[SystemSafety] Passengers travelling through London Paddington are facing continued disruption after a train derailment.

[DREW Rae]

Martyn,
The train was coming from a siding. Derails are used to protect main lines
(where the passenger trains run) from unauthorized entry. Unauthorized
movements don't necessarily have locomotives, let alone ATP enabled - for
example they may be runaway cars.

They're fairly basic mechanical devices - almost like spring loaded levers
to force the wheels off the track. The assumption is that whatever you are
derailing isn't nearly as valuable as a mainline train.

Drew
On 18 Jun 2016 12:07 AM, "Martyn Thomas" <martyn at thomas-associates.co.uk>
wrote:

Passengers travelling through London Paddington are facing continued
disruption after a train derailment.

Network Rail said the empty train had passed a red signal outside the
station, activating an automatic derailment on Thursday. Overhead power
lines also came down.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-36555082 (includes a picture
that explains why the overhead power was brought down).

How does the "automatic derailment" work? Is it really the best solution
for a train passing a signal at danger? Surely this can't be used if the
train is carrying passengers! Why isn't Automatic Train Protection adequate?

Martyn

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