Belperpete
Established Member
- Joined
- 17 Aug 2018
- Messages
- 1,650
If the railway arranges RRBs, passengers will set off from Southern England and Scotland expecting them. A TOC has to be reasonably sure that it is going to be able to run the RRBs, and do so safely. I can well understand why they would be reluctant to arrange them in what was predicted to be one of the worst-hit parts of the country.Agreed, this is far harder with a RRB than a car. But (back to Lancaster) the M6 wasn't closed nor was there any real likelihood of it being, barring things like crashes that can happen on any day, and the roads from Lancaster to the M6 (going south via the A6 first) are quite high-lying and unlikely to flood. So a Preston-Lancaster bus would have done fine (as indeed the 40 did), and trains were operating from Preston south for most of the day.
Yes, the M6 may be unlikely to flood, but the warnings about Ciara were as much to do with high winds as flooding, and parts of the M6 are very open. I seem to recall a number of incidents of roads blocked due to lorries being blown over. And even if the M6 remained open, the buses would still have to get to and from the stations at either end. Depositing the passengers on the outskirts of Preston or Lancaster would not be an option.
Yes, the 40 service bus kept running, but you only know that with the benefit of hindsight. A number of service buses got suspended at very short notice. I note that you chose not to risk travelling on the 40, but stay put.
I am afraid that I share the view of other posters: those who choose to travel on a day when there is clear warning from the TOCs and other authorities not to travel, should not expect the railway to bail them out if they get stranded.