• Train incident in 1990

    From Sylvia Else@sylvia@email.invalid to aus.rail on Wed Sep 25 20:02:31 2019
    From Newsgroup: aus.rail

    Apparently, in 1990, there was an incident - I assume in NSW - in which passengers opened the doors and got out of train that had stopped.

    Anyone remember this?

    The only reference I can find is

    <https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2004-03-16/railcorp-head-defends-sealed-trains/152388?pfmredir=sm&pfm=sm>

    Sylvia.
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  • From Sylvia Else@sylvia@email.invalid to aus.rail on Wed Sep 25 20:13:34 2019
    From Newsgroup: aus.rail

    On 25/09/2019 8:02 pm, Sylvia Else wrote:
    Apparently, in 1990, there was an incident - I assume in NSW - in which passengers opened the doors and got out of train that had stopped.

    Anyone remember this?

    The only reference I can find is

    <https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2004-03-16/railcorp-head-defends-sealed-trains/152388?pfmredir=sm&pfm=sm>


    Sylvia.

    Unless he was talking about Cowan.

    Sylvia.
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  • From Matthew Geier@matthew@sleeper.apana.org.au to aus.rail on Fri Sep 27 22:17:11 2019
    From Newsgroup: aus.rail

    On Wednesday, 25 September 2019 12:02:33 UTC+2, Sylvia Else wrote:
    Apparently, in 1990, there was an incident - I assume in NSW - in which passengers opened the doors and got out of train that had stopped.

    It happened multiple times - a train is delayed, so people start letting themselves out. As soon as this is reported to control, EVERY train in the area has to be stopped and services can't restart until staff go out and inspect the site to ensure every unauthorised person is off the corridor.
    Just before they started removing the 'emergency door releases' a number of what should have been relatively short delays had been turned into major delay incidents after people started 'de-training' themselves.
    This was pre ITRSR / ONRSR legally required reporting of 'safety' incidents, so no easy public record.
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  • From Sylvia Else@sylvia@email.invalid to aus.rail on Sat Sep 28 15:24:41 2019
    From Newsgroup: aus.rail

    On 28/09/2019 3:17 pm, Matthew Geier wrote:
    On Wednesday, 25 September 2019 12:02:33 UTC+2, Sylvia Else wrote:
    Apparently, in 1990, there was an incident - I assume in NSW - in
    which passengers opened the doors and got out of train that had
    stopped.


    It happened multiple times - a train is delayed, so people start
    letting themselves out. As soon as this is reported to control, EVERY
    train in the area has to be stopped and services can't restart until
    staff go out and inspect the site to ensure every unauthorised person
    is off the corridor.

    Just before they started removing the 'emergency door releases' a
    number of what should have been relatively short delays had been
    turned into major delay incidents after people started 'de-training' themselves.

    This was pre ITRSR / ONRSR legally required reporting of 'safety'
    incidents, so no easy public record.



    Supposedly the particular case was one where passengers put themselves
    into real danger, rather than just causing inconvenience.

    Sylvia.

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  • From Matthew Geier@matthew@sleeper.apana.org.au to aus.rail on Fri Sep 27 23:50:21 2019
    From Newsgroup: aus.rail

    On Saturday, 28 September 2019 07:24:43 UTC+2, Sylvia Else wrote:

    Supposedly the particular case was one where passengers put themselves
    into real danger, rather than just causing inconvenience.


    Anyone in a rail corridor who is not appropriately trained in 'track awareness' and is known to be there by all operations staff is in 'real danager'.

    Even railway staff who have had all the appropriate training have been killed when there was a misunderstanding with the signal box about what line was closed (or blocked).

    Trains can not stop like cars. They cannot swerve. It's not like crossing a road.

    While I disagree with removing the passenger emergency door release mechanisms. I understand the reasons why they did it.

    Too many people are too eager to 'de-train' themselves in a delay and cause danger to themselves and others.




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  • From Marcus Potter@marcuspotter02@gmail.com to aus.rail on Tue Oct 22 16:13:46 2019
    From Newsgroup: aus.rail

    Why not keep the emergency door release mechanisms but have an override system? --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Sylvia Else@sylvia@email.invalid to aus.rail on Wed Oct 23 12:30:47 2019
    From Newsgroup: aus.rail

    On 23/10/2019 10:13 am, Marcus Potter wrote:
    Why not keep the emergency door release mechanisms but have an override system?


    That's what is supposed to be in place now. It's just that it's taken 14
    years so far, and counting.

    Not that I agree with the existence of an override. Other railways
    manage without it. In documented incidents where passengers have
    detrained themselves, it appears to be due to the authorities taking so
    long to address the situation that conditions on the train become
    extremely unpleasant, either due to cold, or due to heat.

    There is also a danger that the override mechanism will fail in such a
    way in a genuine accident, that the passengers will be unable to escape
    from the train when they need to, or that the driver will override it as
    a consequence of failing to understand the nature of the emergency faced
    by the passengers.

    Sylvia.
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