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Alton Towers Monorail "incident"

I imagine the monorail operators jobs being very boring and monotonous going round that track lap after lap after lap after lap .... So it is fantastic to see the operator in question was very aware and averted what could have been disastarous. I wonder why / how the switch remained open though.
 
Surely there's a more gradual way of bringing the thing to a stop as opposed to with force that sends people flying out of their seats?
 
Re: Alton Towers Monorail "incident"

Yep good job the driver was doing his job well.

Tbh all this reminds me of a few years back when our sky ride crashed into the one infront as the staff had no idea what they were doing. Let face it we could have got hurt.

Alton need to get on top of these problems now as their reputation is already suffering and this like this do not help.

If you have ever been on an underground train when they do and emergency stop then you would know there is no gradual way. The brakes slam on and that's how it's done. I would rather get thrown and get a cut than crash and get really hurt.
 
Re: Alton Towers Monorail

marc said:
If you have ever been on an underground train when they do and emergency stop then you would know there is no gradual way. The brakes slam on and that's how it's done. I would rather get thrown and get a cut than crash and get really hurt.
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Agreed, but it is still avoidable injury in the eyes of the HSE given that the switch section comes into view in more than enough time for a tamer stop to be sufficient.

I'd expect for us to see some changes after this, even if it's ridiculous seatbelts.
 
Re: Alton Towers Monorail "incident"

I know someone that works on trains and even doing an emergency stop it still takes the entire length of a train to stop. Yes they are going faster but it would probably still take half a train length to stop

In my mind he took no risk and done the right thing. What's the point taking a risk and trying just to stop the train by slowing it down?

Do we know the switch comes into view in plenty of time?
 
There isn't some sort of middle ground between casually slowing down and emergency stop.

''Not-so-much-an-emergency-but-you-do-need-to-stop-shortly'' stop button?
 
Re: Alton Towers Monorail "incident"

We don't know the system so god knows. But if the driver felt it needed an emergency stop then it did. He's the trained driver.
 
Smithy said:
There isn't some sort of middle ground between casually slowing down and emergency stop.

''Not-so-much-an-emergency-but-you-do-need-to-stop-shortly'' stop button?
Click to expand...

Why's that then? It's not unreasonable to expect the operator to be able to slow down the train in a more controlled manner. Even if it accompanies a more dramatic e-stop.

However, in the case of the track switching right before the operators eyes, he maybe did well :P
 
While we continue to gently caress the penis (or vagina) of the monorail driver who averted this potential disaster, let's remind ourselves of what happens when monorail trains crash at theme parks.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyBvUr-sESE[/youtube]
 
Emergency stops are designed to be used in emergencies...

The clue is in the name... Stopping more gradually may have indeed resulted in a crash, emergency stops are designed to stop the vehicle/device/whatever in the quickest possible time to avert a potential incident from escalating further... I'm sure we'd rather hear about some bruises rather than what Ian posted above now wouldn't we?

Considering how a car's emergency braking still can take a while to set in when driving at around 30mph, it will take even longer for a heavier and longer train, due to basic physics... So I doubt there would be any way to 'gradually' stop it safely enough to avoid the situation without immense risk of actually causing an escalation... Indeed, most ride E-Stops still involve the ride moving to some point, just due to the motion that is already happening, hence there is always going to be some form of movement after pressing it, just very sharp in order to reduce danger...

In short, E-Stops are designed for quick safety in view of a potential emergency... Gradual stopping is risky as hell when you have a packed train so the driver fulfilled the part of his job extremely well in this situation... Well done him...
 
Thanks for your retardedly sarcastic explanation which addresses naff all.

The question is how its use is warranted when approaching something which is visible for many many metres ahead to a vigilant operator. If it was the only means available to stop the train then the system is flawed.

The fundamental point is that it should be esnured that the train is incapable of approaching that section when it is dangerous.

Seems like he did the best he could in the circumstances.

With whiplash, concussion, broken noses and injuries requiring stitches reported, I'd expect the HSE to order improvements to the system and probably prosecute as a result.
 
As NI said above (and saved me explaining it), the driver used the emergency stop button in an emergency.

That's all there is to it.

That you're trying to pick fault or suggest he could have done better, having no idea of the situation, is laughable.
 
Quite clearly Tom knows the exact details of working on the Monorail including the distance viewable to the driver as approaching the transfer track...

Of course, there is no possible way the operator might have panicked or just hit the E-Stop seeing the incorrectly placed track, knowing that it would definitely stop the train miles before reaching it, rather than risk the standard slow stop...

Of course, my post addressed naff all, aside from the fact that the operator followed emergency procedures to what I would assume (after all I have worked in the industry so can apply my own experiences of learning how to operate rides across the board as they rarely differ THAT much) to the letter of the law, and will no doubt be praised for avoiding a much worse accident...
 
Nemesis Inferno said:
Quite clearly Tom knows the exact details of working on the Monorail including the distance viewable to the driver as approaching the transfer track...

Of course, there is no possible way the operator might have panicked or just hit the E-Stop seeing the incorrectly placed track, knowing that it would definitely stop the train miles before reaching it, rather than risk the standard slow stop...

Of course, my post addressed naff all, aside from the fact that the operator followed emergency procedures to what I would assume (after all I have worked in the industry so can apply my own experiences of learning how to operate rides across the board as they rarely differ THAT much) to the letter of the law, and will no doubt be praised for avoiding a much worse accident...
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I love the way you've twisted it into me slagging the operator off.

There's scope for improvement to the system, there's nothing else to say or argue about.
 
Aside from you questioning about the operator not using the normal 'slow' brakes instead of the emergency stop button, no, you never 'slagged' (what an AWFUL word) the operator off...

He followed procedure in the circumstances, does the system need revamping to prevent this happening again? No-one on here could actually give a completely accurate and honest answer without guesswork... Since this is a completely one off incident that has never happened before, clearly it was a minor problem somewhere in the system which lost track of the transfer tracks position (essentially a brain fart)... It'll be looked at, logged in, and I doubt anything serious will change...
 
Isn't the switch track bit monitored by CCTV? If not, why not?
 
There are sensors that cut the power automatically if the train heads towards the switch track and it's been left open. It seems that maybe there was some sensor failure somewhere? Or maybe the driver panicked and e-stopped when the train would have automatically stopped? Or maybe the article we're relying on was written by somebody from the Daily Mail... ;)
 
Touche to you all! (although NI, I questioned if there WAS of stopping it less dramatically)

I'm hoping it is picked up by a red top now just for humour's sake!
 
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