Emergency alarm - how often are they pressed?

[reddragon]

I can remember mass pulling of chords on a class 307 in the 1980s. Probably half were pulled on the train at once!

At that time peak services from Southend did an all stations to Harold Wood, then fast to London, whilst the Shenfield stoppers were all curtailed at Gidea Park so it was impossible to get to any station between Stratford to Gidea Park from the east without going via London.

Normally, the Southend services stopped off at Gidea Park to let commuters do their local journeys when this happened but this day someone said no and no amount of holding open doors to stop the train leave & persuasion of the driver & guard worked. A mass rebellion followed where a 100+ passengers decided that they would stop the train at Gidea Park if the crew didn't and that is exactly what happened. The train was already going very slow on the old crossover onto the fast tracks so it was very easy to stop the train in the right place too. So pi55ed off were the passengers that they even left all the doors open for the crew to close and make their point.

BR never did it again and we could always change at Gidea Park when there was a problem.

 

[a_c_skinner]

I've pressed an alarm in the ballroom on a 185

Humph. Transpennine is taken off the Furness Line and upgrades the rolling stock.

 

[rebmcr]

I pulled the egress on a Croydon tram at full speed as part of an official test. This applies several fairly powerful brakes. Had to make sure I was correctly positioned so I didn't swing round on the handrail I was holding with the other hand, and slam into the door I'd just released.

Does it apply the EM track brake? Was that on the route or somewhere else, since I believe that damages the rails?

 

[CharlieSpotted]

So it seems it's fairly common for them to be used, including in relatively trivial circumstances such as when people have missed their stop. (Which is important to them, I guess, but not to the entire trainload of people who will be affected). At what point is a penalty applied? How does one tell the difference between a passenger who has panicked and made an error, and one who has decided their day is more important? What's the definition of an emergency that makes using the alarm acceptable? Is a passenger passing out on a hot train an emergency? Or does it need to be a heart attack?

I'm curious as to where the line is drawn and where penalties are applied - if they ever are?

 

[reddragon]

I was on an Oxford local one evening advertised as all stations, no variations. At Tilehurst it switched to the fast tracks which means it cannot stop at Pangbourne. No announcements were made at Reading or on the train, the internal announcements said the next station is Pangbourne. I noticed and was going to check but better still, the boss of GWR was on the train and made the driver make an announcement after which many people got off.

Now why is it people panic & pull the chord? Oh yes, poor information / communication.

 

[37057]

Pass Comms are checked on exam for communication and brake application. Brakes apply whenever a passenger alarm is pulled and the kick switch is not acknowledged within around 6 seconds.

Emergency door egresses are tested by inputting a speed signal so that a pneumatic shootbolt prevents the door from being released until the unit slows to a stop. This is what clicks as units start and stop.

 

[waynemorrell]

Following on from the "Reading commuter" thread, a few people noted that commuters pressed the emergency alarm/cord when the train passed through their station. Now I am wondering how frequently these emergency alarms are pressed? Have you ever experienced someone pressing the emergency cord (or even pressed it yourself)?

Hi,

Yes I have used the Passcom twice now. Both incidents happened many years ago in Sussex, the first was on an old 4 car cig or vep (421/423 - never could tell them apart), someone had left an offisde door on the first catch, train had just left Portslade heading west and I was afraid it might open and get hit by a train travelling in the opisite direction or someone might try and close it on the move and fall out. So I pulled the cord. I always remember the noise was impressive as the train came to a grinding halt. The guard was initally unimpressed (contary to the instructions on the door saying to use the cord in these circumstances) but agreed something could have happened. I remember him leaning out of a vestibule droplight to reset it.

The other time was on a Brighton bound FCC 319, it was late at night and on calling at Burgess Hill two youths decided they would take part of the seat away with them, we were stationary, doors opem but I pulled the handel adjacent to the double doors anyway to alert train crew then took off after said youths, a bit of shouting and swearing on the steps and they thew the seat down the stairs, returned to the train and with seat in hand, by that time the driver had appeared , I told him what had happened and he said something about informing the signaller, reset the alarm and we were soon on our way.

