The Times newspaper has chided Southern for its decision to scrap the trolley service from all trains from Sunday (26 July).
The newspaper devoted one of its famous leading article opinion pieces to the subject today (Friday 24 July).
It described the decision as “Trolley folly” adding: “Say it ain’t so, Southern. Bring back the trolleys.”
Southern said: “The popularity of station coffee shops and food outlets has steadily increased as we have invested in and developed our stations over the past few years with the majority of passengers opting to purchase food and drinks before they board their train.
“The number of customers who want to use the on-board trolley service tells us that this is no longer our customers’ preferred service and so our current on-board trolley service will end on (Sunday) 26 July when Southern Railway joins the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise.”
The story, which has attracted widespread media attention, also features in the news section under the headline: “Southern regrets to inform you that there is no trolley service, ever again.”
The Times earned its Thunderer nickname as a result of its opinionated leading articles but today’s final leader was largely a nostalgic paean of praise to the trolley.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union was less lyrical and found the decision much harder to digest.
It pointed out that scrapping the trolley service would cost 70 people their jobs and described the decision as disgraceful.
Southern are unlikely to pay a great deal of attention to anyone and will continue regardless of other views with their intended plans.
In reality, there are generally few visible staff members on board Southern trains so the loss of the trolley boys and girls will essentially remove any human presence that represents Southern.