Items you think should be BANNED which are aren't currently

[Schweir]

What items do you think should not be permitted on trains which are currently. Some examples to start:
- Alcohol (already banned on some TOC)
- Luggage over a certain dimension
- Ebikes / Bicycles in general

 

[ainsworth74]

What items do you think should not be permitted on trains which are currently. Some examples to start:
- Alcohol (already banned on some TOC)
- Luggage over a certain dimension
- Ebikes / Bicycles in general

Why do you think these things should be banned?

 

[Schweir]

Why do you think these things should be banned?

I never mentioned I thought these items should be banned, they were purely listed as examples to stimulate discussion

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't think anything presently allowed on trains should be banned. I would however like to see one existing ban strictly and proactively enforced, though - the playing out loud of electronic devices.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I never mentioned I thought these items should be banned, they were purely listed as examples to stimulate discussion

Luggage over certain dimensions is already banned in the conditions of travel isn't it?

Whether that's enforced or not is a different matter altogether.

 

[py_megapixel]

I don't think bicycles should be banned, but I wouldn't be opposed to the railway making a small charge for them, as long as that then guaranteed they would in fact be carried (i.e. if your bike couldn't be carried you would be entitled to wait for the next train and claim Delay Repay accordingly). Perhaps they could sell a yearly bicycle pass.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't think bicycles should be banned, but I wouldn't be opposed to the railway making a small charge for them, as long as that then guaranteed they would in fact be carried (i.e. if your bike couldn't be carried you would be entitled to wait for the next train and claim Delay Repay accordingly). Perhaps they could sell a yearly bicycle pass.

Yes, I would be happy to pay a small sum for cycle carriage if that meant they weren't treated as an inconvenience.

The reason for the charge being dropped by BR in the 90s was, however, that providing those guarantees is difficult, e.g. when you need emergency RRBs.

 

[miklcct]

Dogs.

These are banned in Hong Kong. I can't see why we shouldn't follow suit.

 

[Silenos]

Yes, I would be happy to pay a small sum for cycle carriage if that meant they weren't treated as an inconvenience.

The reason for the charge being dropped by BR in the 90s was, however, that providing those guarantees is difficult, e.g. when you need emergency RRBs.

Not strictly on topic, but wouldn’t universal bicycle carriage require some redesign of rolling stock? I always hated it, in the days when I used to commute on the Hayes (Kent) line, when you had a couple of bikes blocking the doors.

I don't think anything presently allowed on trains should be banned. I would however like to see one existing ban strictly and proactively enforced, though - the playing out loud of electronic devices.

Amen to that. In the era of earbuds/Bluetooth headphones the only reason for playing out loud is to deliberately inflict it on other travellers.

 

[Trackman]

Luggage over certain dimensions is already banned in the conditions of travel isn't it?

Whether that's enforced or not is a different matter altogether.

We've had this discussion before when someone boarding a train with a wheelbarrow.

from https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/on-the-train/luggage/

No Canoes or hang gliders allowed

Additional luggage charges​

There may be additional luggage charges if any of the following conditions apply:

• You’re bringing more than 3 items
• Your luggage occupies seats which are needed for passenger use
• Your luggage is larger than 1 metre in any dimension. Please note that you must be able to carry large luggage without assistance. If not, it isn’t permitted onboard

Please contact your train company if you have any questions.

Luggage that is not permitted​

The following luggage items are not permitted on trains:

• Items larger than 1 metre in any dimension that you cannot carry without assistance. This includes canoes, hang-gliders, large furniture and large musical instruments
• Surfboards
• Motorcycles, mopeds, motor scooters and motorised cycles
• e-Scooters may not be permitted by a train company on their own services. Check their Cycle Policy before you travel
• Any animal or article which may cause inconvenience to passengers due to its size or behaviour. For more information on travelling with animals, see Train Travel with Pets

​

 

[Bletchleyite]

Not strictly on topic, but wouldn’t universal bicycle carriage require some redesign of rolling stock? I always hated it, in the days when I used to commute on the Hayes (Kent) line, when you had a couple of bikes blocking the doors.

There already is universal bicycle carriage, except on Lumo and in the peak into London. I'm not suggesting infinite numbers.

 

[InTheEastMids]

Ebikes / Bicycles in general

Entirely legitimate concerns over e-bikes/e-scooters. Firstly, the potential for antisocial or unsafe behaviour on stations is higher than unpowered machines
Secondly, the consequences of fire/thermal runaway from the battery would be a serious incident at a busy station, and I think even more serious on a crowded train.

