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Minister Grayling Under Attack by London Commuters
| Published: 10th September 2018 17:40 |
It’s definitely not smooth sailing on UK railways these days. In recent weeks commuters from London and surrounds have been left frustrated as their usual travel plans were thwarted. And the people aren’t prepared to let this matter be.
Firstly, trains are delayed or even cancelled because of problems on the line. The reasons are numerous such as damage from a tractor driving onto rails in West Yorkshire in mid-August. A broken rail also affected trains between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield this past weekend. Of course, this influenced London commuters too as it influenced the entire train schedule.
However, the problem is not only of a mechanical sort. Northern Rail services have been cancelled on multiple weekends, simply due to a lack of drivers.
But why are people so upset? Because it’s much more than their time that gets affected. Even a small delay can create stress, work problems and therefore even financial challenges for some commuters. Occasionally this even leads to aggressive behaviour towards railway employees as people feel no one is doing anything to improve the situation.
It’s important to know commuters aren’t new to these problems. Similar occurrences have been common for almost the past decade. Mishaps even include cutting of 9 000 Northern Rail services when faulty timetables were created.
And now the problem is exacerbated even further. Despite the poor service delivery, train fares are on the rise. In January there will be a planned increase of 3.2%.
What’s the solution to all of this? One place where it’s unlikely to find answers is at the door of Minister Grayling, the transport secretary. Chris Grayling’s history in the cabinet is already riddled with mishaps such as cutting funding to lawyers of domestic abuse victims. This led to some of them going to court without any legal representation.
Now commuters feel they’re being left to fend for themselves as well, as the transport minister isn’t helping to turn the railway situation in their favour. Railway problems aren’t being addressed, they’re not improving and now the public will be expected to pay more for this sub-par service.
It’s remarkable that Minister Grayling survived a vote of no confidence in June. But it won’t be surprising if this changes, if there aren’t any improvements soon.
One group that is making sure commuters experience some relief is the UK iGaming operator PlayOJO. It devised a practical way to deal with travel stress and shared it with Kings Cross passengers. PlayOJO sent famous personal trainer Charlie King out and gave him a Chris Grayling branded punchbag. Inviting passengers to have a go at the bag—and the face on its side—resulted in a few smiles, so at least some people had a better than expected day.
Will the railways live up to expectation soon? Only time will tell.
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