I read with interest the following article:

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/com...5E1702,00.html

This is the first I have heard that any passengers evacuating trains in
London during last month's terror attacks were electrocuted by a live rail.
Was that true? Sydney's system is powered by overhead wire, so that danger
doesn't exist in Sydney's tunnels.. Vince Graham continues to defend the
indefensible in continuing to maintain the policy of locking people in
trains without any passenger actuated door releases available, and the
absence of any devices to enable passengers to break or remove strengthened
glass windows in trains to escape.

Regards

David Bennetts
Australia

David Bennetts wrote:
I read with interest the following article:


http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/com...5E1702,00.html

This is the first I have heard that any passengers evacuating
trains in London during last month's terror attacks were
electrocuted by a live rail.

First I've heard of it here in London too. There was a report that one
of the drivers leading passengers along the track told them to avoid
touching the live rails, but I didn't read of any injries caused by
contact with a live rail.
--
Richard J.
London, UK
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

["Followup-To:" header set to uk.transport.london.]
In article ,
Richard J. wrote:
First I've heard of it here in London too. There was a report that one
of the drivers leading passengers along the track told them to avoid
touching the live rails,

Which, I assert, would be sensible even if the current were discharged -
they're slippery.

but I didn't read of any injries caused by
contact with a live rail.

News to me, too.

--
Mike Bristow - really a very good driver

In message , Richard J.
writes
There was a report that one of the drivers leading passengers along the
track told them to avoid touching the live rails, but I didn't read of
any injries caused by contact with a live rail.
He might have told them to avoid the juice rails, but it's a damn sure
bet, he wouldn't have detrained without discharging traction current
which by the way puts on the tunnel lights. Further he would have laid
down a SCD for added safety.
--
Clive

Mike Bristow wrote:

but I didn't read of any injries caused by
contact with a live rail.

News to me, too.

Basically the same story appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald...

****

We can cope with attack on train: fire chief
By Andrew Clark
August 9, 2005 - 12:08PM

The head of NSW's fire service has sought to reassure the public that
his force could cope with a terrorist attack on an underground train,
following expressions of doubt from one of his right-hand men.

Sydney's emergency services are as well prepared for an attack, if not
better, than those in London, said the fire commissioner, Greg
Mullins.

He said $80 million had been spent on walkways, lighting, improved
public address systems and evacuation plans.

"It's extremely important that we get on with our lives and we don't
raise a white flag to terrorism because this city is as prepared as it
can be at any one point in time," he said.

One of his senior colleagues, fire superintendent Michael Guymer, told
a newspaper yesterday that the City Circle - between Circular Quay and
Central - was a "concern" because of a lack of access to tunnels.

Sydney has few service tunnels or entry points to the network other
than at stations.

However, Mr Mullins insisted that trains were never further than 500
metres from a station platform. Thermal imaging cameras, long-duration
breathing apparatus, long-distance hoses and a special underground
fire vehicle were available to tackle any emergency, he said.

RailCorp's chief executive, Vince Graham, defended automatic doors,
which are thought likely to lock passengers inside trains in the event
of a fire.

Mr Graham pointed out that two people caught in London's terrorist
attacks were electrocuted because they tried to walk unaided down a
live line.

"That underscores the fact that it's important to try and keep
passengers in the safest possible place," Mr Graham said.


http://smh.com.au/articles/2005/08/0...353298280.html

****

Bill Bolton
Sydney, Australia

Clive wrote:
In message , Richard J.
writes
There was a report that one of the drivers leading passengers along the
track told them to avoid touching the live rails, but I didn't read of
any injries caused by contact with a live rail.
He might have told them to avoid the juice rails, but it's a damn sure
bet, he wouldn't have detrained without discharging traction current
which by the way puts on the tunnel lights. Further he would have laid
down a SCD for added safety.
--
Clive
I just wondered if this could have happened to anybody on the Edgware
Rd train. I thought that some people were actually blown out of the
train or did I misread that bit.

Kevin

There was a report of one person blown out of the train at Edgware Road
into the path of an oncoming train. How accurate that is knowing the
notoriously innacurate British press is anybodys guess, but I would
suppose it could happen.

Neill

In message , at 16:47:09 on
Tue, 9 Aug 2005, David Bennetts
remarked:
This is the first I have heard that any passengers evacuating trains in
London during last month's terror attacks were electrocuted by a live rail.
Was that true?

For the first several hours the story on the news was that the trains
had suffered from the effects of a "power surge", and over a period of
20 minutes. A few hours later it was admitted that they were bombs, and
a few days later that they were all at virtually the same time because
the railway had automated records of when the power was shut off.
--
Roland Perry

"David Bennetts" Sydney's system is powered
by overhead wire, so that danger
doesn't exist in Sydney's tunnels.. Vince Graham continues to defend the
indefensible in continuing to maintain the policy of locking people in
trains without any passenger actuated door releases available, and the
absence of any devices to enable passengers to break or remove
strengthened glass windows in trains to escape.


And the EDR's on the outside, and dont the V and M sets EDRs still require a
key?

"wb" wrote in message
...

"David Bennetts" Sydney's system is
powered by overhead wire, so that danger
doesn't exist in Sydney's tunnels.. Vince Graham continues to defend the
indefensible in continuing to maintain the policy of locking people in
trains without any passenger actuated door releases available, and the
absence of any devices to enable passengers to break or remove
strengthened glass windows in trains to escape.


And the EDR's on the outside, and dont the V and M sets EDRs still require
a key?
And I understand the G and T set Tangaras. In my opinion these flaps
should be modified so that they are left unlocked whilst the trains are in
service, and only locked when the train is stabled. You don't want one or
two staff to be fumbling around for keys to release passengers in the event
of an emergency.

Regards

David Bennetts