The London North Eastern Railway released an apology to a non-binary passenger after a conductor included “ladies and gentleman” in a train announcement.
While commuting on the LNER, Laurence Coles, a train guard and LGBTQ+ rep for the RMT union, became uncomfortable after the conductor used the gender-exclusive phrase.
Taking to Twitter, Coles expressed their disappointment for the employee’s language.
“‘Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls…. So as a non-binary person, this announcement doesn’t actually apply to me so I won’t listen,” they tweeted.
Charlotte Monroe, a friend of Coles, was also present at the time of the incident and tweeted their disappointment to LNER as well.
TRAINS: GWR trains shown to have cracks have been allowed back on the network GREAT Western Railway (GWR) trains, that were taken out of service after cracks were found, have gone back into use after tests found there were no safety risks. Dozens of the high-speed Hitachi Class 800 trains trains, used by GWR and London North Eastern Railway, were taken out of service causing major delays in areas such as the North East and South West. GWR also took the trains out of use on the route between Hereford and London Paddington, with passengers using a revised timetable or alternatives such as West Midlands Railway services between Birmingham New Street and Worcester.
A government-run British train company has issued an apology after one of its conductors used the phrase ‘ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls’ during an announcement, causing a passenger identifying as ‘non-binary’ to take offence and make a complaint.
The passenger, who happens to be a ‘LGBT rep’ for the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, immediately took to Twitter to whine about the ‘incident’.
The company, London North Eastern Railway, immediately apologised and said
“Train Managers should not be using language like this.”
A train company has apologised following a complaint from a non-binary passenger after the conductor greeted customers by saying good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. pic.twitter.com/E1kmtmMh56
Hitachi’s UK express trains pressed back into service after more cracks discovered
Hitachi’s Class 800 high-speed Intercity Express Trains (IETs) are being returned to service less than a week after engineers identified cracks in the chassis during routine maintenance work at North Pole depot in London.
Faults were discovered in 150 of the Class 800 vehicles, but yesterday Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris announced the trains would re-enter service. He claimed ongoing “safety tests” would ensure the return of “reliable and punctual services” on the Great Western Railway and London North Eastern Railway (LNER).
A GWR Class 800 Azuma train at Castle Cary on the Exeter St Davids-London Paddington service (credit: Wikimedia Commons)