Funny you should mention it - happened to me this afternoon (1233 from
Stevenage wedged). So on getting home, I emailed FCC and about 20
minutes ago (yes, 0030 on a Sunday morning), got the following reply:

I think I was on an earlier one and it still was rammed (12.29/Potters
Bar). Not even a stand in first class, you physically couldn't have got on
the thing! It left about 30 people behind. Their reply is fine as far as
sympathy goes but short on action

I know short units double the fleet maintenence intervals but it shouldn't
be at passenger detriment. Footy demand is easily planned and addressed but
better would be make them all 8's off peak and weekends.

I understand during peaks given available stock, paths and platform lengths
overcrowding can occur and there isn't an easy or instant answer. But no
excuse making people stand off peak and weekends just to help their
servicing costs! These off peak and weekend people are more likely to have
paid for tickets rather than commuters travelling 'for free'. Just the sort
of people the railway should be nice to - those who can use alternatives,
rather than commuters who are pretty much forced onto the crowded and
standing-room railways with no viable alternative.

D

Dave Plumb wrote:

I know short units double the fleet maintenence intervals but it
shouldn't be at passenger detriment. Footy demand is easily planned
and addressed but better would be make them all 8's off peak and
weekends.

At off-peak times, shorter trains make women and others safer from crime.

I know short units double the fleet maintenence intervals but it
shouldn't be at passenger detriment. Footy demand is easily planned
and addressed but better would be make them all 8's off peak and
weekends.

At off-peak times, shorter trains make women and others safer from crime.

Then the rail company need to put security guards on the trains, it's not
an answer to run short (packed) trains to make people feel safer.

D

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006, Dave Plumb wrote:

I know short units double the fleet maintenence intervals but it
shouldn't be at passenger detriment. Footy demand is easily planned
and addressed but better would be make them all 8's off peak and
weekends.

At off-peak times, shorter trains make women and others safer from crime.

Then the rail company need to put security guards on the trains, it's not
an answer to run short (packed) trains to make people feel safer.

Hang on, wires have become crossed here - John was making a safety
objection to running long trains when they *aren't* packed, ie off-peak
times when there's no football. When they are packed, long trains are just
as safe from that point of view, since (i assume) the safety comes from
having a sufficiently high density of bystanders to deter have-a-go
villains. Indeed, when you've got football crush loads, longer trains
would *increase* safety, due to less, er, crushing!

Still, i agree that trains should be safe spaces for passengers,
regardless of how busy they are. Bringing back guards to DOO trains, and
giving them better training and support, would help in this. CCTV in all
cars would be good too (do we already have this?). Another possibility
might be to designate a protected carriage, perhaps the front one, which
would be continuously monitored over CCTV by the driver (er, perfectly
safe, i'm sure), so that if anything untoward happened, help could be
summoned.

tom

--
If a scientist were to cut his ear off, no one would take it as evidence
of heightened sensibility -- Peter Medawar

and giving them better training and support, would help in this. CCTV
in all cars would be good too (do we already have this?). Another

All the FCC 317's and 313's I've been on recently have CCTV but this is
more evidential after the fact rather than anyone watching it live.

The reason for the 4 car presentation was given just now on uk.railway as
short platforms between Royston and Cambridge affecting stoppers.
Reasonable on safety grounds but surely this isn't news to the railway,
it's been like that since the stations were built!

D

Funny you should mention it - happened to me this afternoon (1233
from Stevenage wedged). So on getting home, I emailed FCC and about
20 minutes ago (yes, 0030 on a Sunday morning), got the following

The new timetable is out and my early morning train that isn't packed has
been retimed (0656 ex Potters Bar) so that's ten minutes less in bloody bed
The earlier fast (0649) is standing room only by the time it gets here,
how can that be at 7am? Oh yes, four cars ...

No trains sat/sun from 31st March too. Deep joy! As a shift worker the car
is now starting to make more sense.

D