Recommissioning after Coronavirus

I also suspect a reasonably high percentage of heritage railway passengers do not travel on the National Network and may not even realise trains there are not cleaned after every trip.

 

I largely agree with this, although of course there is a responsibility on all of us to slow transmission, because even if we are not too concerned about ourselves we may pass it on to someone for whom it might be deadly.

That being said, the most important thing in my view for heritage railways, once they are in a position to open, is to be as clear as possible in their communication of steps taken to minimise risk, and the assessment of risk that the railway has made.

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I believe heritage lines will need to be cautious, even if my earlier post suggested it be stringent. With tracing looming a serious spread traceable back to a heritage line could end doing serious damage to heritage lines.

 

This is true. Any railways which fails to put in place 'appropriate' risk mitigation measures leading to a serious outbreak could even face HSE prosecution.

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As the virus can travel with any of the many delivery drivers and specialist workers who of necessity travel beyond small local areas one doubts the benefit of a stay local direction relative to the have no physical contact (2m rule). If we get to a stage where local areas can be declared Covid free then there will be a strong case for quarantining entry but the sad reality is we need to find ways of living with and managing the risks of Covid as the alternative of perpetual total lock down until a vaccine is found is hardly practicable.

 

Total lockdown would of course eradicate the virus as it would not be able to spread. That would take many months though and would destroy the economy and society so would be unacceptable. The Govt are taking a middle path which is why the virus is in very slow decline and could flare up again. So a vaccine is essential for any return to normality. Until then I doubt if I will travel on any Heritage line not even my beloved MHR

 

My second biggest worry about using a train (after the risk of being in a crowded coach) is the risk of what I might pick up from a carriage door-handle.

Until train rides are again possible and reasonably safe from the virus, I will be happy to come to Toddington and pay to see stock on display and a demonstration of shunting around the station. I hope such things can soon be considered.

 

But worry of catching it through surfaces is much easier for individuals to personally mitigate against. Just wash your hands before picking your nose!
As for things happening at Toddington, I can't see anything happening too soon. Not even P'way etc. are allowed to go back to work yet, let alone depts like C+W, so actual operations feel miles away.

 

Of course behaviour like this by the public will do little to speed further loosening of restrictions.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-52864454

 

Which steam railways have allowed volunteers back to work onsite so far ? and how has it been ?

 

It would have to be in England or Scotland as my understanding is that volunteering is not allowed in Wales save for some specific circumstances

 

It could be a year or more b4 we r safe to resume normal service on heritage riding 4 pleasure on steam trains again as i do every w,end since lockdown began in march on heritage railways ive given a £50+ donation to various railways in the U.K. in the hope of late 2020, 2021 services can resume yet again and we will be flying high on our kettles on wheels when the world gets immunised from covid 19.
stay safe out in that vicious world right about now lads on nat pres.
Davo 56F

 

If a heritage railway had employed staff, they could return to work with no problem (other than finding the means to pay them!) However, volunteers are a grey area. Although the law actually says that you can carry out voluntary or charitable activities, these are not defined and my interpretation is that it is meant to cover help for the NHS, etc. Having said that, the advice that I have been given by the HRA is that heritage railways are a business and you have to protect that business. Thus, if you deem that there is good reason to bring in volunteers to do necessary work then it is acceptable to do so. Good reason is preparing for re-opening, thus vegetation clearance and other necessary maintenance are acceptable. I think the important thing is that volunteers have to be called in to do specific and justifiable tasks and not just turn up. On this basis, Middleton now has volunteers working on a regular basis. There are strict rules in place on people working to maintain social distancing and hygiene.
I believe several other railways are doing the same.

 

It's not just doing the cleaning, it's being seen to be doing the cleaning & taking relevant precautions.

So, deep clean of toilets on-board & at stations etc, & provision of plenty of handwash & paper towels.
Cleaning of any tables after every use
etc

 

The Mid Hants has had some very limited volunteering. This is on a case-by-case basis and needs to be authourised by Senior Mnagement. Returning volunteers have to have a safety briefing outlining the enhanced safety prcautions in place. All such activities are for essential maintenance or for very, very early steps in accordance with the plan for re-opening. The railway is taking things very slowly and there is evidence of lots of risk assessment going on! At this stage it is about keeping the railway in a reasonable state but not in any way endangering volunteers or paid staff. Volunteers are being updated on a regular basis from the General Manager and from line managers about the current and future volunteering opportunities. As previous posters have said, it is not a question of just turning up, even with a mask and gloves.

 

The more railways delay things, the more I think many volunteers will just start to drift away. It happens anyway even in normal times in that volunteers can start coming less and less and then you just don't see them anymore and they clearly switch to spending their time doing something else. They will already be spending time doing other stuff and that can then become their new routine. This particularly is the case where they don't work on any particular project and are less 'hard core' in the first place.

Lots of restrictions on what you are allowed to do, can put them off too.

 

On another note: I had to go into the office today, for the first time in about ten weeks. Passing the chocolate machine, I realised I had no coins; not only that, but I don't think I have spent any actual physical cash since mid March. Which made me wonder: will one of the less obvious effects of Covid be to speed up the demise of cash in our society? And if so, what impact will it have on the myriad collecting boxes around our railways?

I can see our having to replace the upturned buffer or chimney with some kind of device or devices to take a contactless donation.

(In case anyone was wondering: the chocolate machine was updated to take a contactless card payment ...)

Tom

 

I've saved a fortune and lost about half a stone since lockdown started for that reason - no cash on me to spend in the vending machine at work!

SVR at least have contactless donation points around the railway.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2730895283654823&id=215794101831633

 

Churches are having to think about that, but they’re both expensive and less good at dealing with a lot of people quickly - think the collection plate, or the crowd leaving the photography point at Quorn after a TPO run.

Interestingly, a recent entrant (Givt) to the church market are pushing app based giving that allows donors to give over an app, which has a DD behind it, so breaking out of the physical constraints of how many people can access the same bowl. And using QR codes allows tracking back to individual appeals within a site.


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