On Jul 30, 7:22*pm, Richard wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:49:18 -0500,
wrote:

In article ,
(Gavin Hamilton) wrote:

Was impressed by the quick door release on the 365 at Kings Cross -
unlike the usual long wait on a London Midland 321 or 350.

Or on a SWT Desiro.

One of the 365's best features. You can hold the Open button pressed as
the train rolls to a stand and it will open almost instantly after it
stops and in any case when the doors are released.

(SWT's) Desiros *do* work that way, although it is often quite a long
time before the doors are released, some guards preferring to open
their own door and have a look up and down the platform first. Perhaps
doing all this from one of the cabs would be better (can they use an
intermediate cab?)


The same is true with the LM Desiros, although the wait is normally so
long that people remove their finger!! The 'rules' on LM state that
the conductor must open their door first to check the position of
train in the platform, hence the delay. I don't know why this rule has
come in, as it certainly adds to the overall journey time without any
major safety advantage over the conductor 'knowing' the train and
platform length from memory. LM conductors can and do use the
intermediate cab doors for operating the doors.

Even better, Swiss-style, accept a push of the button any time as the
train is coming to a stop and open the doors "automatically" upon
arrival...


That would be a good idea too.