Rail firm bans gardening gran from platform over health and safety concerns

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The Express

A GRANDMOTHER has been told she can no longer maintain a garden at a railway station on health and safety grounds.

Val Houghton, 72, has hit out at Northern Railway after spending three years, and around £2,000, maintaining blooms on the platform.

Commuters have previously heaped praise on the “bright and cheerful” patch which lies by the Wigan to Manchester railway line.

But now Val is facing heartbreak as rail officials have ordered her to halt work because she is dangerously close to the track line – despite previously giving her permission.

[continues]

[broadgage]

Although it sounds mean spirited, the picture suggests that all or most of the garden is the "wrong" side of the notice denoting the end of the public area of the platform.
That part of the garden on the platform ramp is probably reasonably safe, after all the gardener is not in fact any closer to the line than is a passenger on the permitted level part of the platform.

The gardened area furthest from the camera looks rather risky to me with very limited clearance to the running line.

I find the reported reliance on being told the time of the next train to be rather worrying ! This can easily give a false sense of security as it would not include ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock), engineering, or freight trains, of which there might be very few, but one is enough if an accident results.

[dviner]

The 24 comments on the article all skip over the fact that there is a sign present in two of the photographs stating that passengers should not pass the sign, and all of the garden is past the sign - so any work on it would be trespassing...

That aside - the piece of the garden at the bottom of the ramp has its outer edge aligned with the platform edge. So, working on it would require either standing on the edge of the built-up sides, or standing on the ballast.

[RobT]

The 24 comments on the article all skip over the fact that there is a sign present in two of the photographs stating that passengers should not pass the sign, and all of the garden is past the sign - so any work on it would be trespassing...

That aside - the piece of the garden at the bottom of the ramp has its outer edge aligned with the platform edge. So, working on it would require either standing on the edge of the built-up sides, or standing on the ballast.

But she's not a passenger, she's a gardener! 
Apart from that I agree with your comments.

[onthecushions]

The TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) could pay for her PTS^▸ (Personal Track Safety) course and issue her with high vis gear to protect her nice outfit.

She certainly should not be gardening outside of the ramp without fencing or a lookout.

The Railway usually knows best.

OTC

[Tim]

whilst you may or may not choose to question HOW this has been handled.  The TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) certainly did need to put a stop to her doing what she was doing in the way she was doing it for safety.  The far and away most important bit of this situation was handled correctly.