Vanessa Austin Locke on the First Great Western Train Robbery
A short while ago I was returning home on the train when I started to feel ill. I disembarked a couple of stops early to allay the nausea. On trying to exit the train station I was told that I either had to pay a penalty fare for getting off early, or get back on the train.
Rather bewildered as to why I should pay a penalty for getting off early, I explained politely to the man at the barrier that I was unwell and needed to leave, sit down and await collection. He barked at me to get back on the train in a manner not entirely unlike an SS Officer and so, assessing that I was talking to a brick wall and assuming that my civil rights protected me from being held prisoner by a jobsworth of the railway industry, I walked through an open barrier. At this he lurched forward, grasped me and wrestled my luggage from me. His female assistant ran to his aid and before I new it I was staggering backwards through the barrier with my bag on the other side.
“By this point I was pretty faint so went outside to sit down wondering what in the world had happened”
The pair then locked it in a cupboard and began giggling. By this point I was pretty faint so went outside to sit down wondering what in the world had happened. Had I really just been robbed and assaulted? Was I living in some kind of dystopian future where train personnel are the new dark overlords?
Those responsible for the railways in the UK are not my favourite people at the best of times, charging extortionate prices for shoddy, tardy, overcrowded services that even make it impossible for some people to commute to job offers in cities they can’t afford to live in – a perfect example of failed privatisation due to the lack of a competitive market.
Do you know what happened? The transport police showed up and informed me that I was liable for a penalty fare and that the CCTV was broken so it wasn’t worth bringing common assault charges because they would be thrown out. This officer, who was by no means unsympathetic, rolled his eyes and said that the man who had grabbed me was notorious, but that his hands were tied.
I researched and discovered he was right! Those tiny Ts and Cs did indeed say I couldn’t disembark early. I looked further to see if the law supported railway staff holding me against my will or taking my possessions. Under section 5(2) of the Regulation of Railways Act it does!
I took the case to Mark Hopwood, MD of FGW, and to my MP. To his credit Mr Hopwood apologised, refunded my penalty and gave me a couple of free tickets. He was charming, but to get to him I had to dodge their formal complaints department who told me (I’m paraphrasing here) to bugger off.
As someone who’s never been in trouble with the law, who is diligent and observes the rules, it was terribly frightening to have a strange man use his physical strength against me like that. But on telling my story to friends and family I discovered that my experience was by no means unusual.
So my question is twofold: how long are we going to continue to put up with this kind of treatment from the rusty old railway service we pay through the nose to support? And why are we giving so much power to people clearly not qualified to hold it?
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