Exceeding Railway Speed Limits?

[SpacePhoenix]

When you sign several long routes it can be quite testing to remember all of that info, especially on routes you don't necessarily go over often.

For them routes would they have a turn scheduled on them say once every 30 days to keep up their route knowledge?

 

[ComUtoR]

For them routes would they have a turn scheduled on them say once every 30 days to keep up their route knowledge?

Every 30 days would be difficult, if not impossible. However; I get your point

Rosters are supposed to have a spread of work content so you can keep up route knowledge but, suffice to say, they don't. Before you say anything. Yes, they are very very stupid. There was another thread somewhere about rosters etc which may help with some small insight.

 

[A-driver]

For them routes would they have a turn scheduled on them say once every 30 days to keep up their route knowledge?

Generally the rule is you must go over a route every 6months otherwise you need to re-sign it. Many tocs insist you driver every route at least every 3months. At my toc we have some yards and sidings which some drops have very little or zero work in but need to sign it for emergencies. We are fostered road refresh days for this where we have a day with a route learning ticket to travel over or wander around any part of the line we feel we haven't been in recently enough.

 

[321446]

On the 350's the driver manager jumps in cab hooks up a cable and gets the download takes a whole of two minutes. I have seen them do it while still in service or more than not on turn around time.

But the download then has to be analysed properly to avoid miss representation of facts (such as when someone was hauled in for opening doors wrong side at every stop. Then it was realised the DM was reading the up road not the down road info....). Also, you have to do this for every unit driven. Or you can go spend 2 hours with a speed gun and get 6 or more services. So it CAN be more time effective.

 

[A-driver]

But the download then has to be analysed properly to avoid miss representation of facts (such as when someone was hauled in for opening doors wrong side at every stop. Then it was realised the DM was reading the up road not the down road info....). Also, you have to do this for every unit driven. Or you can go spend 2 hours with a speed gun and get 6 or more services. So it CAN be more time effective.

Absolutely. If they are concerned about a 'speeding hotspot' it's far more practice and productive for a manager to stand somewhere with a speed gun and instantly find out the speed of every train passing through noting down any issues. Otherwise you have to download (which requires getting into) every train passing that point, find the relevant section and analyse it which means far, far more work.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Generally the rule is you must go over a route every 6months otherwise you need to re-sign it. Many tocs insist you driver every route at least every 3months. At my toc we have some yards and sidings which some drops have very little or zero work in but need to sign it for emergencies. We are fostered road refresh days for this where we have a day with a route learning ticket to travel over or wander around any part of the line we feel we haven't been in recently enough.

Can a "driver's eye view"/"cab view" video be used or do you have to physically visit the places, either on foot or by driving a train/unit/loco over it?

 

[A-driver]

Can a "driver's eye view"/"cab view" video be used or do you have to physically visit the places, either on foot or by driving a train/unit/loco over it?

Depends on the route and company. Some allow videos although I would strongly argue a video is no substitution for a real cab ride.

 

[HSTfan!!!]

For them routes would they have a turn scheduled on them say once every 30 days to keep up their route knowledge?

30 days a bit impossible, seems to be a couple of months with my lot, route I'm driving today I've not been over since February? But I've had a refresh day last month.

 

[HarleyDavidson]

An OTMR can be interrogated remotely by Siemens I know that because when I had an incident some years ago, a manager who I know jumped in popped the data card in and then with me still shaking took it up to the office and the language when the data logger turned green to indicate it'd already been accessed.

The download proved that I'd done everything correctly and that I could have done nothing to prevent the incident from occurring. I've been exonerated on more than one occasion by OTMR & FFCCTV and I for one am quite happy to have it.

 

[HSTfan!!!]

Can a "driver's eye view"/"cab view" video be used or do you have to physically visit the places, either on foot or by driving a train/unit/loco over it?

There aren't really that many available that I would say are good enough for this purpose. I've made a few for my own use but it's certainly no substitute for getting out there, seeing it and occasionally you'll see some unusual moves if you're lucky.

 

[boing_uk]

Before the days of OTMR it was usual to see Northern Spirit's 158s 'disappear off the clock' on the Hope Valley near Edale. Before I was a guard, I was a steward and used to sit in the back - would occasionally lift the Sheffield guard's docket up off the speedometer, then, quite horrified quickly put it back

Not many did they! Been bounced around the curve in to Rotherham at around double the normal speed and the same train ignored the 40mph TSR between Stallingborough and Great Coates back in the day. Must have rattled over that section at about 75/80mph based on the sound of the jointed track at the time...

Needless to say, arrived in to Grimsby about 20 mins early. Was a fun trip, apart from the spilled drinks at Rotherham.

 

[Crossover]

Can a "driver's eye view"/"cab view" video be used or do you have to physically visit the places, either on foot or by driving a train/unit/loco over it?

From a discussion I have had on here, I understand that in some cases, route refreshing will be done travelling in the cab of a service train, too. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I have a feeling that XC crew may keep knowledge on the route via Hixon (Stone to Colwich avoiding Stafford) by travelling in the cab on VT services, since hardly any XC services run this way (even ECS I don't think)

 

[G0ORC]

Preston PSB certainly used to have timed track sections that printed out the speed of every train passing through them

...and Derby & Trent did too, when I worked there...