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The Tube: Keeping London Moving


melmerby
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Posted (edited)

A new series starting on Channel 5 at 20:00 tonight.

Little information about the content of the episode in the listings, just that it is 35C on the surface and even hotter down in the tube. and it is busy

 It's the first of a 6 part series.

Edited by melmerby
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I saw this programme  today.

A chunk of the program is taken up by a situation where ein Schäferhund has run into a Northern Line tunnel. The end result being that the dog found its own way out but 200+ pax were stuck in a tunnel on a undrground train in 40degC for over two hours as a result with other services on that line suspended for a couple of hours. 

In other words, a large number of travellers [paying customers, if you prefer since that's what the TfL station manager referred to them as] were seriously inconvenienced.

I am curious as to at what point might a line controller say, "stuff it, we cannot inconvenience the paying public any more - go back to full line current and run the trains". After all, there is no shortage of wildlife in TfL's tunnels. Anyone who has been on a central London tube platform late at night will have seen rats, mice and even the occasional fox.

I'm guessing that the dog's owner wasn't sent the bill for the ESU call out.

 

 

Edited by Arun Sharma
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1 hour ago, Arun Sharma said:

Anyone who has been on a central London tube platform late at night will have seen rats, mice and even the occasional fox.

Seen plenty of mice  running around at track level, even when busy during the day.

They don't seemed bothered by the trains or all the people milling around.

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Running into a mice, or even a rat, is little inconvenience to a train. However a large dog could easily cause a derailment in the tunnel. Even if the dog got killed by the live rails, it could still cause a derailment.

Edited by stewartingram
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1 hour ago, Arun Sharma said:

It might be cheaper in the long run to put some form of 'cow catcher' on underground trains. 

Why just the Underground?  Hitting a cow or horse would be a greater risk than a mere alsatian.  When the ECML was closed, one of my trains diverted via the Hertford loop had to stop short of a tunnel because of a horse had been reported on the line, and the driver wasn't allowed to enter the tunnel until it had been inspected in case the beast was lurking inside.

 

Or perhaps something other than a conventional train horn might be more effective in keeping them away?

https://ruralis.no/en/2021/06/09/skrem-elgen-for-toget-kommer/

 

Not sure TfL would get away with this solution to stray dogs ...

https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/elk-on-the-loose-causes-metro-meltdown-in-stockholm

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3 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Why just the Underground?  Hitting a cow or horse would be a greater risk than a mere alsatian.  When the ECML was closed, one of my trains diverted via the Hertford loop had to stop short of a tunnel because of a horse had been reported on the line, and the driver wasn't allowed to enter the tunnel until it had been inspected in case the beast was lurking inside.

 

Or perhaps something other than a conventional train horn might be more effective in keeping them away?

https://ruralis.no/en/2021/06/09/skrem-elgen-for-toget-kommer/

 

Not sure TfL would get away with this solution to stray dogs ...

https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/elk-on-the-loose-causes-metro-meltdown-in-stockholm

Since the Polmont derailment in the 1980s, when a propelled push-pull train hit a cow, various measures have been introduced to protect against trains being derailed by objects on the line.  Modern rolling stock on the main line has obstacle deflectors under the nose and metal "lifeguards" immediately in front of the wheels that aim to push any object along ahead of the train.  

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