The Anonymous Widower

Jeremy Corbyn Sugests Women-Only Carriages On Trains

According to this article on the BBC, Jeremy Corbyn is suggesting that women-only carriages should be introduced in the UK. This is the start of the article.

Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn has said he would consider women-only rail carriages to help stem a rise in assaults on public transport.

Mr Corbyn told the Independent he would consult women on the suggestion.

But the idea was attacked as outdated and unhelpful by his Labour leadership rivals Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham.

I have no view one way or another on the actual proposal, but practically there are problems.

Most new urban trains, like those on the London Overground, Underground, Thameslink and Crossrail are effectively built as one long articulated carriage. This picture shows the inside of a Class 378 train on the Overground.

This layout increases capacity, enables passengers to spread themselves to less-crowded parts of the train and get to the appropriate carriage for disembarking.

I am not sure whether it is a safer layout, but on a couple of occasions, I’ve had a drunk or a noisy baby sit by me, whilst I’m trying to read, so I’ve quietly moved to another part of the train. It must also be an easier train to monitor for security purposes.

The layout also makes evacuation of the train easier in the case of an incident, like a complete power failure in a tunnel, as you’d just walk to one end of the train to be taken down steps by the emergency services.

If there was a segregated area for women, this would be extremely difficult to incorporate into a train designed in this way. It might even compromise the tunnel evacuation procedures.

So to create some women-only trains would mean an expensive rebuild, new trains, or a lot of work to make tunnels fit the new circumstances.

An alternate would be to make one train in six say, women only!

And surely, if you have women-only trains, you should also have women-only buses, taxis and minicabs. I think the latter are one of the worst places for attacks on women. This article in the Daily Mail has the headline of No woman is safe in a minicab, says rape judge. It may be an exaggeration as it’s the Daily Mail, but it does say there are 100,000 private hire drivers in the country and questions the checking procedures.

It would be far better, if instead of making public transport safer for a particular group, we made it safe for everybody who wants to use it.

I was travelling on the Overground recently, when on arrival at Dalston Junction station, a blind, black lady in her forties was met by a uniformed Overground stationman, who led her professionally up the stairs and through the barriers.

Every station in the UK should be mandated to follow the Overground rule of station staff being present from the first train of the day until the last. Also if you need special assistance on the Overground, you don’t need to give prior warning. This page on the Transport for London web site, details their policy.

August 27, 2015 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Jeremy Corbyn, London Overground, Rape, Safety, Trains