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ENSCO Designs Rail Emergency Evacuation Simulator

Springfield, Va., March 1, 2006 – ENSCO designed and installed a Rail Emergency Evacuation Simulator that can roll 180 degrees in 10-degree increments at the Carmen E. Turner Training and Maintenance Facility in Landover, Md., March 20. Also called the Rollover Rig, the simulator was built for the Federal Railroad Administration and will be maintained by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D.C. The simulator is the first of its kind in the United States. One other is located in the United Kingdom.

The passenger railcar based system will be used to train first responders for derailments or other rail accidents. Donated by the New Jersey Transit system, the passenger car arrived at the site with its seating, interior and safety systems intact.

Three steel custom-made hoops encircle the railcar and allow it to be rolled. To accommodate the limited space requirements of the site, the railcar is designed to roll in place, versus rolling to the side. A system of pulleys and specially designed polyurethane rollers allow the railcar to roll and lock in place in 10-degree increments.
Grooves in the base of the simulator accommodate the rolling hoops that encapsulate the railcar. The roll is controlled by a cable system embedded in the ground and connected to a custom push-pull winch. The combination of the bidirectional cable system and safety locking pins provide a safe environment for emergency responders to practice both internal and external evacuation of the railcar.

More than 2,500 police, fire and first responders are trained each year at the Emergency Response Training Center in Landover for response to train disaster scenarios, involving smoke, fire, collisions and bomb blast. The simulator adds a very real dimension where police and firefighters will be challenged to rescue passengers from a railcar on its side and experience the difficulty of gaining entrance and moving in a non-upright rail vehicle.

“This state-of-the-art simulator is ENSCO’s latest initiative to support the railroad community in their efforts to maintain safe and secure railroads,” said Chief Mechanical Engineer Jeff Bloom. “Using ENSCO’s sophisticated modeling, design and engineering capabilities, we delivered a reliable, high-performance practice tool that will enable first responders nationwide to receive the real-life training vital to emergency preparedness.”