Posted by Eamonn
...
Posted by Fahed_2000
Hmmm , make the trains pass every 5 hours.
That would be a major improvement to thier quality considering what they are now
Posted by 3.1415926
Hehe there is a lot better railroad system in finland
and usually U don't have to wait for the train at all
Posted by Eamonn
pi:
when was the last time a train crashed in the netherlands?
Posted by mhorton
In the UK we have had 2 in 2 years.
Posted by Eamonn
i know - it's awful & unnacceptable!!
Posted by 3.1415926
I don't know about the Netherlands but here it is several years since the last big train crash. I can't really remember how many but maybe 5years
Posted by Eamonn
sorry pi. i confused Finland with the Netherlands as I'm being such a spac this week!!!
Posted by 3.1415926
Ejasmin
how can U confuse a little country like Amsterdam with Finland? Finland is quite Big U know! here is a pic if someone don't know how finland looks like
[ This Message was edited by: 3.1415926 on 2002-05-12 19:42 ]
Posted by Eamonn
i just thought ur name said netherlands.
Posted by 3.1415926
I C but I still wanted to show this picture
Posted by Eamonn
rite. very patriotic of u
Posted by mhorton
It is really bad. They seem they don't care as well that's the really bad thing
Posted by arpiun
To improve the railsystem in England it has to come back to government!! The private enterprise that are axploiting the rail in england want only to make money!! Let's see in Belgium, train and rails are in very good condition.
Posted by Fingers
Yeah having ridden on the trains here in the UK for almost four years, I've noticed that they are improving, but only a little, there really needs to be a lot of money spent on upgrading, the system is all just too old. The amount they charge for tickets they should be able to put more towards the up keep of the system, these contractors they use are getting far too much money and obvoiusly not doing enough.
Posted by mhorton
It's the same line as well that had the other train crash in Hatfield. I think that the goverment just don't really care
Posted by Wings_Talons
I think they should copy the Indian railways. Yes we do have our own quota of crashes but considering the crashes (or lives lost) per passenger mile, Indian rail is the safest in the world according to a report put out by, ironically, the British Rail! India is a huge country and its got the third largest rail network after US and Russia.
In India, the railways is like a seperate government - it has its own budget, electricity company, telegraph, police force etc. So its a psuedo govt organisation and thus it runs very efficiently. It cost £1 to undertake a 100 km journey and that is first class fare. Second class are even less.
I feel uncomfortable travelling in the UK rails because they make so many squeeky noises. I don't see why it should when the train is supposed to moving on two smooth parellel rails. Obviously the rails are not parellel or smooth! Just explains why rails break and cause accidents.
Posted by PR24
Well personal I think that money should be invested on the U.K.s road system to make them safer. 10 people die on railways in a year and people are in uproar, 10,000 people die on the roads and no-one batters an eye-lid. I think we should get our priorities right!
Posted by Super G
Well, make the railway system state-owned again would probably do a good thing to the safety.
Trying to capitalize such thing is a non-sense as it is opened to a multiplicity of companies who share a common infrastructure. The problem is to keep this infrastructure up&running and in a good shape.
Posted by Eamonn
did u hear that the railtrack in potters bar was reported by a worker saying that it needed repair, but they did nothing!!
Posted by Eamonn
Crash experts focus on maintenance
The derailed carriage was lifted clear on Tuesday
The rail maintenance record for the track near Potters Bar is being examined after it was confirmed rail nuts were loose nine days before the fatal rail crash.
The Health and Safety Executive has released an interim report confirming that missing nuts in a set of points probably caused the derailment, which killed seven and injured 76.
Rail maintenance contractor Jarvis said the nuts were found detached and screwed back in place during a routine check on 1 May.
A further visual check on 9 May apparently found nothing wrong.
But the HSE said the nuts were off again by 10 May, causing the points to break and the train, in turn, to derail.
The HSE wants to establish why the nuts were missing
Points are held in place by 'stretcher bars'
Each bar held by four anti-vibration nuts
Why were nuts missing at Potters Bar?
Click here to find out more about the Potters Bar points and how they should work
The HSE said the Jarvis revelation was "very significant" and that it was examining all four detached nuts in its laboratory. It said British Transport Police were also examining some components.
On Tuesday afternoon the train carriage wedged beneath a platform roof at Potters Bar station was lifted clear by crane.
It was placed on a specialist lorry, where it will be searched by police and the HSE, before being handed back to operator WAGN.
Work is continuing to remove a 45-metre section of railway track and points nearby, which will also be taken to an HSE laboratory.
Railtrack said it hoped to have services running through the station again by Monday of next week.
'Basic error'
As rail critics began to blame maintenance errors for the accident, the HSE said all the maintenance records of the area over the last 12 months would be thoroughly examined.
These nuts have never, ever come off except to have been manually removed
Jarvis
Frank Hyland, who is managing the HSE's investigation, said: "The question is 'why did we find nuts missing or not in position?'.
"We shall be working with British Transport Police to build up a detailed history of all the points in the area."
He would not comment further on the state or position of the nuts.
A Jarvis spokesman said: "These nuts have never, ever been discovered to have fallen off.
"They have never, ever come off except to have been manually removed."
Jarvis and Railtrack both said they had not ruled out sabotage.
Later Transport Secretary Stephen Byers released a letter from Jarvis which said: "The nuts were refitted and retightened in accordance with good industry practice."
A former rail engineer who did not want to be named told BBC News there was a "lack of knowledge" in all aspects of track maintenance work.
And rail expert Christian Wolmar blamed the accident on "a basic error".
Contracting-out
In a separate development, it emerged on Tuesday that vandals tried to derail a passenger train 24 hours after the Potters Bar disaster by putting football goalposts across a track near Oxford.
The HSE said it had found no evidence of vandalism or signal problems at Potters Bar, and that the train was being driven normally.
The report said the train coaches had generally stood up well to the impact, as had the railway bridge and the station buildings.
The investigation has also thrown the spotlight on the culture of contracting out work on the railways.
Prime Minister Tony Blair told BBC's Newsnight "it's going to take a lot of time and money over many years" to get the railways right - but he backed Mr Byers to do it.
Gwyneth Dunwoody, head of the Commons Transport Committee, called for Railtrack to take maintenance back into its own hands and out of that of contractors.
She said: "There is a lot of evidence that people have been taken on when they have not got the proper classifications."
Mick Rix, general secretary of the train drivers' union Aslef, said: "The conduct and culture of infrastructure maintenance should now be reviewed as a matter of the highest priority."
But Dr Allan Sefton, the HSE's acting chief inspector of railways, said: "There is no evidence at the moment that this is a generic problem."
[ This Message was edited by: ejasim on 2002-05-14 18:59 ]
Posted by Eamonn
just unacceptable
Posted by mhorton
It is.
Posted by fatreg
scrap it and start again.
fatreg
Posted by goldenface
I think we have a lot learn from the Japanese and French. They have the fastest and most successful. Britain suffers from an old system which was run into the ground during 1st and 2nd world wars and received minimal investment for 50 years afterwards. I think things are improving though. Safety of course comes first. Hard lessons have been learnt recently.
Posted by Xugaa
introduce hover trains capable of 300mph,
london to manchester in 55 minutes...
http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22749-1500638,00.html
Posted by *Jojo*
Jap's BULLET trains are the BEST !
Posted by goldenface
I like the TGV better.
I travelled on Eurostar to Paris once and it was amazing... It flew along at 186mph (300kph) and the ride was so smooth that most people fell asleep.
They are now going ahead with a new line from Manchester to London which will reach there in 1hr 15 mins.
Link