© Sputnik/Mikhail Mordasov
Six grain wagons in a 61-car train headed for a Ukrainian river port derailed in Moldova on Saturday as extreme heat weakened the rails, the country's railway system said.
"The preliminary cause of the accident is the extremely high temperature, which caused the rails to lose their strength," the Moldovan railway said in a statement.
It said
six wagons carrying grain derailed while the train was on a section of the Culma-Ceadir-Lunga line and headed for Reni, a Ukrainian transport hub on the Danube.Moldovan farmers, who traditionally export grain and oilseeds to Romania and Turkey, are ready to export 800,000 tons of a strong wheat crop of 1.2 million tons this year.
Comment: It's unlikely that 'heat' led to the derailment, although it is possible. It may simply be an accident, or perhaps even due to the increased pressure to ship as much grain cargo as fast as possible, and across routes that may not normally handle such large and frequent loads, however there's also the possibility that, as is clear with some train derailments in the US, that this could also due to sabotage; more so considering the commodity itself.
Either way, with the world's grain supply is under increasing pressures, and a recent study of Ukraine revealed that food supplies and distribution is even more vulnerable due to their being choke points which, if disrupted, could lead to a significant reduction in supply, and so whilst these incidents may seem minor they're notable because of the potential impact they can have:
From fields to front lines: Satellite data reveals the impact of the war in Ukraine on global food supplySee also:
Comment: It's unlikely that 'heat' led to the derailment, although it is possible. It may simply be an accident, or perhaps even due to the increased pressure to ship as much grain cargo as fast as possible, and across routes that may not normally handle such large and frequent loads, however there's also the possibility that, as is clear with some train derailments in the US, that this could also due to sabotage; more so considering the commodity itself.
Either way, with the world's grain supply is under increasing pressures, and a recent study of Ukraine revealed that food supplies and distribution is even more vulnerable due to their being choke points which, if disrupted, could lead to a significant reduction in supply, and so whilst these incidents may seem minor they're notable because of the potential impact they can have: From fields to front lines: Satellite data reveals the impact of the war in Ukraine on global food supply
See also: