Dorsetmike
Member
I was just reading a bit about reliabilty of trains; the UK electric stock of the 1960/70s averaged 150,000 miles between faults, the modern ones average between 16,000 and 30,000 a lot of it due to the complexity of the electronics now being fitted which doesn't like the harsh conditions of railway operation.
Where once BR used tried and tested methods and had years of experience, now commercial companies try to introduce all sorts of equipment which is not fit for purpose, (some probably driven by elfin softy). They tried experimenting with a form of ABS braking only to find trains don't stop like cars, the ABS resulted in much longer stopping distances - in miles from 90MPH. Steel wheels on steel track ain't quite the same as rubber on tarmac!
With driver only operation - with no guard - they found that the CCTV cameras the driver is supposed to use to check along the length of the train before starting couldn't see round curves on some platforms when they tried running 12 car trains instead of 8 car. Door sensors are all very well, but the Mk 1 eyeball can spot other things than closed/open doors
They should never have privatised the railways; BR may not have been perfect but much of that could be attributed to government stop/go policies.
Where once BR used tried and tested methods and had years of experience, now commercial companies try to introduce all sorts of equipment which is not fit for purpose, (some probably driven by elfin softy). They tried experimenting with a form of ABS braking only to find trains don't stop like cars, the ABS resulted in much longer stopping distances - in miles from 90MPH. Steel wheels on steel track ain't quite the same as rubber on tarmac!
With driver only operation - with no guard - they found that the CCTV cameras the driver is supposed to use to check along the length of the train before starting couldn't see round curves on some platforms when they tried running 12 car trains instead of 8 car. Door sensors are all very well, but the Mk 1 eyeball can spot other things than closed/open doors
They should never have privatised the railways; BR may not have been perfect but much of that could be attributed to government stop/go policies.