Union Rail 293 Derailment

Disaster / Destruction

"I... I don't know what happened. One moment I was reading the Ibrim Inquirer. The next, I was flying against my seat and everyone was screaming." -Survivor.

In response to the Dead Waters Blockade initiated by Federated Union of Eastern Kalin, the Impero Tharrisian initiated its own trade slow down by insisting every single train (steam or elemental) coming into the Impero from the Union be inspected by border patrol and Legion forces.    This was mostly seen as a frustration for travelers and merchants using the rail lines.    It became a tragedy in the spring of 1008 3A. A locomotive operator who had been operating primarily on a Union to Abbanshi line was transferred to train 293 going to Domus Novus after working an extended 12 hour shift.    When the train began to approach the usual inspection point, the operator, exhausted and not used to the route, did not apply to rail brake. By coincidence, other operators on the train were either on break or dealing with an engineering issue.    Not slowing down the train, the Border guards initiated a protocol instituted at the beginning of the policy. A thick slab of steel was pushed across the rails by a technomantic device to serve as block under the assumption the train would slow down. The results were predictable.   The train slammed into the block at full speed, destroying the locomotive outright. The train cars were tossed like pebbles around the rail; and the small town of Obia was heavily damaged. 102 people were killed in the derailment, with many more injuries.    The tragedy was seen as an attack on Union citizens by the Union, and an unannounced "declaration" was being prepared by Maximilian Vran in response.    The declaration was cut off by a very swift intervention by Tarkus as a third party. A deal was quickly struck between the two Great Powers which saw the Dead Waters blockade ended, and large sums of money given to the victims of the derailment by the Tharrisian government in addition to the ceasing of the inspections.    It is speculated that the declaration was going to be a political ultimatum that could've resulted in war between the two powers, which would explain Tarkus' very swift and direct intervention. But the Union government has never confirmed this.