It's perfectly ok to pull the passenger alarm

[severe_delays]

I've been on holiday recently. I've been driving for two days now and both have been somewhat chaotic in one way or another. Signal failures, unexpectedly high passenger numbers, late running, odd instructions, lost trains, trains doing the timetable in reverse and panicky managers who think they might have lost a couple of drivers somewhere have

Comments

[hazelstitch]

That was really interesting, thank you

[severe_delays]

And possibly it will be better when it's complete! I forgot at least one: If you see someone on the track who looks as though they don't belong (kids, adults without safety clothing etc) then pull the alarm and let someone know.

There are probably tons of other circumstances where it's a good thing to pull the alarm but it's hard to list them all. I hope if people read this they'll feel more confident about raising the alarm if they need to. It often feels very intimidating to be the one person who stands up in a crowd and takes action. Of course, everyone else is not as relaxed and oblivious as they pretend to be. Really they can all see something is wrong but they are too intimidated to go against what everyone else is doing. As soon as one person reacts then others will too.

[techiebabe]

I think I'm one of those people who wouldn't think to pull the alarm until someone's head was actually falling off, and then I'd probably just get out and tell a staff member. Whoops.

I was at a disabled railcard user's focus group recently and learned that if nobody comes to help you off the train at your alloted station, instead of waiting hanging out the train so the doors jam on you (er, that's not deliberate, it's just so I can see if help is coming) you should pull the alarm. Wow. "The staff haven't come to help me disembark" doesn't feel like an emergency, just a huge inconvenience if we then plough on to another station and I have to double back to get home. I'd have never thought to pull the alarm for that!

Mind you, that supposes the alarm is within reach of a wheelchair user in the first place... :-)

[severe_delays]

I know on modern trains there is more awareness of things like ability to reach and use alarms so that's improving (and anti discrimination laws help push that). This does bring the slight extra problem of passengers accidentally leaning on low-sited alarms or young children playing with them when mum's back is turned but usually a workaround can be sorted for that.

And yes, you are right. Not getting required assistance to leave the train is another good reason to pull the alarm. On the first week of training we were told that every passenger has the right to leave the train at their destination. To disallow this for any reason other than safety is akin to kidnapping!

[ext_772284]

That's interesting. Does that apply to non-disabled people?

I understand that if you've fallen asleep and woken to find the doors closing on your station - but when the train is packed beyond capacity (like there are any other times), I've found - even if you're ready to leave at your station, people not wanting to get off will refuse to get out of the way, meaning most people have to squeeze out in single file, only for the driver to start closing the door and then getting snippy when we hold the doors open.

Could you use the alarm for when not everyone has finished disembarking the train yet? As you say - it's akin to kidnapping, so is that a valid use? It happens nearly every day on the DLR with passengers from the Airport resolutely standing in front of open doors with massive cases and not moving an inch because they don't need to get off.

[severe_delays]

No, pulling the alarm on a crowded train is just going to hold everyone up. And it won't make things quicker for you as you'll need to stay and inform the driver it was you so he can stop looking for the reported emergency. Sometimes it just is crowded and being in position to get off and planning your exit well beforehand is the key. I know it's difficult to get through a crowd but that's no reason to pull the alarm

[pubwebmaster]

That's very useful to know. Do you think it applies to National Rail as well?

[severe_delays]

I should imagine so though obviously I can't absolutely speak for other train operating companies. I'd certainly have no problem using it on NR for any of the circumstances I've mentioned above. Bear in mind the dire threats are for "misuse". An honest use of the alarm is not "misuse" even if it turns out that the user was mistaken as to the severity of the event. Railways are all about safety and we would rather people erred on the side of caution than saw a risk and ignored it

[pubwebmaster]

I recall a time, not railway-related, when some kids were being pulled along on bikes by a motorcyclist, a sort of game. I considered lives were in immediate danger, so I called 999, only to be told by the miserable operator that is was not an emergency.

Nevertheless, a police car did attend, and the problem didn't happen again.

[severe_delays]

In contrast to that, I've *not* used 999 when parking meters outside my home were being drilled open. Instead I rang the local police station and they (eventually) answered and sent a car round. The officer taking my statement said that if a crime was going on they want to hear about it and that 999 would have been perfectly ok to use. Lives need not be at risk to dial 999.

I'd have done the same in your situation as the kids were at definite risk and they often haven't developed the capacity to think things through enough to recognise risk. And possibly told old miserypants to take a hike while I was at it.

[ext_772074]

I found this post really useful! My friends and I witnessed a very violent fight on the Tube on the way home from my hen night back in February. We pulled the alarm and got a lot of stick for it from fellow passengers who were annoyed about the inconvenience to their journey.

[severe_delays]

You were right, they were wrong. People like that annoy me. It is incredibly common that when there's a death on the tube someone will start ranting that there's no need to shut down or stop trains running over the body. Aside from the fact around half of one-unders survive we have a legal obligation to not tamper with the body and to get the police to investigate a sudden death. Not to mention basic humanity.Some passengers can't see past their own desires and prefer to ignore their safety.

[nelsolidarida]

WTF?!?

[severe_delays]

Indeed.

[ext_772222]

Even the TFL website puts you off. Pages like this http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/19460.aspx say "only in a real emergency (eg if someone collapses)". All the official wording makes you think you should never ever touch the alarm and it's just there to be admired from a distance.

[severe_delays]

Well spotted. I feel we sometimes go a bit overboard no the forbidding, frowny messages. They are there because of the first type of people I mentioned who pull the alarm for no particular reason but I suspect it's discouraging for the second type of person. I guess it's hard to strike a balance

Surface lines

[ext_772222]

I think the situation on surface lines (ie. National Rail) is a bit more nuanced - and that's probably what the official, forbidding-sounding guidelines are set up for

Re: Surface lines

[severe_delays]

Eep! Scariness. Yeah, we need to add one. If any part of the outside of the train suddenly becomes the inside of the train then pull the handle and leg it