Article: Queensland Rail campaign to cut down on injuries to commuters rushing

[ozbob]

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Queensland Rail campaign to cut down on injuries to commuters rushing for the train

Queensland Rail campaign to cut down on injuries to commuters rushing for the train

    by: Robyn Ironside
    From: The Courier-Mail
    January 09, 2012 12:00AM

COMMUTERS are falling over themselves to catch the train and Queensland Rail wants them to stop.

At least once a day, usually more, someone falls and hurts themselves rushing to make the train, with most injuries occurring at Roma Street or Central stations.

In the past 12 months, 416 slips, falls and trips were recorded by Queensland Rail, making up 65 per cent of all injuries on the CityTrain network.

In response, Queensland Rail has begun erecting "positive and colourful'' posters urging people not to fall down by holding the hand rail and "to beware closing doors''.

Acting chief customer care officer Cathy Heffernan said most incidents could be avoided by people simply taking more care in and around train stations.

"At Roma Street station 42 of the 113 incidents were people tripping or falling while using the stairs or escalators, with another 29 recorded at Central Station,'' Ms Heffernan said.

"Sixteen incidents occurred while customers were walking through Roma Street station and 15 at Central, and a further eight happened when people were rushing or even running for the train at these stations.''

Ms Heffernan said commuters tended to be more concerned about security.

"The simple fact is there is a much higher likelihood of being injured rushing for a train or walking and texting at the same time,'' she said.

In one case a man missed a step while texting, hurting his knee and ankle, while four other people broke their mobile phones when they took a spill.

"If we take a moment to think about what we are doing and how we can do it safely, the number of slips, trips and falls could be reduced,'' Ms Heffernan said.

According to Queensland Rail figures, the July to September quarter was one of the worst on record for train-related injuries with an average of two every day, or 183 in total.

Ms Heffernan said the safety posters placed on stations and in trains would help to get the message through.

"The message we want the community to hear is for people to be safe in everything they do, whether being alert to their surroundings while travelling to work or simply holding the handrail while walking down the stairs,'' Ms Heffernan said.

"We want all our customers to have an enjoyable experience and being safe is paramount to this.''

Bus passengers tended to be less accident prone, racking up 155 injuries in the July to September period, despite buses carrying more than twice as many people as trains.

[ClintonL94]

I've seen people rushing down the stairs trying to get their trains, I've heard QR CSA's tell them don't run it's already left there is another one in 3 minutes.

[BribieG]

I use FV twice a week. The old station didn't have escalators or lifts but at least had a ramp to each platform. The new station has not only steep stairways about as dangerous as the ones they replaced, but no longer the ramps. There's a cumbersone lift and only one escalator per platform which is set to go either up or down depending on the time of day.

So anyone rushing for a train is going to go hurtling down the staircase anyway. On balance I think the old station was safer than the new cut price glammed up job done on the cheap (following the sad accident of that guy who fell down the stairwell, but could just as easily happen with the new setup).

[BrizCommuter]

Maybe if there wasn't a 30 minute gap between trains then people would rush less?

(Although saying that, people dive through closing doors in London, and the next trains really are just a few minutes away.)

[Golliwog]

By all means, run an ad campaign to try and reduce it happening, and upgrade the stations to remove trip hazards where feasible, but at the end of the day, some people are always going to be in a rush, and possibly trip, but that's a risk they take. I've rushed before (and will again) and fallen flat on my arse, never thought it was anyone's fault but my own.

[Gazza]

Here I was thinking QR would introduce pulse timetabling to reduce the need to rush 

[Fares_Fair]

By all means, run an ad campaign to try and reduce it happening, and upgrade the stations to remove trip hazards where feasible, but at the end of the day, some people are always going to be in a rush, and possibly trip, but that's a risk they take. I've rushed before (and will again) and fallen flat on my arse, never thought it was anyone's fault but my own.

+1, I haven't fallen and rarely rush but where there are humans you WILL get failure.
In the end we are responsible for our own actions.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[O_128]

I always run, screw waiting 29 mins for a train.

[#Metro]

I always run, screw waiting 29 mins for a train.

Agree, absolutely.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Get there a couple minutes earlier then

[Cam]

I submitted a comment yesterday morning which wasn't published. Perhaps the reference to Perth having a 15 minute frequency on all lines every day until the evening wasn't considered appropriate. Has anyone seen a news story or opinion in the Courier Mail that mentions Perth's passenger rail frequency?

[Mr X]

Get there a couple minutes earlier then

Tell the bus/train driver to stop leaving early 

[Derwan]

My comment was published.   

Don't run. There will be another train in a few minutes.... wait... WHAT? Half an hour? RUN!!!

