Ok, I hadn't thought of that. In most of Europe level crossings are rare enough that this would be very unlikely.
It's also something the driver would easily avoid if they still have any control over the train, e.g. braking force.
It's also something the driver would easily avoid if they still have any control over the train, e.g. braking force.
> It's also something the driver would easily avoid if they still have any control over the train, e.g. braking force.
Yes, but: it would be much harder to test whether bricking this thing selectively does what it should do and for all we know right now you'd have a runaway on your hands. So this isn't just for shits and giggles.
And even a stopped train on a live track can under the right circumstances be extremely risky.
This is simply not the case. It is a fundamental feature of every signaling system, and has been for over a century. Any collision would be caused by a seriously defective signalling system, not the stopped train.
Anyway, I'm sure you'll find a new reason to say why it's perfectly ok to stop trains with passengers in them willy nilly and how that isn't a safety issue but I'm just going to let it go here. I certainly hope you're not in charge of anything that involves public transport.
(Edit: you might be able to find some of these online, as regulators sometimes publish them for comment if there is a waiver request… not going to dox myself though)
Your point about external grade crossing hazards is valid… but also completely avoidable unless the train is super long (IE: not a passenger train) or the train was already going slow (like just leaving a station or signal).
There are separate system safety plans to ensure that timely/safe evacuation is possible regardless of where the train stops.
In the absolutely worst case, this means coupling another train and waiting the ~30 mins for people to walk through the train to the new cars, then uncoupling.
The most recent major incident is two months ago:
https://apnews.com/article/poland-train-accident-1db1a088c31...
And there are plenty of others to choose from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Railway_accidents_and...
There are only two countries in the EU that have worse rail infra than Poland (Romania, Bulgaria). Rolling stock is off mixed quality and vintage, maintenance spotty at best.