Strangers Power Hungry Cretins On A Train...

Tom Shaw was told by security officers that what he was writing was ‘suspicious’ and despite his protests he was asked to leave the train.

Oh. What was he writing? Surely not a 'Take me to Cuba!' note, I don't think they have the franchise for that, do they?

No, it was a playlist:

Once on the platform Shaw showed the officers his list, which included the name of the best-selling American rock band as well as the Oasis song Cigarettes and Alcohol (Ed: Yeah, that probably didn't help..) and Shut Up and Let Me Go by British band the Ting Tings.

After giving explaining to them why he had written Killers, the officers let the 25-year-old bassist go.

Whew! Thank god he didn't want to include something by The Grateful Dead or Poison, or he could still be standing on a station platform somewhere, explaining himself to some semi-trained cretin with a shoe size bigger than he and his colleague's IQ put together...

SWT said that the two mouth-breathers had now been dismissed from the company, and in recompense, Tom would get free travel on their trains for the rest of his life, adding 'Please god, don't sue us, we're in enough trouble already..'

Ha, only kidding:

A spokesperson for South West Trains said: ‘We employ highly-professional rail community officers who work closely with the British Transport Police in protecting the security of passengers on the rail network.

‘During a routine high-visibility patrol, they spoke with a passenger on the platform at Fareham station.

‘The team clarified the nature of the individual's business, were satisfied with his explanation and the man went on his way.

‘We would like to thank him for his co-operation and understanding of the need to be vigilant in the current environment.’

Note the third paragraph - uniformed goons can now stop you, force you off the train, question you about your plans, and decide whether your explanation 'satisfies them' or not.

And they can do this if you have a ticket, are sober, are just minding your own business and not causing any trouble.

And some weaselly PR flack will trot out the old 'Just doing our jobs keeping the railways safe from terrorists' line and everyone goes 'Oh, OK then'....