9 ms·

This is interesting I would be very surprised if this could happen in central london. 1) the tubes are packed and the cabs locked. 2) they would have be murd

This is interesting I would be very surprised if this could happen in central london. 1) the tubes are packed and the cabs locked. 2) they would have be murdered by the other commuters. 3) you can't get in or out of the station without being seen on CCTV 4) each train has CCTV coverage. 5) its almost impossible to get out of the tube via the tunnels, without being electrocuted or run over (All but the cut and cover tunnels are <1' bigger than the trains) For point 2, even in legitimate cases where someone has keeled over, you get death stares. The only time its seen as acceptable is when someone falls inbetween the gap between the train and the platform edge.

krisoft 7y ago
> For point 2, even in legitimate cases where someone has keeled over, you get death stares. And with good reason, because that is not a legitimate case. It is displayed on signs on many routes that the emergency services can best help/reach you on the platforms. Pulling the emergency brakes in the tunnel is actually counter productive if someone keels over.
- dx034 7y ago
  I wrote it in the other comments, but emergency brakes on London tubes are not brakes, they just alert the driver. It therefore is a legitimate way to inform the driver of any unusual activity that warrants a longer stop at the next station.
dx034 7y ago
Regarding 5, emergency brakes in London won't stop the train in the tunnel. They just send a signal to the driver to wait at the next station and inform staff at that station and/or emergency services. Pulling the emergency brake therefore isn't necessarily a bad idea. If someone has fallen ill on the train (esp. common in summer), it's the best way to ensure that help will be available as soon as possible. As you said, evacuating trains in the tunnel is dangerous so it's only done if trains physically can't move to the station (e.g. another train blocks the tracks). And even then, evacuation is only done after electricity has been switched off via the end of the train.
- mprev 7y ago
  As for pulling the emergency brake for someone who is unwell, there are frequent announcements on the tube telling you not to do that. The advice from TfL is to wait until the next station and help the person get off.
  - dx034 7y ago
    That's true if someone is still able to walk. For people who need medical assistance you need to alert the driver to ensure the train won't continue. I think they started these announcements because people considered someone feeling dizzy a medical emergency.
    - mprev 7y ago
      I can see that it could be wise to pull the emergency handle at the station to prevent the train moving if, say, someone were having a heart attack and couldn't easily be moved to the platform. But pulling it between stations would only prolong the time it took for the person to get help.
      - dx034 7y ago
        It won't as there are no emergency brakes on Tubes, they're just called emergency brake. The train continues to the station and will then remain there.
        mprev 7y ago
        Regardless of whether the emergency handle is connected to a physical brake or if it sounds a alarm, there is an emergency brake. If the driver removes their hand from the dead man's switch, the emergency brake engages. But that's a side-road to this discussion. Unless you can point to official advice from TfL that states otherwise, I'm just gonna come out and say that I think it's best to stick to the advice TfL give at stations which is not to pull the emergency handle if someone is unwell. Whatever the precise action that results from pulling the handle (whether that's sounding an alarm, engaging a brake, or whatever), I don't see what it would achieve between stations and especially when TfL say not to do it.
morpheuskafka 7y ago
I've always heard never to use the emergency brakes for a medical emergency because then you'd just stop the train in the middle of a tunnel and greatly delay responses.
luckylion 7y ago
> 4) each train has CCTV coverage. With my tinfoil hat adjusted: maybe this is a plan to push for CCTV acceptance in NYC. Annoy commuters enough, present surveillance as a solution, get agreement.
- insulanian 7y ago
  There's a conspiracy theory guy (David Ike) who claims there's always the same pattern here: problem - reaction - solution. You create a problem to provoke people reaction and then offer them a solution, which ultimately results in taking more and more control over them.
  - Brakenshire 7y ago
    He also thinks the British royal family are lizards.
    - dr_dshiv 7y ago
      And I suppose you have empirical evidence that proves they are not lizards? (Adjusts hat)
      - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
        Far more than there is for Icke self-identifying as the son of god. Apparently he learnt his status as new messiah in a dream or something.
        whenchamenia 7y ago
        Still, neither side is posting any proof of their lizard or not-lizard assertions.
    - Gibbon1 7y ago
      Well obviously. There hasn't been a bastard child out of that family line in five generations.
din-9 7y ago
Is point 5 true for the newest tunnels like the Jubilee Line Extension? I think the DLR has an emergency walkway in the tunnels to Bank. I am expecting Crossrail will too.
frereubu 7y ago
From memory, the NYC subway has a lot more space in tunnels, making this much easier to do. The London underground has very tight tunnels and you'd probably be turned into mince if you tried this there (that is, if the commuters didn't get to you first). Fun fact - the tunnels are so tight in the Underground that there's not much room for much airflow around the trains and the clay surrounding the tunnels has absorbed so much heat that it can't take in any more, which is why it gets so stifling in summer. People used to go down to the Central Line to cool off in summer! https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2017/06/10/cooling-the-tube-engineering-heat-out-of-the-underground/ https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2017/06/10/cooling-the-tube...
- masklinn 7y ago
  > The London underground has very tight tunnels That's an understatement. IIRC in some of the tube stock you have/had to duck to enter the carriage if you're more than 5'5.
  - londons_explore 7y ago
    Probably 25% of men now can't stand upright anywhere in the train. It's like playing sardines in a wardrobe!
    - masklinn 7y ago
      That matches my recollection of being just barely able to stand straight in the middle of the car, I can't imagine the neck/back/knees of 6'5 londoners. For starters I assume they wear a helmet with a face shield so they don't eat the lintel every time they step into the carriage.
      - yaleman 7y ago
        6'9" guy checking in, thankfully just a tourist to the town for a week - it was always leg day when I was on the tube.
    - attilakun 7y ago
faissaloo 7y ago
>the tubes are packed and the cabs locked. Not during the middle of the day, which would have a knock on effect >each train has CCTV coverage. You could always keep a change of clothes
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
SilasX 7y ago
>they would have be murdered by the other commuters Oh, I'm sure 99% of the NYC-area ridership is planning exactly this. My immediate reaction to this story was, "Prankster, go into hiding now if you want to survive the week."
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
RaceWon 7y ago
> 2) they would have be murdered by the other commuters In the spirt of HN's policy of not being snarky I will attempt to temper my reply. As a native NYer: I find it Laughable that a Nation which, in effect, gave up its Sovereign Government to the EU and, outlawed Free Speech by banning "hate speech" (which is in fact--Anything that your Overlords say it is), would attemp to draw the line at someone pulling the EBrake on a train. Sorry, but that is as Non-Snarky as I could make my reply.
- RugnirViking 7y ago
  Was this bizzare unprovoked statement really necessary? I simply don't see how 'free speech', which is a concept almost entirely unique to the USA, is related to being annoyed that your hypothetical commute was interrupted. If you dispute the idea, I suggest you try pulling the emergency brake as a joke and see how fellow commuters treat you.

