Where to stop the train in an emergency

[jonnyrocket]

I was wondering about fires on trains and suitable places for a driver to stop in an emergency.

I know the rulebook says avoid stopping in a Tunnel, Viaduct or other unsuitable place but where do you consider suitable?

I guess you need to consider access for emergency services, evacuations etc.

Would level crossings be suitable? Would it be too risky to stop in a station? Best to detrain passengers I suppose but no good if the fire spread.

Likewise in the middle of nowhere would prevent the fire spreading but could be difficult to deal with passengers and access for the services.

Would like to hear your experiences. It may not be just fires but I suppose any emergency.

Thank you

 

[Llanigraham]

Not a fire, but I know of a medical incident where the train was stopped at a level crossing so there was good ambulance access.
As for fire I would suggest anywhere near a road would be adequate.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

I was wondering about fires on trains and suitable places for a driver to stop in an emergency.

I know the rulebook says avoid stopping in a Tunnel, Viaduct or other unsuitable place but where do you consider suitable?

I guess you need to consider access for emergency services, evacuations etc.

Would level crossings be suitable? Would it be too risky to stop in a station? Best to detrain passengers I suppose but no good if the fire spread.

Likewise in the middle of nowhere would prevent the fire spreading but could be difficult to deal with passengers and access for the services.

Would like to hear your experiences. It may not be just fires but I suppose any emergency.

Thank you

You stop as soon as possible in a place where you can safety evacuate and have a place fo people to safely wait away from the train. So other than in a cutting or somewhere with limited clearance, or tunnels/viaducts etc you're fine.

Station would be preferable as easy to de-train passengers and easy for emergency services to attend. Route knowledge is useful as you will likely know all of the places you wouldn't want to stop at.

I've never had to evac a train thankfully.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Who remembers the public information broadcasts about what to do in case of a house fire? The key slogan was "Get out, call us out, stay out". IOW the absolute top priority is to remove people from the hazard.

In the case of an on-train fire, other than complying with the necessary Rulebook limitations, the answer should be to stop the train ASAP and get people off. Stopping at stations or level-crossings is a luxury not likely to be realistically available in most situations and it's also possible that a train could be disabled by a fire and the driver have little or no say in where it comes to rest. Traincrew are trained in evacuation scenarios which includes on-train fires so should certainly know what to do.

 

[Surreytraveller]

Trouble with a moving trains is it will cause the fire to spread more rapidly. So if its on fire, you want to stop sooner rather than later

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Of course, it doesn't necessarily follow that the emergency is as a result of a fire. Could, as @Llanigraham has suggested, be a medical emergency (such as a passenger having been taken seriously ill) where road or even medical helicopter access might be more important.

 

[jonnyrocket]

Thank you all for your replies.

 

[TPO]

Of course, it doesn't necessarily follow that the emergency is as a result of a fire. Could, as @Llanigraham has suggested, be a medical emergency (such as a passenger having been taken seriously ill) where road or even medical helicopter access might be more important.

Indeed.

Not unusual in medical emergencies for Control to agree with the ambulance service to continue to the next (or another agreed station) as that ensures the fastest response to the patient.

TPO

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Who remembers the public information broadcasts about what to do in case of a house fire? The key slogan was "Get out, call us out, stay out". IOW the absolute top priority is to remove people from the hazard.

In the case of an on-train fire, other than complying with the necessary Rulebook limitations, the answer should be to stop the train ASAP and get people off. Stopping at stations or level-crossings is a luxury not likely to be realistically available in most situations and it's also possible that a train could be disabled by a fire and the driver have little or no say in where it comes to rest. Traincrew are trained in evacuation scenarios which includes on-train fires so should certainly know what to do.

Exacrlt. So if you stop a train in a tunnel, on a viaduct/bridge or in a cutting you are putting passengers at a greater risk that travelling a short distance. It's unlikely the entire train is on fire before an alarm is pulled so you can move passengers away from the affected carriage whilst the driver stops in the best possible position. Depending on the route, a station may only be a few hundred metres away and would be far better than stopping short.

Indeed.

Not unusual in medical emergencies for Control to agree with the ambulance service to continue to the next (or another agreed station) as that ensures the fastest response to the patient.

TPO

This is always what our control does, and I agree. Local knowledge is very important for this, knowing ease of access for ambulance and even distance to hospital can be used. We now are not allowed to call 999 without it being a 3-way call with control so that are in the loop (I don't agree with this)

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Back in the day - a certain type of 4x4 built in the UK had a propensity to self ignite.

So we have an overnight Bordesley to Dover (Military Siding) where a very observant driver spotted his train was on fire - about 4 flats back. Ashford area.

So he stopped with the fire under an overbridge - did the neccessary in stopping the job and getting emergency service called , went back and split the train twice - (to isolate the burning vehicle) - and if that wasnt enough , used his fire extinguishers off the loco , and stripped an ECS which had been stopped by his actions of on board extinguishers to fight the fire (with that crew) - till the quick arrival of the Fire Service - which was able to fight said fire off the bridge (and to access hydrant supplies)

About the best stopping location I can think of - and a resolute 10/10 for exemplary action. Yes - he was rewarded - one vehicle burnt out and others singed - but could have been much worse. Sheer professionalism n the small hours.

 

[NI 271]

I was wondering about fires on trains and suitable places for a driver to stop in an emergency.

I know the rulebook says avoid stopping in a Tunnel, Viaduct or other unsuitable place but where do you consider suitable?

I guess you need to consider access for emergency services, evacuations etc.

Would level crossings be suitable? Would it be too risky to stop in a station? Best to detrain passengers I suppose but no good if the fire spread.

Likewise in the middle of nowhere would prevent the fire spreading but could be difficult to deal with passengers and access for the services.

Would like to hear your experiences. It may not be just fires but I suppose any emergency.

Thank you

A few weeks ago, thanks to an alert MPV driver going in the opposite direction and an on-the-ball signaller, I was able to stop my train with the rear wagon (which was on fire) right on a level crossing (where I knew access would be good for the fire brigade). From the GSM-R going off to me stopping from 60mph took about 45 seconds. I'm not sure the public know just how well it can work - three people's input within a few seconds of each other led to literally no disruption to anyone else, save maybe for the poor locals who had blue lights flashing outside their house for an hour. I had time (maybe 5 seconds or so) to set the trainlength to gauge things, another 30 seconds and the line might have ended up closed for several days. Fine margins, but then that's what you do. Be horrible if good will disappears from frontline staff, which isn't impossible given the current atmosphere.