Some good, some bad and some ugly this week from the world of train travel.
From Monday the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport called strikes on the London underground network which prompted bitter recrimination in the London press and from politicians. Gordon Brown labelled the strikes ''wholly unjustified'' and the shadow secretary for Transport Theresa Villiers remarked, "They are just trying to throw their weight around and London commuters are the people who will suffer." Letters poured into the News International-owned London Paper condemning the carnage, and mirroring the popular political point as stations were closed and thousands of Londoners jammed onto buses :
"Sack all those on strike. They don't deserve their jobs after not only the inconvenience but also the danger they've put people in – crushing, commuters and staff getting violent, I could go on and on. If I didn't go into work, I wouldn't get work in my industry again!" (Laura from Ealing)
"I understand the strikers' fears but we all risk losing our jobs in life. They shouldn't prevent millions of Londoners from doing theirs! Holding the capital at ransom is selfish and wrong. Let's hope they don't do it again next week!" (Alexa from Fulham)
However, it wasn't all one sided with some contributors citing as reasons both the mismanagement of Metronet and the rights of workers to protect their interests through action.
Metronet operated the bulk of the London underground lines until going into administration in July. Union members voted for strike action after failing to receive "unequivocal guarantees" over jobs, forced transfers and pension rights. In the words of one Transport for London employee, ''They are worried about their pensions. This has become political. So far they have only got the assurances from a man in a suit, nothing written down...it could mean the difference between getting a pension of £1000 and only £60-70 a week.''
The beginning of last week was transport chaos throughout the capital but happily negotiations have made some progress and strikes planned for next week have been cancelled. London awaits the outcome.
Grim findings for Network Rail, which will undergo a dramatic review of track maintenance procedures. This follows the findings of the investigation into the Grayrigg train derailment of February which killed one and resulted in another 20 injured. It was found that a broken set of points and missing spacer bars, not picked up on routine checks carried out by the company, were the culprits for sending Virgin Pendolino London-Glasgow off the track and down an embankment. Network Rail publicly admitted this week to "poorly planned and poorly managed" changes to local track inspections, track patrollers and supervisor's lack of co-ordination and lapsed safety certification for some track inspectors.
More travel misery also for 19 year old student Kathleen Jennings, taken to court for having been caught with her feet on the seat travelling on a Merseyrail train. The magistrate in question, having given the tearful Ms Jennings an absolute discharge, pointed out that perhaps a less draconian method could be employed to penalise offenders who put their foot in it. Her father, Tony, a former JCB driver, said of the affair: "It is ridiculous. They just pick on the easy targets. If it was a 6ft yob who had told them to eff off, they would not have been here today."
Ending on a lighter note, Paris has just become closer. The Eurostar, operating on its new high-speed line between Paris' Gare du Nord and the revamped London St Pancras, recorded a new fastest time of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 39 seconds. When the line is open to the public from November 14 it is expected that passengers will be able to travel from London to Lille in 1 hour 20, London to Brussels in 1 hour 51 and London to the City of Light in 2 hours 15. Richard Brown, CEO of Eurostar celebrated, "It's as quick and more frequent [as flying] and we will be matching airline prices." Good news if you live in London then, not so good for those hailing from more provincial parts.
