A DART driver was injured this morning after an explosion caused by ‘warning detonators’ went off in the drivers cabin.
Luckily, no one was seriously injured in the incident, however the driver was taken to hospital for an injury to his hand and to test his hearing.
The explosion went off around 8.10am this morning as the man began his shift on the 8am Greystones to Malahide service, reports the Irish Independent.
The explosion caused damage to the front cabin however the rest of the train remained unscathed.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Iarnród Éireann spokesman Barry Kenny said, “They were correctly stored by the driver, that much we have established. In any event, in a cab environment there shouldn’t be any reason why something like this should happen and certainly nothing like this has happened before.
“It is a source of concern for us and it could have potentially been far more serious for the driver,” he said.
So what are these blasted exploding devices? Well train drivers place these small explosive charges – the size of a large coin – on the track so that other train drivers know that there is something going on up ahead. They’re little explosives, but nothing that would derail a train.
They’re typically used if a train breaks down on a track or there’s dense fog and signal signs are too hard to see.
They’ve been around since the 1840’s, so it’s a bit of a shock to see one fail now.
