I catch these trains every day. People are confused by the warning about a "slight delay" from the driver as we approach the stations. I occasionally say "GPS doors" and everyone who was previously confused instantly adopts a "seriously?!" face. I have NO idea how such a knuckle-headed design flaw can make it all the way through design and build with even minimally aware designers and engineers in charge.
Train doors require GPS signal to open despite stations being underground (2014)
41–50 of 82 posts
Re: Train doors require GPS signal to open despite stations being underground (2014)
#42> Operation of Class 377 train doors require a (GPS) signal to identify that the train is in a station to allow the Driver to open the doors. Effectively this prevents the doors being operated in error when the train is not at a station and as such is a safety feature of the trains. Was there some epidemic of doors being opened outside stations that I missed? This smacks of a solution looking for a problem
Guess they want to make sure that cattle won't ever escape again as they did here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-11658110
There is no mention of cattle or cows in that story?
Re: Train doors require GPS signal to open despite stations being underground (2014)
#43Re: Train doors require GPS signal to open despite stations being underground (2014)
#44Why wouldnt this using something like radio waves in each station from a few sources, wouldnt it be super easy to tell your position fairly accurately with just a few radio sources? I did some googling and indoor localization systems can determine your location down to 3cm, I think that would be way more accurate than the 50m or so I have observed of GPS units while they moves around. And obviously they would be 1000…
Or with a balise ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balise ).
This seems like the actual solved answer to the problem, thanks!
Re: Train doors require GPS signal to open despite stations being underground (2014)
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Guess they want to make sure that cattle won't ever escape again as they did here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-11658110
There is no mention of cattle or cows in that story?
British slang for passengers - "The train operating companies treat us like cattle".
Actually, cattle may get treated better...
Re: Train doors require GPS signal to open despite stations being underground (2014)
#46Whats wrong with an open close button that can only be activated when the train is stationary and brakes are applied?
Re: Train doors require GPS signal to open despite stations being underground (2014)
#47> Operation of Class 377 train doors require a (GPS) signal to identify that the train is in a station to allow the Driver to open the doors. Effectively this prevents the doors being operated in error when the train is not at a station and as such is a safety feature of the trains. Was there some epidemic of doors being opened outside stations that I missed? This smacks of a solution looking for a problem
Of course not. This was some government contractor taking the tax payers for a ride. They could charge $x more per train this way and just through in a shitty gps device. Things like this aren't accidents.
Re: Train doors require GPS signal to open despite stations being underground (2014)
#48Whats wrong with an open close button that can only be activated when the train is stationary and brakes are applied?
In one of the threads here someone points out that different doors should be opened at different stations (sometimes different sides of the train, I think sometimes not all of the doors on one side).
Which explains why they want it to be location dependent, it doesn't excuse the poor implementation.
Re: Train doors require GPS signal to open despite stations being underground (2014)
#49> However, we are aware that there are still occasional problems, which results in the Driver having to either manually tell the train where it is via the "location not found" option in the TMS, or in the event of that not working, using the emergency door release option in the train management system. So... we added GPS to the trains so that doors could only be opened at stations. Then, we realised that this was a t…
In most industrial setups, you have a normal stop procedure and an emergency stop procedure. The emergency stop procedure is a big red button that you are not supposed to use unless it's an emergency. They fire you if you use the emergency button in an everyday situation.
I guess that in an emergency you can open all the doors with a big red open button in the train driver cabin, and that in each wagon there is another red button (protected by a breakable glass, to prevent pranks).
Re: Train doors require GPS signal to open despite stations being underground (2014)
#50Someone in that procurement department should be fired for ordering a door stystem built on faulty, expensive and flawed logic. Yesterday.