THE Mid-Hants Railway is facing a £9,000 bill this month – the cost of trying to resolve the problem of potentially dangerous missiles being hurled onto the track from an overhead bridge. It is a substantial and unwarranted cost for the preserved steam line and one foisted on it by vandals intent on causing damage and mayhem. But, while support has been forthcoming from Hampshire Highways, it seems as though Sainsbury's – whose supermarket trolleys are part of the problem – is not prepared to help. The Mid-Hants Railway has already had to pick up hefty costs in terms of damage done to rolling stock and equipment by rubbish on the line, but the real fear is that if thrown at a passing train, an on- target missile could prove fatal. This fear has led to the decision to install railings along both sides of the parapet. According to Mid-Hants Railway plc managing director Colin Chambers, the problem began more than two years ago with people throwing debris from the bridge in Mount Pleasant Road, Alton. And it has become progressively worse. The first major incident happened in June 2005 when a steam locomotive, bound for the main line at Alton, rammed into a supermarket trolley, damaging expensive electronic equipment. Any train working the main line now has to be fitted with a TPWS (Train Protection Warning System), which fits under the front wheels and tells the driver what the signals ahead are saying. The trolley, which had been lobbed onto the line from Mount Pleasant bridge, wiped out the TPWS aerials, causing around £400 of damage. The railway has also had to fork out another £300 for a cage to protect sensitive signalling equipment from flying objects. The decision to tackle the problem followed an incident at the end of May last year, when six supermarket trolleys were piled up on the line and reinforced with breeze blocks to make a barrier. "Fortunately, the first train through the following morning was a diesel loco. The driver spotted the blockage and managed to stop in time, but it could have caused a nasty accident," said Mr Chambers, whose great fear is that one day somebody will chuck something off the bridge and hit a passing train. "If the driver has his head out of the window at the time, it could kill him." Railway orgainsers believe part of the problem stems from supermarket trolleys being taken off site and left in car parks overnight. Mischief- makers can remove them and throw them over the bridge. Mr Chambers has been liaising with Hampshire County highways department over what can be done to make the bridge less of a target. The railway's bridges are surveyed on a biannual basis by the department and it has costed up a six foot fence to make the parapet too high to throw things over. Work began recently on a £4,000 project to install the black railings, but was halted this week when drilling and hammering revealed weaknesses in one of the parapet walls. Both walls will need to be repointed and some bricks replaced – resulting in a delay to the work and an additional bill of £5,000. It is a major blow for the railway, particularly in light of the fact that Sainsbury's, whose trolleys are the main objects thrown onto the tracks, declined to assist with the project. In a letter to Mr Chambers, Sainsbury's explains that while the superstore does actively support local charities, it feels it has done enough for the time being in Alton (it has recently paid to dismantle an historic barn and transported it to Chawton House) and would be unable to help in this instance. "What the store has failed to understand is that this is not a charitable donation, but a serious health and safety issue that has been fuelled, in part, by the inability of superstores to secure their shopping trolleys," said Mr Chambers, who is still hoping that Sainsbury's will change its mind. A spokesman for Sainsbury's told The Herald that the Alton store does have CCTV in the car park and operates a trolley recovery service from areas outside its premises. While trolleys can, at the moment, be taken off site, as part of the current store enlargement plan the company is looking at ways of making the trolley fleet more secure. These may include coin-operated trolleys and/or the use of magnetic strips which will lock the wheels and prevent trolleys being taken off site.
