London Banter - View Single Post - DLR Train Captain Texting Whilst 'Driving'

Matthew Geier[_4_] · December 3rd 09, 07:10 PM posted to uk.railway,uk.transport.london

On Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:58:45 +0000, wrote:

Neil Williams wrote:
On 3 Dec, 09:02, "John Nuttall" wrote:

No, LRT as I said.

Just looked on Wikipedia and LRT is the "guided bus wotsit" I referred
to - it runs on rubber tyres, not rails.

But thanks - I must have remembered wrongly about it having PEDs. I
guess your average Singapore passenger is more disciplined than on LUL,
though!

Neil

Didn't some new guided bus whatsit just start up in Cambridgeshire, BTW?

Not quite the same, the Singapore LRT's might run on rubber tyres but
they are not 'guided buses' in the usual sense. They are automatic trams
that use a concrete guide beam and rubber tyres on elevated tracks
instead of steel wheel/rail. The can not in any form what so ever, run on
a public road.

They have more in common with a VAL than a guided bus.

And they run fully automatic with no on train staff OR platform staff
and there are no platform screen doors. They run through dense
residential 'towns' and and school age children appear to use them, on
their own to get around the town, to school and the shops.

The operator in the front of the two older Singapore MRT lines doesn't
actually do a whole lot other than close the doors, some what like a
Victoria Line driver. Unless there is some issue affecting the ATO, they
don't touch the controls. Seems the stopping distances are affected by
rain, so they put out boards advising the operators to take full manual
control due to 'poor adhesion conditions'.

I've actually seen an empty MRT train set come into one of the terminal
stations with no one in the front - the operator was already at the back
end. I think the train was under test, as after a bunch of guys poked
their heads out down one end, they popped back in, closed their door and
the train disappeared back the way it came.

I understand the DLR has 'train captains' purely due to the British rail
safety regulator insisting that their be an authorised (appropriately
trained) member of staff on any passenger carrying train. I seem to
remember in the early days the DLR having an extended 'argument' with the
safety regulators over running trains ECS with no train captain.
Originally a train captain had to on any vehicular that was moving. After
much arguing they got it relaxed to any train in passenger service,
meaning the train captains were not being 'wasted' riding empty cars to
and from the depots.

In other countries with DLR like operations run with no on train or
station staff.