According to a spokesperson for the NS, it is nice that the crooks were caught by the woman’s action, but in such a situation it is better not to pull the emergency brake. “Formally, you can only pull the emergency brake in the event of a life-threatening situation,” Rikus Spitshorst of Voor Beter OV told EditieNL.
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Although the spokesperson said it is good that the thieves were caught in this way, Spitshorst says that the train travel organization does not like it when the emergency brake is pulled. “It should of course not be the case that the emergency brake is pulled for the slightest thing, because stopping a train has many consequences for other trains.” Although he doesn’t call this something small. “I myself have sometimes pulled the emergency brake in such a case.”
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Emergencies
The emergency braking system has been in existence since the end of the 19th century, says Jeroen Vink of the Railway Museum in Utrecht. “Purely for emergencies,” he says. When can you speak of such a situation? “That remains difficult to explain. For example, fire is an emergency.”
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It is therefore unclear when exactly you can pull the emergency brake, but a lot of attention has been paid for years to why you should not sit on it. “With the very first emergency brakes there was already a sign ‘in case of emergency’, along with a whole story about why you should not abuse the brake,” says Vink.
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‘NS falls short’
If you suspect that you are in an emergency situation, the NS has a number that you can contact. “Travellers also complain about this,” says Spitshorst of Voor Beter OV. “With that emergency number they say that you have to look for a conductor, but there is not always time for that in such situations. So that is a kind of wax nose, the NS falls seriously short.”
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The NS indicates that it does not recognize itself in the criticism of the emergency number. “If you call the number, the emergency room will be contacted quickly. For example, you will be asked whether you have already spoken to someone. If that time is not available, we advise you to call 112,” a spokesperson said.
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