Only trains travel with no crowd control
VIEWPOINTS
Write to: Viewpoints, M.E.N, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Oldham, OL9 8EF Or email: viewpoints@men-news.co.uk IT was our misfortune on Wednesday, October 23, to have booked seats weeks ago on the 9.56 Virgin train from Macclesfield to London.
When the train pulled into the station from Manchester, it was already obvious that it was rammed to over-capacity with people filling the aisles and the end vestibules.
However, my wife and I managed to get on board and literally pushed our way down to our reserved seats, from which we had to ask the occupants to move, which they did without complaint.
Others, however, were not so fortunate, with some seated passengers refusing to move, saying that the train had been ‘declassified’ and the seat reservations were void.
This was clearly untrue as the ‘reserved’ signs were still illuminated above the seats, but this attitude suited their purposes and they remained firmly in other people’s seats.
Announcements were made by the train guard/manager, (on whom the train’s safety I believe ultimately rests, according to the driver-only disputes taking place elsewhere), apologising to the ‘customers’ for the overcrowding.
In Stoke, there came a further announcement, this time presumably from the driver, that ‘due to the dangerous overloading of the carriages’ he was not prepared to take the train out of Stoke station. Good for him; someone taking responsibility at last. The ‘solution’ from the train manager, however, was to tell people to get off the train at Stoke, and wait for the next one in 40 minutes time.
The understandable lack of response led to another announcement that ‘first class has now been declassified and that people can go and sit in there.’
With the driver duly satisfied that his train was now safer, we continued on our way, although having decanted possibly hundreds of people into first class, we were still having to climb over people sitting on the floor of our carriage and around the lavatory, to just get to the toilet. Had there been an emergency situation, it would have been carnage trying to get out.
Throughout, there was no sign of the guard on the train making an inspection – these, usually very quick to check tickets and catch miscreants.
At Euston, I shared my concerns about safety with the Virgin staff at the information point, only to be waved away with the statement that ‘we offer a walk-on service which is very popular’ - ie code for ‘the more money we can make out of you suckers, the better.’
In my experience of inter-city rail travel in Europe and also as far away as India and China, on equivalent trains you can only travel if you have a pre-booked seat and these seem to be able to be provided in most cases from both machines and ticket offices with little or no notice.
If the train is full – like on plane or coach travel, which do have to follow rules on passenger safety – you can’t get on and must book on the next one. However, of course this is Britain where we are expected to be grateful with a stoic ‘mustn’t grumble’ attitude for any old level of service thrown at us.
What a way to run a railway! Jeff Teasdale, Macclesfield