, had a range of staff to consult, from station masters to deputy station masters, assistant station masters and, yes, porters. But over the years more and more railway stations have been stripped of personnel or designated as unmanned, transformed into lonely, forbidding places, particularly at night, and especially for the elderly, infirm and those travelling alone. This process is set to accelerate as the government cuts its subsidy to the rail industry, which ballooned during the pandemic, prompting Rishi Sunak, as chancellor, to bemoan the £700 million of taxpayer 'revenue support' spent each month in order to ship 'fresh){kind=link}
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Once, train passengers originally bound for Birmingham but mistakenly heading for Crewe, like the unfortunate young woman in the Will Hay comedy Oh, Mr Porter! (1937), had a range of staff to consult, from station masters to deputy station masters, assistant station masters and, yes, porters. But over the years more and more railway stations have been stripped of personnel or designated as unmanned, transformed into lonely, forbidding places, particularly at night, and especially for the elderly, infirm and those travelling alone.
This process is set to accelerate as the government cuts its subsidy to the rail industry, which ballooned during the pandemic, prompting Rishi Sunak, as chancellor, to bemoan the £700 million of taxpayer “revenue support” spent each month in order to ship “fresh
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