Rail services to be increased on May 18th

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RMT clearly concerned about risk to passengers and staff.

RMT issues fresh COVID-19 advice to members

TSSA have big concerns about the risks to staff should trains become crowded.

Mixed messaging is dangerous - we won't allow our members to be Covid-19 cannon fodder - News

ASLEF bothered by what could happen following PMs ambiguous announcement

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[Bletchleyite]

ASLEF

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What on earth has exercise got to do with it, as Bojo was very clear indeed that travel for that if you're going to do it is by car only.

 

[Bald Rick]

RMT is asking members not to go in to work as it doesnt feel the conditions are right, its also saying that it had agreed to increasing services from 18th may but as the service increases are coming in earlier it doesnt feel bound by the agreement anymore.

What services are actually increasing tomorrow?

 

[Bald Rick]

Thanks. It appears that the RMT have in fact not "advised members not to go into work" as is suggested above, but only that they should not work if they consider the situation unsafe. Quite different.

Indeed, legally they could do nothing else.

It’s going to be interesting to see how many RMT members do declare it unsafe to work, given that they will all have been working at some point for the last 6 weeks (except those who have been ill / isolating etc).

It will be also interested to see how the public reacts to any who declare it is unsafe to work, given how many other people are working through this in circumstances that have much more contact with the public - shop workers etc; let alone the health service.

 

[muz379]

Thanks. It appears that the RMT have in fact not "advised members not to go into work" as is suggested above, but only that they should not work if they consider the situation unsafe. Quite different.

Which is basically the normal situation anyway .

Only this time assuming the PHE advice of 2m minimum social distancing remains in place its actually probably clearer what is and is not safe with regards to covid-19 .

Indeed, legally they could do nothing else.

It’s going to be interesting to see how many RMT members do declare it unsafe to work, given that they will all have been working at some point for the last 6 weeks (except those who have been ill / isolating etc).

It will be also interested to see how the public reacts to any who declare it is unsafe to work, given how many other people are working through this in circumstances that have much more contact with the public - shop workers etc; let alone the health service.

But the past 6 weeks there have been huge reductions in passenger numbers , estimates I have seen have suggested <5% of normal passenger numbers , less services means less staff in mess facilities and depots and there have been less trains used to operate the service meaning less work on maintenance depot to maintain and clean so staff in all sectors have been more than capable of remaining socially distanced from each other and from passengers . If more trains are used , and passenger numbers increase significantly it might be harder for staff to remain socially distanced from each other and passengers .

Yes retai staff in particular supermarket staff have been dealing with normal or near normal numbers of customers , although measures have been put in place to control numbers in their workplace and other measures like screens at checkouts are in place . Different shops are also dealing with the 2m guidance with varying degrees of dilligence . Healthcare staff should have been issued with adequate PPE for their interaction with patients . The fact that there have been shortcomings in these areas is shocking . But not really something for rail staff or their unions to be able to do anything about either ? But also not an excuse to accept risks in our workplace ?

 

[Horizon22]

Our roster is returning to almost normal levels even though passenger numbers have barely increased. More services from the 18th but a lot of that is operational to keep crew competencies up and lots of focus on the word "peak" although that's almost non-existent right now and I doubt it will grow much; most people who would go to work who wouldn't otherwise have been won't necessarily be 9-5 workers either.

I expect some concerns in the unions is justified, but people are going to flock to public transport immediately. Its a balance between operating a service to help get people need to where they need to be in addition to remaining services.

As for cycling former rail journeys, ok valid for some in urban areas. But I'm sure many might have considered that pre-lockdown and aren't in the shape / fancy the length of the journey / fancy the road conditions to make that journey realistically.

 

[Bow Fell]

RMT is asking members not to go in to work as it doesnt feel the conditions are right, its also saying that it had agreed to increasing services from 18th may but as the service increases are coming in earlier it doesnt feel bound by the agreement anymore.

Good effort in trying to spin that one.

Desperate is the word.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Initially i can't see a significant increase in traffic for a number of reasons

1. Companies have millions on furlough and this doesn't come to end for several weeks yet so most companies won't be rushing to take on salary costs until they have to.
2. Food, Beverage and Leisure is substantially shut for many weeks yet
3. Non food retail is substantially shut
4. Businesses won't encourage staff to attend until they have robust socialisation measures in place.
5. Majority of people are well aware of the risks being in close proximity to others and aren't readily going to subject themselves to public transport after staying at home for so long.

