Mother with pushchair 'told to stop having kids' by train conductor

[Ferret]

Just to add.

I did prevent someone bringing a surf board onto the train once! It was about 12 feet long!
Also someone else who wanted to use the DLR to transport a 3 seater sofa.

I didn't end up in the Daily Mail though!

Did you not know the railway did house removals? LOL! Down the years I've had people trying to bring a fridge, a massive TV - all sorts! I've seen 2 families attempting to move house having all their worldly goods on a luggage trolley - unbelievable!

Back to the original point, I completely agree - this isn't about discrimination, it's about a poorly made joke that was taken the wrong way, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[ivanhoe]

Back to the original point, I completely agree - this isn't about discrimination, it's about a poorly made joke that was taken the wrong way, nothing more, nothing less.

An excellent summary. End of thread!

 

[Mojo]

Once saw a woman trying to move all her stuff at Bristol Parkway, coming in on a HST from South Wales at Bristol Parkway with a guard van full of binliners (why do people think binliners are acceptable for transporting things?), a TV and a chair, and trying to change onto a Voyager heading North. "They do not have guard vans on all trains" said the station manager as a wedged Voyager pulled in, followed by all the platform staff carrying her stuff across the barrow crossing to put her back on a train to where she came from!

 

[Ferret]

Once saw a woman trying to move all her stuff at Bristol Parkway, coming in on a HST from South Wales at Bristol Parkway with a guard van full of binliners (why do people think binliners are acceptable for transporting things?), a TV and a chair, and trying to change onto a Voyager heading North. "They do not have guard vans on all trains" said the station manager as a wedged Voyager pulled in, followed by all the platform staff carrying her stuff across the barrow crossing to put her back on a train to where she came from!

That is class!!!! I so hope the FGW guards made use of the AAA facility on their ticket machines! £5 per extra bag please

 

[JohnB57]

Of course, we don't know how these ladies spoke to the conductor do we? I suspect he could well have been spoken to less than civilly for merely doing his job and was fairly roundly mis-quoted after the event. I've always found them very friendly and helpful on this service.

One point of possible irony is that the husband of one of the ladies runs a private hire taxi company in their home village.

 

[leedstraindude]

I hope management see this for what it is. A silly little X factor loving chav after her fifteen minutes of fame and nothign more.

 

[142094]

1) We don't have the full story.

2) If the conductor spoke to the woman like that, she has every right to make a complaint and tell the press if she wants to. It is irrelevant if she is working class, a chav or whatever other stereotype people may come up with.

3) NRCoC do have guidlines for wheelchairs, pushchairs and luggage. Perhaps they should be more widely publicised. If you ask the general public, I bet the vast majority wouldn't know what the CoCs are.

4) We are guessing what type of unit it was. 142s in some cases do have room for a wheelchair, pushchair and bike at one end, where there are fold-up seats. 144s generally have a bit more room. I have even seen a 142 with 3 pushchairs on it, although it meant one door was blocked out of use.

5) Having a pushchair is not the same as having the need of a wheelchair. I would suggest IMO that all pushchairs should be folded, even if there is the room. If people have too many bags/etc, then that is their own fault. A pushchair shouldn't be used as a personal shopping trolley, as they seem to be used a lot of the time.

 

[43167]

On a similar line. I was on one of the evening rush hour Man Vic-Huddersfields yesterday and there were 5 Bikes on the train. Needless to say that was pretty full & I thought there was a limit to bikes on trains, especially at that time of day.

Back to the thread, the woman should have a better sense of humour, but also the conductor was wrong in saying they dont allow pushchairs. Some Northern trains have a poster showing that they should be carried on trains folded up, but when there is a ton of shopping underneath the bairn, then thats probably a non starter.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Did you not know the railway did house removals? LOL! Down the years I've had people trying to bring a fridge, a massive TV - all sorts! I've seen 2 families attempting to move house having all their worldly goods on a luggage trolley - unbelievable!

Back to the original point, I completely agree - this isn't about discrimination, it's about a poorly made joke that was taken the wrong way, nothing more, nothing less.

I once did work experiance at Leeds years ago & they had a jumble sale of all the lost property. One of the items on sale among all the usual brollies & bags, was a newmatic drill!! The sort you dig up the road with!!

 

[ralphchadkirk]

1) We don't have the full story.

What other parts of the story do we need?

2) If the conductor spoke to the woman like that, she has every right to make a complaint and tell the press if she wants to. It is irrelevant if she is working class, a chav or whatever other stereotype people may come up with.

It was a light hearted joke, that the person took the wrong way.

3

) NRCoC do have guidlines for wheelchairs, pushchairs and luggage. Perhaps they should be more widely publicised. If you ask the general public, I bet the vast majority wouldn't know what the CoCs are.

All they say is that they are permitted, depending on the TOC's conditions:

Any Train Company may (notwithstanding the terms set out in Conditions 46 to 48 and Appendix B) refuse to accept an item of luggage, an article, an animal or a cycle if, in the opinion of its staff:
(a) it may cause injury, inconvenience or a nuisance or it may cause damage to property;
(b) there is not enough room for it; (c) the loading or unloading may cause delay to trains; or (d) it is not carried or packaged in a suitable manner.

4) We are guessing what type of unit it was. 142s in some cases do have room for a wheelchair, pushchair and bike at one end, where there are fold-up seats. 144s generally have a bit more room. I have even seen a 142 with 3 pushchairs on it, although it meant one door was blocked out of use.

