TRAINS - OVERCROWDING

A rail passenger who took photographs of an overcrowded train carriage was threatened with arrest under anti-terror laws. Nigel Roberts was so appalled by the cramped conditions commuters have to endure he warned a ticket inspector that dangerous overcrowding could cost lives. But when the IT worker showed his mobile phone photos of luggage-crammed aisles and exits he was told it is 'illegal' to take such pictures and threatened with prosecution. The inspector then demanded Mr Roberts' personal details. Mr Roberts' traumatic journey began when he joined South West Trains' Weymouth to London service at Southampton. As soon as he boarded the train he saw the carriages were full of piled-up suitcases, bags and backpacks. Even the overhead racks were stuffed with heavy luggage, and vital passageways to the doors were also blocked.

He said, "The train was full of passengers who had got off cruise liners and aircraft at Southampton who obviously all had luggage. But it was a disaster waiting to happen, conditions on the train were unsafe and in an emergency people would not have been able to get out. I saw one elderly couple in their 70's desperately calling for help from station staff because they were unable to get out at their stop in time because the aisle was blocked. And if the train had to make an emergency stop a 20kg medium-size suitcase travelling at 50mph would probably decapitate any passenger it hits, it would almost certainly kill them. A passenger announcement on the train invited us to raise any concerns with the ticket inspector, which I did because it was not the first time I had seen the problem first-hand on that route. I told him I was going to make a complaint to the Office of Rail Regulation because conditions on the train were unsafe."

Mr Roberts added, "'But when I told him I had taken some photos he said it was illegal under the Terrorism Act and that I could be arrested and demanded my name and address. He said there were police officers on the train and I may be arrested for taking the photographs. He said he had powers given to him under the Railways Act to ask me for the information and it was an even more serious offence for me not to comply. I felt as if I was in a police state. He explained that for some reason it was for my own protection but my argument was that every passenger on the train would have needed protection in the event of an emergency. He told me he would make a note of our conversation so that they could be used in the event of a prosecution. He was pleasant enough but it was a frightening and chilling experience for me."

Mr Roberts, who lives on Alderney in the Channel Islands, claimed he was told that newer South West Trains often didn't have enough luggage space because operators wanted carriages that could hold more fare-paying people than baggage. He said, "I have asked the rail company for an explanation but they haven't replied. It appears to be a serious and institutional breach of their duty of care towards their passengers." A spokeswoman for South West Trains, owned by the Stagecoach group, said, "Staff are aware they need to be particularly attentive to unusual photos being taken or suspicious behaviour and to challenge this if necessary."

She added, "However this was clearly not an issue in this case and we will ensure our staff are re-briefed to avoid any misunderstanding in the future. We are sorry for any upset and anxiety caused to Mr Roberts. We need to strike a balance between seating, room for luggage as well as provide toilets and we do as much as we can to provide luggage room within the constraints of available space. But we understand there can be pressure on space at busy times and we ask for the co-operation of our customers in not compromising safety by blocking the aisles with luggage." (Source: Daily Mail, Jul/10)

A report by MPs claims overcrowding on public transport is so bad that many travellers face "daily trauma" on their journeys. The House of Commons Transport Committee says passengers are forced into intolerable conditions and adds the monitoring of rail overcrowding is fundamentally flawed. Its report said failing to take seriously the issue of the health effects of crowding until objective evidence is presented was tantamount to waiting for a tragedy to occur. The committee's said the "current chronic overcrowding" in major conurbations was unacceptable and had to be addressed.

The MPs added overcrowding on public transport was "bad, and is likely to get worse" and staff reported for work "tired, stressed and uncomfortable". They said it was clear that there simply is not the capacity in the current system to cope with peak use, and that the problem could even hit tourism. The committee recommends a new system of measuring rail overcrowding should be introduced and the Strategic Rail Authority should draw up a rolling stock strategy to ensure new trains were introduced.