That said as the weeks go by and if we move to the additional steps briefed by the PM the challenge will become much more difficult but thats why the unions, TOCs and NR need to continue the work they've started so they come up with appropriate measures and adapt the timetable to meet the needs of new travel patterns.

 

[bramling]

What on earth has exercise got to do with it, as Bojo was very clear indeed that travel for that if you're going to do it is by car only.

I suspect the unions are concerned it will lead to a heavy increase in people using trains. They’re not wrong that it won’t necessarily be easy to differentiate who is using a train for what purpose.

Again another Boris muddle which is going to have consequences. Wait for the packed beaches, and wait for the fury from those working when they see the furloughed masses sunning themselves. Rightly or wrongly it’s a toxic combination.

The focus should be on schools and getting the masses back to work, not encouraging people to spend time in honeypot locations. I’m not sure this was the intention, on the contrary I think it was merely intended to legitimise what people have been doing in the form of spending more time out locally.

 

[Bald Rick]

Which is basically the normal situation anyway .

Only this time assuming the PHE advice of 2m minimum social distancing remains in place its actually probably clearer what is and is not safe with regards to covid-19 .


But the past 6 weeks there have been huge reductions in passenger numbers , estimates I have seen have suggested <5% of normal passenger numbers , less services means less staff in mess facilities and depots and there have been less trains used to operate the service meaning less work on maintenance depot to maintain and clean so staff in all sectors have been more than capable of remaining socially distanced from each other and from passengers . If more trains are used , and passenger numbers increase significantly it might be harder for staff to remain socially distanced from each other and passengers .

Yes retai staff in particular supermarket staff have been dealing with normal or near normal numbers of customers , although measures have been put in place to control numbers in their workplace and other measures like screens at checkouts are in place . Different shops are also dealing with the 2m guidance with varying degrees of dilligence . Healthcare staff should have been issued with adequate PPE for their interaction with patients . The fact that there have been shortcomings in these areas is shocking . But not really something for rail staff or their unions to be able to do anything about either ? But also not an excuse to accept risks in our workplace ?

All fair points. Although I don’t believe demand will return in bug numbers anytime soon. (Noting that some parts of the London network are already quite busy at certain times of day).

But you can see the headlines already “Nurses unable to get to work because trains cancelled as RMT declare it’s unsafe for guards” or similar. As they say in media “not good optics”.

 

[bramling]

All fair points. Although I don’t believe demand will return in bug numbers anytime soon. (Noting that some parts of the London network are already quite busy at certain times of day).

But you can see the headlines already “Nurses unable to get to work because trains cancelled as RMT declare it’s unsafe for guards” or similar. As they say in media “not good optics”.

I’m not sure that’s what the headline is likely to be though. I’d say it’s more likely we’ll see “Nurses forced to travel in dangerous conditions because too many people making non-essential journeys”. We’ve already seen “Nurse faced with empty shelves because of panic buying” so it will just be a variation on the theme.

Is any other country (excluding USA) making such a mess of all this as we seem to be?!

 

[muz379]

All fair points. Although I don’t believe demand will return in bug numbers anytime soon. (Noting that some parts of the London network are already quite busy at certain times of day).

But you can see the headlines already “Nurses unable to get to work because trains cancelled as RMT declare it’s unsafe for guards” or similar. As they say in media “not good optics”.

Im not sure what is going to happen with demand , on the one hand maybe you are right demand wont return in big numbers anytime soon ,at the same time the message delivered to the nation this evening has been quite unclear , and if there is not clarity given soon then people might start returning to work , people might also start making more leisure trips . And even a return to 20% of normal passenger numbers could make it difficult to socially distance on board the train or on stations, especially given we will still be running emergency timetables with less trains .

Im not sure if it will even be "unsafe for guards" as the headline I mean on the majority of traction (with some exceptions ofc) the door controls are in cabs or at ends of the 'train' so it should be fairly simple to cordon off a small part of the train to give guards space to work , and on board revenue cannot even be considered until either social distancing guidelines are relaxed or PPE is provided , plus guards not doing revenue wont make bad press . It will be on station or in depots that staff struggle to maintain social distancing and subsequently leave the workspace .

You are right , it might not make the best headlines . Although I am fairly sure that the RMT and its members are used to bad press regardless of what they do .

