Train mask fines ‘may be next step’
A DIRECTOR at Transport For Wales says a “strengthening of the law” may be required regarding face masks after complaints from travellers during Wales’ rugby autumn internationals.
Colin Lea, planning and performance director at the transport operator, said it was trying its best to enforce the wearing of face masks on public transport, but fines or a strengthening of the law may be the next step.
His comments come after complaints about overcrowding and people not wearing masks on rail services, raising concerns about the spread of Covid, following Saturday’s match between Wales and Australia.
There had been similar concerns raised the previous weekend following Wales’ football match against Belarus, prompting the operator to say “lessons have been learnt”.
Referring to the issue of maskwearing, Mr Lea said: “I think it starts with personal responsibility.
“We gave out 10,000 face coverings and that really does help.
“The rules slightly changing inside the stadium helps because it normalises wearing face coverings in all the circumstances.
“But, ultimately, we may need a strengthening of the law or the British Transport Police to actually start issuing fines, because that fundamentally may be the next step.”
Mr Lea told the BBC that most travellers do abide by the law, but larger crowds without masks can convince others to go without.
He explained: “If everyone else is wearing a face covering then people will generally put them on, but if people aren’t, then people generally seem to fall back and let it go down to their chin etcetera.”
He added that the proximity to the stadium was also the source of crowding issues experienced recently.
He said: “It’s particularly acute here in Wales because our stadium is so close to the main station.”
Meanwhile, looking ahead to the Six Nations, he warned that travellers can expect “similar” circumstances unless any changes are made to the law.
“A huge amount of planning goes into this from the police and security. We had medical emergencies over the weekend, which we dealt with professionally and properly.
“Our control teams fleet operations put huge amounts of work into that and we moved tens of thousands of people safely and you know, that is really good.
“There are of course things we can do better on face coverings. There are of course some trains which are very, very busy. But on the whole everyone got home safely, which is the main point here.”