London Bridge "closed" (03/11)

[Horizon22]

As I said, run on time.

So you have no answer. Good to know.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Nov 2025 ==

If you let terrorists and the like stop us living our life as normal, then we have already lost.

You will not find anyone in the railway who will put performance blindly over safety. And for good reason. Frankly you wouldn't in almost any industry.

If we weren't "living our life as normal", then rail usage would have plummeted after Saturday's events.

 

[Gostav]

If we weren't "living our life as normal", then rail usage would have plummeted after Saturday's events.

I think the accidents like these often have far-reaching consequences that may not be immediately apparent. For example, will the railway system require more police and security resources in the future, leading to further increases in public transportation costs? Will people become more sensitive, resulting in more frequent alarm incidents like today, causing more frequent disruptions to the railway network?

People will still use trains and public transportation, but they'll be more on edge.

 

[brad465]

Given recent events, extra caution applies

If disruption occurs as a knee jerk reaction, that basically makes trains too unreliable to be any use.

Reminds me of the story from 2006 of a protestor dressed as a suicide bomber how apparently travelled by train to the protest in London. Someone joked it was probably a good way of stopping anyone sitting near you.

 

[Bald Rick]

What proportion of these people have a choice?

100%

I think the accidents like these often have far-reaching consequences that may not be immediately apparent. For example, will the railway system require more police and security resources in the future,

Unlikely.

Will people become more sensitive, resulting in more frequent alarm incidents like today, causing more frequent disruptions to the railway network?

For a few days perhaps. See 2005.

 

[johncrossley]

100%

There's no way it is 100% as some people will be travelling to central London where there is no realistic alternative to the train. Yes, you could argue that they don't have to make that trip at all if they don't want, for example by not choosing a job in central London, but that is really splitting hairs.

Many others not travelling to central London won't have a car available so are largely captive to public transport.

 

[sh24]

I think the accidents like these often have far-reaching consequences that may not be immediately apparent. For example, will the railway system require more police and security resources in the future, leading to further increases in public transportation costs? Will people become more sensitive, resulting in more frequent alarm incidents like today, causing more frequent disruptions to the railway network?

People will still use trains and public transportation, but they'll be more on edge.

I recall similar commentary after the 7/7 attacks in London. There are some short term changes but people move on remarkably fast. The Huntingdon attack will have no measurable impact, and I very much doubt a short security alert at LB will either.

 

[davews]

None of us here have the full details. However the person in a gas mask might have been wearing it for a real reason, for instance if he had a medical issue and had to carry oxygen all the time. We don't know, and if that was the case it might have been best for whoever reported it just to have asked him/her who were probable in a vulnerable position anyway. But of course everybody is 'on edge' at the moment and don't think rationally.

 

[The exile]

I recall similar commentary after the 7/7 attacks in London. There are some short term changes but people move on remarkably fast. The Huntingdon attack will have no measurable impact, and I very much doubt a short security alert at LB will either.

For a short while the number of security alerts will rise (as it did in the early 90s with bomb scares), as will most people’s (grudging) tolerance of them. Then almost everyone will get back to normal.

 

[saismee]

None of us here have the full details. However the person in a gas mask might have been wearing it for a real reason, for instance if he had a medical issue and had to carry oxygen all the time.

It could've even been a costume for some event or even coming back from Halloween. If you don't know a certain character then you might not see it as such.

 

[bramling]

I recall similar commentary after the 7/7 attacks in London. There are some short term changes but people move on remarkably fast. The Huntingdon attack will have no measurable impact, and I very much doubt a short security alert at LB will either.

Whilst I agree with the general theme of the above, I suspect people will see 7/7 differently, simply because of the amount of planning necessary for the attack to happen, and also the fact that they were suicide attacks - all this makes such attacks sufficiently rare that as an individual it’s something that’s unlikely to happen to you.

By contrast, much easier for anyone to go on a rampage with a knife, so - unfortunately - something that it rather more likely to happen. And, sadly, it seems sufficiently “normal” for knife crimes to occur in London that they don’t even seem to justify that much of a police response, note how the previous incident at Pontoon Dock doesn’t seem to have attracted that much of a response.

I suspect quite a few people will, sadly but justifiably, be thinking to themselves “this could happen to me”, or “I could have been on that LNER train or on the DLR”. I think this will have a more lasting impact on behaviours than perhaps we’ve seen for other things.

 

[Peterthegreat]

Run on time. If trains are unreliable, people won't use trains unless they have no choice.

So taking Saturday's Huntingdon incident you would have the train continue non stop to King's Cross while someone is running amok either a knife?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Nov 2025 ==

Whilst I agree with the general theme of the above, I suspect people will see 7/7 differently, simply because of the amount of planning necessary for the attack to happen, and also the fact that they were suicide attacks - all this makes such attacks sufficiently rare that as an individual it’s something that’s unlikely to happen to you.

By contrast, much easier for anyone to go on a rampage with a knife, so - unfortunately - something that it rather more likely to happen. And, sadly, it seems sufficiently “normal” for knife crimes to occur in London that they don’t even seem to justify that much of a police response, note how the previous incident at Pontoon Dock doesn’t seem to have attracted that much of a response.

I suspect quite a few people will, sadly but justifiably, be thinking to themselves “this could happen to me”, or “I could have been on that LNER train or on the DLR”. I think this will have a more lasting impact on behaviours than perhaps we’ve seen for other things.

Whilst I agree with the general theme of the above, I suspect people will see 7/7 differently, simply because of the amount of planning necessary for the attack to happen, and also the fact that they were suicide attacks - all this makes such attacks sufficiently rare that as an individual it’s something that’s unlikely to happen to you.

By contrast, much easier for anyone to go on a rampage with a knife, so - unfortunately - something that it rather more likely to happen. And, sadly, it seems sufficiently “normal” for knife crimes to occur in London that they don’t even seem to justify that much of a police response, note how the previous incident at Pontoon Dock doesn’t seem to have attracted that much of a response.

I suspect quite a few people will, sadly but justifiably, be thinking to themselves “this could happen to me”, or “I could have been on that LNER train or on the DLR”. I think this will have a more lasting impact on behaviours than perhaps we’ve seen for other things.

I doubt there will be any lasting effects.

 

[johncrossley]

So taking Saturday's Huntingdon incident you would have the train continue non stop to King's Cross while someone is running amok either a knife?

Obviously this is different as a crime was actually happening. It was not merely suspected.

 

[800001]

Obviously this is different as a crime was actually happening. It was not merely suspected.

What would be your thought if someone reported to the police seeing the offender potentially carrying a knife (before anything happened) and police stopped the train to search it?

 

[Russel]

I recall similar commentary after the 7/7 attacks in London. There are some short term changes but people move on remarkably fast. The Huntingdon attack will have no measurable impact, and I very much doubt a short security alert at LB will either.

Yes, I was living in Birmingham at the time and remember New Street being evacuated multiple times in the weeks following 7/7 due to unattended bags etc.

People soon revert to normal behaviour though.

 

[Cowley]

I think that’ll probably do us for this one.

Thanks everyone