An occasional writer's journal

Trainspotters are falling foul of new laws controlling the taking of photographs of potential terrorism targets such as railway stations.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000 has been used to stop a staggering 62,584 people at Britain’s railway stations and another 87,000 have been questioned under separate “stop and search” and “stop and account” legislation.

An image of trainspotting in gentler times

The term “trainspotting” has become associated with the movie of the same name by Danny Boyle, based on Irvine Welsh’s novel about young heroin junkies in Scotland, but the actual hobby of observing trains has been one of the more eccentric aspects of youth culture since the glory years of British steam railways.

Norman Baker, transport spokesman for opposition party the Liberal Democrats, warned that Britain was sliding toward a “police state”, writes James Slack of the Mail.

Baker told the newspaper, “While it is important to be vigilant about the threat of terrorism to the transport network, the sheer scale of the number of people stopped by police on railway property is ridiculous.

‘The anti-terror laws allow officers to stop people for taking photographs and I know this has led to innocent trainspotters being stopped. This is an abuse of anti-terrorism powers and a worrying sign that we are sliding towards a police state.”

Wider concern has been voiced that Section 44 of the Act has been used to stifle a number of legitimate protests against the Government. In 2005, 82-year-old Walter Wolfgang fell foul of the new law while staging an anti-war protest during the Labour Party conference.

In a letter to Baker, Chief Constable Ian Johnston said guidance to police officers had been reissued in light of the concerns of some railway enthusiasts. National Rail also advises enthusiasts to inform railway station staff of their presence.

Paradoxically, the public and press alike has poked fun at trainspotters as misfits for their obsessive interest in railways. It is a sad aspect of British life that the bullies usually target the most visible of subcultures, in this case the groups of spotters huddled at the ends of platforms with flasks of tea, lunchboxes and log books stuffed into the pockets of their anoraks.

“Anorak bashing” aside, it is becoming unwise to take photographs in any UK location that might be considered a terrorist target. Last year, a couple were banned from a shopping centre after being seen taking photos of their grandchildren.

They were thrown out of the centre after they took out a camera to capture the look on the youngsters’ faces when they turned up unexpectedly after a special journey from their home in Spain. They were considered a threat to security by staff, but later invited back to the centre and told there had been a misunderstanding.

It is more likely that a person speaking on a camera phone is up to no good than somebody photographing rolling stock at the end of a station platform. However, last October the Mail reported how a 15-year-old boy in school uniform was even held as a terror suspect for taking photographs of a station during a school geography field trip.

(Thanks to the Los Angeles Times for these transatlantic definitions of “trainspotter” – railfan, crank, gunzel)