Code Blue in terms of Metrorail

Attention all

Metro'matters.
Procedure following a passenger related incident

I explain.


For example...Somebody is knocked by a train (or falls out)

Either the driver or guard notices it.

Immediately the emergency brakes are applied

Driver makes contact with operations to inform them that he/she applied emergency brakes because he/she suspects that an incident occurred.

Once the driver or guard physically confirms that an incident occurred, they call and report it to operations.

Operations begin to start with cancellations and rerouting plans.
Metrorail 'prasa sends out an SMS informing commuters about the incident and that there will be 60+ mins.

If the person is code blue 🔵 (Deceased)...

Paramedics and forensic services are notified of the incident and are en route, in the meantime commuters are stuck.

Delays started to build up behind this train and trains get code red 🔴 signal

As time goes by, commuters are getting more and more frustrated etc.

The scene immediately becomes a crime scene, therefore requires an investigation, this also contributes to delays

Already one hour pass

Trains standing and operations busy with plans on how to get the others on the go.

Investigation is done and paramedics confirmed that the person is code blue.

Now the most frustrating part is when we have to wait for Forensic pathology services to take the body away.

Unfortunately we are not allowed to touch the body and just move it away from the tracks etc

Eventually forensic pathology services arrives on the scene and takes the body of the deceased away.

TFR need to confirm if the line is safe for movement.

Already +- 3hours

Also metro/prasa management managers also need to confirm if the scene is clear and safe for movement.

If they confirm that its clear.
TFR can open the lines for movement
(Still delays will take place)

As commuters we are upset and cannot do anything...But please do not take your frustrations out on our drivers and guards because the situation is out of their control

Sometimes it's so difficult for drivers when having an incident like this, they are so traumatized, they need to go for counseling and most times are placed on leave.

Now the line is opened

Metrorail can operate train service on the line.

Please note
Its not every time that it takes this long.

Also the delays can be even longer because we have to wait for another driver etc.

Hope you all understand better regarding these incidents.

Please take the families of the deceased in consideration also.

Kind regards.
Charleston

Codes in Metrorail Announcements

Attention all

Railway codes and what do they mean.

Code orange 🔸-  indicate less severe problems (Sometimes we see when its code orange, a train can move with a minimum low speed)


Code red blue 🔵 - Deceased (when a person pass on Immediately on the scene I'm times of passenger related incidents) or rush to the specific location and begin immediate resuscitation.

Code Green 🎾 - Less problems (line open and train can move normal)

Code red 🔴 - Need to stop and must wait for authorities to give confirmation to proceed.
Code red also indicate - Danger ( If a train pass a red signal there's possibilities of derailments, head on head collisions, train failings etc)

Code red 🔴  are the most dangerous signal to ignore, that's why drivers obey the rules and stop when signal are red.

Regards.
Charleston'


NB:  And in terms of red signals, if the driver fails to stop at one it’s an automatic 3 month suspension and disciplinary hearing. So when you see them stop just before a station they’re not doing it for fun their job is on the line.

Jumping Trains and Crossing Tracks

I am writing this following the tragic accident that left the parents of a 16 year old boy grieving for the loss of their son, and his friends traumatized.

Just before Salt River on Friday, the train the boys were travelling on stopped and stood between stations for a while. The boys in their infinite wisdom decided to jump off the train.

As a general rule of thumb, the answer to do I jump off a train that is stationary, is always NO! Unless clearly told to be the crew of the train while they may be delayed, they may stand, you may be late for work or school, be assured that the train will move again.

If the train is stationary and you feel the need to jump off, please please please think twice, and a third time before doing so. There are multiple dangers of jumping from a stationary train.

Firstly, the train may start moving at any time, especially as generally trains stand for operational reasons not mechanical fault.

Secondly, you need to make triple sure about what is or isn't where you are going to be jumping. Firstly check the area that you are going to be jumping onto. How far is it? What is the surface you are jumping onto? But most importantly, check what is happening up and down the line. If there is a train in sight rather wait. Remember that trains even traveling at low speed take a distance to stop.