For batteries, a lack of (adherence to) standards, poor supply chain traceability and lack of quality control in manufacturing means that it's a bit of a Wild West environment at the moment. We are seeing the results of this in increasing numbers of fires, some of which have led to fatalities, most recently in Cambridge.

 

[randyrippley]

Noisy children

 

[MattRat]

Entirely legitimate concerns over e-bikes/e-scooters. Firstly, the potential for antisocial or unsafe behaviour on stations is higher than unpowered machines
Secondly, the consequences of fire/thermal runaway from the battery would be a serious incident at a busy station, and I think even more serious on a crowded train.

For batteries, a lack of (adherence to) standards, poor supply chain traceability and lack of quality control in manufacturing means that it's a bit of a Wild West environment at the moment. We are seeing the results of this in increasing numbers of fires, some of which have led to fatalities, most recently in Cambridge.

There are no standards for e scooters. If there were, they wouldn't need to ban them from being ridden in most places.

 

[BJames]

Dogs.

These are banned in Hong Kong. I can't see why we shouldn't follow suit.

Disagree with this although I wish people wouldn't allow their dogs on seats, especially when they are massive (and I am a dog owner). Is this actually currently banned?

What gives dogs on trains a bad name is when people are incapable of controlling their dog. As a dog owner who sometimes takes my dog on the train when all of us are going out, so we don't have to leave him at home, I am acutely aware that not everyone wants to say hello to him - so he stays with me right by my side, unless someone actively shows an interest. It's amazing though how many people you end up talking to on the journey!

Some places (e.g. the Nottingham Trams) ban dogs. NCT buses allow dogs on for £1 day rover, Trent Barton charge 80p per journey. The discussion about dogs though has been had extensively on other threads from a quick search.

 

[507020]

There already is universal bicycle carriage, except on Lumo and in the peak into London. I'm not suggesting infinite numbers.

Why not? I would seriously prefer an infinite number of bicycles to be carried on all trains and certainly without a reservation or supplementary charge.

 

[MattRat]

Why not? I would seriously prefer an infinite number of bicycles to be carried on all trains and certainly without a reservation or supplementary charge.

The more bike space, the less seats. And passengers love seats. A compromise however might be folding bicycles.

 

[London Trains]

Dogs.

Fully agree, animals have no place on trains. Many people have allergies or fears, and should not be forced to spend a prolonged period of time near them. Guide dogs are understandable, all other dogs should be banned for good.

 

[alxndr]

Disagree that well-behaved dogs (or indeed other animals) should be banned, at most people should be asked to try to avoid busy services with their dogs where possible, although I suspect most people wouldn't attempt to take a dog on a crush loaded service.

Well-behaved dogs are no bother at all to the vast majority people. It's unlikely that there will be so many dogs that there is no space for someone to avoid them if they need to. The biggest issue I've seen arise from a dog is when there was one that was simply too big to fit under a table properly and his legs kept sticking out, but the owner kept tucking him back in whenever someone wanted past.

 

[Iskra]

Banning alcohol would be counterproductive and somewhat irresponsible, one of the benefits of train travel vs car is the ability to safely have a couple of drinks or even enjoy a beverage as you are conveyed. The vast majority drink responsibly, there should just be actual enforcement of drunk and disorderly legislation instead.

The only thing I think should be banned, is the playing out-loud of audio devices. These should only be allowed to be used with headphones or similar and this rule should be actually enforced. …I suppose this is probably covered by byelaws already.

…Perhaps we should actually focus on the enforcement of current rules before creating more?

 

[Harpers Tate]

Much of what is being suggested here is potentially counter productive. Whether it be the profit motive (in the case of private operators) or minimising taxpayer subsidy (in the case of public ownership) either way, getting more users is probably desirable. Anything that directs a potential passenger away from using trains is contrary to promoting use.

So the question is: does the prohibition of a thing have a net positive or negative effect?

On bikes: Back in the mid 70s, I lived 1.5 miles away from the local station, and I worked just over a mile away from the city terminus. I regularly made that trip by bike - train - bike. It's not a trip I make any longer but, were I to need to do so, I would not contemplate using the train as part of it, since I could not any longer rely on there being a space for the bike. Ban them and that becomes a guarantee. And, no, I'm not going to buy two bikes and keep one at either end. So that's one user that hypothetically is already lost to the railway. In those days there were typically ~10 bikes doing much the same thing. And again on the next train 15 minutes later. So in two trains, there are say 20 lost users. And likely 20 more cars on the road. Is that where we should be going?

