Sure, we frequently experience delays but we seldom get to see the cause of our delay. This evening, two trains collided, causing 10-15 minute delays (which we've learned through the years really mean 15-20 minutes).
The photo looks like it's straight out of the movie set. Hope passengers were safe although Michael Cabanatuan of SF Chronicle reports that 9 passengers were injured. The last thing BART needs right now is another lawsuit and more bad PR.
3 comments:
The result of a train operator moving a train in manual movement from one report. There is really no other way for something like this to happen. It's very unfortunate, but involve the human factor and things do go wrong sometimes.
well, not quite. Subways and railroads worldwide have dealt with these 'merging, diverging' issues. for years. BART gambled on ever so perfect computers rather than proven mechanical systems. In some systems, a trip arm would have actuated emergency brakes as the PBP train passed the "safe" point.
Is there a better way to communicate what a "delay" means?
When trains are running at 10 minute or 15 minute headways, then a 10 minute or 15 minute delay means that riders should see no difference in their commute, other than perhaps a more crowded train. That's because with such a "delay," the train to their destination should approach the platform at the same time the (next) train was scheduled.
Of course, it doesn't turn out this way--but at the same time, the delay reporting doesn't really tell you when you need to get to the station, either.
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