krisoft 7y ago

> For point 2, even in legitimate cases where someone has keeled over, you get death stares. And with good reason, because that is not a legitimate case. It is displayed on signs on many routes that the emergency services can best help/reach you on the platforms. Pulling the emergency brakes in the tunnel is actually counter productive if someone keels over.

dx034 7y ago
I wrote it in the other comments, but emergency brakes on London tubes are not brakes, they just alert the driver. It therefore is a legitimate way to inform the driver of any unusual activity that warrants a longer stop at the next station.

dx034 7y ago

Regarding 5, emergency brakes in London won't stop the train in the tunnel. They just send a signal to the driver to wait at the next station and inform staff at that station and/or emergency services. Pulling the emergency brake therefore isn't necessarily a bad idea. If someone has fallen ill on the train (esp. common in summer), it's the best way to ensure that help will be available as soon as possible. As you said, evacuating trains in the tunnel is dangerous so it's only done if trains physically can't move to the station (e.g. another train blocks the tracks). And even then, evacuation is only done after electricity has been switched off via the end of the train.

mprev 7y ago
As for pulling the emergency brake for someone who is unwell, there are frequent announcements on the tube telling you not to do that. The advice from TfL is to wait until the next station and help the person get off.
- dx034 7y ago
  That's true if someone is still able to walk. For people who need medical assistance you need to alert the driver to ensure the train won't continue. I think they started these announcements because people considered someone feeling dizzy a medical emergency.
  - mprev 7y ago
    I can see that it could be wise to pull the emergency handle at the station to prevent the train moving if, say, someone were having a heart attack and couldn't easily be moved to the platform. But pulling it between stations would only prolong the time it took for the person to get help.
    - dx034 7y ago
      It won't as there are no emergency brakes on Tubes, they're just called emergency brake. The train continues to the station and will then remain there.
      - mprev 7y ago
        Regardless of whether the emergency handle is connected to a physical brake or if it sounds a alarm, there is an emergency brake. If the driver removes their hand from the dead man's switch, the emergency brake engages. But that's a side-road to this discussion. Unless you can point to official advice from TfL that states otherwise, I'm just gonna come out and say that I think it's best to stick to the advice TfL give at stations which is not to pull the emergency handle if someone is unwell. Whatever the precise action that results from pulling the handle (whether that's sounding an alarm, engaging a brake, or whatever), I don't see what it would achieve between stations and especially when TfL say not to do it.

