Re: Connex train splitting

[Chris Brownbill <cbrnbill@enternet.com.au>]

Paul Hambleton wrote:
> 
> A Connex customer service person who rang me to follow up a complaint I made
> about cancelled Alamein trains told me that it was happening because of
> difficulties splitting trains at Flinders St. He said that if anything went
> wrong which made it necessary for someone to climb down onto the tracks, the
> split couldn't be done because of the lack of a flat surface to stand on! It
> was a health and safety issue. He said that work would be carried out at
> Flinders St. this weekend to solve this problem.
> 
> Paul Hambleton

Geez - no flat surface eh?  It wasn't that long ago in parts of this country that hook couplings were in regular use - and coupling cars required staff to stand between the buffers of carriages being shunted.  And I can tell you that a flat surface was the last thing on anyone's mind then.