 

[Silverlinky]

There just won't be the numbers to make this anywhere near an issue IMO. If 5 people are sitting close together in the front carriage of a 12 coach train, and the rest of the train is empty, is that "unsafe" for the traincrew?
The advice, or instruction if you like, given today is if you can work from home then continue to do so. Only if you can't work from home should you go back to work. Now, which groups of people will be going back to work? Shop workers? No, because the shops are still shut! Office workers? No, because they've been working from home and will continue to do so. I just don't see where the feared sudden influx of passengers is coming from.
And at the end of the day the advice to passengers is the advice we've been given....don't use public transport, stay two metres away from people etc.....its up to the people themselves to be responsible for themselves.

As for strike action, or cancelling trains because they are "unsafe".....I think the unions and their members will have to tread very carefully. I doubt very much that Joe Public is aware that many rail staff are sitting at home on full pay, many others are doing "half a job" on full pay. There has been no furloughing, no redundancies, no unpaid leave, no pay cuts etc. The Railway has been shielded from this like hardly any other line of business. Drivers working a 15 hour week for £60k are not, in my honest opinion, going to find themselves with many sympathetic ears.

 

[yorkie]

As for strike action, or cancelling trains because they are "unsafe".....I think the unions and their members will have to tread very carefully. I doubt very much that Joe Public is aware that many rail staff are sitting at home on full pay, many others are doing "half a job" on full pay. There has been no furloughing, no redundancies, no unpaid leave, no pay cuts etc. The Railway has been shielded from this like hardly any other line of business. Drivers working a 15 hour week for £60k are not, in my honest opinion, going to find themselves with many sympathetic ears.

Well said. I could go further but I'll bite my tongue!

 

[Qwerty133]

Im not sure what is going to happen with demand , on the one hand maybe you are right demand wont return in big numbers anytime soon ,at the same time the message delivered to the nation this evening has been quite unclear , and if there is not clarity given soon then people might start returning to work , people might also start making more leisure trips . And even a return to 20% of normal passenger numbers could make it difficult to socially distance on board the train or on stations, especially given we will still be running emergency timetables with less trains .

Im not sure if it will even be "unsafe for guards" as the headline I mean on the majority of traction (with some exceptions ofc) the door controls are in cabs or at ends of the 'train' so it should be fairly simple to cordon off a small part of the train to give guards space to work , and on board revenue cannot even be considered until either social distancing guidelines are relaxed or PPE is provided , plus guards not doing revenue wont make bad press . It will be on station or in depots that staff struggle to maintain social distancing and subsequently leave the workspace .

You are right , it might not make the best headlines . Although I am fairly sure that the RMT and its members are used to bad press regardless of what they do .

The biggest issue I can foresee on platforms is the return of passengers requiring passenger assistance that requires close contact between the staff and the passenger involved. I cannot see how it will be safe for staff to be providing assistance to either the blind or wheelchair users unless some form of PPE is provided (and even then they'd have to be careful amount several staff touching the same ramps etc). For the actual dispatch of trains it should be able to maintain social distancing in most locations with a few adjustments which may include taping off a part of a platform to enable staff to have an area of safety and waiting until disembarking passengers have left the platform until dispatching the train when it isn't safe to do so from such an area.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

I am a key worker and I do have a letter that I carry with me, in the event of being challenged as to my reasons for travel (although the Royal Mail uniform is a bit of a clue).
I can only say what I’ve seen in the last few weeks, when I have enjoyed* (if that’s the right term) near-empty trains that are running on time and get me to / from London very reliably.

Travelling well outside peak hours, I’ve noticed there has been a slight increase each day in people travelling on the London Overground leg of my commute, mid-morning. Some of these individuals are clearly not key workers. A person making their usual work journey would not, for example, be looking at signage with a puzzled expression, trying to work out which platform or direction they need to go, or dragging a suitcase).
The numbers I see on a daily basis seem to rise a lot - or fall - in line with warm or cool weather, which is another clue.
I fear that today’s message will increase the number of passengers way beyond the point where proper social distancing can be maintained. If this leads to drivers feeling unsafe, and service cancellations, Johnson’s changes will potentially make it more difficult for me to get to work, and yet I’m classed as a key worker!

* I wear a mask, and practice social distancing, yet I bristle when about to exit the train. People just don’t think. They sit more than 2 metres away, yet stand right behind you as you await the doors being released. People boarding also do as they’ve always done, try to board at the same time as those alighting, almost bumping into me...

