Runaway Mine Train (Alton Towers)

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Runaway Mine Train
Runaway Mine Train (Alton Towers) 01.jpg
Alton Towers
Location Alton Towers
Park section Katanga Canyon
Coordinates 52°59′23″N1°53′08″W / 52.989668°N 1.885612°W / 52.989668; -1.885612
StatusOperating
Opening date21 March 1992 (1992-03-21)
Cost£1,000,000
General statistics
Type Steel  Powered  Mine Train
Manufacturer Mack Rides
ModelPowered Coaster
Track layoutSteel
Lift/launch systemOnboard motors
Height36 ft (11 m)
Drop36 ft (11 m)
Length1,000 ft (300 m)
Speed22.4 mph (36.0 km/h)
Inversions 0
Duration1:50 (2 laps)
Max vertical angle29°
Capacity1062 riders per hour
G-force 2.4
Height restriction110 cm (3 ft 7 in)
TrainsSingle train with 12 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 48 riders per train.
AltonTowersFastTrack.svg Fastrack available [1]
Runaway Mine Train at RCDB

The Runaway Mine Train is a powered steel roller coaster made by MACK Rides of Germany. The ride is located in the Katanga Canyon area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England.

Contents

The train normally makes two circuits for each ride, although on quiet days it has been known to run for three or more circuits.

The ride runs alongside the Congo River Rapids, with which it shares a tunnel section. Passengers on the two rides occasionally wave to each other if they pass in the shared tunnel. Passengers must be at least 0.9 m tall to ride with an adult, and over 1.1 m tall to ride separately. In 2024 this was changed to 1.1m and 1.3m

As of 2013, it is officially the park's oldest roller coaster, after The Beastie was removed prior to the 2013 season. The runaway mine train gets more intense in the cave area

Incident

On 20 July 2006, the failure of a coupling on the train caused it to split into two sections, which then collided in the tunnel. 20 people were injured, six of whom were hospitalised. [2]

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References

  1. "FastTrack Passes". Alton Towers.
  2. "Dozens hurt on Alton Towers ride". BBC News. 20 July 2006. Retrieved 7 February 2008.