Wireless = noisier trains

I really enjoyed Philip Haigh’s Analysis (RAIL 965) in a masochistic sort of way, and I am intrigued by the challenge afoot. But I have to confess that the terminology was largely lost on me.

Clearly the travelling public (or at least some of them) will welcome the attainment of the ‘Holy Grail’ of continuous quality connectivity, uninterrupted by such nuisances as tunnels.

For me, it’s not a priority. Furthermore, I dread the time when the much repeated and now legendary mobile phone ‘shout’ (and I mean ‘shout’) of “I’m on a train but we’re going into a tunnel and I might lose the signal…” is replaced by “I’m on a train and although we will go through a tunnel I’ll be able to continue annoying my fellow captives with my incessant, excruciating and unnecessary drivel at maximum volume throughout.”

It could all be called ‘inevitable progress’, but it will come at a price. And I am not at all confident that the industry (and certainly not the Department for Transport) will be taking any steps to protect the sanity of passengers who (in my view) have a right to expect a reasonable level of peace and quiet.

Alan Fell, Topsham