[DayboroStation]

In my opinion, there are two groups of people who run for the train: 1. Passengers who will always be running late regardless of the service frequency, and 2. Passengers transferring between services with a slender connection time due to poor Translink timetable planning and/or late running train services.
I have always been concerned with the number of people running between platforms at Roma Street Station to catch a connecting service. Inevitably, due to a combination of poor frequency and late running trains, there is an increased chance of passengers missing their connecting service, which in turn increases the number of passengers running. QR's "close to door" policy doesn't help either, with passengers also risking getting stuck in closing doors.
As a solution, perhaps Translink could redeploy some of their staff to key positions at the busy inner-city stations, and stop passengers attempting to board trains that are due to depart.
In addition, increasing service frequency would also help, especially during peak times when there is an increased passenger demand, and greater potential for late-running services. For example, on the Darra line outbound during peak hour, there is currently a 15 minute wait between services (30 minutes if travelling beyond Darra). There are several ex-Petrie/Caboolture trains that terminate at Roma Street – perhaps some of these could continue further beyond Roma Street to service passengers on the Ipswich/Richlands lines to alleviate congestion.

[BrizCommuter]

A bit of a belated blog post, due to getting foot stuck between train and platform.
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com/2012/01/dont-run-for-train.html

[Cam]

My comment was published.   

Don't run. There will be another train in a few minutes.... wait... WHAT? Half an hour? RUN!!!

[Fares_Fair]

A bit of a belated blog post, due to getting foot stuck between train and platform.
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com/2012/01/dont-run-for-train.html

Hey Briz,

Was that a trip, or a journey?  
(tongue in cheek here, hope you aren't serious)

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[STB]

@DayboroStation - I have seen rail staff at Roma Street station do just that and stop passengers from trying to board a train that is about to depart.  I've also have heard announcements in the past at both Fortitude Valley, Central and Roma Street telling passengers to stop running. 

IMO, if you have a train to catch then you leave where you started so you have enough time to walk to the station to get said train.  If the trains had to wait for running passengers, it'd never leave, as they just keep turning up trying to get them,  mostly in the peak I've seen this.

[DayboroStation]

STB: Point taken, but I still feel sorry for those who miss their connecting train, through no fault of their own. Perhaps if they knew the next train was only 5 minutes away (as opposed to 15-30 minutes) then there wouldn't be such a need to rush.

[#Metro]

STB: Point taken, but I still feel sorry for those who miss their connecting train, through no fault of their own. Perhaps if they knew the next train was only 5 minutes away (as opposed to 15-30 minutes) then there wouldn't be such a need to rush.

People will always run so long as there is a benefit in doing so.

The probability that you will seriously injure yourself is low-medium but most people who run don't get injured. (not prescribing, just describing here)
If the next train is 30 minutes away, that's like a $25 incentive to run for the train.

The reason why people run for trains isn't because they're stupid, it's because most times they can do it and get away with it and there is a huge incentive to do so.

This morning I missed my bus. It pulled away while I was a few meters from it. Did I run for it? No, I just caught the next one which was like 30 seconds after. You can't do this at a train platform with QR!!

(Oh, and another thing - lots of rocket buses too. I could have got one of those but where do they stop?)

[somebody]

(Oh, and another thing - lots of rocket buses too. I could have got one of those but where do they stop?)

If we are talking about Buranda here, then the answer is Elizabeth St and Creek St, unless it's a Veolia service which will still also serve Parliament.  And a LCBS will do Elizabeth then Edward.  But the point is that Elizabeth St is common.

[awotam]

I catch the 07.36 from Sherwood to Roma St M-F every week. It's almost invariably late at Roma St, even if only be a few mins. Which means there are always people jumping off, rushing down the stairs or escalators, running through the concourse, then rushing back up other stairs or escalators to catch their connecting sevices on the Cleveland or Beenleigh lines. Solution is simple, QR & Translink. Get the train to Roma St on time, or improve the counter peak services so that if the connection is missed, it doesn't mean waiting 15/20 mins for the next one.

[somebody]

^ Improve counter peak services, I say.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Another solution is to get those people that rush from that particular train to connect to the Gold Coast train could learn to get the train before to the city (6 minutes earlier in fact) if they are worried about missing their connection. No matter how you look at it there is always going to be a wait for people interchanging between lines and if people think they can make a quick dash at a station to catch a connecting service so they can leave home later or spend less time on PT then they are always going to run, even with 15 minute frequencies. Fact of life.

[Gazza]

If the trains had to wait for running passengers, it'd never leave, as they just keep turning up trying to get them,  mostly in the peak I've seen this.

See, this is why I advocate Japanese style departure chimes to speed up dwell times!
It's like musical chairs...When the music stops, you're either on or your off.

Eg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m9G5GrMVm0&feature=player_detailpage#t=13s

[somebody]

even with 15 minute frequencies.

15 minute frequencies are NOT turn up and go.

[BribieG]

OT: the guy who does the "Doors closing, please stand clear" works at our call centre. He's in his late 50s now but still does gigs as a voice model (he did the male lifts at the RBH and Qantas Airbus 380s amongst other famous jobs - "don't panic, we are merely about to crash due to metal fatigue in the wings "  - he got his doors closing gig way back when a train with a pram sticking out of the side made it all the way across the River to Roma Street