Passenger confusion as Irish Rail driver 'error' leads to Cork train missing Mallow stop

[K801]

https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/local-news/passenger-confusion-irish-rail-driver-17595523

 

How can something like this happen on a modern network?

[Mayner]

It reminds me of an Austrian train driver directing us to get off at the wrong station. Our station was a request stop and my wife asked the driver to let us off at our station Willendorf in reasonable German our driver pulled up at Spitz a Donau and announced Willendorf! and did a very good Basil Fawlty impression when we refused to get off the train and pointed to the nameboard, nearly ripping the transmission out of the railcar as he took off.

[Broithe]

I've had a few events on the Big Island - one train back from Holyhead, about 2005,  had the in-car automated station announcements one station out all the way back.

On another occasion, 1998ish, we ended up down some virtually disused siding somewhere around Queensferry, and had to reverse back out onto the main line.

In 1999, I took an interminable diversion, on the way from Bristol to Birmingham, as they weren't confident that the thing we were on was running well enough to get up the Lickey Incline.

I woke up once to hear a very gentle clickety-clack, when our intended route was all continuously-welded. We were doing about 20mph as we trundled along to get back to a 'real' track. That was about 2000.

I found a quiet carriage and settled down on a through train to Holyhead, about 2007. Luckily, when it stopped at Chester, the front was well off the platform end and the driver found me on his way back to alight onto the platform - and informed me that my bit of the train was being detached from the continuing part - first I'd heard of it.

In 1963, waiting with my father at Kingham, it became clear that his train wasn't stopping, and we all went off to the next station in the station master's Morris Minor van.

[NIR]

Happened once or twice that I noticed, including one setting back, but I doubt it's dangerous in itself, just inconvenient. Variable stopping patterns must be a real pain to drive.

Edited January 21, 2020 by NIR

[hexagon789]

10 hours ago, K801 said:

https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/local-news/passenger-confusion-irish-rail-driver-17595523

 

How can something like this happen on a modern network?

Happens rarely enough over here, usually a few times a year you see such a story in the media.

 

Though doesn't everything stop at Mallow these days, unlike some timetables of the past?

Edited January 21, 2020 by hexagon789

[DiveController]

In the 'antiquated days' the signalman would not have allowed you into the station until it was clear to do so, nor the guard out of it if a passenger was running down the platform. So what happens now, the road is set all the way to Cork with greens set all the way by the CTC?

[Mayner]

3 hours ago, DiveController said:

In the 'antiquated days' the signalman would not have allowed you into the station until it was clear to do so, nor the guard out of it if a passenger was running down the platform. So what happens now, the road is set all the way to Cork with greens set all the way by the CTC?

Apart from systems where trains are automatically controlled on systems like the Docklands Light Railway or Airport people movers the driver is usually responsible for stopping and starting trains at stations and nothing to do with the signalling system.

In the days of mechanical system the signalman usually obtained authorisation for an approaching train to enter the next station and lower the section (or starting signal(s) regardless of whether or not the train was stopping. This practice speeded up train working as a stopping train could approach a station at a higher (less restricted) speed than when the signal for the next section was at danger.