Letter: Railways exempt from legal passenger limits?

Letter: Ref a recent article regarding the "sardine express" and the reported comment by the transport minister that to enforce a legal limit on passengers carried by trains would be difficult to enforce.

Having been in the passenger transport industry for almost 40 years, I must point out that from the smallest private hire car and taxi to buses, coaches, ferries and aircraft, all have to abide by a legal limit on passengers carried.

Even in our private vehicles we are limited to the official seating capacity of the vehicle.

Two seated and two standing on a motorcycle not acceptable, but on a train ok. Health and safety with regard to number of passenger carried does not appear to be relevant. No seat-belts, crash helmets or air bags.

If I went out with one person over the limit of passengers authorised for the particular vehicle, my insurance is nil and void because I have not complied with the legal requirements.

There are many other legal loopholes that everyone else has to abide by but the railways do not.

Safety of the travelling public is a main feature of most of the transport industry but it appears that the rail industry is exempt from such safety regulations.

WJ Amies

Courtesy Travel

Shrewsbury