The heavier side?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From Wales Online

Snowdon's famous Mountain Railway is struggling to cope with a growing number of obese passengers, it has been revealed.

The shocking revelation was made by a spokesman for the railway, after a tourist was refused a seat up to Wales' highest peak - because there were too many fat people on board.

When pensioner Anthony Poppel complained, bosses told him the problem was becoming increasingly common, due to Britain's growing obesity crisis.

He had travelled from his East Anglia home and had booked his return ticket on the traditional steam service – to arrive on the platform and be told there was no room.

The retired engineer had no time to re-book the trip and was given a refund.

He also received a letter of apology, which said: "Your ticket was valid for the departure at 12 noon but unfortunately it seems that other occupants of the carriage were large in stature and refused to move their family group to accommodate you more easily in your allotted carriage."

From the company's booking conditions.

Booking Conditions

At the end of this booking you will receive a booking confirmation by email, which you will need to print out and bring with you. In case you are unable to print this confirmation please make a note of the booking reference number and give this to the booking staff when you collect your tickets at the station. Tickets are only valid for the date and time booked and can be collected from the ticket office Llanberis up to 30 minutes before departure.

Cancellation terms
Bookings cannot be cancelled, transferred or amended. No refunds are available. Snowdon Mountain Railway reserves the right to cancel any event. If weather conditions become severe and trains cannot proceed to the summit they will terminate at Clogwyn Station (3/4 distance up Snowdon) or Rocky Valley (5/8 up Snowdon) . In the event of such conditions you will be offered a full refund before travel or a partial refund should you still decide to travel. (excluding any booking fees).

Booking fee
A non-refundable fee of £3.50 per order is charged for all bookings made online.

[TaplowGreen]

A "growing" problem on all forms of public transport.

One of the reasons why I'll always take the aisle seat on a Turbo - being tipped off into the aisle by a lurching fatty is slightly less hazardous than being crushed against the window (I should add that whilst I can fit comfortably into a seat I am not exactly in Olympic athlete shape myself!) 

More seriously though I have noticed it being more of an issue on long distance routes - armrest wars are one thing, but when an entire body is taking up 1.5 seats it's really not fair on the person perched on the edge/squashed on the inside.

I believe some airlines are seeking to address it more assertively by requiring the obese to purchase 2 seats.

The "shape" of things to come?

[grahame]

This story made several other outlets too.

I believe some airlines are seeking to address it more assertively by requiring the obese to purchase 2 seats.

That's been the case for many years.  One of our acquaintances has significant medical issues and even in the 1990s had to purchase two seats to fly.   Some very difficult cases and no easy answers / solutions here.

Reading on the Snowdon story further, I note that it was a case of "this happens more and more" and not "sorry - never happened before" so it is - by their admission - not a one-off.   And I do feel sorry for the chap who booked ahead, arrived and collected his ticket ahead of time, and was then denied travel through no fault of his own ... of course, as the media were on his story, we may not have seen the other side fully.

The terms and conditions - regular though they may be - are utterly lopsided.   It's not OK for a customer to cancel, but it's fine for the provider to cancel / deny provision.  And are they excluding the repayment of the booking fee even if they cancel .. not to mention the costs of the person to get there and his wasted time.

[John R]

I'm really puzzled at the railway's attitude here.  They made a reasonable request of the other party which was refused. Surely if anyone should have been denied a journey it was them?  I suspect the railway may have been worried at the media reaction that would have entailed, but would have had a reasonable response.

[TaplowGreen]

This story made several other outlets too.

I believe some airlines are seeking to address it more assertively by requiring the obese to purchase 2 seats.

That's been the case for many years.  One of our acquaintances has significant medical issues and even in the 1990s had to purchase two seats to fly.   Some very difficult cases and no easy answers / solutions here.

Reading on the Snowdon story further, I note that it was a case of "this happens more and more" and not "sorry - never happened before" so it is - by their admission - not a one-off.   And I do feel sorry for the chap who booked ahead, arrived and collected his ticket ahead of time, and was then denied travel through no fault of his own ... of course, as the media were on his story, we may not have seen the other side fully.

The terms and conditions - regular though they may be - are utterly lopsided.   It's not OK for a customer to cancel, but it's fine for the provider to cancel / deny provision.  And are they excluding the repayment of the booking fee even if they cancel .. not to mention the costs of the person to get there and his wasted time.

I've every sympathy with those who suffer these problems as a result of a medical condition, less so for those in the majority for whom it's a lifestyle choice, although of course we live in the age of entitlement where people are extremely reluctant to take responsibility for themselves...........the conditions you quote do seem a little lopsided (notwithstanding the fact that they have little control over the weather), however in the specific circumstance of a heftier population, I guess it's something that they need to build into their contingencies and procedures....................although as we see only too frequently with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and elsewhere, contingency planning is not something the railways are particularly good at.

I vividly remember visiting Vegas back in 2001, this being America they were already well used to catering for the fuller figures and actually had an area in the restaurant with specially strengthened furniture - I kid you not!

As they say, when America sneezes, sooner or later we catch a cold!

[Chris from Nailsea]

As they say, when America sneezes, sooner or later we catch a cold!

Going somewhat off-topic, there was a joke during the war:

When the British open fire, the Germans duck.  When the Germans open fire, the British duck.  When the Americans open fire, everyone ducks.

 

[grahame]

Further press coverage in The Metro including a copy of the letter sent by the Snowdon Mountain Railway to Mr Poppel.