Graffiti also blights European trains
Further to John Macnab’s letter about unsightly graffiti on freight stock (Open Access, RAIL 964): I have just returned from a rail trip across Europe, and I can say that this is hardly an issue in the UK (so far).
On a Sleeper journey from Brussels to Bratislava, we saw many instances of passenger stock covered in graffiti. These included what looked like recently built carriages in the iconic Liege station (pictured). The graffiti also extends to locomotives, station buildings and infrastructure.
That was a negative from the trip, but a positive was the ease of access to all stations.
No ticket barriers, gates or fences. No struggling with luggage. Just buy your ticket at the machine or online, and walk through to catch your train.
Even at a tiny, end of branch line station in the mountains of Slovakia, I was able to connect easily to the Slovak Railways website (English version!) and buy tickets for three trains and a connecting bus! On every train, the virtual ticket was scanned by a member of staff.
If British Railways had not invested in barrier gatelines, how much could we have saved? The money could have paid for on-train ticket-checking staff who would also be able to offer safety cover, extra reassurance, and other services to passengers.
Mike Piet, Leeds
I heartily agree with John Macnab that the widespread defacing of mainly aggregates wagons with unsightly graffiti must be addressed.
The perpetrators are risking their lives trespassing on the railway (two died in Brixton in 2018); the paint often obscures important safety information; and it creates an impression of neglect for existing customers and potential users of rail freight.
No such problem seems to apply to intermodal boxes or road delivery vehicles from aggregates terminals, so why is this tolerated?
May I suggest a possible solution, in the absence of firm action by the British Transport Police?
Before entering service, each wagon exterior could be covered with a thin plastic film. This could then be removed and replaced after every graffiti attack.