Handheld green torch. What's it for?

Was it by chance the last train?

In my days, the only time a green hand lamp was used was to give the right away to the guard on the last train to a destination. Other trains were given a white signal as the right away to the guard.

Whether this practice still happens I don't know, maybe a serving staff member could answer.

If it was last train if could have been what's called 'lamping out'. If it was during the day, I bet reganorak is correct!

The Met I think still uses the touches for lapping out.

The person providing assisted despatch must stand where they can be seen by the Train/Instructor Operator and where they can see the part of the platform the operator can not see.

So on a curved platform with a defective camera at rear, the despatcher must stand near the back where they can see the dead area but in view of a working camera that can be seen by the operator. (Though it is amusing to see them try to despatch you from next to the cab door being able to see exactly what you can see anyway!!).

On lines with neither ATO nor in cab CCTV once the despatch is given there is no further opportunity to stop the train (exactly as with a normal departure for such lines at every station) (not unsafe, just a belt and braces job can be done on ATO or In Cab CCTV lines)

The obvious problem is that you cannot tell which colour light you are being shown even on colour CCTV, you just see a light. Around 2000 or 2001 there was an instruction saying that the handsignalman/person should stand level with the front cab and the TOp should be seated at the controls. I seem to recall that if the whole of the platform could not be seen from that position then you needed another member of station staff to dispatch the train.

The new rulebook did away with all that and now it states rather vaguely that the TOp and the assisting staff member must come to a full understanding of what is to be done but it doesn’t actually specify positioning. Needless to say it’s very hard to come to an understanding when whoever is on the platform is standing at the back of the train………..

On the Northern Line, if there's no staff available, sometimes they get a Train Operator travelling in the opposite direction to do the assisted dispatch.

Probably ok at an island platform, but definitely shouldn't happen at somewhere like Hampstead!

On the Central if the CCTV fault is on the train the Control Room will “talk us out”, keep up a constant commentary of the progress our departure, if the chatter stops at any time we apply the brakes as it could be we’ve lost communication though mostly it’s that the LC has got bored and forgotten what they’re meant to be doing.

If the CCTV fault is on the station and the Control Room can’t get a picture either then we need station staff. There was one instance when the LC asked me to “self dispatch” but for some reason all platforms on the Central Line were made “Category A” which means that you need assistance. Had I done so and had there been an incident I would have been held responsible for not following the procedure.

At some point they will probably re-Categorise the straight platforms to “B” as we’ve had a lot of unstaffed stations on the Epping branch recently but until they do we stick to procedure to cover our own backs. There have been a couple of recent incidents where TOps failed to carry out procedure on the say-so of a LC and it’s always the TOp who ends up getting the worst of it. It’s just not worth risking losing your job and/or jail time.

No idea, to the best of my knowledge this is how it's been done since they introduced in-cab CCTV on the Central Line, I’ve only been here 8 years or so.

I doubt if they'd be still using this system if there were any major problems with it and I doubt if HMRI would have given it the nod when it first came in if they weren’t sure it was doing it’s job.