Train pulls away with children left on platform

[bramling]

I think alerting the press can all boil down to how you see the situation which may be seen differently as an occassional traveller to a frequent traveller.

Obviously people's perceptions will differ, but for me going to the press over something which in the grand scheme of things was pretty minor, smacks of an arrogant self-importance.

 

[najaB]

I think alerting the press can all boil down to how you see the situation which may be seen differently as an occassional traveller to a frequent traveller.

What benefit can you see in going to the press with this story?

 

[bb21]

Yes I agree it would be difficult to deduce anything from seeing people on platforms. Only if there were no other adults around would it possibly cross a person's mind to check, even then I can see that the children could be attributed to an adult perhaps some way away out of immediate sight, but it is a small station so I can see that the parents may have had a point.

I think alerting the press can all boil down to how you see the situation which may be seen differently as an occassional traveller to a frequent traveller.

If the kids are stood clear of the doors and in a safe position, then the only thing the train crew should be focusing on is getting the train away promptly and safely. There are thousands of other customers who do not need to be disrupted. When "customer service" is wheeled out, we often forget that the railway does not exist to serve one or two customers at a time.

Kids hang around on the platforms all the time. If train crew had to stop and check in every such occurrence, we may as well throw the timetable out and write another one with perhaps only half the services in.

Given the station is staffed, the correct thing to do should there be something of concern and needing someone to keep an eye on is to phone control, and have the message passed onto the station team.

It's an unfortunate incident. Sometimes these things happen. I agree with those who find it distasteful that those involved decided to run off to the press without giving the company a chance to explain things and resolve the matter first.

 

[Deepgreen]

Why did the father expect the train to wait at the platform while he took the time (minutes?) to find his wife a seat - had any of them ever been on a train before?! Why would anyone go out with no money on them?

Stupid parents lead to distressed children.

 

[bramling]

If the kids are stood clear of the doors and in a safe position, then the only thing the train crew should be focusing on is getting the train away promptly and safely. There are thousands of other customers who do not need to be disrupted. When "customer service" is wheeled out, we often forget that the railway does not exist to serve one or two customers at a time.

Kids hang around on the platforms all the time. If train crew had to stop and check in every such occurrence, we may as well throw the timetable out and write another one with perhaps only half the services in.

Given the station is staffed, the correct thing to do should there be something of concern and needing someone to keep an eye on is to phone control, and have the message passed onto the station team.

It's an unfortunate incident. Sometimes these things happen. I agree with those who find it distasteful that those involved decided to run off to the press without giving the company a chance to explain things and resolve the matter first.

One thing I've learned in life is that *some* people are so utterly totally 100% self-centred and self-oriented that they simply expect everything to revolve around their needs, wants and preferences, to the extent that they will throw a hissy-fit when something doesn't happen as they would have liked.

I can understand someone being distressed at the time, perhaps having a go at staff, but to still go to the press after having had time to calm down hints at a rather more unpleasant personality. Reminds me of the woman who poured water over a youth at Edinburgh station because she didn't get her own way, and then felt the need to boast about it.

 

[47271]

Sorry, there was a gross inaccuracy in my post, I don't know what I was thinking about. Not enough timekeeping on my part over the festive period maybe!

I meant 1737 and 1743, I'm pretty certain those are the actual departure times rather than that what RTT says. They both still go from 16 as far as I can see.

My point about operational convenience is that, whatever the arrangement is for, on a daily basis it evidently isn't in the interests of the confused passengers who end up in the wrong part of Scotland. The Inverness train is parked locked at the rear of the platform for up to half an hour while regulars in the know (mostly Kirkcaldy commuters) stand around the doors, which only encourages the more casual Aberdeen passenger to believe that this may be their train. Quite rightly the crew only open the doors at the point that the front train pulls out, but by that time the damage is done.

Anyway, we've gone off topic, and I'm not excusing the daftness that led to the original post, but the railway can be a confusing place to those unfamilar with it.

:roll: Nothing to do with kids this time, so staying slightly off topic, but it's happened again tonight. Three American tourists heading for St Andrews via Leuchars have had to bale from the Inverness train at Haymarket because they'd been misled into thinking it was the Aberdeen service. There were plenty of us to help them sort themselves out after we'd overheard their conversation, but they could quite easily have ended up in Perth or beyond depending on when the first ticket check takes place.

 

[bb21]

Please keep DOO arguments to the relevant thread.

Not going to allow it elsewhere. Sorry. Sick at the sight of it.