RAILWAY TRAVEL
Snt,—When writing to you the letter which you were good enough to publish in the Spectator of March 11th, I also addressed another letter to British Railways, sending it this time, not to the Public Relations Officer, but to the Commercial Superintendent of the Southern Division. I hasten to inform you that, almost by return of post, I received a most
courteous reply offering investigation. (It did not, however, clarify my original point: "Are railway servants allowed to use first-class accom- modation when other is available ? ")
Your correspondent, Mr. Corbett, suggests that I approached the authorities on a matter not completely under their control. As far as the boorishness of the " bolshy " lad is concerned, I fully agree that it is symptomatic of a state of affairs for which all of us must accept a share of responsibility ; but if British Railways have no control over the behaviour of personnel and their attitude to complaints (e.g., the travelling ticket-inspector), as Mr. Corbett suggests, it is surely a condemnation of the whole administration. The career of an employee who spoke thus to even an unimportant customer would be short in any business concern. It is intolerable that it should be otherwise in a State-administered service, in which the customer not only pays for what he buys, but also has to foot the bill when the enterprise runs at a loss. I would only add that I resorted to letter-writing merely because my sex debarred me from the direct action which, assault or no assault, I should much have preferred.— Yours faithfully, A. A. MOWAT. Lillesden School, Hawkhurst, Kent.
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