this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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With the fake parts scandal for airplanes I wonder if this should be mandatory for parts that impact public safety for public transport like trains, buses, planes and so on.
Dont get me wrong, I want a full right to repair enshrined in law and using a system like this just to prevent it is clearly wrong, but if it could be adapted to allow for critical parts to be made under license by third parties and helped prevent fake parts then may be a small amount of good can come from this shitty practice.
Airplanes are vastly more complex though. Four engines, flying at extremely high altitudes at hundreds of km/h, fully airtight, powerful onboard generators, food prep areas, bathroom etc, extensive ethernet networking for the small IFE units and WiFi access points, list goes on...
Whereas a train doesn't have anything close to that, even the high speed ones with all the bells and whistles, so I think it would be a bit unreasonable to expect them to be held to the same standards as an airplane.
The only train I'd suggest an exception for would be a maglev though - OEM parts only there please, especially for traction and em equipment ๐ณ
Some independent validation of the manufacturing materials, their grade and assembly quality could work well here, since I'm not too sure if blindly trusting the parts manufacturers would be a great idea as long as they have profits in mind
Agree with you about the level of standards, there needs to be some for train and bus parts but not to aircraft standards.
I also agree any part manufacturer to be audited to which level they are working at and prove a chain of custody for that part. They grey and black markets need to be squeezed out as much as possible, obviously you have to give the end customer, airlines, rolling stock owners, etc. a cost incentive with right to repair to honor the system. As any system can be hacked or broken with enough of a cash incentive.
I think the OEM having to license, at a reasonable cost, the exact spec and design for a part to third parties is an important part of any right to repair. You cannot self repair if you cannot get replacement parts for a reasonable cost.