Re: Eurostar goes tits up again?

David Hansen wrote:
On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:01:21 +0000 someone who may be Denis McMahon
<denis.m.f.mcmahon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote this:-

My point is that a catastrophic separation, although at a decoupling
point, might have caused damage to the train control systems at the
point of separation that could compromise safe operation and which the
train crew is not equipped or trained to identify.

Let's say that is true.

A fire could cause damage to train control systems at the same
point. These trains are supposedly designed to be split in the
middle and one half driven away. Are you saying that the designers,
engineers and safety regulators are all so bad at their jobs that
they have not spotted this flaw, or are they all part of a
conspiracy to keep quiet about something they know about?

I think that if the separation point is on fire, the train crew are not
going to be able to decouple at that point. I also think that if any
section of the train control bus is perceived to be potentially damaged,
caution would indicate not using that section of the train unless that
portion of the control bus can be isolated.

What *should* have been possible would have been to move all passengers
into the front 9 cars, separate at the presumably undamaged centre
coupling, and take the rather crowded front section forwards.

However, there might have been some concern that doing so would have
taken almost as long as bringing down a second train, given that some
350 people would have to walk through the train, possibly with luggage
(as it's not an emergency evacuation), and then be squeezed into the
available space.

I'm not even sure that there's a corridor access across the central
coupling, although I'm assuming there is. If there isn't, then it would
be a down onto the track and up onto the other section evacuation, and
that would mean shutting down the other line until the headcount had
been completed and confirmed on the front section. This would entail
more disruption to services. In addition, I don't believe a transfer
along the track could be carried out without assistance from other
agencies (tunnel protocol is for first responders to shepherd passengers
who are outside a train during evacuations).

Rgds

Denis McMahon
.

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