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Gill on Hinch has a win in court Congratulations Derryn for fighting for the rights of the little person.I think that the Magistrates and Judges suppressing ... more
Scared Driver on Double fatality in North Fitzroy Fabian, I agree that P platers should have a car that has a limit on how fast it can go to avoid speeding. However if they ... more
Janice on Hinch has a win in court Hey there Darren Can you look into power Bills.. We're all battingMy lord how do we live anymore..Please if anyone can give ... more
janet page on Hinch has a win in court Mylene, the only people who believe such B-S as you are stating are only trying to protect the low lives? more
Justin on Double fatality in North Fitzroy WOW this is terrible. I can't even make out the make and model of the vehicle. Did it have Air Bags ???Perhaps if it had ... more
Justin on Hinch has a win in court Hello Mylene... sometimes laws are in themselves evil and need to be opposed.We are not living in a totally Communist ... more
Mark on iPhone 4 hits Australia Do any of these stupid people realise it's just a telephone? Why not just wait until next week? Brains are just mush. more
mylene on Hinch has a win in court If you want to change the laws you do it legally through parliament not by breaking the law. Hinch has given the green light ... more
mylene on Double fatality in North Fitzroy I know that intersection like the back of my hand. If you have an accident thee you must be trying hard to do it. more
Me on Double fatality in North Fitzroy Another hoon off the road is all I can say. more
Josef on Double fatality in North Fitzroy All I can saw is serves them right. At least they didn't take any innocent people with them. more
Fabian on Double fatality in North Fitzroy Yet again we see the same situation over & over.Dont blame the cars. Blame the GOVT its about time we teach youg people how ... more
daniel on Hinch has a win in court good on ya darren stand strong for what u believe in name and shame all these ferrils. more
janet page on Hinch has a win in court I believe in every thing Derren Hinch fights for. And id like to see more people fight for our rights, the worst thing this ... more
JOHN from Heathmont on Hinch has a win in court So over Derryn and this court case. more
JOHN from Heathmont on Double fatality in North Fitzroy The sad thing is young people will not learn from this. Their bogan friends will put up a roadisde memorial and they will be ... more
Jenny B on Double fatality in North Fitzroy Tragic but at least this hoon sentenced himself and a person who stupidly wanted to go/be with him rather than any innocent ... more
Theo Nicolaou on Double fatality in North Fitzroy THIS IS JUST SO SO GETTING OUT OF CONTROL!! WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT MAKE IT A LAW THAT ALL CARS MUST HAVE THE INTERLOCK ... more
Howson on Double fatality in North Fitzroy I have seen what those like them did to very very good innocent people. No one will ever convince me that they don't deserve ... more
Lenny on 'Fatties' need some tough lovin' Tough loving doesn't always work. That can be just more repetitive hurtful words & verbal abuse. Sometimes 'reality ... more

Siemens trains slammed by engineer

Posted by: 3AW Radio | 12 March, 2010 - 5:03 PM

A former engineer has claimed the braking system on the Siemens trains is so dangerous he advises his own family to get off packed trains if it rains.

Paul Cridge, the former director of JPC Engineering and Project Management, says he and his company were involved in commissioning the first Siemens train in Melbourne.

Mr Cridge says instead of two or three days of testing it took 10 months of testing to get the first of the Siemens trains to stop safely.

He says it brings back bad memories when he hears about the recent braking problems and fears nothing has changed.

Blog comments

The Siemens train is controlled by a less than world's-best-practice electric brake, backed up by a cheaper version of the electro-pneumatic(EP)brake fitted to the Xtrapolis. Both EP systems are supplied by the same company Knorr-Bremse.
Prior to privatisation, all trains were specified by Rolling-Stock experts. These trains were specified by a group known as the Transport Reform Unit who had no acknowledged Rolling Stock design and/or specification experience.
This allowed the private companies to go out and buy the cheapest, NOT the best.
The result of the purchase by the now defunct National Express M>Train is the Siemens underground Metro train which was originally delivered with only a 4 position brake handle allowing the Driver only 25,50,75 or 100% brake effort! We are now required to fix what the left us with! It can be fixed but at a price.

Graham Friday 19 March, 2010 - 12:52 AM
There seems to be much more emotion than logic in this debate about Siemens trains. Perhaps one of the first questions people should be asking is if these trains are in use on other networks around the world. If so, are the same problems experienced. If not, why are we having the problems here. Only two possible answers really - human issues or the lack of maintenance on the system (read tracks) over decades coming back to bight us.

And yes, a handful of sand does help braking by increasing trackion. Has been used on Melbourne trams for a long, long time.

Charles Wednesday 17 March, 2010 - 9:42 AM
Train Driver here. 4 years on and no they still don't stop in the wet. Feel a lot safer driving an old Hitachi train over a Siemens. This is an appalling mess that Brumby and co. should be utterly ashamed of. Funny that they play the blame game. What an embarrassment.

Teza Monday 15 March, 2010 - 11:21 PM
Watch how fast they spin it to blame the train drivers and the unions again. I want a bit more assurance than a hand full of sand will stop a train!

Sally Monday 15 March, 2010 - 10:03 PM
privatisation sucks

mark Saturday 13 March, 2010 - 8:48 PM