In the incident on Friday, the young man apparently jumped off the train with his friends, unfortunately his timing wasn't so good and he jumped into the path of a train. This follows a similar incident a few weeks ago with a 10 year old boy out Brackenfell way.

Please, please, please parents if you children travel by train remind them, enforce in them, that they need to treat the metal bullet that they ride on with a vast amount of respect.

As a side note to that crossing of tracks is another issue that causes many problems. I joke that unless you have metal wheels really you shouldn't be on the track. While that would be an ideal world, the reality is that people do often needs to cross tracks.

If you are going to cross the tracks then you need to treat it the way you would a road. You cannot just walk out without checking what is happening. Please stop safely before the tracks, look both ways (even more so if it is a single line stretch of track), listen to hear the train, and then actually repeat the above before crossing the track if it is safe to do so. Crossing as quickly as possible to ensure your safety.  If you see a train coming towards you, then please use some common sense and wait for it to pass before crossing the tracks.

Remember that if something where to happen to you, not only your family and friends, but also the driver and guard and all those involved in your rescue would be traumatized for life. PLEASE THINK AND BE SAFE!

Mob Justice And Intiidation

Today I was ashamed to be a commuter in Cape Town. While I know mob justice has taken place in Durban and Gauteng of late with drivers being threatened and forced to do what the mob wanted, but until today I was unaware of any such events in Cape Town.

Today however, a mob of 90 odd people surrounded a driver and guard on Cape Town Station and demanded that they make their train a 90 train (this travels the Bishop Lavis line) following trains being cancelled on that line for two hours and then they were advised that all trains on that route were cancelled.

I certainly understand the frustration of waiting hours for a train and having the trains cancelled one after the other and being unsure how or when you would get home, and to a certain point I understand why mob justice took over. I am sorry though as they had made no other enquiries or efforts to find about the trains and why they were not running on that line resorting to mob justice was not their only course of action.

I am told that although the driver and guard said that the mob was nice, they still felt threatened and were understandably worried about what could potentially happen to them if there were issues with either the train or with getting through to the end of the line.

A bad situation has now been compounded and no regard was shown toward their fellow human being who was just doing what she was ordered to do.  Yes, PRASA ultimately have to accept the responsibility of the situation as due to their failure to maintain rolling stock and infrastructure the current state of the railways is appalling, and to that their very real inability to communicate issues to the commuters has lead to the very real situation that this driver and guard faced today,  the mob mentality of just falling in with everyone else whether we feel it is acceptable or not lies squarely at the feet of the commuters.

Yes, we all understand that trains are late, overcrowded and often unsafe. And while it is the responsibility of PRASA to address all those issues, we as the commuters, and members of the communities need to start taking our share of the responsibility. There are ongoing issues with cable theft, and the vandalism of both the rolling stock as well as other parts of the infrastructure. This vandalism does not happen in isolation and there are, I am sure, people aware that their family member or friend are committing such acts. We need to stand up and be accountable and report when we know that these issues are happening and inform the police, or railway police.

The whole issue tonight, stemmed from infrastructure problems on that stretch of line and is not something that is a “quick” fix. I just hope that the driver and guard do not suffer as a result of the actions taken tonight by my “fellow” commuters.

Train Accidents or Traps

There’s been a lot of talk of accidents/traps (traps are the internal term used by Metrorail for an accident involving a pedestrian) of late and while everyone seems to sympathise with the victim and their family, I’d just like to take a moment and put the side of the drivers and guards and the other staff that are involved across. While I am neither a driver or guard nor work in any way for PRASA/Metrorail I have spoken to a few staff members and this is a collective of their experiences.

We start with the most obvious, which is the recurrent flashbacks, often at the most inappropriate time. It starts simply enough with not being able to sleep. The moment you close your eyes and your brain starts to relax and unwind, the images pop unexpectedly and uninvited into your mind and you are right back in that moment. This has the most obvious downside of you will do anything to either stay awake, or alternatively fall into a dreamless, often medicated, sleep. With this comes the next obvious step, of being constantly tired and having the constant need/desire to take short naps during the day. There is something about night-time that makes these flashbacks worse.