 

[Bookd]

Slightly off topic, but there must be a temptation to do something forbidden.
I was once on a down escalator at Leicester Square late at night I when I saw that a couple of youths high up behind me who had been fooling around had fallen, and as I was at the bottom I hit the emergency stop button; I had always wanted to do that, but only if it was justified!

 

[jon0844]

Slightly off topic, but there must be a temptation to do something forbidden.
I was once on a down escalator at Leicester Square late at night I when I saw that a couple of youths high up behind me who had been fooling around had fallen, and as I was at the bottom I hit the emergency stop button; I had always wanted to do that, but only if it was justified!

I had to stop an escalator after a lady fell (carrying a few shopping bags) on the way up. I was on the way down.

I pressed the wrong side of the alarm panel so stopped the wrong escalator at first, followed by the correct one. Whoops! I then had to walk down, walk up and find staff to come to her aid. They weren't bothered by my mistake, presumably because it wasn't immediately obvious how the alarm worked.

 

[tsr]

I’ve been obliged to push passcoms many times, fortunately all during training sessions. In fact, a couple of colleagues and I once accidentally broke a brand new train during a traction course, and had to get fitters to the unit to reset a shedload of stuff.

I’ve had to use door egress handles more times during passenger service than in training, though. Generally stuff involving pushing the alarm is also stuff which I’m fortunately trained to deal with. On the other hand, all manner of door faults can need you to pull egress handles to get the system to budge. One particularly concerning occasion involved the failure of the door mechanisms and door electronics on a whole coach of a unit at a very busy London station one evening... then when the door egress was pulled, nothing happened... wrong-side failure... train cancelled!

Pass Comms are checked on exam for communication and brake application. Brakes apply whenever a passenger alarm is pulled and the kick switch is not acknowledged within around 6 seconds.

Emergency door egresses are tested by inputting a speed signal so that a pneumatic shootbolt prevents the door from being released until the unit slows to a stop. This is what clicks as units start and stop.

What you’re posting is very unit-specific. Some trains (chiefly older, ex-BR units and coaching stock) don’t have anything as sophisticated. Older passcom systems typically cause a brake application straight away (as alluded to earlier in the thread - this is why a guard would use one in preference to giving the “one on the bell” signal if they needed the train to stop). Likewise there are unfortunately trains on the network where the doors can be forced open at any speed. Even with bolts, doors can still be shoved open with enough force, too - there was a sad incident where someone forced open the doors on a 377 travelling at considerable speed and jumped out.

 

[DriverToBe]

I pressed one on my last Nottingham tram, completely unintentional-the tram was rammed so I parked myself in the corner and leant against the wall. Then I hear a noise behind my bag...

This happens every time the Citadis trams are full, it’s very annoying and it’s worse when someone is leaning on one with headphones on so can’t hear you asking them to move on the PA.

Only once have I had a genuine emergency and because the tram was full and the it was about the fourth time it had gone off it was nearly ignored.

Also had a emergency door handle pulled due to an old lady falling on board.

 

[Spartacus]

I wonder if it's going to be an issue on the TPE Mk3s when they start running due to most passengers not being overly familiar with having to lean out to open the doors? I've seen plenty panic on XC and EC HSTs and had to step in and do the honours of opening the door from behind them before they pull the pass com, and Mk3s are part of their normal fleets. It's not normally a problem during the day, but during the evenings when there might not be someone to open the door from the outside.

 

[toppington]

Haven't ever had need to use one myself but was near when one was pulled on a Networker, a few years ago.

The morning London commuter train had just left a station, there were a few seats left. A man in a suit and a man in a tracksuit were about to compete for the last seat. The man in the tracksuit got there first. The man in the suit wailed that his seat had been taken and then jostled the seat inhabitant to get out of it. The seat inhabitant was having none of it so gave the be-suited man a bit of a slap. The be-suited man pulled the cord and told the guard he had been assaulted and wanted the police to be called. The whole carriage looked at him and groaned and one man yelled out "look what you have done, you are going to make us all late!"

