Security Theatre, coming to a Railway Station near you.
Profoundly depressing news about travel terror security
Mr Brown said improved security would be installed at the country’s 250 busiest railway stations, as well as airports, ports and more than 100 other sensitive locations.
“Additional screening” of baggage and passenger searches were planned at some large railway stations and other “sensitive locations”, he said.
This is a fundamentally pointless idea. All that the introduction of airline-style security will achieve is increase the time and hassle involved in travelling anywhere. It’s just so-called ’security theater’; smoke and mirrors designed to create a false sense of security without actually making things any safer.
All a potential terrorist will need to do is board a train at a smaller local station, and they’ll bypass the whole bloody lot. So millions of travellers waste millions of hours of their lives, all for nothing. And thousands of misanthropes will be given the opportunity to ruin people’s day just because they can.
I’ve already given up flying because the every increasing security and ever more draconian baggage restrictions make it too unpleasant an experience. Please don’t let rail travel go the same way.
I have nothing but contempt for any sheep-like Daily Mail readers that bleat “it’s better to be safe than sorry”. I think it’s tragic that people that stupid and gullible are allowed to vote.
I hope the train companies persuade the government how stupid this is.
Update: Christian Wolmar completely agrees with me.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:46 am
Total agreement. Railway is faster than airplane for many journeys because of the lack of security check in theatricals!! Own goal by Mr brown to global warming … Ill be flying again if the hassle level is the same. Patronising b…..s !
November 19th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Completely agreee with you too. I had a look round St Pancras this morning and the upper level is curiously disjointed, especially with the glass screen, which is sad, especially in a station that was always cramped on the concourse anyway. Christian Wolmar’s article explains that this is, in part at least, due to security concerns. Ridiculous.
November 20th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
I suspect the people writing papers on railway security might be thinking of the railways in the USA where they already treat you like you are boarding an aircraft.
Mind you, if the station only has a few departures a week they probably have the time to do all the security checks.
What worries me is the idea that people should be discouraged from parking bicycles at railway stations on security grounds. How can this be justified when one simple thing we need to do to save the planet is encourage people not to use private cars?
November 20th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
This isn’t something being written about by American writers. This is a lot of disastrous nonsense being proposed by the *British* *Government*.
I thought this nonsense would be put on the back burner once the deeply stupid totalitarian thug John Reid returned to the backbenches. But evidently I was wrong.
If politicians had to wait in line with everyone else, they wouldn’t even think of imposing crap like this on the travelling public.
The question now is, is there anything we can do to stop it?
November 21st, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Backbench politicians do have to wait in line with everyone else when travelling back to their constituencies. Once they gain the use of ministerial cars they forget the real world jolly quickly.
Given how little seems to change when the music stops in the Cabinet Room and all the ministers scramble for new chairs, I’m not convinced that changing the minister changes anything.
The ministers are acting on briefing papers prepared by either party “researchers” or civil servants. Think back to the first episode of “Yes Minister” - the civil servants didn’t know who would be the minister but they knew there would be a minister. Their job continues regardless.
For example, “someone” wants ID cards. Every opposition party has campaigned against them, but when they win an election the tune always changes. Why? Could it be that the department wants them, for reasons I’m not going to speculate on here, and therefore only provides the minister with options which involve having ID cards?
But I digress. We need politicians who have experience in the real world.
The only serious way forwards I can think of is for local parties to pick candidates from their own areas with such experience and not to accept professional politicians from central office.
November 21st, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Let’s home the silver lining to this week’s disastrous child benefit data leak will be to kill any lingering public support for the ID card.