DART+ (DART Expansion)

There were no level crossing accidents in 2022 where a train struck something, there was one in 2023 which while not fatal led to very serious injuries.

In the 2023 incident there was someone in the cab who shouldn't have been there, not a factor but a breach of procedure.

No I don't need to read anything.

There is no extra responsibility in having safety cameras on in driver cabs. That is a simple fact.

Exactly, the driver does his/her job in exactly the same manner, whether there is an in-cab camera or not. The enabling of a camera in the cab does not mean an increase in responsibility. The installation of a tracker in my company supplied car made no difference to my responsibilities, workload or how I conduct myself when driving.

if a driver is on their phone then they will be found out very quickly so cameras won't make a difference there, inspectors travel the network regularly and unannounced and under cover so as to insure drivers are doing the job.
from nearly 30 years of using the railway i have never once saw a driver on their phone when they should not be.
as for not stopping in time, very sadly that doesn't really exist as by the time a driver sees someone on the line in the best conditions it's generally already to late unfortunately if traveling at speed.

so the not safety cameras being switched off or removed won't make a difference in any way to passengers.

we are safe.

First figure is very easy to find and verify. Second one is neither.

I suggested, maybe two years ago, that we should have a separate DART+ Rolling Stock thread. The last couple of pages are exactly why I did so.

The rules aren't worth the paper they're written on. There's no auditing on 99% the CCTV out there, so there's no way to check who watched it.

And even at that, Irish rail could argue the subject of the recording is the Cab and not the driver in which case they could watch the CCTV when ever they want.

Anyone who's actually gone through GDPR will realise how subjective the terms of reference in it are. The scope is so wide it serves an excuse to do nothing and anything.

If on a platform, they'll just walk up to the cab and look in the window.

There's also CCTV on some sections track.

The inspector can also just access the Cab from passenger area on the train, I've seen them just walk in to the cab between stations in the past.

You have to keep one hand on the power handle at all times otherwise the train will engage the brakes, you won't have time or the dexterity to put the phone away quickly enough by the time the inspector opens the door.

If you're using your phone while driving a train, you will be caught… and it won't be 3 penalty points and €120 fine either…

Maybe you should explain how it will improve safety first?
I've done loads of splaining on this thread.

Apart from the DART units, where the deadman is pushing / holding down the power handle, there is no requirement to keep your hands on the controls if you don’t want to.

You can notch up and then take your hands off and the train does the work. The deadman is a pedal on the ground. When that beeps you lift your foot off the pedal and immediately put it back down. You have to do that fairly quickly.

There is plenty of time and opportunity to use your phone if you wanted to.

Any updates on the DART+?

If you don't want to read the posts correctly, then you'll keep making mistakes. You are the only one bringing up in cab CCTV as being extra responsibility. Nobody has suggested that.

Highdef doesn't understand the extra responsibility of having more passengers on a train, and thinks drivers are just after a pay day. I could be wrong, but he seems to have a grudge against rail workers getting decent pay and conditions.

West has planning permission, but is facing a judicial review which won't be resolved for many months. The depot decision leaves the whole DART+ programme in doubt but IÉ are working on a revised submission for the depot. The delay will of course have impacts on the entire scheme and even the delivery of new trains as there is presently nowhere to store them

South West has planning but can get a JR anytime until the 8th of January.

Coastal north is in planning for only 2 months so there'll be nothing for another 2 years or so.

Coastal south is om ice for the moment.

Irish Rail are currently making space, and building new roads to store the trains.