Stop & Examine

Salute railway staff.

In his Comment in RAIL 846, Nigel Harris asked RAIL readers to spare a thought and to say thank you to the Virgin Trains East Coast staff who are soldiering on in the midst of uncertainty over the franchise.

As Nigel was writing his Comment, RAIL received a letter from Brian Gable, whose tale of a recent journey to London demonstrated the excellent service provided by railway staff.

Brian was booked on a Darlington-King’s Cross service, but his train had been delayed by a breakdown at Dunbar. Staff advised him to take the CrossCountry Newcastle- Southampton as far as Doncaster, and there join a VTEC service.

On both trains, he found the staff welcoming and helpful, and he reached King’s Cross only 14 minutes after the times scheduled on his original booking.

On his return, a breakdown at Stratford and a temporary closure of the Circle Line platform at Liverpool Street ( on safety grounds, due to excessive numbers of people travelling towards Wembley for a football match) conspired to make him late for his 1900 booked train.

“A railway policeman directed me to ‘the office just past Nigel Gresley’s statue’, where a man understood the situation immediately and endorsed my ticket for the 1930,” says Brian. “In this train, the staff again were most helpful and found me a place.’

He concludes: “One hears of the problems of the East Coast Main Line, but I have found the staff most helpful and welcoming. They are not the people who will get a bonus or a golden handshake, but it is they who make the system work and who minimise the problems when they occur.”

Thanks Brian. We couldn’t have put it better ourselves.