What's the protocol?

[GNER 373]

A few of my pals went down to York on Saturday morning on the pop and came back on the same day! As you can imagine some were worse for wear, however one of them fell asleep! Apparently cider does this to him! Anyway the larks of the day continue on board their train home when someone decides it would be hilarious to 'forget' that one of the party is knocking out Zed's!

They alight in Newcastle in fits of giggles and the Train continues non-stop until Edinburgh (last stop) where the lone sheep awakes! Needless to say at that time there were no trains southbound until the next day so he ended up on a coach headed home for half the night!!!

Anyway my question is what is the protocol for guards/ticket collectors or whatever the term is now for drunken asleep passengers who have missed their stop? Do they turn a blind eye or issue a fine? He was lucky that no-one saw him except a guy who had also done the same thing getting on at Darlington and then opening his eyes at Edinburgh Waverley waking my friend as he was leaving the carriage?!

This isn't the first person I've heard this happen to and nothing seems to have happened to them either?

Many thanks for any replies!

 

[causton]

I've heard they take a pretty lax attitude as it's not really the person's fault.

My dad fell asleep on a slow FCC train out of Finsbury Park after a match and ended up getting the train to WGC and back, he woke up at Harringey and thought he'd been asleep a few minutes... didn't look out the window till he realised he was at Kings Cross! He managed to then take the train back yet again to Hatfield and get off this time

However, as this was a) a weekend b) after a football match c) FCC + a slow train, no staff probably saw him

 

[185]

Usually any sensible conductor would allow them to return home, after checking their story. A regular oversleep I used to see was Leeds to York, with a few bodies arriving most nights. Generally, the better guards, on late trains will walk the train at midway stops where theres a few minutes stand time to look for dozers and wake them up, preventing the problem in the first place. Screamingly loud announcements also help in the right circumstances.

 

[GNER 373]

Haha I definitely think a loud screech over the tannoy/speaker system could be the quickest and most effective way of waking the snoozing population! Haha!

 

[junglejames]

What nice pals youve got! Although admittedly i did laugh at the story!
As said already, most guards are pretty good about it.

 

[GNER 373]

What nice pals youve got! Although admittedly i did laugh at the story!
As said already, most guards are pretty good about it.

Gotta say I read about it via Facebook updates whilst laughing my head off! If you knew him it would be funnier still! He's a really nice intelligent guy but he does enjoy a good rant, so you can imagine what his status's were like when he had worked out what had happened! He's conducting an investigation into who planted the seed at the moment!

 

[Clip]

I've heard they take a pretty lax attitude as it's not really the person's fault.

My dad fell asleep on a slow FCC train out of Finsbury Park after a match and ended up getting the train to WGC and back, he woke up at Harringey and thought he'd been asleep a few minutes... didn't look out the window till he realised he was at Kings Cross! He managed to then take the train back yet again to Hatfield and get off this time

However, as this was a) a weekend b) after a football match c) FCC + a slow train, no staff probably saw him

I remember a lad i used to work with got the thameslink home after a night shift but was so tired he fell asleep and missed his london bridge stop and woke up in Brighton

 

[TDK]

I've heard they take a pretty lax attitude as it's not really the person's fault.

Not the persons fault? I beg to differ on that one, you drink too much, fall asleep, miss your stop who elses fault is it? However I can not imagine many guards doing the preverbial nasty on anyone who has fallen asleep as long as they don't kick off

 

[GNER 373]

Not the persons fault? I beg to differ on that one, you drink too much, fall asleep, miss your stop who elses fault is it? However I can not imagine many guards doing the preverbial nasty on anyone who has fallen asleep as long as they don't kick off

It was my mates that left him, he fell asleep in the comforting knowledge that they would wake him up.....oooops!

 

[mumrar]

It was my mates that left him, he fell asleep in the comforting knowledge that they would wake him up.....oooops!

There's lots of potential scenarios for what could happen here, I'm usually pretty lax here. It would depend on how drunk the individual is and their behaviour upon realisation of the mistake.

I've had sleepy and/or drunk people kick off at me for not getting them off at their stop. I always make my announcements and point out that I am 'not a personal butler to any Tom, Dick or Harry who cares to fall asleep with no mind to their destination'.

 

[GNER 373]

There's lots of potential scenarios for what could happen here, I'm usually pretty lax here. It would depend on how drunk the individual is and their behaviour upon realisation of the mistake.

I've had sleepy and/or drunk people kick off at me for not getting them off at their stop. I always make my announcements and point out that I am 'not a personal butler to any Tom, Dick or Harry who cares to fall asleep with no mind to their destination'.

Thanks for the post! Totally agree with that to be fair, I think anyone who abuses the railway workforce for a service they are providing them should be stoned to death anyway, but I'd hope if it happened to me (asleep, not drunk) that the onboard staff would look upon it as the geniune mistake it was. But I'd also be happy to pay a small charge if asked.