 

[muz379]

There just won't be the numbers to make this anywhere near an issue IMO. If 5 people are sitting close together in the front carriage of a 12 coach train, and the rest of the train is empty, is that "unsafe" for the traincrew?
The advice, or instruction if you like, given today is if you can work from home then continue to do so. Only if you can't work from home should you go back to work. Now, which groups of people will be going back to work? Shop workers? No, because the shops are still shut! Office workers? No, because they've been working from home and will continue to do so. I just don't see where the feared sudden influx of passengers is coming from.
And at the end of the day the advice to passengers is the advice we've been given....don't use public transport, stay two metres away from people etc.....its up to the people themselves to be responsible for themselves.

As for strike action, or cancelling trains because they are "unsafe".....I think the unions and their members will have to tread very carefully. I doubt very much that Joe Public is aware that many rail staff are sitting at home on full pay, many others are doing "half a job" on full pay. There has been no furloughing, no redundancies, no unpaid leave, no pay cuts etc. The Railway has been shielded from this like hardly any other line of business. Drivers working a 15 hour week for £60k are not, in my honest opinion, going to find themselves with many sympathetic ears.

I think the concern and what railstaff have already seen over this bank holiday weekend is increases in leisure travellers not commuters . With people now being given guidance that they can have unlimited exercise and sit in their park some people will undoubtedly take it to extremes and start getting the train to carry out their exercise and sitting in the park .

As for the rest of your post , no 5 people sitting in one carriage 11 cars from the guard wont be a dangerous situation , as I already said apart from on some specific traction the guards door controls are in the cab or at the ends of the units anyway so its fairly easy to provide them a safe space to work . It will be stations and depots that cause more difficulty socially distancing , as for not getting sympathetic ears ? when do rail unions ever get such ? Its not stopped them before protecting the safety of their members . That being said I think any instances of rail staff invoking their right to stop work on H&S grounds will be dealt with as they currently are , at a local level .

 

[Silverlinky]

I am a key worker and I do have a letter that I carry with me, in the event of being challenged as to my reasons for travel (although the Royal Mail uniform is a bit of a clue).
I can only say what I’ve seen in the last few weeks, when I have enjoyed* (if that’s the right term) near-empty trains that are running on time and get me to / from London very reliably.

Travelling well outside peak hours, I’ve noticed there has been a slight increase each day in people travelling on the London Overground leg of my commute, mid-morning. Some of these individuals are clearly not key workers. A person making their usual work journey would not, for example, be looking at signage with a puzzled expression, trying to work out which platform or direction they need to go, or dragging a suitcase).
The numbers I see on a daily basis seem to rise a lot - or fall - in line with warm or cool weather, which is another clue.
I fear that today’s message will increase the number of passengers way beyond the point where proper social distancing can be maintained. If this leads to drivers feeling unsafe, and service cancellations, Johnson’s changes will potentially make it more difficult for me to get to work, and yet I’m classed as a key worker!

* I wear a mask, and practice social distancing, yet I bristle when about to exit the train. People just don’t think. They sit more than 2 metres away, yet stand right behind you as you await the doors being released. People boarding also do as they’ve always done, try to board at the same time as those alighting, almost bumping into me...

Out of interest, how many times have you been challenged? And who was doing the challenging? I'd hazard a guess that it wasn't the traincrew......BTP perhaps would do it.

You've hit the nail on the head....its ok sitting apart, but what happens at stations, either getting on or off the train? Who marshals that? The travelling public have to use their own common sense, those that have any anyway!

I see the RMT have said about 20% capacity.....well for a 12 coach train that could still be 200 passengers.....and there are nowhere near that travelling in my area. But lets just say there are 250 on a train....and the Guard of the train refuses to work the train under the Worksafe procedure, what happens next? Where do those 250 passengers go? On the next train? Refused travel and they go into conflict with station staff on the platform?

Anyway... I don't know why the RMT think there could be a "surge" when other news is reporting that even if lockdown was lifted the majority would still be wary of going out and about.

 

[Qwerty133]

The attitude amongst some who have been classified 'key' workers that their wants must be prioritised above everyone else's needs is disturbing, and it is notable that such attitudes are almost completely absent amongst front line workers. Being a key worker is not an excuse for using public transport for non essential purposes and neither is it an excuse to use public transport when you could reasonably drive, walk or cycle even if doing so would take slightly longer.

 

[WatcherZero]

Good effort in trying to spin that one.

Desperate is the word.

How is it spin, they are advising people not to go in if they cant keep 2m apart and saying they don't think it will be possible for staff to keep 2m apart.

Your NEC today considered this matter and stated our total opposition to attempts by the rail industry and government to impose changes in working practices from Monday 11th May. We had only previously agreed to take part in a process to discuss such changeswhich had been intended to commence and be implemented from Monday 18th May.

