Cable theft causes widespread disruption to SWT- UK

[bikkuri bahn]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/long-delays-prompt-rail-firm-review-2295674.html

 

Passengers walk on tracks despite third rail.

[westfalen]

They shouldn't blame the train crews and station staff, they would only have been obeying their managements safety rules, probably under threat of dismissal if they didn't.

[KenS]

True. Although the railway does have a responsibility not to leave people locked in a train for hours, that's not something the people on the train can fix without authorization and coordination (turning off track power, organizing a shuttle bus, etc).

 

You'd think after the problems with stranded passengers in the channel tunnel last winter there would be better contingency planning by the UK railways that don't use the tunnel for dealing with similar problems.

[westfalen]

Unfortunately the people who come up with the contingency plans for these situations don't have to spend two hours sitting in a train with power cut off. If they had to come out of their nice offices and take the place of train crew trying to keep calm several hundred passengers stuck in a cold/hot and possibly dark train I'm sure they could come up with quicker rescue plans. Most of the safety red tape we have to deal with today in the rail industry in Australia and in the UK is more about managers terrified of lawsuits on their watch than worried about staff or passenger's safety.