Train Passenger Capacity Limits

[danielfelice]

Like buses, do trains have a legal limit of the number of passengers each carriage is allowed to travel at any one time?

I get on the Maynooth train everyday and its full to the brim. I would hate to think if there was a fire on board or an accident and everyone had to get off in a hurry.

Surely it is not safe to have that many people on the trains.

I know Irish Rail don't seem to want to address the problem, but IF something does happen and people get hurt surely they are liable?

Are the passengers covered by Irish Rail's liability insurance and if so wouldn't the insurance company limit the number passengers on the trains?

I don't think people falling out of the train every time the doors open would be within the acceptable limit, and surely Irish Rail would not be covered by insurance if anything did happen with that many people on board?

[Mark Hennessy]

The official line is that there is no max number.

The advice given by the Railway Safety people is not to board a train if you don't feel safe.

Yep, I know, its the equivalent of duck and cover and has no bearing on the real world where people have to board trains and go to work before a certain time each morning.

[Mark Gleeson]

We have investigated the overcrowding issue and Europe wide there is no legislation or standards to be found which define limits or legal restrictions, that doesn't make it right but leaves us in a difficult position.

All commuter trains are designed to carry significantly more than than is physically possible to jam in, the absolute limit is 250 people however maximum you will get in even in worst case is under 200

The safety authorities will only investigate if overcrowding lead to an incident of some kind occurs as a result of the overcrowding

Now the excuse is this is common all across the world but you won't find anywhere else where its jammed for 90 solid minutes every rush hour. I've travelled London and Paris in peak hours and never saw anything close to what is routine in Dublin

[danielfelice]

I find that interesting.

Most places like hotlels, pubs, clubs, office buildings have a licence stating that they can house X number of people before it is found unsafe in case of an emergency where people will have to evacuate in a hurry.

There have been cases in Ireland and worldwide where places have exceeded the limit and an evacuation has occured where they have been found liable for personal injury due to the fact that it took to long to leave the building becuase of the amount of people that were inside.

Why are trains any different?

Buses have an X number of standing and X number of seating licences and they would be safer in an accident than if a train derailed at high speed.

[robdrysdale]

A come on it's not that bad. Count yourself lucky you don't live in Japan.

http://www.chilloutzone.de/files/08040701.html

[sean]

now THAT is bad.

[Oisin88]

i'd like them to employ a few of those guys at the luas at Smithfield on the evening of matches in Croke park.

[losexpectation]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

We have investigated the overcrowding issue and Europe wide there is no legislation or standards to be found which define limits or legal restrictions, that doesn't make it right but leaves us in a difficult position.

All commuter trains are designed to carry significantly more than than is physically possible to jam in, the absolute limit is 250 people however maximum you will get in even in worst case is under 200

surely a easy step would to get that limit reduce, by saying it isn't physically possible.

you'd be then approaching reallity

[Mark Gleeson]

We engineers call it the margin of safety