When the guard came around to sort the situation out, he just said to the man in the suit "you look fine to me, there are plenty of seats in the next carriage for you to sit in" and took him away. A round of applause broke out briefly... and then everyone went back to reading the paper.

 

[Ediswan]

My group pulled the chain (literally) at Cuffley in the mid 1970s. Somebody had their thumb in the hinge when the slam door was shut. Plan A was to open the door again. The the train moved, so time for Plan B. Driver came along, said that was proper use, filled out a form, and off we went.

 

[Domh245]

This happens every time the Citadis trams are full, it’s very annoying and it’s worse when someone is leaning on one with headphones on so can’t hear you asking them to move on the PA.

Only once have I had a genuine emergency and because the tram was full and the it was about the fourth time it had gone off it was nearly ignored.

Also had a emergency door handle pulled due to an old lady falling on board.

The Croydon trams were also pretty bad in that regard. The call for aid buttons used to just have a raised surround (but not all of them) and I can remember accidentally leaning on it a few times - but they have now given them all a large red surrounding sticker so it's pretty obvious now.

And I can remember someone almost pulling one of the emergency egresses (that @edwin_m mentioned) whilst on a very packed tram that was almost at its top speed of 50mph thinking it was a call for aid - fortunately she was persuaded not to pull it whilst someone else used the actual call for aid. Fortunately they've since our large flaps over the top of the egresses to prevent accidental operations

 

[edwin_m]

Does it apply the EM track brake? Was that on the route or somewhere else, since I believe that damages the rails?

I seem to remember it worked both the track brake and the disc brakes but nearly 20 years on (Bombardier tram when new) I can't recall with any certainty. I also think there was no speed interlock to prevent the door being opened as soon as the handle was operated.

I've never heard of it damaging the rails but it is only used in unexpected hazard situations like a person or vehicle unexpectedly moving onto the track (hence known as a hazard brake). There is a risk of injury to passengers falling over, and (at least at the time) the bell would ring continuously if hazard brake was selected.

 

[Domh245]

I seem to remember it worked both the track brake and the disc brakes but nearly 20 years on (Bombardier tram when new) I can't recall with any certainty.

Quoting from the Sandilands RAIB report, "Hazard braking deploys the track brake which comprises six electro-magnetic rail shoes (two on each bogie and two on the central articulation unit) which adhere magnetically to the rail head. The dynamic and friction brakes also apply during a hazard brake application and sand is deposited onto the rail head to improve rail adhesion"

 

[zuriblue]

I’ve been on a train coming back from Brighton (last train) and some inebriated genius pulled the passcom three times. When the guard came on the PA saying that if it happened again the train would terminate at the next station the guy was dissuaded by a number of fellow travelers.

There was one in Zürich a few years ago, this guy went to sleep on one of the morning strengthening services into the Hb and woke up as the train was heading back to the sidings at Brugg until the evening peak. He pulled the brake as it went through Schlieren station, pulled the egress and legged it across the tracks. Unfortunately the train came to rest with the pan bridging a neutral section, resulting in 15 kV going to earth until the breakers tripped. By this time the knitting had come down and the service was up the wall for the rest of the day. I don’t think the SBB found him but they and the Bahnpolizei were looking quite hard to present him with a very large bill.

 

[Phil from Mon]

Although not as many as in the past, there are still an awful lot of toilet alarms going off on VTWC voyagers. It’s rare for a journey from N Wales to London without at least one.

 

[Mike395]

Never pulled a passcom, but come close once - HST pulls into Bedford, guard doesn't hold down the door release for long enough so the locks only part disengaged - as such, around half the doors could open (presumably those where passengers were leaning on the exterior handle at the point of release) and the rest re-engaged. My nearest unlocked door was two carriages away and I figured I was unlikely to make it, and after failing to attract the attention of the guard or platform staff the whistle went and I mentally clocked the nearest passcom, ready to use it if the guard's local door closed (this was a few years ago when there were services not calling at Wellingborough too, and I didn't fancy a trip to Kettering and back!) - luckily not needed but it was only when the guard was checking the train pre-dispatch (after re-locking all the doors) that she noticed 3 doors with people trying to get her attention!