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Metrolink head-on crash in Chatsworth
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Railroad Bob: [QB] [QUOTE]Originally posted by George Harris: [qb] Before everyone gets all warm and fuzzy about PTC, remember anything invented by man has the possibility of error. Note Smitty's "it is always a chain of errors that leads up to a crash." All PTC does is put one more link in the chain, which also gives it one more place to break. Increased complexity does not necessarily lead to increased safety. The NTSB and before it the ICC are notorious for recommending expensive mechanical solutions to solve all human error accident, and also while making these recommendations blithely ignoring both examples of their failure and any thought of cost-benefit ratios. I hear some dolt sounding shocked that they were depending upon a "red light" to tell the engineer what to do. What do you think we all do when driving down a city street? [/qb][/QUOTE]The "dolts" are certainly abounding in this case, George. Colored lights have worked pretty well for the first century-and-a-half on the railways. I agree with your views on the PTC system. It requires its own dedicated radio frequency to operate, I believe. Might not work too well in the mountains perhaps, and is incredibly expensive. I am not hearing anything mentioned about the old style tried 'n true ATS (Automatic Train Stop) systems, which use the simple analog inductors on the engine axle and one on the ground. I believe they are used on the Needles and Marceline Subs, to just name a couple of locations. If I recall, in order for Amtrak to have a 90 MPH limit, ATS was required, but I've been out of the loop for a few years now; could have changed. ATS would be a LOT cheaper than PTC, that's for sure... [/QB][/QUOTE]
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