morpheuskafka 7y ago

I've always heard never to use the emergency brakes for a medical emergency because then you'd just stop the train in the middle of a tunnel and greatly delay responses.

luckylion 7y ago

> 4) each train has CCTV coverage. With my tinfoil hat adjusted: maybe this is a plan to push for CCTV acceptance in NYC. Annoy commuters enough, present surveillance as a solution, get agreement.

insulanian 7y ago
There's a conspiracy theory guy (David Ike) who claims there's always the same pattern here: problem - reaction - solution. You create a problem to provoke people reaction and then offer them a solution, which ultimately results in taking more and more control over them.
- Brakenshire 7y ago
  He also thinks the British royal family are lizards.
  - dr_dshiv 7y ago
    And I suppose you have empirical evidence that proves they are not lizards? (Adjusts hat)
    - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
      Far more than there is for Icke self-identifying as the son of god. Apparently he learnt his status as new messiah in a dream or something.
      - whenchamenia 7y ago
        Still, neither side is posting any proof of their lizard or not-lizard assertions.
  - Gibbon1 7y ago
    Well obviously. There hasn't been a bastard child out of that family line in five generations.

din-9 7y ago

Is point 5 true for the newest tunnels like the Jubilee Line Extension? I think the DLR has an emergency walkway in the tunnels to Bank. I am expecting Crossrail will too.

frereubu 7y ago

From memory, the NYC subway has a lot more space in tunnels, making this much easier to do. The London underground has very tight tunnels and you'd probably be turned into mince if you tried this there (that is, if the commuters didn't get to you first). Fun fact - the tunnels are so tight in the Underground that there's not much room for much airflow around the trains and the clay surrounding the tunnels has absorbed so much heat that it can't take in any more, which is why it gets so stifling in summer. People used to go down to the Central Line to cool off in summer! https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2017/06/10/cooling-the-tube-engineering-heat-out-of-the-underground/ https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2017/06/10/cooling-the-tube...

masklinn 7y ago
> The London underground has very tight tunnels That's an understatement. IIRC in some of the tube stock you have/had to duck to enter the carriage if you're more than 5'5.
- londons_explore 7y ago
  Probably 25% of men now can't stand upright anywhere in the train. It's like playing sardines in a wardrobe!
  - masklinn 7y ago
    That matches my recollection of being just barely able to stand straight in the middle of the car, I can't imagine the neck/back/knees of 6'5 londoners. For starters I assume they wear a helmet with a face shield so they don't eat the lintel every time they step into the carriage.
    - yaleman 7y ago
      6'9" guy checking in, thankfully just a tourist to the town for a week - it was always leg day when I was on the tube.
  - attilakun 7y ago

faissaloo 7y ago

>the tubes are packed and the cabs locked. Not during the middle of the day, which would have a knock on effect >each train has CCTV coverage. You could always keep a change of clothes

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

SilasX 7y ago

>they would have be murdered by the other commuters Oh, I'm sure 99% of the NYC-area ridership is planning exactly this. My immediate reaction to this story was, "Prankster, go into hiding now if you want to survive the week."

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

RaceWon 7y ago

> 2) they would have be murdered by the other commuters In the spirt of HN's policy of not being snarky I will attempt to temper my reply. As a native NYer: I find it Laughable that a Nation which, in effect, gave up its Sovereign Government to the EU and, outlawed Free Speech by banning "hate speech" (which is in fact--Anything that your Overlords say it is), would attemp to draw the line at someone pulling the EBrake on a train. Sorry, but that is as Non-Snarky as I could make my reply.

RugnirViking 7y ago
Was this bizzare unprovoked statement really necessary? I simply don't see how 'free speech', which is a concept almost entirely unique to the USA, is related to being annoyed that your hypothetical commute was interrupted. If you dispute the idea, I suggest you try pulling the emergency brake as a joke and see how fellow commuters treat you.