Freight trains are a menace!...

[whole diary]

[Graz]

...when they either blast their horn passing through a station, making me jump a mile, or when they're going too fast coming up to a red signal and brake, making the most horrendus, ear-splitting screeching sound on the brakes. This is especially prevelant at Westbury!

Not to mention when they hold up passenger trains 

[John R]

But infinitely better than 20/30/40 juggernauts on the road!

[johoare]

The other day a freight train came through Maidenhead station on the relief line at quite a rate.. By the time it had gone, every single passenger had large amounts of grit in their eyes.... I assume it was something the train was carrying as that doesn't usually happen..

[moonraker]

    the horn is sounded as a warning !  some passengers/people on platforms are oblivious to non stopping trains and lean over the edge or items they are holding/carrying are precariously held in the line of fire of said trains.
           Should someone be injured or God forbid killed, one of the first questions the driver is asked by the coroner is "did you sound your warning horn?" if not the driver is/can be charged with manslaughter.

As for speeding upto a red signal I very much doubt that. These trains wagons have a minimum of four wheels (one on each corner) each with a brake block multiply by say 40 and add another 16 wheels with 32 brake blocks for the loco and thats alot of steel rubbing together.

And freight is what actually keeps the rail system alive, it is the money from freight that allows passenger trains to exist. The passenger services could not afford to finance all the infrastructure needed alone without pricing its services out of the reach of the majority of us.

It is the signalman that decides which train occupies which bit of track so they hold up your trains.

Not being funny (mean funny) I just thought I'd try and explain the reason for what seems an annoyance.
 

[Graz]

Occasionally they've done it when it was just me there- half way along the platform! Not sure if it was a greeting but boy it was loud! And I'm sure the other times people weren't leaning over the platform  edge, or anything 

As for the speed problem...I didn't mean they speed up at a red, just that they don't approach it slow enough and have to break heavily to stop in time. That's when you get that horrendus sound that usually forces me to jam my fingers in my ears!

[devon_metro]

Freight Trains will approach a red no faster than 25mph

[Chris from Nailsea]

Well, I have to say that I do sympathise with any train driver who sounds their horn as they approach a station.  I'm constantly startled as to how close some people stand to the edge of the platform when a train approaches - particularly through trains!

That painted yellow line is there for a reason, I think??   

[Electric train]

Well, I have to say that I do sympathise with any train driver who sounds their horn as they approach a station.  I'm constantly startled as to how close some people stand to the edge of the platform when a train approaches - particularly through trains!

That painted yellow line is there for a reason, I think??   

For those of us who work at track level we have to be in a position of safety 10 seconds before the train pass which at speeds under 100 mph is 1,25 metres but Joe public don't have to work to the rule book, I must admit it does worry me at times how passengers have a total disregard for their own safety and even worse for that of their fellow passengers when waiting on a platform

[Super Guard]

Well, I have to say that I do sympathise with any train driver who sounds their horn as they approach a station.  I'm constantly startled as to how close some people stand to the edge of the platform when a train approaches - particularly through trains!

That painted yellow line is there for a reason, I think??   

For those of us who work at track level we have to be in a position of safety 10 seconds before the train pass which at speeds under 100 mph is 1,25 metres but Joe public don't have to work to the rule book, I must admit it does worry me at times how passengers have a total disregard for their own safety and even worse for that of their fellow passengers when waiting on a platform

Example today, I had 2 ladies looking over the edge of my platform (for a piece of a phone charger), twice before 2 HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) arrived did I have to tell them to step back or they'd have been looking for their heads too.

Unbelievable and scarily totally oblivious

[eightf48544]

Some very interesting observations on people behaviour on stations. the ones that worry me most are those that stroll along the platform with their back to the trains edge side of the yellow line talking on their mobiles completely oblivious of where they are and the 3000 ton freight train bearing down on them. Must be a great worry to the driver that hooting might cause them to be strartled and lose balance and fall onto the track.

We've banned mobiles while driving perhaps we should ban them on  stations!

As an ex railwayman I find that I tend to instictively stand facing the trains, I presumme it must have been drummed into me during training but I'm not aware of how it was imparted, probably a (metaphorical) clip round the ear from the Inspector when I stood too close. I actually feel uncomfortable walikng along a platform with my back towards the trains (especialy HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train))  and tend to keep well into the fence or wall.

But how do you impart this to the great British public? Maybe FGW^▸ (First Great Western),  EWS^▸ (English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd, now known as DB Schenker Rail (UK^▸ (United Kingdom))) et al could post drivers on stations where this a problem to do a bit of education of the dangers. Chiltern are doing this with a foot crossing North of Ayesbury which will soon have more trains with the new Ayesbury ? station.

[Super Guard]

But how do you impart this to the great British public? Maybe FGW^▸ (First Great Western),  EWS^▸ (English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd, now known as DB Schenker Rail (UK^▸ (United Kingdom))) et al could post drivers on stations where this a problem to do a bit of education of the dangers.

Electrify the yellow line on the platform so passengers get a shock when they step over it.

Is that a man with a H&S^▸ (Health and Safety) book in his hand?  I'll get my coat...   

[IndustryInsider]

But how do you impart this to the great British public? Maybe FGW^▸ (First Great Western),  EWS^▸ (English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd, now known as DB Schenker Rail (UK^▸ (United Kingdom))) et al could post drivers on stations where this a problem to do a bit of education of the dangers.

Electrify the yellow line on the platform so passengers get a shock when they step over it.

Is that a man with a H&S^▸ (Health and Safety) book in his hand?  I'll get my coat...   

The yellow line seems to have virtually no impact. Perhaps between the yellow line and the platform edge there should be red painted hatching with yellow 'no standing' stencils every 10 metres to emphasise what it really means? The depth of the yellow line from the edge of the platform should also reflect the speed of the line through the platform - to have it the same distance from the platform edge at Ealing Broadway (125 mph) and Oxford (25 mph) seems illogical to me.

[Chris from Nailsea]

That's a fair point, IndustryInsider - it does seem rather odd to have the same distance in those examples.

Clearly there is a 'danger zone' at the outer edge of platforms - after all, that's why the safety railings don't go right up to the edge, and we have all this 'rubber mat / trip hazard' nonsense:



How about adding an extra bit to the station announcements: "The train now approaching platform x (does not stop here / is the 00:00 to y).  Please stay behind the yellow line until the train has (passed / reached a complete stop)" as appropriate?

Andrew, if you're listening ... ?

Chris 

[moonraker]

Not only platforms my friends..... but Sydney Gardens just outside Bath Spa on the upside (toward London)
When in the gardens it is not possible to hear approaching trains so what do the world and his friend do?
I'll tell you ! they dangle their precious infants on/over the bath stone wall with only a tenuous grip stopping their offspring from falling into passing trains. No wonder I am going grey!!!
Locals campaigned to have rule book changes made for "noise pollution" reasons in this area so the residents are happy but trains drivers blood pressure rises we are filled with dread passing by these irresponsible nuts.
As the wall is historically protected and it's not possible to put protective fencing on it it would be safer to put fencing four feet in front of the wall preventing Joe public getting too close!

[devon_metro]

Chris - Announcements at stations fitted with them already announce to stand back when a train is not scheduled to stop.