Politics

Grant Shapps 'drove a train' and it has to be seen to be believed

Grant Shapps 'drove a train' and it has to be seen to be believed
Transport secretary Grant Shapps 'drives train' in promotional video
Department for Transport/YouTube

After commuters had to endure a week of travel disruption due to train strikes, you’d hope the UK’s transport secretary Grant Shapps is getting to work to ensure rail staff receive better pay and no further industrial action is taken.

Of course, Mr Shapps would rather drive a train and make another promotional video for the Department for Transport’s social media channels - but we can dream, right?

Sharing the video to Twitter, the Hertfordshire MP wrote: “As union bosses waste time touring television studios, I’m getting on with the job at hand and modernising our railway.

“This £1bn investment will replace outdated Victorian infrastructure with cutting edge digital signalling on the East Coast Main Line.”

The minute-long clip begins with Mr Shapps pulling a lever in a train simulator to get it moving forward, before explaining the “outdated” signalling system which splits tracks into sections and only allows “just one train, in any one section, at any one time”.

“If a train has to slow down or stop, it quickly creates knock-on delays right down the line.”

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Detailing the new system, Mr Shapps said drivers on the East Coast Main Line will instead have a screen in their cab updating them with the latest information.

“All of which signals a very bright future for Britain’s railways,” concludes the transport secretary, before going back to pulling levers and pushing buttons to make it look like he’s actually doing something.

Needless to say Twitter wasn’t very impressed with the Department for Transport’s latest promotional video:



And we regret to inform you that this isn’t the first time that Mr Shapps has been the star of a bizarre video to promote a policy from his department or some travel upgrade.

Just last month, the transport secretary released an unusual clip of him sporting some sunglasses, all to encourage people to buy discounted rail tickets through the ‘Great British Rail Sale’.

Hopefully with this latest video about rail signalling, he’ll soon signal his departure from the cabinet. We can dream.

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