Given the confusion and mixed messaging generated by the government in recent days, RMT has no confidence in the ability of the government to manage lockdown or its easing.

To be clear no agreement has been made to change any working practices or social distancing arrangements from tomorrow.

Therefore if two metre social distancing cannot be maintained we consider it to be unsafe and members have the legal right to use the worksafe process. On LUL they have the legal right to use the refusal to work policy.

RMT will fully back any member who uses this process to ensure their safety.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;
"We are reissuing and reinforcing advice to our members not to work in conditions where their health and safety is clearly compromised. No employer should be sending their staff out to work in those kind of conditions and we are putting the industry on the clearest possible notice.

"We've seen the spin in advance of the Prime Ministers speech tonight. We are taking clear and decisive action now to protect our members tomorrow."

Edit: That's not just my interpretation, both the Socialist Worker and the Daily Mail are printing the same interpretation.
Also TUC is talking to unions about a wider boycott of returning to work.

 

[bramling]

The attitude amongst some who have been classified 'key' workers that their wants must be prioritised above everyone else's needs is disturbing, and it is notable that such attitudes are almost completely absent amongst front line workers. Being a key worker is not an excuse for using public transport for non essential purposes and neither is it an excuse to use public transport when you could reasonably drive, walk or cycle even if doing so would take slightly longer.

Many key workers travel into and out of London, so walking or cycling isn’t really an option, likewise parking in London isn’t readily viable for many. Some key worker groups also may not have the luxury of a car.

Like it or not the key workers have kept this country going over the last few weeks, and it is recognised by the powers that be that they do need to be kept happy, especially at a time where in many cases they’ve had to not only do their own work but quite often cover for absentees.

From a railway point of view the key workers have been an absolute dream, no fuss no hassle - unlike some of what normally gets transported around.

 

[Qwerty133]

Many key workers travel into and out of London, so walking or cycling isn’t really an option, likewise parking in London isn’t readily viable for many. Some key worker groups also may not have the luxury of a car.

Like it or not the key workers have kept this country going over the last few weeks, and it is recognised by the powers that be that they do need to be kept happy, especially at a time where in many cases they’ve had to not only do their own work but quite often cover for absentees.

From a railway point of view the key workers have been an absolute dream, no fuss no hassle - unlike some of what normally gets transported around.

If you hadn't noticed I was referring to 'key' workers not key workers. Some people believe that their employer calling them a key worker despite the fact they have little work to do and are mostly working from home means they are the most important people in the country. Unlike the vast majority of actual key workers many of these people believe such status gives them the right to whatever they please and are using the fact that they are 'key' workers to excuse various types of selfish behaviour and to try and obtain things for free (the number of facebook posts from supposed key workers, who go quiet as soon as someone (often a genuine front line worker) asks what they do, asking for various things for free is surprisingly high.

 

[the sniper]

As for strike action, or cancelling trains because they are "unsafe".....I think the unions and their members will have to tread very carefully. I doubt very much that Joe Public is aware that many rail staff are sitting at home on full pay, many others are doing "half a job" on full pay.

Strike action...? And can we have a breakdown of these numbers, boss? This'll surely be good ammunition. You can say what you like, you've already got a mod lapping up your rhetoric.

I see the RMT have said about 20% capacity.....well for a 12 coach train that could still be 200 passengers.....and there are nowhere near that travelling in my area. But lets just say there are 250 on a train....and the Guard of the train refuses to work the train under the Worksafe procedure, what happens next? Where do those 250 passengers go? On the next train? Refused travel and they go into conflict with station staff on the platform?

Anyway... I don't know why the RMT think there could be a "surge" when other news is reporting that even if lockdown was lifted the majority would still be wary of going out and about.

The 20% figure is from the RICF, not an RMT concept. NR are anticipating and planning for a possible surge from Monday, having been briefed on what Boris was going to say. The RMT should ignore that because it doesn't correspond with what the man on the news has guessed will happen? Personally I think the industry are right to be worried about how this will all work.

 

[LowLevel]

Well said. I could go further but I'll bite my tongue!

There won't be strike action, what has been occurred is briefings on the relevant employment law (and indeed the pandemic law) to allow employees to be on the right side of the law and protect themselves should the need arise.

I don't think it is likely to happen. However in my case I work on BR Sprinters where it isn't possible to physically separate the crew work areas and passenger saloons.

