Gary's views

TRACK HEAT

My journey back to Devon last Thursday was delayed by 38 minutes. Not in itself all that unusual or life-changing, but the reasons given says a lot about contemporary society. Track heat. It was the first week in May and we had enjoyed 3 sunny days the first for a while. On several occasions the train crawled along at 10 mph and each time the chirpy train manager informed us that this was due to track heat. Apparently Network Rail has imposed a new speed limit during these climatic conditions (sunshine).

Other passengers were as gob-smacked as I was. A bishop stopped by my seat to express his frustration! Sometimes during extreme August droughts I have encountered such a thing, but in early May?

The real enemy is risk aversion. Of course we all want our public services to be conducted safely, but there has to be some commonsense and balance. No doubt a lawyer/risk assessor/ bureaucrat somewhere had issued some advice about train times during hot weather, and to avoid possible litigation, Network Rail management are imposing it to the very letter – irrespective of the impact on customers.

It is by far from the only example of risk aversion that we come across daily. Police officers who do not intervene robustly for fear of investigation; teachers no longer able to hug children in primary school because of possible child abuse claims; doctors who hold back from trusting their instincts to avoid lawsuits.

By far the worst cases of risk aversion come from administrators one step removed from the front line issuing disproportionate instructions to those on the front line. I saw a picture recently of a stone bridge on Dartmoor, on the route of a new cycle path, now flanked by massive fences bolted on either side – totally spoiling its ancient beauty – for health and safety reasons! People have been crossing over this bridge for centuries without harm, but oh no some official at county hall has decided to protect his own back by insisting on a horrific wire mesh barrier.

Compare this with the wonderful day out Jan and I had recently with our two lively grandchildren at Buckfastleigh steam railway. Everything was real, accessible, and the children were allowed to get close up and personal with their Thomas the Tank heroes; the way it used to before Mr Jobs Worth Risk Aversion showed up. And the Fat Controller never once mentioned track heat.