Further to Level Crossings

Further to the discussion below, I wanted to comment on the plans by the father of one of the victims of the Upton Nervet crash to sue the train operating company. Now, while civil action for damages is normal in the aftermath of tragedies such as this, Mr Webster is going one further. He is suing because the Train Operating Company, First Great Western, do not fit seat belts in their trains. If the judgement goes in his favour there will be huge repercussions – and they won’t be good ones.

Firstly, it would mean that trains would have to operate in the same way as airlines. This would mean that conductors would have to be assigned to each carriage to ensure that passengers belted up before the train moved. It would also put an end to non-reserved seating. This would throw the whole principle of buying a ticket and boarding a train at the last moment into disarray. All journeys would have to be booked. The trip between Reading and London Paddington during the peak hours is full and standing. This would have to stop. The line is currently running at capacity, so more trains is not an option. Longer ones may be, but the cost would be prohibitive and might prove impossible for the companies to meet.

Now personally, I dislike travelling on trains where people are standing for much the same reasons as Mr Webster. However, the balance of risk is low. The loss of his daughter is tragic and like everyone else, I feel for his loss and the desire to make some sense of it. However, she did not die because FGW do not have seatbelts in their trains but because one selfish person decided to commit suicide and cared little for the lives he took with him.

This is not a justification for turning our train operations on their head and making them effectively unworkable. I just hope that the courts take a balanced and objective view.