DART driver injured by explosion

Reading this story, a couple of thoughts occurs to me.

Why should DART drivers be expected to carry detonators in their kit bag ?

Is there no better way, of alerting other drivers to issues on the line, than placing an explosive device on the line ? Like point to point communication ? Or even flashing the headlights ?

I hope the individual involved in today's incident enjoys a full recovery.

That sounds like something straight out of the 1800s!! Oh wait, it is!!

As the DART is on the coast it can suffer from fog, it is quite a Dickensian solution but it's worked for over 100 years and this is the first incident of this kind that has occurred (in recent memory anyway).