Another downside of these flashbacks is the very real desire to hide away from the world. Simple things like going to the shop become traumatising. The very real possibility of meeting someone you know who wants to talk to you, or even just asks that common question “How are you?” can send you right back to the scene of the accident. Even family and friends are unsure how to approach you, and either want to discuss all the details, or act as if nothing happened.

While some of the accidents/traps are an unfortunate result of the wanton overcrowding brought about by the lack of trains and the poor service delivery, or even just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, there are still those that for whatever reason decide there is no hope in their lives and feel that a train is the quickest and easiest way out.

There are the people who fall out of overcrowded train carriages, either from within the actual carriage or from between the carriages. Then there are the people who, and while I understand that you need to get to work or home again, travel on the tops of the trains. For many reasons this is one of the most dangerous places to travel, especially if you are not paying attention to where you are sitting. The pantograph, which connects the train to the very high voltage current running through the overhead cables, can and does lower. If you are not aware then you face the very real risk of being electrocuted.

It is the ones that feel the need to commit suicide that are by far the worst kinds of accident/trap that a driver or guard will face. One of the big things that remains, in all the cases, is the smell of burning or charred flesh. This is something that is very hard to get over as unlike the images which can be talked through, and while not forgotten totally are able to be processed, our sense of smell is known to trigger the most visceral and basic of responses, both good and bad. As such, this is by far the hardest part of an accident/trap to get over.

Another driver suffered from trauma brought about by someone attempting to commit suicide and despite an ambulance having been called, fled the scene of the accident. The most traumatising part of the experience was not knowing what had happened to him once he had fled the scene.

Often when someone chooses to commit suicide, the family are unaware and may well take to social media to try and locate their family member.

One driver recounted how one man had been missing a week before he jumped in front of their train. It then took the family another two weeks before they found him at the Salt River Mortuary.  They then went to social media for any information about what had happened to him and if anyone was able to assist them. While the driver was aware of the pleas for help in finding their missing loved one, at a loss or words and still in shock from what had happened, they were unable to respond to these pleas as they would not have had the answers the family would be looking for.

Eventually with counselling and time these issues do start to improve and the reliance on substances to assist you to get through the day reduces and what is now the “new” you starts to emerge, the one able to function and continue as if nothing has changed, despite everything having been permanently changed.

However, in our modern day and age the recurrence of the trauma is always just lurking around the corner. The incessant need to repost and share the graphic photos and videos of accidents is all that is necessary sometimes to take them right back to the scene of their accident. While I understand, although I don’t agree with it, that we are at an instant gratification stage of life where answers etc are always just a moment away the gratuitous need to share gruesome photos and videos whether off accidents or bullying is a trend I hope we can soon sway the other way.

As an aside to the need to share the photos and videos, a moment to consider that the victim still needs to be identified and their family informed. I know of at least once instance where the family found out a loved one had died through video shared on a WhatsApp group.

Mention also needs to be made of some of the procedure that needs to be followed by a driver or guard following an accident/trap. First and foremost, irrespective of the type of incident it needs to be reported to CMOCC, and the necessary services need to be mobilised, be it police, ambulance, fire or all of them. The driver is not allowed to move the train from the scene until cleared to do so by the investigating parties. A relief driver also needs to be contacted to come and continue driving the train as the driver involved needs to attend for medical clearance before continuing to drive the train. If as a commuter your train is ever involved in an accident/trap demanding that the driver continues the journey adds further insult and unnecessary trauma. While every step will be taken to try and speed the process along there is still a process that needs to be followed.

So yes, my sympathies are often more with the driver and the guard than the victim but remember what for you is just a means to get from A to B to the driver and guard involved in an accident/trap this is their workplace and they are required at some point to return to work in the very place where it all happened.