Security Alert At Reading (17/11/2007)

[whole diary]

[Lee]

From the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website :

Train services on all routes via Reading have been disrupted due to a security alert. Delays may still occur.

[Ollie]

The one last night was taken very seriously and is apparently still being investigated.
The one this morning ended up just being someone's laptop, bet he felt a bit stupid when he went to claim it back. (the laptop was on same platform as last nights suspicious package)

[Lee]

Can we expect more of this sort of thing as a result of the security measures outlined below , Ollie? :

There is likely to be bag-screening and body searches at the busiest stations , such as Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa , which will cause delays at peak times.

And the Prime Minister announced security barriers , vehicle exclusion zones and blast resistant buildings will be introduced at up to 250 of the busiest UK^▸ (United Kingdom) train stations.

That means the stringent precautions will be introduced at Swindon , Bristol Parkway , Salisbury and Chippenham too. More in the links below.
http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146238&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146064&contentPK=18971385&folderPk=100268&pNodeId=145795

http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145786&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146238&contentPK=18971387

[Lee]

Here is a related Save The Train Forum post :

I really am having a great time on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) services this month!

On Saturday 17 November there was a major 'security alert' at Reading causing the station to be closed around 0915.  We were making a long journey from Salisbury to Kingham in Oxfordshire.  It should have been on a normal day a straightforward connecting journey to Basingstoke, Reading then Kingham on the Worcester line.  There were engineering works around B'stoke so there was a bus from Andover.  In fact SW Trains were running the buses and trains very smoothly and we arrived in B'stoke in plenty of time for the connecting train.  However when we arrived the 0937 was to Reading was already cancelled with the advertised reason being crew shortages.  However almost immediately after there was meant to be a through Cross Country service but this wasn't even advertised.  SW Trains staff then made the announcement about the closure of Reading and that they were trying to organise coaches to come down from Wimbledon to try and ferry people onwards.  Remember at B'stoke all other trains were also buses!

Eventually about half an hour later Reading was re-opened and we were told that the 1037 would run to Reading.  Which it did.  Packed of course, all understandable of course.  SW Trains staff at Basingstoke were very helpful and informed.  I wish the same could be said at Reading.  Quite understandably staff there were fraught owing to the closure and passengers' many questions but it was their lack of knowledge that slightly concerned me.  They just didn't seem to know which trains had arrived, which had left which doesn't say much for their communications system and I really felt for them, they were trying extremely hard to provide information to which they only had partial access to.  Our onward connection to Kingham should have been at 1122 by the time we arrived at Reading but this was just marked as delayed for ages, and then disappeared off the board, no announcement at all.  We found a member of staff who assumed it had gone!  We said it can't have as we saw no train arrive at the platform (it was hailing from London Paddington).  It arrived at about midday still advertised for stations to Worcester Foregate Street.  When we were on and the train was moving we received an announcement that it would terminate at Oxford!  If we had known this beforehand we'd have never continued our journey.  We were so delayed it would have made continuing and trying to have a day out pointless.

While we were very patient and understanding of the circumstances out of FGW's control I felt that a lack of commnications was at the heart of people's discontent.  There was no way on literally _just_ leaving Reading a decision could be made to simply terminate the train.  Why not just tell people that at Reading and allow them to make the choice as to whether to continue their journey?  In the end several people queued up at Oxford to have their tickets endorsed to return back.  We requested to abandon our journey and received a slip of paper with an Oxford station stamp explaining.  It remains to be seen whether we get a full refund.

[Tim]

I really can't see what bag screening at busy stations will achive.  If it is introduced, surely the terrorists will just board at small stations?

I am all in favour of increased security but it has to make sense to get my support

Tim

[Lee]

Response from a Save The Train Forum member :

There was also an even more disruptive security alert at Reading the previous evening, and also a fatality (at, you've guessed it, Southall!) early that Friday afternoon leading to a miserable time. I believe the secutiry alert that CourgetteLawn is referring to turned out to be a laptop, and it shut the station for a relatively short time.

Knowing how the slightest problems now totally swamp the centralised control office at Swindon, I would not be in the least bit surprised if the decision to terminate at Oxford only filtered through to the staff as late as it did. Mind you, it did have some benefit as I was coming the other way along the Cotswold Line at the time and we had a clear run through on time as the other delayed train would surely have clobbered us at some point otherwise!

[smokey]

The biggest Security Risk on the Railway today, all the 1000's of contractor staff, anyone who could be a friend of one Oshama bin Laden.

Used to be that BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) had about 200 staff on the Whole of the Western Region that had access to relay rooms, line side cabinets and switchrooms etc.

Now you have about 100 contracting firms some of who employ 2 or 3 thousand men!