RTC 2021

You obviously booked, in the knowledge that the government advise on covid rules was changing, prior to your travel date, it would have been easy to ask RTC on booking, what their rules were changing to post 19th July, with all restrictions lifted.

 

Many thanks for your replies fellow national preservation members. I posted on here before emailing RTC as this is a complex topic with no right or wrong answers. I knew how the RTC email made me feel, but was also aware that there would be other viewpoints which I wished to understand - that is the power of forums.
The issue I have is that the UK government are wishing us now to make our own informed decisions on risk and choice. The guidance is to mask up still in crowded and poorly ventilated places and to use your own judgement. In my view those choices have been taken away from me.
When I made the booking social distancing was still in place and allowed me to book with an element of confidence that my welfare was being taken care of. Yes, the road map was in place, but perhaps naively even I didn't think this government would unlock in the middle of a third wave and I did also think RTC would keep some restrictions to maintain passenger welfare. In Wales all businesses must produce a Coronavirus risk assessment that will likely keep some measures in place in high risk circumstances, even beyond August 6th.
I do however have every sympathy with RTC's financial situation. This will be similar to many in hospitality industry and again the government are forcing their hand. However, upsetting long term customers (& it appears I am not the only one), will not be good for their long term finances. Personal safety is a huge priority for everyone at the moment.
Lastly, I have every confidence in my vaccine, but it won't stop me getting the virus and still means I could pass it on to someone more vulnerable or have to miss work through self isolating. My preference would be to do all I can not to get it, however this takes us back to personal choice!
I will email my thoughts to RTC (politely) and see what their response is - the option to purchase the 4th seat may be the best one, however, I note they are now listing the train as fully booked.

 

It will be interesting to know if passengers who will be having others joining them around a table for 4 or on a table for 2 will be told where they hail from, i.e. areas with high or low covid rates; and most important, their vaccination status. Would any of us want to take the risk of sharing a table for anything up to 12 hours with unvaccinated folk? Its going to get complicated, a Human Rights nightmare.

 

We need to get out of this "us/them" mindset with regards to vaccinated/unvaccinated. Some people don't have it for religious reasons, some people don't have it for medical reasons, some people don't have it for personal reasons. I regard it as really none of my business who has or hasn't had the vaccine. The facemasks are there to cut transmission, if you're concerned about the risk of someone being unvaccinated then keep your facemask on.

 

It also becomes a bit of a GDPR nightmare too. I’m sure a perfectly friendly individual who has unfortunately come from a high risk area, but is vaccinated and has tested negative a number of times in the run up, would prefer not to have their day ruined by being made to feel uncomfortable by a group of people who have also come from another high risk area, also vaccinated and test negative a number of times prior to travelling.

Let’s give people the benefit of the doubt. No one wants to knowingly spread the virus, everyone is doing their best to protect themselves and others.

 

Sorry for coming a bit late to this discussion. I was hoping to book a single seat on the Bahamas + 31806 Weymouth trip next month (too long a day to bring my wife!) but would be sad if my presence would cause people sitting next to me to feel uncomfortable and spoil their day. I haven't contacted RTC as yet because I wouldn't want to travel unless I could be confident that 31806 would be working the return leg as far as Southampton. In the fairly rural part of East Sussex where I live, I haven't heard of anyone who has caught the virus since the winter. I'm not a partying or nightclub animal so am likely therefore to be very low risk.

I will still probably contact RTC, although I note this trip is fully booked. There may be last minute cancellations and there are two more Weymouth trains which I believe are also intended to feature 31806. The other steam loco is currently advertised as 44871 and I wouldn't turn up my nose at a run behind a Riley Black Five, although 62005's early withdrawal may mean that all three of his "Fives" may be needed at Fort William for Jacobite duties so something unexpected might be substituted.

