Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Jamie Gillies: Ugly situations on public transport should make Scots ashamed

Sexual assaults reported by women on Scotland's trains have hit a decade high Photo: Tana888/Shutterstock.
Sexual assaults reported by women on Scotland's trains have hit a decade high Photo: Tana888/Shutterstock.

Who among us has not encountered inconsiderate behaviour on a train?

The man who insists on a loud phone call in the quiet coach. The woman tucking into an egg mayonnaise sandwich. The pensioner who has kicked off his shoes and socks.

These behaviours are common, and annoying. We endure them, with a sigh. Sometimes, though, the behaviour of other passengers crosses a line, becoming intolerable.

 

This was my experience recently, on a train bound for Aberdeen from Newcastle. It was, hands down, the worst journey I’ve ever experienced. And it got downright ugly for at least one other passenger making their way up north.

I was returning from the funeral of a friend, feeling tired and low. For an hour and a bit, I’d stared off into the middle distance, the carriage around me calm. All this changed as we pulled into Edinburgh Waverley, where dozens of Dons fans were waiting to board the train home.

An uncomfortable atmosphere

Dandies supporters were in good spirits that day. They’d secured a one-all draw at Easter Road. I’m an Aberdeen fan myself, and was pleased with the result. These supporters were enjoying more than a bit of light celebration, though.

Their chants were deafening and accompanied by stamping and banging on windows. Their language was also extremely coarse. It was just 7pm.

Empty Tennent's glass on the bar top.
Drinking alcohol is not currently allowed on ScotRail trains, but that doesn’t mean passengers can’t drink before boarding. Photo by Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

I soon sensed the family sitting behind me becoming uncomfortable. A mum and dad and two girls, surrounded by a sea of louts clutching tins of lager, shouting at the top of their lungs.

An older lady sitting in front of me looked worried, too. She made a move to leave her seat but was hemmed in by fans. She’d have to weather this storm.

At this stage, I was feeling frustrated but resigned. I’d encountered roch behaviour on trains before. I was raised in Scotland, after all.

You learn to keep your head down and gaze intently out of the window. Expressing an opinion, even turning your head round, can result in a rollicking at best, and a black eye at worst.

Xenophobia and sectarian chants

Shouting and swearing wasn’t to be the worst of it, unfortunately. A young woman with an Eastern European accent joined the train at Haymarket and deposited herself further up the carriage, near the loudest group of fans.

I asked the police officers what they were planning to do about the fans. Turf them off? ‘Nothing we can do,’ they replied with a shrug. ‘There are six carriages of them and two of us’

After a while, I heard a commotion and she came marching past, off to sit somewhere else. Her face was a picture.

As she went, one of the football fans shouted after her: “F****** go home.” This xenophobia was, apparently, hilarious. The chants started up again with aplomb: louder, angrier, and, this time, sectarian and sexually explicit.

Should British Transport Police do more in the case of rowdy sports fans on trains? Photo by John Gomez/Shutterstock

By then, the train guards were aware of the situation. I suspect the young woman had, rightly, reported the odious atmosphere in our carriage.

We stopped for a few minutes and, at the next station, two British Transport Police officers boarded and began making passes through the train. I got up to use the loo and encountered the officers in the vestibule area.

I asked them what they were planning to do about the fans. Turf them off? “Nothing we can do,” they replied with a shrug. “There are six carriages of them and two of us.”

ScotRail, police, politicians and sports clubs must do more

Leaving the train a few stations short of Aberdeen, I was weary. My head was banging after two long hours filled with shouting, stamping and obscenities.

I was angry on behalf of the girl who had encountered xenophobia, and ashamed she had encountered it in my part of the world. I’m not sure where she was from. Perhaps she’d been away and was coming home to Aberdeen.

It occurred to me that she may be Ukrainian, newly arrived in Scotland. What a disgraceful welcome for her to experience if this was the case.

ScotRail trains between Edinburgh and Fife
Everyone has the right to use public transport safely and without feeling intimidated. Photo by Kris Miller/DC Thomson

Idiocy on trains is not something new to me, nor, I’d imagine, many others in Scotland. I’ve seen episodes like this time and again in different places, though not quite as bad.

In one sense, it’s inevitable. We have a drinking culture and football hooliganism. It’s bound to spill over onto public transport as fans move around.

The question is: are we managing the situation well? My experience suggests not.

Why wasn’t there a proper police presence on a match-day train? Why were loud, drunk, and abusive fans allowed to continue their journey for hours? Could Aberdeen and Hibs football clubs have done more to prevent this?

If one thing is clear, it’s that the people of Scotland deserve better than train journeys full of off-the-rails sports fans. I hope train companies, the police, clubs, and politicians can do more to tackle this ugly situation.


Jamie Gillies is a commentator based in the north-east of Scotland

Conversation