Does No-one Have A Brain?

Normally a complaint aired about our politicians, but in this particular case it concerns train companies and those that work for them.

A report in the Daily Telegraph (no link) but repeated here concerns a traveller who took pictures aboard a crowded train where aisles were blocked by luggage and who was threatened with being charged under anti-terrorism laws for taking the pictures. As an aside, do note that staff will not have their instructions clarified but will be 're-briefed' - and who says bureaucrats do not have their own language?

Added to this story, today I caught the 11.11 Cross-Country Virgin train from Southampton at Reading, its final destination being Manchester. This was the usual 4-car train and, as that in the previous story, was packed with travellers all who had at least two pieces of luggage. Yup, you guessed, it too had been boarded by passengers who had disembarked from a cruise ship.

First, the space provided for luggage is not that large and it is estimated that 4/5 suitcases is the limit, space-wise, per carriage meaning that obviously any additional luggage has to be stacked in the aisles. Second, is it beyond the wit of someone at Virgin (you listening Richard?) to find out the arrival time of cruise ships and lay on additional carriages? Third, what happened to the last carriage on trains of old - you know, those that were called luggage vans? Fourth - and most important of all - what happened to 'service' and do those running our trains even have the remotest idea of what the word 'service' means?