Merseyrail Guard to be prosecuted - cleared

[phil-b259]

Deliberately criminal incident (Attempted murder ?) at Worting Junction 25/10/2017

 

https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/shocking-smashed-window-incident-on-south-western-railway/

 

Keep the Guard on the train !

 

Misinformation by the RMT again.

 

(1) If the driver was so shaken up that they felt unable to drive any further then the train would have simply sat there until a relief driver could be escorted to site.

 

(2) If the driver did feel able to drive the train but required someone else in the secondmans seat to act as his 'eyes' then a NR MOM could fulfil that role.

 

True, in both cases the delays to passengers would be grater* but such a situation is not 'unsafe' in any shape or form.

 

 

* there is a risk that if passengers are kept 'trapped' on a train (even one with heating / lighting / air con and toilets all fully functional) for too long they might start doing stupid things like operating the emergency door releases and wandering down the track.

[beast66606]

Not connected with the Merseyrail guard though chaps

[phil-b259]

What would have happened if the driver had been incapacitated or killed, and there was no guard on the train?

 

And the chances if that happening are?

 

Please give me a recent example where the driver was so incapacitated that they were unable to activate any sort of emergency system.

 

We all take risks every day and no system should be expected to be 100% watertight against absolutely every single eventuality. With the progressive modernisation of signalling methods in the past decades, significantly improved crashworthiness of driving cabs and the role out of GSM-R, the chances of a driver being totally unable to summon help are in most cases pretty miniscule.

[phil-b259]

What would have happened if the driver had been incapacitated or killed, and there was no guard on the train? There have been stories of passengers detraining and walking along the track, but I wouldn't want to see an more of that sort of activity; walking alongside the third rail is exceedingly dangerous.

 

Which is why TOCs and NR prioritise getting trains into a station as soon as possible - or if not possible within a suitable timeframe* undertake a controlled track side evacuation before passengers start doing in themselves. Lets be honest a single guard is not going to be much help if dozens of passengers decide to take maters into their own hands.

 

* This will obviously depend on whether the train still has power / lightening / heating / cooling and how crowded it is.