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As a Guard I wish to say something, hopefully without meaning any offence
Rail Warrants are only valid between the the two points stated on the warrant therefore the only ticket which can be issuied is the journey stated or the full fare paid. Now personally in this case I would call our Retail Control for permission to accept the warrants or advise them to go to the ticket office at their destination station. To call for the Guard to be sacked without hearing both sides of the story is a bit harsh. I also disagree with EMT publically stating that they have instructed staff to use discretion as this could cause staff more problems as many people think us using discretion is to allow everything and anything to go.
Am I a bad guard for asking a lad (with no proof he was HMF) to leave my train because he had a HMF Railcard ticket but no railcard and who refused to pay the appropiate fare as stated in publicity, conditions of carriage and Ticket Examiners handbook became he became very threatning and abusive leaving me concerned of my own safety?
At the end of the day the EMT guard made a decision which maybe was the wrong one but the matter will be sorted out internally. We also do not know the full story, just the press version and EMT's reaction to a complaint/bad publicity.
Our Lads in the Army do a bloody good job in Afghanistan and they have my respect for dedicating themselves for our nation.
Our Collegues on the railway do a bloody good job, and we have some very difficult decisions to make. If a mistake or bad decision is made there are ways and means of complaints, disputes etc etc can be sorted out .
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