MK Tom
Established Member
I had a bit of a hullabaloo with the staff at Southend Victoria today (9th December). I went in and asked the gateline staff member if I could access the platforms to take some photos (normally I'd have a ticket and just go in but in this instance I was travelling via Central so had no tickets valid at Victoria). The man told me this was "illegal" and said something about recent events. When I pressed he said Abellio had said written permission was needed to take photos at their stations. When I asked to speak to a more senior member of staff he said none were on the station. When I asked for his name or staff number he refused to give them.
I went to the ticket desk to ask for a senior member of staff, but before that was finished another gentleman called me over. This one was also under the impression that written permission was always needed, but this one was far more helpful (gave me his name too) and took me over to the BTP office to check ''the bylaws''. The police guy, nice as he was, said it was private property and was up to the landowner. Back we went to the office at the station where the station manager who wasn't on the station appeared, having been there the whole time, and promptly confirmed photography for personal use was fine. This was much to the surprise of the man I was with who had sworn blind that Abellio policy forbid it. By this time I had also summoned up the Network Rail website to that effect on my phone having failed to find Abellio's own policy online.
I'll be writing to AGA about this tomorrow but I wanted to talk about it on here first in case anyone here can give me some pointers for my email or other feedback, advice or input. This is the first time I have had an issue photographing on a station since 2010, something I do every single week across the country. The thing I'm really bothered about is Abellio staff being given this kind of information and not being trained on any level in how to handle enthusiasts. It's in stark contrast to the experience I've had in 99% of stations, including others on AGA's network.
I went to the ticket desk to ask for a senior member of staff, but before that was finished another gentleman called me over. This one was also under the impression that written permission was always needed, but this one was far more helpful (gave me his name too) and took me over to the BTP office to check ''the bylaws''. The police guy, nice as he was, said it was private property and was up to the landowner. Back we went to the office at the station where the station manager who wasn't on the station appeared, having been there the whole time, and promptly confirmed photography for personal use was fine. This was much to the surprise of the man I was with who had sworn blind that Abellio policy forbid it. By this time I had also summoned up the Network Rail website to that effect on my phone having failed to find Abellio's own policy online.
I'll be writing to AGA about this tomorrow but I wanted to talk about it on here first in case anyone here can give me some pointers for my email or other feedback, advice or input. This is the first time I have had an issue photographing on a station since 2010, something I do every single week across the country. The thing I'm really bothered about is Abellio staff being given this kind of information and not being trained on any level in how to handle enthusiasts. It's in stark contrast to the experience I've had in 99% of stations, including others on AGA's network.