The Ticket Collector

Site changes

Just a quick entry to let people know, if they have not already noticed, that the site has slightly changed its terms and conditions.

Also the site has changed its header due to a observation from First Group that allthough they like the blog, please could we not use their logos. The site has used the letter from First Group in Aberdeen, which we must stress was not a legal threat, as an excuse to change it to a series of random pictures.

Furthermore, some Amazon.co.uk adverts have been added to the side of the site, this is because running this blog costs money. Somehow the domain name must be paid for and that is where the adverts come into play. If you buy from Amazon please use the adverts to the left and we will get a percentage of whatever you order at no extra cost to you.
Business as usual.

If you have any pictures you would like to be used on the header please send them to the emails listed here

Rail Acident Branch releases Huntingdon Report

A while ago back in the days of wagn a member of the public got their coat caught in a door and the train went off with them still trapped in the door.

The RAIB (part of the Dft, aka The Government), has released its report into the acident and made some recommendations.

There are a lot of pretty pictures, some in depth diagrams with lots of whizzy arrows and measurements. There is some really poor CCTV as well.

http://www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources/070430_R112007_Huntingdon.pdf

The recommendations from the RAIB are as follows:

Recommendations arising from causal and contributory factors

1. FCC should ensure that driver training is reviewed with a view to increasing the emphasis placed on, and understanding of, aligning the unit correctly with the optimum viewing position of the monitor bank. The training should also identify what actions the driver should take if a person is observed to be in close proximity to the side of the train when the driver is taking power (paragraphs 102 and 105).
2. Network Rail should ensure that the specification for replacement and new CCTV monitors require improved image contrast when viewed at an angle. The specified viewing angle should make a reasonable allowance for variation in a
   driver’s stopping performance (paragraph 108).
3. HSBC should review the design of the Class 365 Unit door seal and the door control mechanism so as to reduce the door closing forces, with a view to reducing, so far as is reasonably practicable, the forces required to extract trapped
   objects. This review should take into account existing standards (paragraph 104).
4. Network Rail should review the position of the cameras associated with the CCTV system for DOO at Huntingdon station with the objective of minimising the likelihood that a passenger standing in close proximity to the train will obstruct the driver’s view of passengers standing at other doors (paragraph 107).
5. Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) should review Railway Group Standard GM/RT2473 in terms of the correlation between the obstacle extraction test, seal design and the forces required to extract trapped objects or materials (paragraph 104).Recommendations arising from other safety issues
6. FCC should review and if necessary modify the signage and controls for emergency exits at doors on the Class 365 Unit in view of the passenger reaction in this accident so as to ensure ‘best’ passenger reaction in an emergency is achieved (paragraph 111). This review should be carried out in consultation with the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and with reference to the existing ATOC standard (Reference 13).