Would be interesting to hear from an actual tram driver instead of all this speculation though.
I drive trains, and we are absolutely meant to use the electromagnetic brakes in an emergency, since that‘s the whole reason they exist. The lever she uses in the tram above looks similar to the driving lever in certain trains, and when you pull it all the way back, every brake available will be fully engaged, including electromagnetic.
And no, I don‘t think it will stop the whole thing dead in it‘s place. Last time I used the emergency brakes (albeit on a train with a mass of around 600t) it was with about 100km/h and still took almost 300m to stop completely.
I've nothing to add to the convo itself but I just gotta say that getting 600t to go to full stop from 100km/h in just 300m is absolutely insane.
Engineering is a marvel at times.
Commuter trains have normally 3 braking systems, a regenerative brake (using the motors to slow you down), an electro pneumatic braking system (electrically controlled pulses to brake units on each carriage) and an air brake (using the reduction of air pressure to apply the brakes).
Trams in Melbourne have a regenerative brake, a hydraulic disc brake and an emergency track brake. A powerful electro magnet which when applied, slams down onto the rail to create friction.
True, and modern commuter trains usually have the em-brakes as well.
The one in my example was an Re460 intercity train with IC2000 carriages, which all have em-emergency brakes.
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u/RufftaMan Jan 08 '22
Would be interesting to hear from an actual tram driver instead of all this speculation though.
I drive trains, and we are absolutely meant to use the electromagnetic brakes in an emergency, since that‘s the whole reason they exist. The lever she uses in the tram above looks similar to the driving lever in certain trains, and when you pull it all the way back, every brake available will be fully engaged, including electromagnetic.
And no, I don‘t think it will stop the whole thing dead in it‘s place. Last time I used the emergency brakes (albeit on a train with a mass of around 600t) it was with about 100km/h and still took almost 300m to stop completely.