> the dispatcher who greenlit the cab driver to go full speed ahead after the train control system on that track had crashed even though they knew that another train was reporting that it was unable to restart and get going
replyApologies in advance for what may be a pedantic and possibly dumb question, but is there a failsafe or guardrail against such forced errors?
Not if drivers switch to full manual control. For the ETCS control system:
reply- in normal mode (Full Supervision) the driver's actions are monitored and unsafe operations lead to an emergency brake
- but there is a fully manual mode (Staff Responsible) which does exactly that - the driver is fully responsible for what they do. If they get bad instructions from the control center, no technical barrier against crashes exist.
Older systems like LZB usually are even more permissible.
The contract to make the line ERTMS compliant was published in 2020, with 2024 as completion target. Errors meant it had to be offered again, pushing it to 2025 and then 2026. The crash could have been avoided.
replyThis is just sad. Red tape killing tens of people.
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