Vandalism on Mallaig Trains

[Platform1]

Saw an article about vandalism on a train stabled at Mallaig. Says the affected set will be out of use for some time.

Does this mean there will be capacity problems on the line for a while?

I'm planning on being on the 16:05 Mallaig to Queen St this Friday. It's usually a 4 coach train and normally easy to get a seat. If it's only a 2 coach set I'm worried I won't get a seat and thinking of booking. What do you think?

https://www.scotsman.com/news/trans...hit-by-first-train-graffiti-attacks-1-4788323

Vandals have sprayed graffiti over trains on the world-famous West Highland Line in what is believed to be the first such incident on the route. The attacks happened at the end of the line in Mallaig over three nights this month while the carriages were parked at the station. Damage included a pink, green and blue graffiti “tag” which covered a large part of one of the coaches. The Friends of the West Highland Lines said the attacks could put extra pressure on the often crowded line from Glasgow and called for better CCTV coverage to deter the vandals. Chairman Doug Carmichael told The Scotsman: “Trains stabled at the station’s island platform have been covered in graffiti during the night. “It is thought to be a first for this very scenic line. Apparently, CCTV cameras do not cover the far side of the platform where the vandals struck....

 

[Highlandspring]

1) There have been three instances of (different) units being graffitied while stabled overnight at Mallaig in the last month.
2) There have been similar problems at Mallaig in previous years, so it’s not a first by any means.
3) The units affected have all been cleaned and are back in service, no journeys were lost as a result.

 

[alangla]

RETB units turn up pretty much anywhere you'd find a Scotrail 156, so finding a suitable replacement wouldn't be hard. Scotrail are pretty good, as Highland Spring said, at getting stuff cleaned & back out quickly

 

[route101]

If it happens in Mallaig , it can happen anywhere . Happens in Glasgow but they must clean up the units quick

 

[Highlandspring]

The Mallaig graffiti attacks are thought to have been carried out by foreign tourists.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Population of Mallaig is about 12 so there can’t be too many suspects? Unless the seagulls have evolved opposable thumbs.

 

[Highlandspring]

The permanent population of Mallaig was recorded in the 2001 census as 797. As I said these attacks are thought to have been carried out by tourists, specifically Eastern Europeans, on the basis of the tags.

 

[Master29]

Probably local nimbys who are fed up with the holiday trade, which is odd seeing as there is beggar all at Mallaig. It`s the journey people go for.

 

[47271]

Tourists or otherwise, and I'm not quite talking about Mallaig station here, but I'm always amazed by the lengths to which some people will go to apply graffiti to railway property in the middle of nowhere. You can travel for miles on the Highland Main Line and of course not a private wall or a building has anything on it, and then you pass a lineside equipment box in an idyllic location outside Dunkeld or somewhere and it's covered in the stuff. But you can only see a blurred fraction as the train whizzes by.

Who's bothering to go all the way out there, why bother, and who do they think is interested, even if passengers could see it, which they basically can't?!

 

[03_179]

They treat it like a kind of game ... who can "tag" in the strangest of places or the most remote or the most daring (Let them try Buckingham Palace LOL)

 

[ivorengine]

Population of Mallaig is about 12 so there can’t be too many suspects? Unless the seagulls have evolved opposable thumbs.

Begger all at Mallaig ? You must live somewhere wonderful. I would live there in an instant, given the opportunity.

 

[duesselmartin]

I envy the UK for its lack of graffiti.
The amount of tagged ICE sets in Germany is das, let alone regional trains.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Begger all at Mallaig ? You must live somewhere wonderful. I would live there in an instant, given the opportunity.

Huh? That wasn’t what I said at all...

 

[cf111]

Mallaig is pretty grim to be fair, the only good thing I can say about it is that there are three routes out - road, rail and sea.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

I envy the UK for its lack of graffiti.
The amount of tagged ICE sets in Germany is das, let alone regional trains.

Continental Europe, particularly Spain and Italy seen to just be covered in graffiti. Trains, towns, everything.

 

[chefchenko]

Probably local nimbys who are fed up with the holiday trade, which is odd seeing as there is beggar all at Mallaig. It`s the journey people go for.

Bit harsh saying beggar all !! I’m not saying I’d spend a week there but nice little drive or train ride for day out , nice little cafes and pubs and nearby morar sands , and Skye of course

 

[philthetube]

fantastic book shop

 

[Old Yard Dog]

It's time the media stopped waxing lyrical about people like Banks-y. Graffiti daubers are the lowest of the low.

The only good wall art is art painted with the permission the owner. Visit the Falls and Shankill Roads in Belfast on that city's excellent black taxi tours to see some of the best.

 

[43096]

I envy the UK for its lack of graffiti.
The amount of tagged ICE sets in Germany is das, let alone regional trains.

It’s the ICE1 sets that are particularly affected. Going past Hamburg Langenfelde/Eidelstedt depot last month it was obvious where the issue is - little fencing, no security. In fact some of the depot buildings have been tagged.

 

[tsr]

It’s the ICE1 sets that are particularly affected. Going past Hamburg Langenfelde/Eidelstedt depot last month it was obvious where the issue is - little fencing, no security. In fact some of the depot buildings have been tagged.

To some extent, overcoming security features can be seen to raise the status of graffiti "artists" and give them an adrenaline buzz too. Therefore, keeping security measures subtle can be best. Obviously if the place is covered in graffiti then this isn't working either.

However, I am familiar with a couple of large depots and several smaller yards which have suffered extensive graffiti attacks despite being well-secured, with staff, high fences, CCTV and dedicated controllers.

I can think of one depot building which regularly gets tagged but is covered by CCTV from all angles and has staff walking past on a near constant basis. Many of those are cleaners who have to scrub the graffiti off the trains, so there is unlikely to be anything of an "inside job" going on. It's just a pervasive crime which seems to be able to exploit any cubby hole or hideaway it can find, and it will only be dealt with when there is a complete shift in perception of the issue at all levels of society. This ain't gonna happen any time soon, I fear.