how would you escape from subway car trapped in tunnel? lets assume the train car derail but the train remain upright with no damage to the walls.

A few years ago, the Toronto train had serious accident which two trains collided with each other. The passengers had difficulty getting off the damage train by themselves.

These trains often have technical difficulty which cause them to get stuck in tunnel. I wonder how does one break open window if the emergency door opener is jammed.

"...I wonder how does one break open window...'

Having zero experience with those things, I can only wonder. Do they have tempered glass windows? If so, the usual spring loaded centerpunch will shatter one into a jillion pieces, and out you go. If they are other than tempered, you will need a Plan B...

The subway cars I've ridden on have push-out windows on some of the windows and a lever that will open the subway door. One or both should work; the windows are tough to break. One side of the tunnel (or bridge) is designed for evacuation, so you need to stay oriented to which side you need to get out on. In theory, there are emergency lights, but this is where you want your EDC light handy in your pocket. After you are out on the right side, then walk carefully, avoiding the third rail (hope power is off, but...), to the closest station/exit. Of course, one direction may be blocked or worse, have a fire.

Best advice I have is to take a close look at the system you are on and understand their own safety measures/rules. If they aren't obvious, ask....and modify your EDC kit accordingly; e.g., you may want something that could break open a window.

Does a regular glass breaker for car window work on train window?

A number of years ago there was a derailment & fire in the Mid Atlantic area. IIRC they had trouble getting the windows open w/ fire axes. A combination of laminated glass and firefighters were just able to reach the windows with axes overhead.

"Does a regular glass breaker for car window work on train window?"

No. The "glass" is not glass, but some type of plastic compound. Probably designed not to break so as to lower maintenance costs and "increase safety" (that is, avoid lawsuits from people getting cut on broken glass). If they were not, given the environment of people and places these cars go, there would be broken windows on every car every day.

I have no doubt that they could withstand blows from a fireman's ax.

Open the door?

If the carriage is lying on its side, you may have a problem. You can't open the door that the train is lying on, and the other door is now part of the ceiling and (in the UK) very heavy to lift. The doors that connect to the next carriage would be worth a try. If you have to break the windows, I'm not aware of any special technique beyond the usual.

At least in NYC, the "glass" is a plastic laminate over glass, and VERY hard to remove, mostly because in the 1980s (Pre-Rudy) the low lifes used to thing that kicking the glass out of the trains was "fun" - and it took a LOT of trains out of service

As for stuck in tunnel - if there is no fire etc - wait for the crew - what they will do is open the end door (front or rear - whichever is closest to a station), and they bring a small wooden staircase that is just high enough to go from the door down to the track bed - the MTA gets enough people to guide you out, and they do. A flashlight will be a help, as there usually isn't much light

I've seen it done, but never had to do it

is it legal for civilian to carry the glass breaker/seat belt cutter tool?

I'd be very interested to hear from people who have been evacuated from subway cars; either physically had to evacuate between stations, or had to sit in a tunnel for a while, then get delivered to a nearest station and left to find your own way home. I'm generally claustrophobic, so I don't like being on the subway, but as it's the fastest/cheapest way to get to work, I do it anyway.

I'd be interested to hear:
- what happened
- how did the train crew communicate with you, did they provide updates, etc.
- how long before you were able to evacuate
- how long it took from when the train stopped to when you were at a safe area (the next station)

I've certainly been in trains stuck between stations, usually with power, occasionaly without, but never forced to leave the station, only massive delays (most recently - the fire department was on the tracks in front of my train for some reason). I've thought about carrying my HT radio and earpiece with me on the train so I could eavesdrop on public transit and police/fire communications, but haven't since it would make my bag heavier than it already is, and would probably freak out both the transit police and my fellow subway riders.

Katie,
Carry your HT - folks won't flip - in fact, you'll find them asking you for info! (if you see a big fat guy on the 1 train with a huge green backpack - nod and say hello).

