UNITED KINGDOM/FILE: British scientists test 'bomb-proof' train

Record ID: 357612

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM/FILE: British scientists test 'bomb-proof' train
  • Date: 25th January 2013
  • Summary: NEWCASTLE, ENGLAND, UK (JANUARY 24, 2013) (REUTERS) NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY SIGN CONOR O'NEILL, SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE AT NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY, WALKING INTO LAB WITH TECHNICIAN O'NEILL AND TECHNICIAN WALKING UP TO TESTING MACHINE TECHNICIAN OPERATING TESTING MACHINERY CLOSE-UP OF MATERIAL BEING TESTED FOR FLEXURAL STRENGTH MORE OF MATERIAL BEING TESTED FOR FLEXURAL STRENG
  • Embargoed: 9th February 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Spain, France, United Kingdom
  • City:
  • Country: United Kingdom France Spain
  • Topics: Crime,Technology,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVA13LDG8929V3IIJHO4UND2Q74R
  • Story Text: British engineers have found simple ways to reduce the deadly impact of bomb attacks on trains which could prevent a repeat of the heavy tolls left by the Madrid train attacks in 2004 and the London Underground bombings in 2005.
    The designs by Newcastle University researchers include plastic-coated windows, energy-absorbing materials and wires tethering down ceiling panels. All with the aim of reducing the amount of flying debris in a carriage.
    This flying debris not only causes serious injury to passengers and bystanders but also hinders the work of emergency services.
    The findings are the result of a three-year, 4-million euro project called SecureMetro which is partly funded by the European Union.
    The design changes can easily be fitted to existing train carriages and could help draw up new industry safety guidelines, said project leader Conor O'Neill.
    "We don't want these solutions just to appear on new vehicles as they're coming off the line, we want to get these onto trains that are running on our rails now," said O'Neill, a former engineer for Airbus.
    "This means that we can start protecting passengers right away," he added.
    Research included work on blast-resilient materials and a test explosion on a decommissioned metro carriage.
    High speed cameras filmed the blast and researchers played the explosion back in slow motion to analyse in detail the impact of the shock wave on the vehicle's structure and interior.
    The research team then used its findings to build and blow up a prototype carriage featuring the improvements.
    These include tying down heavy items such as ceiling panels and speakers to prevent them from flying around the carriage once the bomb detonates. This can be done with simple wires, whose flexibility allow them to ride a blast without snapping.
    "We used a tethering technique, which uses a thin metal wire which will connect the heavy object to the structure of the vehicle itself, so even if it does become detached from its mounting, it will just fall and wave in the air rather than travel in the entire length of the vehicle," O'Neill explained.
    Surgeons welcomed the innovation.
    "I think if we can protect people from flying debris that will almost definitely reduce injury rate and we would hope fatalities as well," said Naomi Weaver from Bart's Hospital in London.
    A plastic coating on the windows, similar to anti-graffiti film, prevents them from being blown outwards and injuring bystanders. Windows of the prototype train remained intact during the test explosion, except for the emergency exits, which are meant to be easily knocked out and allow the shock wave to leave the carriage.
    "If a terrorist manages to bypass all the other systems -- the information, the CCTV, the security guards, even just passenger vigilance -- if that terrorist manages to get an explosive device onto a train, passengers at least have that vehicle there helping to protect them. It's their last line of defence," O'Neill said.
    On the morning of March 11, 2004 in Madrid, 10 bombs packed into sports bags were detonated by mobile phones and tore through trains like tin cans, throwing bodies onto the tracks. The attack killed 191 people and injured 1,800 more.
    On July 7, 2005, four British Islamists detonated bombs on London Underground trains and on a double-decker bus, killing 52 people and injuring over 700 more.
    In Russia, November 2009, a high-speed train between Moscow and St Petersburg was derailed after being bombed. 27 people died and 130 people were hurt in the blast which hit the last three carriages.
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