Why rail passengers used to have more space
SIR – Martin Lewis is right to raise the problems of overcrowding and lack of lavatories on trains (report, February 21). They are connected.
Traditionally, trains of carriages were hauled by locomotives, and it was easy to add an extra carriage if required. Spare carriages, often older ones, would be kept at strategic locations for this purpose. Now trains are commonly formed as sets, driven from either end, so this solution is no longer available. Strengthening a train now usually involves adding another complete unit, which is not economically viable on a day-to-day basis.
Additionally, the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations of 2010 rightly require lavatories that are accessible to all. These, however, take up a lot of space, reducing seating capacity, so it’s common to find just one lavatory per unit.
Adding extra capacity will come with a cost and, with the prospect of train companies being nationalised under a Labour government, it is unlikely that any will be prepared to make the investment needed.
Since privatisation, passenger numbers have soared, so in a way the railway companies are the victims of their own success.
Jonathan Mann
Gunnislake, Cornwall
SIR – The Mayor of London, usually so woke, seems happy to discriminate against people with hidden disabilities such as Crohn’s disease, colitis and IBS.
Lavatories were first installed on British trains in the late 1890s, yet in the 21st century, Elizabeth Line trains that travel a distance of 73 miles do not have any.
Travelling on a Thameslink train, I observed that the lavatory pod took up the space of just eight seats. Three or four of these on each Elizabeth Line train would have a negligible effect on the number of passengers being carried, but would enable sufferers of Crohn’s to use the service.
It’s not good enough to say that some stations have lavatories. People with hidden disabilities cannot simply wait for the next station. And is it really acceptable to expect passengers to disembark to perform a basic function, and then wait for the next train? That’s if they can find a lavatory that’s open.
Passengers trapped recently on an Elizabeth Line train for more than three hours had to get off and relieve themselves on the tracks. It is an absolute disgrace.
Elizabeth Roberts
Horley, Surrey