Nicholas Bailey
By
Hazel Speed
It is appreciated that ‘train talk’ in the UK has been quite exhaustive in recent days.
Mr Corbyn vs Virgin trains is intriguing but CCTV is technology and may or may not be an original unedited version and Mr Corbyn may or may not have been mistaken. I do not know the truth of it any more than anyone else nor is it up to me to decide on the same. In fact, I really do not know either way if it was a pure misunderstanding and both sides are being truthful.
What I do agree is that trains should be re-nationalised and areas that were cut off by Dr Beeching should be re-opened. I recall years ago there was a linking train service to Fraserburgh from Aberdeen then after the cuts one had to ‘phone a friend, or take a long bus journey. Totally stupid to have cut off those services throughout the UK.
Also ‘the people’ should own the trains, along with water and TV airwaves – the latter two being the gift of God anyway.
I concur that as the people pay for train works/railway line maintenance and station developments then do we just have the limited capacity of that like a metaphorical cape over the mud to enable others to privately run trains over the same?
(Reference story in days of Queen Elizabeth I)
It is time the people controlled the railways again.
For those too young to recall the era (such as the Steam Age) then please discuss those times with friends and relatives who do or alternatively consult a search engine.
During the Age of Steam there were guards everywhere, especially along the length of platforms, helping people get on and off trains (alright one or two guards may do so now, but the two times in history cannot be successfully compared, the former times being unique on so many levels).
Today we hear of debates of train drivers solely in control.
Most train routes I go on in different areas have diverse standards and facilities.
The service from Paddington to Pinewood is outstanding and fast. Getting to Croydon, changing at London Bridge can be fast with the timing luck of connecting trains and although I have never liked trams I must concede that the Croydon system works well. Overhead trains from New Cross to Stratford and key inner London stops are brilliant as seats face inward and there are no doors between carriages. One feels safer. They have always been clean trains and like those to Pinewood the seat upholstery is of high quality. Train services to Brighton from Victoria via Croydon usually have (or did when I last used that service) a great refreshment bar because Gatwick Airport is one of the later stops.
I will never forget when I was on that train about 10.30pm from Victoria to Croydon, standing behind a very elderly lady who ordered a bacon sandwich and a whiskey! She said it worked as they were both smokey.
Kent trains are different again.
Having used two Kent trains it surprises me that I have never discovered refreshment bars or service even with the occasional trolley service one may still encounter elsewhere.
We should return to ownership of our trains, reopen the previously cut off trains to suburbs and ensure refreshments are available.
If there is a shortage of jobs then surely re-nationalisation of railways will create the same and profits earned from train services should go back to the people and building of new train stocks.
Unfortunately for Mr Corbyn, this particular part of his suggested Party Mandate will not be enough to Trump that button he has sworn never to press (Trident nuclear).
Hazel Speed
Photo (c) Hazel Speed – used by kind permision to Tuck Magazine
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