It said overcrowding should be measured on particular rail routes, not at the level of the rail franchise as a whole, and claims the current measuring system significantly understates the true level of crowding. The MPs said they were astonished that it had been left to the Rail Passengers Council to take the lead in research into the health effects of overcrowding.

Mike Mitchell, the Department for Transport's director general of railways, said that commuters paying £5,000 a year for season tickets should expect to stand for half an hour of their train journey. His comments on standing came when he appeared before the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.

South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon asked Dr Mitchell, "Do you think that it is acceptable that people paying £4,000 or £5,000 per year for a season ticket should have to stand?" Dr Mitchell replied, "If you are travelling a relatively short distance, I do not think that it is unacceptable to expect to stand in the peak." When asked, "What do you call a short distance?" Dr Mitchell replied, "Perhaps half an hour."

TSSA general secretary Gerry Doherty said, "Dr Mitchell is arrogant and out of touch if he thinks this is acceptable for commuters not to get a seat when they a paying £5,000 a year to commute into London. It is his job to provide more trains and longer trains so commuters do not have to endure cattle-truck like conditions to get to work."

He added, "They are paying through the nose for a second class service. The Department of Transport should be working towards a first-class service for everyone. The vast majority of commuters simply cannot afford to travel first class in comfort like senior civil servants and MPs."

Dr Mitchell also told the committee, "The chances of people being able to travel in the commuter peak into London and be guaranteed a seat is not realistic. The cost of providing sufficient capacity to enable everyone to get a seat would expand the railway budget way beyond anything we have here." In other words, he can't provide the service that people are paying for. (Source: Daily Mail, Jan/07)

The Office of the Rail Regulator, which monitors safety on trains, told commuters, “Packed trains are safer.” The claim was made after MPs demanded they act to end overcrowding on safety grounds. Newbury Tory MP Richard Benyon wrote to Bill Emery, chief executive of the Office of Rail Regulation, asking him to take whatever action possible against First Great Western for the “appalling service” from West Berkshire to London.

An ORR spokesman said, “Research in the late Nineties... found that where there was a crowded or overcrowded train carriage there was no detrimental effect to people involved in crashes. In a lot of cases people were better off in train carriages where there was overcrowding.” The spokesman added that the ORR had no say in setting the number of carriages on trains or the level of service.

He added, “Service levels are set by the Department for Transport. We are the safety regulator for the industry. However, there is no legal limit on the number of passengers that can travel in any given train. There is no safety law regarding the maximum number of people in a train carriage.” The Department for Transport said action was being taken to deal with overcrowding and claimed £88 million was being spent every week for five years to improve the network.

The spokesman explained, “We are already increasing capacity on Britain's busiest rail routes, and this will continue. Investment is at record levels and we're also working to make best use of existing capacity. We're seeing more peak services, for example on Chiltern Railways, and South West Trains will deliver longer trains on key commuter lines. This month First Great Western started introducing refurbished high speed trains, which increase capacity by 35,000 seats a day.” (Source: The Register, Jan/07)

The Office of Rail Regulation has urged passengers to cut overcrowding on trains, by only travelling when absolutely necessary. Bill Emery, chief executive of the Office of Rail Regulation, admitted he had "no idea" how the crowded rail network would cope with any influx of passengers following the possible introduction of a controversial road pricing scheme. Meanwhile, it emerged that the Department for Transport, which runs the railways from Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander's Whitehall office, is already working out the likely effect of road pricing on rail travel.

Mr Emery spoke out as the ORR delivered its assessment of the state of the railways, with overcrowding on trains and delays caused by engineering works, which have "fallen slowly, if at all, in the last six months", bearing the brunt of criticism. Mr Emery said passengers were "increasingly dissatisfied" with levels of overcrowding, which was worst in the South-East and becoming a greater problem around the country. Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent rail consumer watchdog Passenger Focus, said, "Levels of crowding now mean there is no more room for manoeuvre, people are being priced off the railways and face being priced out of their cars." (Source: Daily Mail, Feb/07)