Battle of the Barriers

At last good news for gricers!

Britain's beleagured bashers have a new champion despite the shock of last week's Wolmargate!

Yesterday the muesli-munchers of York backed the cranktocracy as part of the city's 'Battle of the Barriers'.

Regular Eye readers will know that there is significant resentment in the city over the National Express plan to gate York station, which will inconvenience visitors to the NRM and local residents alike.

As anger grows the local Green Party have taken to picketing York station to encourage an NX rethink.

The leaflet they handed out contained the following statement:

8. Railway enthusiasts should not be discouraged
Most railway enthusiasts are knowledgeable about the railway and are responsible citizens.

That means that they behave sensibly on railway premises, and, as the railway press has been pointing out in the controversy about attempts by staff to prevent photography, enthusiasts can be useful extra eyes on platforms to identify anything untoward.

To discourage them would therefore be unwise, and it would alienate the railway's natural friends.

Any attempt to stop large numbers of people attending the visits of steam specials would be a disaster for relations with the public.

Perhaps York Greens should be asked to write the revision to ATOC's still unpublished enthusiast guidelines?