Article: Train withdrawn from service after door becomes stuck

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Train withdrawn from service after door becomes stuck open between stations

Train withdrawn from service after door becomes stuck open between stations

    * Ashley Gardiner, Timothy Wetherell
    * From: Herald Sun
    * March 12, 2010 12:00AM

ANOTHER train has been withdrawn from service after a horrifying incident in which a door became stuck wide open between stations.

A commuter-shot photograph that showed passengers on the 40-year-old Hitachi train were just centimetres from possible death or serious injury.

The door was open between West Footscray and Middle Footscray stations on a Wednesday morning city service.

A passenger had to use considerable force to close the doors, demonstrating the real risk of a fall on to the tracks if anyone had tried to close them while the train was moving.

The train was recently refurbished, as Metro tries to cope with booming patronage.

The old Hitachi trains have been plagued by rust problems, which saw them withdrawn from service last year. But a chronic shortage of trains saw them go back into service.

Metro has now withdrawn the train from service and begun an investigation.

Last night it had a bare minimum of trains available to run its evening peak service.

Eight of the troubled Siemens trains remain out of service, though tests were being done overnight in a bid to get them back on the tracks.

The Herald Sun reported this week that Metro had warned the State Government that the poor state of tracks could lead to collisions or derailments.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union locomotive division secretary Brian Hill said the Hitachi trains were overdue for replacement.

"The doors should not be able to be open when the train is moving, so there obviously was a fault," he said. "They're past their use-by date - we're talking about equipment that's about 40 years old."

Opposition spokesman on transport Terry Mulder said the video showed evidence of a huge safety breach.

"It would be a disaster if a passenger was hurled from a moving train because the passenger expected that the doors would always be closed between stations," he said.

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said the fault was symptomatic of a lack of maintenance.

"We need the Hitachi trains in service to relieve overcrowding at peak times, but they must be given proper maintenance to make sure they are safe and reliable," Mr Bowen said.

Metro spokeswoman Lanie Harris said all doors on the train were being examined.

"A warning device in the driver's cab alerts drivers to any open train doors, so we are investigating whether this warning tone was functioning correctly," Ms Harris said.

A spokesman for Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula said the train would be returned to service.

"Metro have taken the appropriate action to remove the train from service. Once the train has been tested it will return to the operational fleet," Stephen Moynihan said.

[ozbob]

When we had the Tait car trains in Melbourne we regularly rode around with the doors open, particularly in the heat waves ...




http://www.vicsig.net/suburban/heritage/20040124-bor-tait-doggie.jpg

[Otto]

When our EMU's were new, I noted on a few occasions, the train travelling with the doors open..

[longboi]

When our EMU's were new, I noted on a few occasions, the train travelling with the doors open..

Yep. Door interlocks were retrofitted to EMUs.

On a related note, my mum once knew this woman whose pram with baby got stuck in between the doors on a EMU years ago. Apparently she travelled the entire distance between two stations hanging onto this pram with half hanging outside of the train