I got lucky in the what, 2003 (or was it 02?) blackout, as my train was in the station

I've been "stuck" in a tunnel a few times, but never had to be evacuated. Most of the time it's been because the train in front of us had a "man under" situation. Thing is, USUALLY they can hold you 1 station back - they open the doors - and you sit for 45-60 minutes or so

The lights in the train DO stay on in a power loss situation - they have BIG batteries, but they go to about 1/4 brightness. The train crew will tend to let you know what is going on, leaving out the gory stuff "Due to a passenger incident in the station ahead, we will be delayed here for the indefinate future" - or if they have more details on how long, they will let you know. This is when whipping out the HT gets you more details for "what to do" (helpfull during the flooding problems a few weeks back) - The MTA Platform director at 42nd st and I were comparing radios - he said mine was easier to understand (I carry a UHF and VHF pair of GE M/RKs or M/PAs)

Not a Ham guy, do you have a link or links to these radios. They sound like they'd be very useful.

By the by: The new SOG multi tools with glass breaker is out now. Anyone give us a review?
simon

Once on MTA in Jersey we lost power a mile shy of the next station. We ended up getting out and walking to the station, then having a diesel take us to Hoboken as a re-direct since the mainline to Penn Station was out. There were folks in the tunnel under the Hudson when the power went out, and they were kept there for hours. That would not be too cool. I've seen parts of the subway where the only way to get out of the train would be the front of back as the walls on both sides were too close for a body like mine to fit between.

If your not a ham, you'd be a LOT better off with a quality scanner - I'm not kidding.

The radios I carry cover MUCH fewer frequencies, when you have them in scan are slower, they weigh more, and programming them requires special software and cables. The only plus is that they can transmit if you have a license to do so, and as these radios go down to the ham bands, I do - but only on the ham frequencies

I'm lucky in that I have access to the programming gear through a friend

Which scanner would you recommend? I have a multi-band radio, AM/FM/SW, but I take it you're talking about a scanner for the comm channels. TIA

Thanks. I'm in Boston, so the chances that I'll see you on the 1 aren't that great. I don't know if I've ever seen the T in full emergency light mode, but I do know that the lights/HVAC cut out between stations with some frequency, and that no emergency lights automatically come on. Hopefully that's not indicative of what would happen in an emergency, but you never know.

Unfortunately, we don't have redundant tracks in Boston, so if the train in front of you is disabled for some reason, you're not going anywhere since they can't route around it. "Man under" in Boston == "There's been a medical emergency..."

I have a friend who was on the subway at Chambers St. on 9/11, and was evacuated. He said that the worst part about it was that the train crew and transit police told them that there was a fire, and everyone had to evacuate to the surface. Everyone assumed that meant "fire in the station/tunnel", and when they got to the surface things were in chaos, and the whole group was paralyzed trying to figure out what was actually going on, and where to go.

Gad, I don't know - I haven't looked at what's available in years - check a Radio Shack catalog, and also look at Uniden and Bearcat

I did some surfing and found the Icom-R5 and the Yaesu VR-120 as most likely to fit my needs.

Be sure and visit RadioReference.com to find the frequencies of interest. You can also read discussion threads on a by-State basis.

Many agencies are using digital technology and there are presently only a very, very few scanners that can understand it.

I suggest you learn the parameters of the systems you want to monitor THEN pick your radio.

(Without a digital-capable scanner you wouldn't hear half the action here in Colorado.)

Most will wait around until led to safety. Afraid to get off the train as they hadn't been given permission previously.

It was said before but LOOK! When riding the trains.....look at the directions....try to figure them out.

I'll agree with the suggestion of a flashlight...STRONGLY. Having worked the tunnels on many EMS calls (NYC)....light is very important. BTW....look out for the third rail....that's the one with the juice......ouch....

NYC MTA Safety Information:

http://www.mta.info/mta/safety.htm

NYC MTA Evacuation Video:
http://www.mta.info/nyct/evacuation/video/ridesaferidesmart.mpg

NEVER pull the emergency stop handle in an emergency. This stops the train completely, drastically reducing the ability of the engineer to move the train to handle the emergency.

They appear to have solved that problem on the T by ensuring that the emergency brakes don't work. Lawsuit, anyone?

So far as I know. I suppose technically a seat belt cutter is a fixed blade, but since they are designed so they can't cut people they can't be seen as a weapon. I can't imagine it being a problem.