Swiss Fire and Rescue Train.
 

Last night (11/04/2006) a “Cisalpino” pendolino electric unit travelling between Stuttgart and Milan caught fire shortly after leaving Zürich Main Station and came to a halt 4 km inside a 9.4 km long tunnel. The 100+ passengers on board were led to safety by the emergency services and Swiss rail staff and fortunately only three required treatment for smoke inhalation. In addition to the normal emergency road vehicles two Fire and Rescue Trains also attended the incident.
Fire-fighting and Rescue trains have been based at strategic locations throughout the Swiss rail network for many years. The older Fire and rescue trains are hauled to the scene of the incident by diesel locomotives but the latest ones now being delivered are self-propelled.
The new trains consist of an Equipment Vehicle and a Rescue Vehicle, both of which are self-propelled and based on the MPV produced by Windhoff GmbH in Germany. These MPV’s are similar to the ones used by Network Rail in the U.K. for various duties including Rail Head Treatment.
In addition there is an unpowered Fire-Fighting car that remains permanently coupled to the Equipment Vehicle.
Attachment 29
An SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) Fire fighting and Rescue Train at Brig Station in September 2004. The 3-car train is 59 m. long and weighs approx. 234 t. Its 4 diesel engines develop 1250 kW of power and can propel the train at speeds of up to 100 km/h.
Attachment 30
Equipment Car.
The Driving Cab of this vehicle will also normally be used as the control centre for the firefighting operations. The fire fighting monitors on the roof of this vehicle and the Fire fighting car can be controlled remotely from this cab. Foam and water connections are also provided outside the vehicle which enable hoses to be used to attack the fire. A self-protection device is also fitted to the vehicle to provide a water curtain should it be required to enter an area where the fire is burning close to the track. Breathing air bottles are stored in the roof of the vehicle to supply face masks in the driving/control cab and a slight overpressure can also be created in the cab to prevent the ingress of smoke. The onboard compressor can supply 1000 ltrs/min of breathing air at 300 bar pressure in order to replenish the bottles at the end of the operation. The compressor is powered by a 50 kW generator which also feeds the lighting and other electrical systems. The vehicle is driven by two diesel engines that provide approx. 660 kW of power.
Attachment 31
Fire-fighting Car
The unpowered Fire-fighting car is permanently coupled to the Equipment vehicle. It is equipped with a Driving Cab and can also be used as a control vehicle if required. A diesel-driven pump takes water from the 50 m3 stainless steel tank and supplies the roof mounted monitors and the flexible hose connections. This pump is located in a compartment at the opposite end to the driving cab along with the Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) and its associated tank. Breathing air is supplied to the Driving Cab from bottles mounted beneath the vehicle.
Attachment 32
Rescue Vehicle
When the train reaches the incident the Rescue Vehicle can be detached and using its own diesel engines act as a shuttle to evacuate injured persons and other passengers to a safe location. The rescue container is supplied with breathing air from bottles mounted on the roof and can accomodate 9 casualties on stretchers or up to 70 people standing.

John

That is a very interesting piece. Well done.

Thanks for that John. I did not know they had such vehicles Very interesting. How many other countries have fire fighting trains. We did not have one in Rhodesia but then we only had one tunnel on the whole network. I have not heard of one in South Africa, a country that has a lot of tunnels.
Syd

They have tunnel rescue trains on the high speed lines in Germany. The ones I have seen are "top and tailed" by diesel locos. Apart from these I don't know of any other similar trains around the World although I do remember seeing a picture of a Tunnel Fire-Fighting train for the Severn Tunnel many years ago in the days of steam. Maybe some of our overseas members can assist?:)
In Switzerland the Fire and Rescue trains are used as an extension of the local fire brigade and often attend fires at lineside properties that have little or nothing to do with the railway. The Swiss rail network lends itself to this sort of practice because it is very dense and most tracks are signalled for bi-directional running allowing these trains to get to the scene quickly. This certainly wouldn't work in the U.K.:(
John

Pretty awesome Swiss and German efficiency. I wonder whether there would be any point in something similar in the UK? Or is the need for these machines only because of tunnels.

Anyone know if there are similar machines on the Channel tunnel? Looks like a really good idea.

One of the older Fire and Rescue trains can be seen in Ian Alexander's photo of Lausanne depot.

John

CTRL fire systems
 

There is no fire fighting train for the channel tunnel, but there are special fire fighting road vehicles which use the road access service tunnels.
They are double cabbed road veicles so can be driven from either end., both the French and the English have them, the UK ones are manned by the Kent fire and Rescue service.

They had to be employed when a lorry caught fire in 1996, when a train using running tunnel north was stopped in the tunnel.

Just found this. Very interesting item. Thanks John. :)

Thanks Alan.
Since I posted this article the BLS have taken delivery of a similar train. It is painted in their latest green/grey livery and is based at Frutigen in order to serve the newly opened Lötschberg Base Tunnel.
During my last trip to Switzerland I saw one of the older fire and rescue trains "checking out" the trackside area shortly after a steam special had passed through:D
http://www.john.p.whitby.btinternet....einen_3105.jpg

Is that a Bm4/4 providing the power?