I had a feeling that yesterday’s events would provoke a discussion, and I can see that it’s following fairly predictable lines. A shame, really.
Anyone questioning the need for yellow lines on platform edges, repetitive announcements and any of the other pesky measures that the railway employs in the name of safety has clearly never been involved with an incident investigation nor the workings of the common leech (aka compensation lawyer). Are they overkill? Probably. However, the railway cannot assume that safety is a matter of commonsense and must, therefore, do everything practicable to ensure that everyone from the seasoned commuter to the first-time traveller is kept safe. Do people need to be told of the dangers of droplight windows? Recent events would suggest that they do, and it is almost certain that the railways will be held largely responsible for this.
Yes we can all cry “Misadventure…!!”, but ultimately the investigative process will follow a sadly predictable line.
Q: Why did this person die?
A: They were struck by a lineside object.
Q: How were they struck by a lineside object?
A: They were leaning out of a droplight window.
Q: Why are there droplight windows in use on passenger trains?
A: Er…
Now this is not entirely relevant to the FFS, but you can see how the same analysis would apply had a photter been splashed across the front of a Voyager yesterday.
As an aside, the yellow line is there to replicate the safe distance for staff going lineside in order to help ensure passenger safety. For speeds up to 100mph this is 4 feet, hence the yellow line being around that distance from the platform edge even where the linespeed is significantly lower than 100mph. As for nothing hanging more than 1.25 metres from a train, may I suggest that a broken pantograph could easily exceed that distance.
But to finally come around to the FFS and the events of yesterday, it is regrettable that it is once again a matter of photters v railstaff. The problem here is that the vast burden of trespass yesterday was a consequence of photters getting to places that they shouldn’t be, and that is simply a matter of fact. We had photters in the cess, at access points, on crossings and even up a signal gantry. Some of my colleagues were given the most fantastical justifications for people being lineside, reasons that simply don’t stand even the scantest scrutiny. This is simply unacceptable, and trying to protest that somehow we’ve overreached ourselves by enforcing petty rules that exist simply to spoil your day only marks you out as the kind of uncooperative enthusiast that will happily ignore the advice and direction you’ve been given.
In spite of everything (including my own feeling about mainline steam operations), I’m sure there is no real will to ban the FFS and other historical anachronisms from the network. However, if we are going to run these services we need to be able to do so safely. If we cannot rely on the goodwill and behaviour of the enthusiast community then Nitwit Rail will inevitably step in, and that will be to the detriment of all.
