The Telegraph today tells me that airport style searches are to be carried out at major railway stations.
Yet more delays and failure of public transport policy.
More and more will be encouraged to use their warm, private and terrorist free cars.
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Absolutely. This is just treating the symptoms. Who is going to conduct the searches, what happens if people object to being searched? Holdups, and bullying by jumped-up security staff, these possibly including gov't-employed illegal immigrants, seem likely. Will the ticket price have to go up?
"Downing Street suggested that Ministers were advising - rather than ordering - railway stations and other facilities to adopt new measures." Humph.
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Holdups and bullying by jumped-up security staff thesepossibly including gov't-employed illegal immigrants seem likely. Will the ticket price have to go up?
I think the recent story about illegal immigrants working as security staff referred to security staff employed by private contractors and failure of a private vetting agency to do its job properly. But let's not spoil a good story. Let's say that they'll all be government-employed illegal immigrantsworking looking forward generous to index-linked pensions......
I have been through airports many times in the last 18 months, long- and short-haul and have yet to have felt 'bullied' by security staff, 'jumped up' or otherwise. They have always seemed to me to be polite. I suppose it depends on the attitude with which you approach these things....
Edited by Aprilia on 15/11/2007 at 08:41
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The Telegraph today tells me that airport style searches are to be carried out at major railway stations. Yet more delays and failure of public transport policy.
This is not a 'failure of public transport policy' at all - fairly sensible IMHO. I routinely use trains to travel to longish distances to large cities (London, Birmingham, Manchester etc) on business. Usually on time and less hassle than driving and I can get a bit of work done and not arrive feeling stressed. I would welcome the use of these searches in the same way as I do at airports. Don't like the delay but in the grand scheme of things its no big deal.
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Yeah I bet those passengers on that Spanish Train wish they'd been searched. Wouldn't bother me at all.
"and terrorist free cars" - remember the chaos when the Brent Cross flyover was blown up? Hammersmith Bridge, the ring of concrete...
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I agree with BBD however the question is where is the line drawn, after all you cannot have a X-Ray machine outside everyone's front door.
There will always be an opportunity for someone to get, unsearched, amongst a group of people whether it is in a bus queue or on a bus, in a road tunnel, a sports event or perhaps queuing at an airport or rail station search point.
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The 7/7 bombers drove to Luton then caught a local service to London. For this to work EVERY passenger getting on EVERY train would need to be checked. My local station is no more than a wooden platform and there are plenty of them around the network - I can't see these being provided with secure areas.
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"For this to work EVERY passenger getting on EVERY train would need to be checked"
I don't think so at all. It may not be deemed politically correct and I'll be careful how I phrase this - some people don't look like terrorists. You know, young teenage mother, three pushchairs and 11 Tesco bags struggling to board a train at Herne hill... that sort of thing.
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Last time I flew to the US the queues for check-in were massive, I have never felt so vulnerable, this was of course pre security checks, so do you check people before the enter the airport? If so you simply move the problem, as I say you cannot have an x-ray machine outside everyone's front door.
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If a "young teenage mother, three pushchairs and 11 Tesco bags" is not a terrorist can you tell us what a terrorist looks like?
The families of those killed in Northern Ireland, Manchester, Oklahoma etc would no doubt be interested in your theory as to how you could have prevented terrorist atrocities over the last 40 years.
For it to work EVERYONE will need checking and as has been said we can't all be searched before we leave the house.
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Nonsense.
Board a train, look around you. You may not be able to pinpoint a terrorist but you can recognise huge groups who clearly aren't.
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It won't happen, for the simple reason it would not be possible to check everyone without bringing the whole rail network to a grinding halt, trains carry far more people than planes so comparing the two is like comparing chalk and cheese.
Checks already happen on railway stations, certainly the big ones, by the BTP, just they are trained what to look for so don't target everyone.....
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I suspect there is a national divide on this issue. Here in the North East driving is still relatively easy and an option against public transport. At the same time I suspect that searches at railway stations would not be targetted in our region. Thus little impact.
I feel that in the South East railway use is much greater but also searches would be targetted in this area, hence further delays on the already failing public transport system.
I was brought up 15 miles West of London but as far back as 1980 decided the region was too busy for me to be happy pursuing a career there.
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Just another step in the direction of totalitarianism.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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It's just yet another case of scaremongering.
There are thousand of miles of unprotected main railway lines in this country. Want to destroy a train? Blow up the railway line as it approaches. No amount of station searches will stop this.
I wonder just how many terrorist attacks we have actually managed to stop?
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Are all level crossings going to be closed and blocked off with concrete to prevent suicide bombers?
(That was a motoring-related post)
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..and the irony is that a bomb placed on the track, set to be triggered by an approaching train, could potentially do way more damage than a bomb on the train itself! How will they prevent that? Search everyone who walks within 50 yards of a line over the thousands of miles of rail network?
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Here in Israel there are between one and three armed guards (and guardettes) at each entrance. Busy stations also have a metal detector arch at each entrance. You learn to get to the station early. It isn't totalitarianism, it's self-preservation.
Thank G-d, there have been no bombs on trains, but there have been attacks in the adjoining car parks (including my local station, Kfar Saba, where a guard was murdered).
It seems that global warming is repositioning the UK in the Middle East.
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im just waiting for the random road blocks !!!
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im just waiting for the random road blocks !!!
You mean you've never seen one milkyjoe?
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