However, Amtrak's portable emergency lighting measures, its safety briefing procedures, and its method for compiling passenger lists all need to be improved, as do State emergency drills involving railroad operations. Portable Emergency Lighting According to passengers in coach 34040, which remained on the bridge, darkness prevailed outside the car after the derailment. Battery-powered emergency lighting, available inside the coach, provided some illumination, but only the traincrew had flashlights, which were not part of Amtrak's emergency equipment. A few passengers had penlights to use while walking down the tracks in the dark The Safety Board concludes that because Amtrak did not equip its passenger cars with portable lighting, passengers were at a disadvantage in evacuating the train The Safety Board believes train 2 should have been equipped with portable lighting for use by passengers in an emergency. Passengers reported that once cars entered the water, emergency lighting became inoperable, further complicating evacuation from the submerged cars 54 Without light from a few penlights and from the fire that cnsued following the accident, no light would have been available to passengers in these cars Because cmergency lighting was unavailable in the submerged cars, passengers had difficulty locating and moving to exits in the dark The Safety Board is unable to determine whether emergency lighting, if operable, would have been effective in the muddy water Safety Briefings Amtrak uses signs and placards, as well as briefings, to inform passengers about the safety features on its trains This accident casts doubt on the effectiveness of Amtrak's briefing system for communicating such information Signs in Amtrak cars indicate the location of first-aid kits, fire extinguishers, and emergency windows, signs on the ceilings adjacent to emergency windows are phosphorescent Each emergency window has signs explaining how to remove it from both the inside and the outside Signs posted in the car vestibules and elsewhere throughout the cars also give instructions about window removal S5 Some passengers on train 2 reported having noticed the signs on the emergency windows 54 According to Amtrak, each car had about 15 receptacles, equipped with 15-watt bulbs, in the ceiling, as well as emergency lighting at the ends, the exit signs, and down the stairs Amtrak noted that possible reasons for the emergency lighting failing in this accident include impact damage to the batteries or cables connecting the batteries to the cars, impact damage to the light fixtures, and water damage to the circuits and fixtures 5S Placards, approximately 17 by 22 inches, at the end of each car read as follows "Attention Passengers Emergency Instructions Each car is equipped with a minimum of 4 marked emergency window exits in addition to the marked cmergency (our exits Emergency equipment is also provided " The "Emergency Window Removal" instructions state "Locate real plastic handle on window Use red handle to strip away rubber molding Locate metal handle on window and pull towards you to remove window pane
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