New recommendations by the RSSB could leave you entombed until rescue...

Many of you may have heard of the recent recommendation by the RSSB (Rail Safety & Standards Board - September 2007) to remove emergency hammers from trains and replace the exit windows with laminated glass...

For those amongst you who are unsure about types of glass, the glass you would normally use to escape through is toughened which breaks into small cubes when broken. Laminated glass is made up of two separate pieces of glass with a plastic film sandwiched and bonded between them. When bonded they just look like one pane of glass and you can see straight through them without seeing the plastic film.  Double glazed windows will have two panes of glass side by side with a spacer bar between to stop the panes of glass touching each other.

Laminated glass is commonly used in vehicle windscreens to try and stop you being ejected through them in an accident, whereas toughened glass is commonly used in the side windows to enable you to escape if you need to (as it can be broken with the correct tool). Imagine being plunged into a river or the car catches fire and the electrics short out leaving you trapped, the only way out is through the side windows. Think you may have got the picture... Now imagine being in a train where all of the windows are laminated, there is no way out except the side doors, if they are jammed...its bye bye to everyone!

The lengthy report produced by the RSSB (please see www.lifeaxe.com/rssb.pdf) explains in detail their reasoning for their recommendation and refers to train accidents where passengers have been ejected through the windows in train accidents. Taken on its own it is very persuasive and gives credibility to the change to laminated glass however, when cross referenced with other known data produced by the RSSB the facts and information given appears to be distorted and uses outdated data, in addition, all of the rail vehicles linked to accidents that have seen terrible deaths and injuries were brought into service prior to 1994 and non of them conformed to current UK Rail group Standards, they could in fact have been up to 20 years old (shocking eh!)...

One example (and the main one for the change to laminated glass) is the reference to the Potters Bar accident where according to the RSSB recommendation 9 people were ejected from the carriage, this is referred to as "involuntary ejection", however, when you look at the final crash report produced by the RSSB for this accident is states "only 2 possibly 4 passengers were involuntary ejected" which is statistically similar to nearly all rail accidents whatever type of glass, carriage, or train used (even the Cumbria crash)...

When removing emergency exit windows from rail carriages you are effectively decreasing the emergency exits by 50% and increasing the exit time for passengers by 100%, given that the gangways are clear of debris, damage and injured passengers. If these gangways are blocked, for what ever reason, up to 76 passengers (per carriage) will effectively have no means of escape... Should a fire situation occur.. they will be doomed or even worse entombed!

Much has been mentioned about how safe the Pendalino train involved with the crash at Cumbria was and how effectively it saved countless lives... However, it appears this train does not conform to current Rail Group Standards in that there are only two exit doors per carriage and no exit windows (UK regulations require 4 doors and exit windows)... Where carriages over-turned only one side exit door would have been available for the passengers to escape from.. Had there been a fire this crash would have without doubt been one of the worst in UK rail history.

Even more startling; all current rail carriages used on the UK rail network are operating using approved but unfit emergency escape hammers that break in use... This has been proven in several crash reports by passengers trying to escape. As this situation was so worrying the RSSB instigated a research program (almost 3 years ago) with a company called AEA Technology Rail Ltd (now Delta Rail Ltd) to determine if these hammers were in fact capable of breaking rail carriage windows... Subsequent testing has proven these hammers (in all cases) failed in one way or another even the most basic of tests. The only hammer to survive all of the testing without fault was the Lifeaxe!

Having admitted the old style red and green hammers (large and small) fail in use the RSSB now refuses to publish (place in the public domain) this hugely important safety data as all train operating companies (TOC's) will be forced to remove them and replace them with an approved version - Please bear in mind it can take up to ten years before all carriages change to laminated glass (if it is approved)

So where does that leave us?

Currently, we have a situation where rail carriages are being used with outdated emergency hammers that are effectively useless in an accident, the Pendalino trains (and the Heathrow Express) seem to be operating outside current safety regulations, some train operating companies are replacing rail carriage window glass ahead of formal approval by the RSSB (can they do that?), passengers have no idea which windows are safe to break in an accident, there are no clear guidelines given on how to escape when laminated glass is fitted, and the RSSB wants passengers to remain in the carriage after an accident until the emergency services arrive to help with the escape, approx 20 minutes...Are they mad? Lastly, when the RSSB introduce a new Group Standard it is not retrospective, which means any train or carriage introduced prior to the new Standard being implemented does not have to conform to it. Imagine a train or carriage that has been in service for 20 years (yep, they can be around that long)...

Do you still feel safe travelling by rail knowing there could be no way out and you will have to wait up to 20 minutes for the emergency services to rescue you? If there is a fire...

So what is the RSSB up to? My own view is the introduction of the Pendalino trains and the new Heathrow Express, both already using laminated glass, were never approved for use on UK rail networks and in order for the situation to be corrected with out major embarrassment to the RSSB (and a public enquiry on safety issues), not to mention the effect on the huge investment by Virgin Rail (probably billions of pounds), the RSSB would have had no other alternative (or choice) but to find a way to approve laminated glass on safety grounds. Could you imagine what would have happened had they not done so... All Pendalino high speed trains within the UK would have been grounded causing huge disruption to the whole county (especially the main lines to London), and no trains could run directly to Heathrow Airport (Heathrow Express).

If you're interested I have written a report in response to the RSSB recommendation for passenger containment outlining all of these facts (currently in the hands of two UK MP's for comment). Please go to www.lifeaxe.com/review.pdf

By the way... If your thinking of travelling by rail, Lifeaxe multi strike emergency hammers are available from Lifeaxe.com or on eBay (you can keep it with you in a briefcase, handbag or pocket).

P.s. Have your say... message me with your comments and they will be passed on to the MP's who are trying to make some sense out of this highly sensitive and potentially dangerous safety situation, or vote yes in support of our campaign for a safer railway.

Happy traveling...

 Please..