Laminated glass 'can save lives' (BBC News)

[RF News]

Laminated glass windows in trains could have prevented a dozen rail crash deaths, an inquest hears.

More from BBC News...

[Trev]

And if there's a fire in the carriage and you can't break the windows....?

Swings and roundabouts come to mind.

[Shed Cat]

Originally Posted by Trev

And if there's a fire in the carriage and you can't break the windows....?.

If coaches do go fully secure with unbreakable windows like an aircraft, I would like to see new emergency exit doors hafway down each carriage. (Like an aircraft.) Especially as the end doors are also now locked. There were horrific train tragedies in the early days of the railways from locked carriage doors.

[Trev]

I agree with the idea of emergency exits, but then what if the carriage was full of smoke? That and the added disorientation (maybe the coach had tipped onto its side), would make them very difficult to locate.

It's all down the H&S culture that we live with in the end. We should accept that there is an element of risk in everything we do. It's impossible to plan for every eventuality.

[Foghut]

Originally Posted by Trev

I agree with the idea of emergency exits, but then what if the carriage was full of smoke? That and the added disorientation (maybe the coach had tipped onto its side), would make them very difficult to locate.

Well borrowing safety technology from the airlines, it has been suggested that a line of LEDs be imbedded in the floor as an aid to finding the way out in darkness or smoke, since in a smokelogged environment you would find yourself down low because of the heat and lack of oxygen. (Of course if the carriage is on its side this doesn't work so well)

It's all down the H&S culture that we live with in the end. We should accept that there is an element of risk in everything we do. It's impossible to plan for every eventuality.

I certainly agree that in general the safety culture in the UK has gone ridiculous (drivers falling foul of it often refer to it as the 'Safety Talliban'), however when you consider the consequences of a passenger leaving a train through the window and being dragged along the ballast the injuries are horrific. In the Hither Green disaster for example several people were dismembered and others suffered terrible physical trauma.

Also with regard to train doors, modern trains are still using 19th century locking systems. Most are set up so that even when you pull the Emergency egress handle it requires considerable force to open the doors manually. This is usually to ensure that people can't fall out by accident before the train has come to a stand. I believe that the doors should be tied into the train's own Speed Sense circuit, and so long as the relays aren't closed the doors will spring fully open under their own power once the emergency handle is pulled.

Also the safety systems should recognise when the carriage is significantly off vertical and if the carriage is stationary the doors on the high side should open automatically