ATOC sets gold standard for time keeping

Telegrammed by Bushy
The following consultation email was sent out by ATOC in June 2008:

ATOC, on behalf of all TOCs, together with Network Rail and British Transport Police (BTP) have decided to review the Enthusiast Guidelines, which give advice to railway enthusiasts on visiting railway property in pursuit of their hobby and also set down what sort of photography is permitted on railway property. The Guidelines were drawn up three years ago and we believe are still appropriate.

It is our intention to reissue the Guidelines later this summer so as to re-brief and make all rail staff aware of the them. We have decided to consult a number of stakeholders to ask for their views on whether they need to be modified or revised further before they are reissued. As part of this process BTP will also ask their senior officers for a view on the guidelines (particularly in relation to photography) and Network Rail will also consult station mangers at their stations.

I have attached a copy of the Guidelines and would ask you to come back to me directly with any comments or suggestions by Friday 18th July. We don’t envisage changing them radically but are interested in hearing any constructive suggestions for their improvement, particularly when it comes to the Guidelines for photography. As part of the consultation we are inviting the trade press and a number of well known railway photographers to give us their views also.

Finally, from time to time it has been suggested that there might be some form of accreditation for well known railway photographers who contribute to the trade press regularly. One suggestion is that magazines/publications would nominate a limited number of contributors who would be given an accredited railway photography press card. This might involve a small charge. Do you have any views and if you are a railway publication would you support such a scheme?

Errr... as it's summer 2009 any news?

Barbarian at the Gates?

Whilst ATOC self immolates finally some good news from the Brothers!

Regular readers of the Eye will be aware that ATOC has been unable to update their enthusiast guidelines owing to anyone who knows anything about the railway industry being defenestrated by Michael Roberts' new team.

However, in an unlikely turn of events, it falls to the Transport Salaried Staff Association to come to the rescue of hard pressed gricers!

Rail union TSSA are to challenge the ruling by National Express to ban train-spotters from their stations on the East Coast line.

Union general secretary Gerry Doherty, said, "Sir John Betjeman will be turning in his grave at this news. It means that the barbarians have finally taken over the industry. Only people with no sense of history would commit such an act of mindless vandalism."

The Fact Compiler feels that the term "barbarians" may be a little harsh.

Better Bowker's own words - "A villain forever more".

Star struck

This from the Sun via Police News...

The BTP detective who keeps the 'Police Reporting UFO Sightings' database is convinced there is life on another planet...

Here's a special Railway Eye tip for any of our enthusiast friends bullied by petty officials whilst taking photos at stations.

Just say you're helping the BTP with their little green men enquiries!

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?

The last shall be...

Telegrammed by The Master
The revision of the ATOC guidelines on enthusiasts appears to have hit a stumbling block.

Regular readers of Railway Eye will recollect that ATOC circulated revised draft guidelines on photography at stations to the industry several months ago.

These are inline with Ian Johnstone, Chief Constable of the BTP, claiming that enthusiasts are additional eyes and ears on the network.

Alas, it appears that one of the TOC owning groups has decided to be difficult and break ranks .

Unless sanity (and diplomacy) prevails we may yet see camera-wielding enthusiasts being frog-marched off sizeable chunks of the rail network in the future.

Such an unedifying spectacle would be a massive PR blunder causing the industry acres of hostile media coverage.

Railway Eye hopes that this can be resolved by wiser and more senior heads first?