Dedicated railway staff rise to the challenge
Children may love snow. Adults might appreciate an unexpected day in front of the TV. For railway staff, it’s a challenge… and one they have risen to magnificently in the past couple of weeks.
I’ve been hugely impressed with the sheer hard work and commitment that staff have shown in the face of heavy and drifting snow that resulted, for example, in England being cut off from Scotland for several days. I can’t remember the last time no trains crossed the border for so long.
Network Rail mobilised its big independent snowploughs and drafted snow blowers into action. For days, their efforts were in vain as stiff winds simply blew more snow onto the East and West Coast Main Lines.
In southern England, there were also problems. Passengers were trapped overnight on a cold and dark South Western Railway electric multiple unit. Their plight shows why it’s sometimes better not to try running services. While I believe that railways are inherently more resilient than roads - witness the M62’s closure or the drivers stranded on the M80 - they can be overwhelmed by weather.
No railway manager will talk about the wrong type of snow. But the recent dump was fine and powdery, and as temperatures stayed low it was ideal for drifts.
All staff played their part. It’s sometimes invidious to single out individuals or teams, but I’ll use this picture from ScotRail to illustrate the efforts of staff across Britain - from top to bottom. It’s the team at Yoker depot in Glasgow, taking a brief break from their duties.