Why has railway made all its seats bigger?
CARRIGES REDISGNED ON TOURIST RAILWAY AS ‘PEOPLE USED TO BE THINNER’ SAY BOSSES
FATTER passengers have forced a narrow gauge railway to redesign its carriages to hold fewer and larger seats.
Our sister paper the Daily Post last week reported how pensioner Anthony Poppel was turned away from the Snowdon Mountain Railway after “large” passengers took up all the room in his allotted carriage.
Now the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway, which runs between Caernarfon, Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog, say bigger passengers have led to changes on its trains in recent years.
Andrew Thomas from the railway said: “Some of our previous carriages dated back around 100 years, and it’s quite apparent from their design that the general populace tended to be both thinner and shorter back then.
“Larger customers are something we’re always conscious of, but we have managed to avoid a similar situation to what’s been reported this week by adapting our newest carriages to tackle these challenges.
“What this means, of course, is that while the seats are bigger in size, we aren’t able to fit as many in the carriages.
“For example, while the oldstyle carriage would be capable of carrying, say, 40 passengers, they can now only carry around 30.
“But that’s what’s necessary to meet the challenges in this day and age, which also include ensuring satisfactory wheelchair access and widening the steps to board the trains.”
Following Mr Poppel’s inability to board the train, the Snowdon Mountain Railway apologised for the inconvenience and refunded his £32.50 ticket.
A spokesman said: “On the day of Mr Poppel’s visit, a family of four occupied the full width of his carriage due to their physical size and weight, taking the space normally reserved for five people. We requested that they sit opposite one another but they refused.
“We did everything we could to accommodate Mr Poppel and we apologise for any disappointment he experienced.”