Doors blocked out of use are not safe, and and not allowed by the NCoC's:

it may cause injury, inconvenience or a nuisance

5) Having a pushchair is not the same as having the need of a wheelchair. I would suggest IMO that all pushchairs should be folded, even if there is the room. If people have too many bags/etc, then that is their own fault. A pushchair shouldn't be used as a personal shopping trolley, as they seem to be used a lot of the time.[/QUOTE]
I would agree with you on that point.

 

[thefab444]

To be told to stop reproducing, what kind of an attitude is that?

A very good one, this country is overpopulated enough it is (and I'm not talking about immigration either).

 

[Tom B]

Correct although what will happen when 2 wheelchairs & a pushchair want to board the same bus?

Exactly the same as when 105 people want to get on a bus which can only hold 104 people, I'd assume!

 

[JohnB57]

There are certain unfortunate but immutable facts of life: -

1. Some folks seem to seek publicity wherever it's available - you get to see their names and faces regularly in the press

2. A fair number of those believe that bending the facts in order to make a story where there really isn't one is fair game, whoever gets harmed in the process

3. Some people take the approach that, as the "customer" they have the right to be as unpleasant as they like whilst accepting nothing but cap-doffing respect in return

4. A certain type of parent seems to think the world begins and ends with the needs of them and their offspring, regardless of any inconvenience to others

Now I'm not saying that any of the above apply here, but - errm - certain previous evidence might suggest...

I just hope the poor conductor doesn't suffer.

 

[142094]

What other parts of the story do we need?

We haven't had the side of the conductor, who might not have said it at all.

It was a light hearted joke, that the person took the wrong way.

Depends on your sense of humour, but going back to a recent thread on how to treat a customer, in this case he is employed to be in a customer-facing role and should either have the common-sense or training to know that such as joke may be found to be rude/unacceptable by some people.

Doors blocked out of use are not safe, and and not allowed by the NCoC's

In the real world, as you have probably seen yourself, doors, cab doors and exits are regularly blocked and in the vast majority of cases nothing is done. Anyone going by TPE out of Manchester Piccadilly will tell you the amount of luggage left next to doors due to people either having too much or there not being enough room.

 

[brompton rail]

Platforms on Huddersfield - Sheffield line are on both sides of the train (not at the same station, but a number require access to/from righthand side in direction of travel). If the doorway in question was the rear door (i.e. next to conductor) he would require clear access to both sides in order to open / close doors and restart the train.

In any case the fact that some doorways on TPE (and intercity type trains too) are obstructed by passengers luggage is not an excuse. Having experienced occasions when I have been unable to get on or get off a train because it was blocked, I would sympathise with anyone who chucked the offending luggage off onto the platform and left it there!

 

[Mojo]

A very good one, this country is overpopulated enough it is (and I'm not talking about immigration either).

Overpopulated with old people I think. We need more people growing up to pay taxes for our parents to live the lifestyles they want to, not less.

 

[thefab444]

Overpopulated with old people I think. We need more people growing up to pay taxes for our parents to live the lifestyles they want to, not less.

Surely that will just escalate the problem for future generations?

 

[Mojo]

Well it's the generation in schools and University that are going to have the problem of too many people in retirement and not enough working people, so we need more people ready to start work once the current mob born in the 50s and 60s start retiring.

 

[tbtc]

In 20/ 30/ 40 years time we'll be complaining about not enough immigrants entering the UK (since we'll be desperate for young people to come and pay taxes whilst we're all retired and taking our pensions out)

(but complaining that you can't get more than a couple of Mobility Cart Wheelchairs on the tarted up Pacers that will still be running then)

 

[142094]

Platforms on Huddersfield - Sheffield line are on both sides of the train (not at the same station, but a number require access to/from righthand side in direction of travel). If the doorway in question was the rear door (i.e. next to conductor) he would require clear access to both sides in order to open / close doors and restart the train.

Of course on a Pacer there is usually only one end used for the storage of wheelchairs, pushchairs, bikes etc. So it is a 50/50 chance that the end used for storage is the same as the guard's cab. You'd be surprised how many times this door is blocked, as they all open outwards. Mostly it is when the train is full to standing, but occasionally it is due to pushchairs.

In any case the fact that some doorways on TPE (and intercity type trains too) are obstructed by passengers luggage is not an excuse. Having experienced occasions when I have been unable to get on or get off a train because it was blocked, I would sympathise with anyone who chucked the offending luggage off onto the platform and left it there!

I quite agree it is not an excuse, but it shows that there is no set standard, which there should be. And of course this wouldn't stop people using it as an excuse. That is the problem, older trains and more people travelling means less room and more capacity needed.

 

[90019]

Well it's the generation in schools and University that are going to have the problem of too many people in retirement and not enough working people, so we need more people ready to start work once the current mob born in the 50s and 60s start retiring.

If you go with that, you then end up back at a population pyramid similar in shape to that of a 3rd world country (Approx. stage 2), just elongated upwards, but then you'll end up with a steadily rising population, which will eventually reach the point where the country is at the highest capacity it can sustain.

Then what do you do?

You can't increase theeconomically active population to support the old dependants, because the country can't support it.
You end up having an ageing population that the younger people will have to deal with, but by this point, the problem is much larger, because you have the much larger old dependant population who were there to try and support the previous one.
The longer you put it off, the harder it's going to be to solve the problem.

 

[Mojo]

No you wouldn't; it would be consistent with similar numbers of people dying, retiring, being born and coming of working age all the time.

 

[MCR247]

Edinburgh's whole fleet (Excluding some of the tour buses and now that 433 is back as the Forth Bridges Tour bus) has been low floor since late 2009.

So has Nottingham city Transport's