To give a couple of relevant examples where I would refuse to undertake my work until they're resolved -

Some strange people like to sit in the vestibule tip up seats next to the cab end doors on 158 units. I tell them (politely!) to move so I can dispatch the train and usually they do but every now and then some scroat refuses. Nowadays it is an instruction to leave the vestibule area and move down the train rather than just stand up a moment or two. My usual approach is to stick my backside in their face and make sure my ticket machine hits them in the head when I turn around and this usually sees them clear off quickly.

I wouldn't be doing that now - in the event of a passenger refusing to leave the vestibule I would leave the train until backup arrives to remove them. I wouldn't walk off the job but the train would be delayed.

Scenario two - a coupling fault occurs and the train has to go forward with significantly reduced capacity. The entrance to both the driver's cab and my own and where I need to operate the doors is full of people as a result of this and they refuse to thin numbers out. Normally I wedge myself in next to the door panel and get on with it. I wouldn't do so now and again some sort of crowd control policy needs to be in place to ensure this doesn't happen.

The former scenario is actually more likely than the latter in my opinion but when the RICF is briefing there is a possibility demand may spike it is important that the staff on the ground are equipped to allow them to make decisions regarding safety.

 

[carlberry]

Some of these individuals are clearly not key workers. A person making their usual work journey would not, for example, be looking at signage with a puzzled expression, trying to work out which platform or direction they need to go, or dragging a suitcase).

Agency nursing/health care assistants staff, locum doctors and any health staff who have been assigned to the various programs to conduct testing in the community could be doing all of the above. I'd count them as key workers.

 

[muz379]

How is it spin, they are advising people not to go in if they cant keep 2m apart and saying they don't think it will be possible for staff to keep 2m apart.

Advising people about the worksafe procedure is not the same as "advising people not to go in"

I cannot just decide in the morning that it is going to be unsafe and therefore im going to stay in bed , the worksafe procedure is for when an unsafe situation develops on the job ergo you have to be in work for that situation to develop,under the worksafe procedures leaving the worksite is the absolute last resort after multiple levels of management have got involved to try and make the situation safe .

As LowLevel has already explained , any instance of train-crew implementing the worksafe procedures is more likely going to result in delay rather than cancellation .

 

[Skimpot flyer]

The attitude amongst some who have been classified 'key' workers that their wants must be prioritised above everyone else's needs is disturbing, and it is notable that such attitudes are almost completely absent amongst front line workers. Being a key worker is not an excuse for using public transport for non essential purposes and neither is it an excuse to use public transport when you could reasonably drive, walk or cycle even if doing so would take slightly longer.

I hope that wasn’t a dig at me.
It is the government that classed Royal Mail staff as key workers, not me.
I travel in by train because I don’t drive. I only use the train for work journeys. I’m risking my health, albeit a minor risk, helping handle volumes of parcels the like of which are only usually seen at Christmas. People stuck at home are internet shopping like crazy. We don’t have the luxury of being furloughed. Add to this the fact that 2 colleagues have died from Covid19 and you’d understand my concern at the lack of planning for social distancing prior to inviting people back into trains !!

 

[scotrail158713]

You've hit the nail on the head....its ok sitting apart, but what happens at stations, either getting on or off the train? Who marshals that? The travelling public have to use their own common sense, those that have any anyway!

Just my thoughts. We’ve been told that being near someone for a short period of time is unlikely to transmit the virus, only longer periods of time. So if passengers are able to keep their distance during their journey, and are only having to be close to others for short periods of time (e.g. entering/leaving the train/station) then we’re probably quite safe.
I’ve not been on a train in over 2 months now though, so don’t know what the reality with social distancing is when travelling.

 

[yorksrob]

Just my thoughts. We’ve been told that being near someone for a short period of time is unlikely to transmit the virus, only longer periods of time. So if passengers are able to keep their distance during their journey, and are only having to be close to others for short periods of time (e.g. entering/leaving the train/station) then we’re probably quite safe.
I’ve not been on a train in over 2 months now though, so don’t know what the reality with social distancing is when travelling.

Given that most carriages are airline seating anyway, I wonder whether the seat itself, or if one of the shorter types, the installation of a perspex panel separating its air space from those in front/behind, be enough of a physical barrier to enable each set of two to be occupied.

 

[scotrail158713]

Given that most carriages are airline seating anyway, I wonder whether the seat itself, or if one of the shorter types, the installation of a perspex panel separating its air space from those in front/behind, be enough of a physical barrier to enable each set of two to be occupied.

That’s true re airline seats actually. I hadn’t really thought about that - could be fairly feasible.