Heavy rail under light rail rules?

dowlingm

Here's one.

Why is it necessary to have barrier crossings on Irish Rail regional lines like Rosslare-Waterford or Waterford-Limerick Junction. If the line speed is 50mph or less, why not treat it as a light rail line and mount local operation traffic lights triggered by an induction loop. If a 43m LUAS can interact with traffic at crossings, why not a 2700?

dermo88

In short, its down to it being a legacy railway. A Luas also has much greater acceleration and deceleration capabilities compared to a Diesel Multiple Unit heavy train.

The power to weight ratio's are also radically different. A different set of rules apply. Obviously, I would like this to be different, but there have been numerous accidents involving level crossings, and there would be logistical problems in implementing such as an idea from a safety perspective. Knockcroghery derailment in 1989 for example springs to mind, not to mention numerous other accidents involving drivers who were impatient and 'ran' a level crossing.

antoinolachtnai

Mind you, in the case of places like Lansdowne Road, would it not be possible to split the platform onto either side of the roadway, so that the train would stop immediately before the crossing. This would mean that the gate would not have to come down until the train was ready to leave the platform. Surely this would vastly reduce the length of time the gates need to be down for?

NuMarvel

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

Mind you, in the case of places like Lansdowne Road, would it not be possible to split the platform onto either side of the roadway, so that the train would stop immediately before the crossing. This would mean that the gate would not have to come down until the train was ready to leave the platform. Surely this would vastly reduce the length of time the gates need to be down for?

I think even in cases like that, the gates would still come down before the train stops at the platform. That's what currently happens with city bound trains coming into Landsdowne and Sydney Parade, where the platform is before the crossing. The barriers usually about two/three minutes before the train pulls into the platform. To be honest, I think that's far safer than the alternative of letting traffic and pedestrians cross in proximity of a moving train, no matter how slow moving it may be or should be.

OurLadyofKnock

dowlingm wrote: »

Here's one.

Why is it necessary to have barrier crossings on Irish Rail regional lines like Rosslare-Waterford or Waterford-Limerick Junction. If the line speed is 50mph or less, why not treat it as a light rail line and mount local operation traffic lights triggered by an induction loop. If a 43m LUAS can interact with traffic at crossings, why not a 2700?

IIRC correctly something like this was propsed in the 2003 Strategic Rail Review. Small DMUs with the driver able to operate the signals and so on. I thought this was a great idea and if implemented would of saved the line.

Victor

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

Mind you, in the case of places like Lansdowne Road, would it not be possible to split the platform onto either side of the roadway, so that the train would stop immediately before the crossing. This would mean that the gate would not have to come down until the train was ready to leave the platform. Surely this would vastly reduce the length of time the gates need to be down for?

As indicated, the problem is if the train overshoots the platform / gates.

I'm wondering, what about putting all the platforms after the gates? There will of course be the issue of controlling a station divided by the level crossing. I imagine that would be slightly more complicated than the current position.

kc56

dermo88 wrote: »

In short, its down to it being a legacy railway. A Luas also has much greater acceleration and deceleration capabilities compared to a Diesel Multiple Unit heavy train.

The power to weight ratio's are also radically different. A different set of rules apply. Obviously, I would like this to be different, but there have been numerous accidents involving level crossings, and there would be logistical problems in implementing such as an idea from a safety perspective. Knockcroghery derailment in 1989 for example springs to mind, not to mention numerous other accidents involving drivers who were impatient and 'ran' a level crossing.

Also trams are fitted with powerful emergency brakes using electromagnets known are track brakes; you can see the magnetic brake between the wheels of a Luas just above the track. This gives the tram similar braking ability as a bus otherwise they could not operate on streets.

Similar brakes are fitted to a train in Switzerland as the train started it's journey by traveling up a street (Chur-Arosa railway).

A Dub in Glasgo

The RSC guidance (which was taken from the guidance in Britain) document states that the at grade intersection of a tram way and roadway should be considered a road junction and not a level crossing.

There is no dispensation in the guidance document for level crossing.