"Today in Semmering , Austria"

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Has anyone ever seen a rail fail like this before?

I can't tell what's going on for sure from the photo. However, I see a weld on the left side of the fracture. I'm going to guess it's a thermal induced stress fracture from the welding.

I think you're right, Bob. You can see a bit of rust bleed just to the right of the weld. That'd be where the horizontal crack started. Once it really starts to go, those cracks can propagate really fast. That's a pretty big one. Good thing the guard rail is there.