** EDIT ** RTC Website just says "A Black V" now for the latter two DCEs, rather than 44871 and the Swanage Belle of 9th Sept now just mentions "our steam locomotive"

But getting back to the single traveller issue, I agree with Will RL and Bleeder 4. We've got to try to return to some sort of normality. Being summer, the windows will probably be open on the carriages, giving far more ventilation than modern stock provides. I'm prepared to make a booking and not get too worried about who might be sitting next to me. I just hope this doesn't put me in a small minority.

 

A

That is your opinion and you are entitled to it, however, personal safety is important to people. Unfortunately face Masks only work if we all wear them as they protect other, not the user. The point is operators need to offer choice as we all have differing perceptions of risk. I have no issue paying extra for exclusive use of a table, but that should be offered as an option to me, not have a stranger imposed on me after I made a 'Bubble booking' just because someone in no 10 thinks the pandemic is over.
RTC should have given those who made bubble bookings first refusal on securing their tables for exclusive use or postponing, instead of opening up to single travellers. I should think a number of people would be happy to pay extra to secure their bubble.

I have received a very bland response from RTC offering to hold my funds until I was happy to travel and not addressing any of my points.

I have also made an offer to pay for exclusive use of the table , will see if it is accepted.

 

John, I hope you are able to secure a seat and enjoy the day. If you booked a trip with Vintage Trains they would seat you with other single travellers who are like minded which is great.
Likewise I would hate to make a single traveller feel uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, you just don't know who you are going to be sat with and there lies the problem.

 

Or more pertinently, ask the other party to wear a mask ...

Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of who is responsible for the current mess in the guidelines, this feels to me simply like a trading standards issue. In other words, if at the time of booking, the tour was being advertised as running under social distancing rules, then those are the conditions accepted by anyone booking at that time. So it feels wrong for those to be changed subsequently, to the detriment of those who thought they were booking under one set of conditions, but end up being carried under something different.

Tom

 

60103 approaches the site of Goose Hill Junction, Normanton, with today's 'Hadrian' tour from Doncaster to Darlington, via some unusual routes around Yorkshire, the S&C and the Tyne valley.



https://richardstevens.smugmug.com/

 

I'm not altogether sure about that, and would need to see the basis on which the tickets were sold to form a view. To illustrate, I've purchased tickets for an event at the Royal Albert Hall in knowledge of their Covid measures, I don't regard those as part of the conditions on which I've booked but the conditions imposed by the venue for allowing me in. This is a subtle difference, but quite important to me as if the RAH were to relax their conditions, I would not consider it to be a change to the terms on which I'd purchased my tickets.

 

My pics 60103 Flying Scotsman in carlisle citadel on the hadrian the tour I'm on and 60163 Tornado at durran hill when our tour arrived on the northern belle waiting to shunt the E.C.S. back into carlisle citadel on my marathon of summer steam tours.
Davo 56F

 

Better motive power and very different from the last time I was there.

 

Slightly better motive power than your shunter, but what a transformation from the last time I was there:

 

47 on the front of 60103 on today’s return ‘Hadrian’ trip.

 

Any idea why?

 

AWS packed in supposedly

 

I cannot remember the exact RTC words but most tour companies have said in line with Government restrictions at the time of the tour.
That probably seemed good until such a shambolic bunch of "advice?" was issued.
I personally see a rail tour as a train and would hope people wear masks as the government have "requested". I do however have little (no?) hope that will happen.
I had my first and so far only ride at Swanage since 2019 last Sunday purely as I wanted a ride behind the Standard 2, it was the last day of passengers having to wear a mask (and the pre booking system let me see which trains were empty).
Watching the WSR webcams when today's tour was around I noticed not too many masks being worn by the passengers.
I guess everybody has to go with what they are happy with, but the level of those vaccinated but getting hospitalised as I mentioned on the Covid thread makes me uneasy.

 

My take from this mornings West Somerset Steam Express, seen at West Drayton, also includes some Class 67's that passed an hour later and Clan Line's Belmond Duty: