Children travelling by train alone

ticktack_2

Edwardia wrote: »

If it was my child I'd feel a bit better if s/he was on a coach.

Good idea. So would I.

iwannabeonthebeach

Humphrey10 wrote: »

Yet another post showing how important it is to get children used to public transport at a young age.

I was introduced to travelling alone on public transport when I was young but you can't always be prepared for drunk/abusive/leering passengers and as a 25 year old female when travelling alone this makes me nervous

claire16c

lorne57 wrote: »

Blimey didn't know I'd got a "problem":rotfl: and needed counselling!

Spendless made it all seem so easy and probably is...and when you've done it a few times it would become normal.

But....when you havn't done it before or regularly enough (no matter what subject we are talking about) some people are still very apprehensive about things and shouldn't be patronised.

My workplace is probably going to move sometime this year....to me this isn't going to cause any problem whatsoever as I travel in this direction regularly, I know the roads. But two of the people I work with are seriously considering looking for new jobs as they will now have to either travel on a very busy (and I mean really busy lane changing watch yourself dual carriageway) or a much longer keep to the side roads route! they are just not used to it. The thought petrifies them....to me its 2nd nature....do they have a problem and need counselling also:o

Anyway tea and bottle of red calling:T have a good evening all.

I dont think its about being patronising, I think its just being shocked because its not normal behaviour to be scared of catching a train.

If I couldnt go into a train station, buy a ticket, hop on the train and sit on it until it reached a destination, and then get off, then I would consider that I had some kind of anxiety disorder and would go for some kind of counselling yes.

What is the worst that could happen? Why not book a ticket to something you want to see at the NEC, and do it? If you really have a major problem with doing it, then perhaps you should see your gp and get some help.

daska

Mad-Frog wrote: »

Guards did not look after children people asked them to keep an eye on which they did as would guards today if asked nicely, it would be the Train company which say officially no but I bet any guard would keep an eye on a child travelling alone

They might, but guards often change mid-route, base themselves in different areas and there's no guarantee that the new guard gets told. I have struggled to get off trains, even with assisted travel having been booked well in advance, because of the lack of communication. So personally that's a bet I wouldn't make.

Mad-Frog wrote: »

Don't go first class it would be expensive, there is nothing wrong with standard class

Nothing wrong with std class but 1st class tickets are often available for only a few pennies more and seat reservations are far more likely to be honoured in 1st class. Now that DS1 is 6'3" I don't worry about it so much but when he was smaller I was happier knowing that he would definitely have a seat. He recently had to do a 150 mile journey on which only managed to get a seat for 15 minutes, despite having a reservation, and I think that could be quite a consideration for a 10 year old.

Mad-Frog wrote: »

Most trouble on trains are caused by late night drinkers and football fans I doubt the OP would send them late at night and most football matches tend to be mid week and Saturday so doubt there would be any problem

Funnily enough I've had more than one conversation with guards/platform staff on this subject (not sure whether it's a pro or con of travelling in a wheelchair). Whilst I'm sure what you say is correct the general opinion I hear is that they would prefer their children to travel at busier times so there is less risk of them ending up in lonely carriages. Just something to consider - the quietest times of day are not necessarily the most desirable times to travel.

Mad-Frog

Daska sorry I cannot work out the multi quote, regarding the guards looking after children (although TOC's don't call them that as they are customer friendly unlike BR ) I was responding to a poster who said that in the good ole days guards looked after children on long journeys, this was not so. It was the same then as it is now. Many moons ago when I worked onboard if a child was travelling alone you would 'clock' the child while doing your normal duties find out where they were going (normally from the ticket) and clock they got off at the right stop. I always pointed out a child alone and assisted people etc but obviously cannot guarantee this happens 100% of the time.

Assisted travel is the responsibility of the stations not the guard, all three parties I.E origin station, guard and destination should be aware of you travelling, I realise it sometimes leaves something to be desired which is a shame as it should be foolproof if nothing goes wrong on the journey but it is station staff responsible for meeting you.

Regarding first class travel at peak times on a Friday I would expect it to be a whole lot more than pennies, especially as I assume they would be travelling back at a peak time on a Sunday afternoon, obviously if it wasn't much more then I would thoroughly recommend first class but cheap tickets for two at peak times is virtually unheard of, so like I say they would be travelling at peak times (I think)

I don't really understand why people think train travel is so scary (I realise I am biased having worked in the industry) especially those who would rather they travel by coach why? Twice as long a journey. In both scenarios parent put kids on transport and are met off at the other end only one takes twice as long as the other. If a bus breaks down another one will come along they transfer onto same as a train, if the motorway is blocked the coach will be diverted via alternative route same as train. honestly it is as easy as Spendless described.

OP your children can travel unaccompanied now on SW Trains if you wanted but I agree it is a good idea to do a couple of journeys first so they get to know the stops and whole travel experience first

Sorry for the long post

AllyS

Hey all

I have heard back from SW trains. There is no age restrictions, capabilities of children travelling alone is a parents decision.

I have travelled 1st class a few times on a Friday night, because it has been cheaper or only a few pounds different, but like you say.getting 2 tickets will probably be more expensive. There are no seat reservation anywhere on SW trains.

Coach is not an option for weekend vists and I don't really understand why a coach is any safer? I am guessing because of the driver, but trains have more staff that travel up and down more frequently altho I wouldn't expect them to check on my kids, it is still a responsible presence.

Thanks again everyone x

duchy

Would I sound an awful snob if I said that on long distance routes you often get a less desirable passenger on coaches as they are cheaper than trains ?

Going back to some of the general comments and this is NOT aimed at anyone on here...... I think there is still a perception that London is a scary, dangerous place -but it's all a matter of perception. I grew up a 20 minute train ride from central London -my parents had both lived and worked in central London before having a family so trips to London were "normal" to us as kids-yet I can remember my best friend's mother whose kids were the same age as me and my brother (about 8 and 4 at the time)-how brave she was taking us to London for the day and how she could never do that as it was too dangerous. I remember thinking even then "What ???" We were going to the Science museum for goodness sake

My son has Aspergers Syndrome so can get very panicky in uncertain situations yet now in his late teens he can deal with train breakdowns, cancellations,switches to a bus due to works midway, loud rowdy passengers solo, snow etc-and last year a journey to college that involved a variety of routes -I do think that my own attitude that travelling by all kinds of public transport is normal has coloured his attitude-and although I was nervous for him when he started to travel alone-I encouraged him, make sure he knew how to check times and alternative routes online on his mobile . Things sometimes go wrong -but that's where a mobile comes in-The daftest was I got off a plane in America and my son phoned me to say he'd forgotten the way from the station to where he was staying whilst I was away (quite why he rang me and not them was a mystery ) A quick call to get him picked up sorted it out -and had he not been able to raise me he'd have rung his Dad-or even the friends he was staying with -and he learned the lesson to make sure he knew exactly where he was going in the future -so a good lesson.

I've taught him that travelling is a positive -and we've done some fun things -like when we travelled to Las Vegas on holiday-we've had deliberately long layovers of several hours in New York enroute and hopped on a train into manhattan for a few hours-once just for lunch-and another time for the day -and the Duck tour in New York was one of the highlights of the trip for us both. Last year I did a solo whistlestop week in the US and Canada -10 flights in 8 days visiting friends and attending shows in various cities with them -Had I been raised that public transport was scary and that travelling alone was dangerous or risky-we'd never have done any of these things and missed out on a lot. I'm grateful my parents raised me to appreciate new places and how to travel sensibly and safely-and it all started with those childhood trips to London as a child. My son's disability means for him it isn't as easy as most young people his age-but he has learned and benefits from it -if he can -then anyone can and I'm shocked at some of the negativity of some posters.
He's going to have enough problems forging a career with the current economic climate and his disability -at least I know he won't be rejecting opertunities because he has to travel on a train to a job or a college !

Humphrey10

duchy wrote: »

Would I sound an awful snob if I said that on long distance routes you often get a less desirable passenger on coaches as they are cheaper than trains ?

True.

duchy wrote: »

-and the Duck tour in New York was one of the highlights of the trip for us both.

They do those in London too, great fun.

Tiddlywinks

AllyS wrote: »

DD would have no problems speaking to staff member, pulling emergency cord if she thought there was a threat, very sensible girl, probably more sensible than me sometimes!

Good luck with finding a guard on a Friday afternoon SW train - carriages are usually heaving and just walking through one carriage can take 5 minutes - a fact to consider also if the kids need to get to the loo. If one goes alone to the loo then they will have to deal with the crush on their own but if they both go then they won't have seats to come back to - commuters will just fill the gap in the seats that they leave beind.

There aren't normal emergency cords either - they are break-glass types and not easily accessible from the seats.

aliasojo wrote: »

Especially when it comes to kids, just n case they themselves get accused of all sorts.

Recent studies of just this scenario have shown that members of the public are increasingly too scared to help a child for fear of being accused of being up to no good. There was a TV show which illustrated this brilliantly (last year I think) - they put a crying child who was obviously alone into a shopping mall - the vast majority of shoppers noticed the child but went out of their way to avoid contact. When questioned by the presenter, they cited a fear of being accused of trying to abduct the child as the reason they did not offer help.

duchy wrote: »

Friday afternoons are always insane on trains both in and out of London

Yep, Friday afternoons and evenings are the worst at stations - it's every man for himself. People stand looking up at the departures board and then sprint to the platform when it is announced - they don't really look down and so anyone smaller can sometimes get knocked in the rush.

aliasojo

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Recent studies of just this scenario have shown that members of the public are increasingly too scared to help a child for fear of being accused of being up to no good. There was a TV show which illustrated this brilliantly (last year I think) - they put a crying child who was obviously alone into a shopping mall - the vast majority of shoppers noticed the child but went out of their way to avoid contact. When questioned by the presenter, they cited a fear of being accused of trying to abduct the child as the reason they did not offer help.

I remember watching that. I was amazed at the sheer amount of people who did nothing.