Carriages for ladies will never catch on

jollity on, for example, the 7.50 from Petersfield.

There are women-only carriages in Japan. Groping is rife there and the trains so crowded that it’s very hard to stop it or to apprehend culprits. Also, as in India, trains are so crowded you need the strength of a sumo to force your way on.

MY OWN view is that there should indeed be segregated carriages in Britain, not for people who need protection but for people we need protection from: children under 10 on a journey lasting more than 20 minutes who are not addicted to reading or video games; anyone so fat they take up more than their portion of the seat; everyone with ridiculously loud or unpleasant voices; persons with wellestablished body odour.

Of course there should be more vigilance and intervention to prevent sexual offences and to apprehend offenders. That may be difficult or even dangerous but at least it’s the right thing to do. The problem with other folk’s children or people roughly the size of two is that even if you’re getting a headache or being squashed half to death, it’s considered fascist to complain.

As for female-only carriages, come off it! History shows that women never wanted them. Jeremy Corbyn might have thought they were worth thinking about in 2015 but in August 2016 he may well have changed his mind. That was when he was filmed sitting on the floor in the corridor of the Virgin train from London to Newcastle saying there were no seats.

But when is a seat not a seat? What if there had been an empty women’s carriage on the train? Should he be in or out? It would have been as confusing for him as Brexit.