a call to an emergency hotline, just prior to the chaotic scene.
Wasser wrote that the train bound for New Hampshire "nearly ran over a dozen climate activists" who had been attempting to block its passage. The video shows the slow-moving train blaring its horn constantly as flashlight bearing activists attempt to halt its movement by appearing to dart in front of it as well as run close alongside it. There were no reports of injuries in the aftermath, and the incident is apparently still being investigated.
The large freight train's movement doesn't appear to be stalled; however, it's well-known that at full speed multi-car trains can take up to a mile to mile-and-a-half to stop once emergency brakes are applied.
A group called 350 New Hampshire Action also admitted to being engaged in a campaign to disrupt trains in the region: “It is crucial that the actions that we take not be one-off actions,” a spokesperson for the activist group said. They vowed to “continue until the power plant is taken offline once and for all” — specifically in reference to Merrimack Station power plant in Bow, New Hampshire.
Here is the video posted on Twitter by Miriam Wasser of this incident.
Note: You will need to click the link to watch the video!
The train was seen moving slowly through Worchester, Mass., and about a dozen activists with small lights could be seen surrounding the tracks. The train's horn was blaring, but the activists appeared to continue to give it chase. The train was headed to New Hampshire, the reporter wrote.
The clip was posted by Boston NPR-WBUR reporter Miriam Wasser, who also noted railway authorities had been alerted that people were on the tracks by a call to an emergency hotline, just prior to the chaotic scene.
Wasser wrote that the train bound for New Hampshire "nearly ran over a dozen climate activists" who had been attempting to block its passage. The video shows the slow-moving train blaring its horn constantly as flashlight bearing activists attempt to halt its movement by appearing to dart in front of it as well as run close alongside it. There were no reports of injuries in the aftermath, and the incident is apparently still being investigated.
The large freight train's movement doesn't appear to be stalled; however, it's well-known that at full speed multi-car trains can take up to a mile to mile-and-a-half to stop once emergency brakes are applied.
A group called 350 New Hampshire Action also admitted to being engaged in a campaign to disrupt trains in the region: “It is crucial that the actions that we take not be one-off actions,” a spokesperson for the activist group said. They vowed to “continue until the power plant is taken offline once and for all” — specifically in reference to Merrimack Station power plant in Bow, New Hampshire.
Here is the video posted on Twitter by Miriam Wasser of this incident.
Note: You will need to click the link to watch the video!
