Train crash

Northernsoulnanna

Its just been announced on BBC Look East and latest Bedford News( where i live).
Latest investigation is
That the driver who hit the standing train went through a Red Light.

Difficult to know why. If he was taken ill there is something called “the deadman’s handle” which would have automatically stopped the train once his hand slipped off it as he collapsed. In the old days and on heritage railways there is something called a tablet. Each section of line has one tablet and one tablet only. A driver cannot enter that section without the tablet so it is not possible for 2 trains to be on the same section of track. Modern signalling has to accommodate this so it either had to be a signal failure or a train going through a red light.

According to my AI search Assistant there is an APT system in the train which automatically applies the brakes if a train passes a red light

in the UK, the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system can apply the brakes automatically if a train passes a red signal without stopping. This system is designed to prevent collisions and enhance safety on the rail network.

I fear that the cause of the accident must be more than just a failure to stop on the part of the driver.

I wonder how far from the red was the stationery train?

MaizieD

According to my AI search Assistant there is an APT system in the train which automatically applies the brakes if a train passes a red light

in the UK, the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system can apply the brakes automatically if a train passes a red signal without stopping. This system is designed to prevent collisions and enhance safety on the rail network.

I fear that the cause of the accident must be more than just a failure to stop on the part of the driver.

I wonder how far from the red was the stationery train?

I think it’s a shame this interim report has been released - there is more analysis to come as to whether the Automatic Warning System was functioning correctly. For his family’s sake, I don’t see why they couldn’t have waited

A lot of tracks still don’t have ATP systems MaizieD. Sounds like this is one of them. I guess it is expensive to install and some private companies won’t have done it for all their tracks- if at all I suppose.