In message , at 18:00:38
on Thu, 30 Apr 2015, remarked:
BBC Report - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-32531004

Do you think Network Rail and the TOCs are ever going to learn lessons
about trains that require external power for basic ventilation. There
seriously needs to be better contingency plans in place for this sort
of incident. Expect another lessons have been learned type enquiry
that changes nothing.

For once, we can congratulate the DfT: the electric IEPs will have one
diesel engine that can power the air-conditioning and lights if the OHLE
isn't delivering. It can also be used to move the train (slowly) if the
line is clear.

Or an alternative radical idea would be to provide windows that open.

Trouble with that idea is that passengers open them. Opening windows are a
very bad idea at 100MPH or when rushing through tunnels, as Great Northern
passengers have discovered with the class 365 EMUs.

But those windows are the only source of ventilation. If the need to
open them *only* arises when the aircon has failed[1] then I expect
they'll stay shut most of the time.

[1] For whatever reason - I was once on a Voyager where the aircon had
failed in one carriage, and it was uninhabitably hot.
--
Roland Perry