On EBikes (and EScooters): It ought to be a fair assumption (not that I know) that a legal (CE certified) EBike is safe enough (from a fire point of view). They are not self-propelled and won't assist the rider at anything over ~16mph. So I'd contend they don't represent any increased safety hazard over a regular bike. Anything that falls outside those parameters is already illegal for use on any public thoroughfare. The same goes for all EScooters at present. What is lacking isn't a blanket ban on the railway; it is enforcement and/or confiscation of the devices themselves elsewhere that is public.

 

[yorksrob]

Dogs.

These are banned in Hong Kong. I can't see why we shouldn't follow suit.

I think they should be banned from being on the seats for hygiene reasons, but otherwise, I'm not in favour of a ban.

 

[Halwynd]

The only thing I think should be banned, is the playing out-loud of audio devices. These should only be allowed to be used with headphones or similar and this rule should be actually enforced. …I suppose this is probably covered by byelaws already.

…Perhaps we should actually focus on the enforcement of current rules before creating more?

I couldn't agree more - it's anti-social and annoys me more than any other example of poor passenger behaviour. I wish the railway would do more to deal with it - one day I suspect two people onboard a train somewhere will have a very serious falling out about it.

Oh, and cheese & onion crisps...

 

[Bantamzen]

What do I think should be banned from trains? People who incessantly complain about other people & their habits on trains....

Seriously though I don't think there's really anything that should be banned that isn't already. I know a lot of people will have their personal peeves in upcoming posts, but I really don't think train crews need any more rules to try and enforce.

 

[yorksrob]

Oh, and cheese & onion crisps...

I think you mean cream cheese and chive pringles (vom)

 

[PTR 444]

I disagree about E-scooters being banned, particularly if they become legal to use on the public highway. They are smaller and easier to stow away than bikes, and have the potential to solve the “last mile issue” when it comes to onward travel. Once legalised, I can see several urban car journeys being superseded by E-scooter > train > E-scooter.

 

[ChrisC]

The only thing I think should be banned, is the playing out-loud of audio devices. These should only be allowed to be used with headphones or similar
and this rule should be actually enforced. …I suppose this is probably covered by byelaws already.

This should also include very loud hands free conversations on phones. I think we have to accept that these days people are going to use their phones on trains, but do they really need to have the speaker on the phone set at a very loud level.

On EBikes (and EScooters): It ought to be a fair assumption (not that I know) that a legal (CE certified) EBike is safe enough (from a fire point of view). They are not self-propelled and won't assist the rider at anything over ~16mph. So I'd contend they don't represent any increased safety hazard over a regular bike. Anything that falls outside those parameters is already illegal for use on any public thoroughfare. The same goes for all EScooters at present. What is lacking isn't a blanket ban on the railway; it is enforcement and/or confiscation of the devices themselves elsewhere that is public.

I fully understand the concerns about fire safety with illegal non certified e-bikes. However, those of us who ride, what are often extremely expensive e-bikes, which are from reputable manufacturers and retailers, are currently getting bad press too. I own a folding e-bike, from a reputable manufacturer. I purchased it from a reliable local cycle shop and have it regularly checked over and serviced. This e-bike has enabled me to take up safe, mainly cycling on off road cycling trails, in my mid 60’s, when I haven’t been on a bike since I was in my teens. We are not all riding unsafe, uncertified, modified bikes which can be illegally self propelled at high speeds.

 

[156421]

I disagree about E-scooters being banned, particularly if they become legal to use on the public highway. They are smaller and easier to stow away than bikes, and have the potential to solve the “last mile issue” when it comes to onward travel. Once legalised, I can see several urban car journeys being superseded by E-scooter > train > E-scooter.

Is the legalization of these devices actually an inevitability?

 

[Norm_D_Ploom]

How has nobody mentioned Alastair Campbell yet ?

 

[mike57]

I think the E-bike/E-scooter problems are part of bigger issues around them. Legislation has not kept up with technology, hopefully we will emerge from the 'head in the sand' phase where the authorities keep stating that they are not legal and lots of people are using them on a daily basis. There are two issues really, unsafe battery packs and electronics, and machines which are capable of higher than prudent top speeds. The railways are hopefully more concerned about the first issue, having seen the results of fairly small lithium battery going into self destruct mode I think the concerns are justified.

To me the best way forwards, to have E-scooter legislation which allows them to fill a genuine need, probably similar to the E-bikes in term of top speeds etc, and ensuring that things like batteries meet minimum standards, and then clamping down on the illegal ones. From a railway point of view E-scooters are probably better for to and from station journeys because they dont take up as much space as even non-e bikes.