A British rail operator who asked a group of high-profile musicians to pay more than £100 for a ”seat” for their cellos has apologised for any inconvenience caused, but insisted it cannot carry bulky items for free.
”When the ticket inspector saw the cellos, he got very angry and said he would throw us all of the train if they were not moved,” reported Tobias van der Pals, a student at London’s Royal Academy of Music.
”When he rang the police and said, ‘There is an incident with some cellos,’ everyone in the carriage just laughed. All the other passengers were very supportive and gave us their email addresses so that they would be witnesses if we were ordered off,” he told the Daily Mail.
The ticket inspector on a rail link between western Britain and London backed down after a woman cellist in the group of seven players said she would stand to allow a cello to ”have her seat”.
The party, which was on the way back from a music seminar, said the train was half empty and the seven cellos, worth up to £50 000, could not be left out of sight.
”While we apologise for any inconvenience that occurred, and will investigate the event, the fact is that under the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, no group with bulky luggage, especially large items like cellos, should expect to receive seat space or free seating for their instruments,” said a spokesperson for the First Great Western rail company. — Sapa-dpa