Face masks on trains – is this what they meant?

15 June 2020 was the day that the wearing of face coverings became mandatory on trains in England, as well as on other forms of public transport.

But it seems that, in some places, the new rules didn’t just apply to passengers and train crew, but also to the trains themselves. Or perhaps the instruction went out “you need face coverings on trains” and it was just a misunderstanding?

To publicise the face that face masks were now compulsory, several train operators added them to their train fleets…

GWR went for a stylish design in orange vinyl on one of its bi-mode trains, though it was a bit of a problem to fit properly.

Avanti West Coast also took the vinyl approach, but in yellow, on a couple of its Pendolino trains

while drivers had colour-coordinated masks of their own.

Transpennine Express decided to stick with a cloth-based face mask, and, although the crew also had some trouble fitting it…

…they got there in the end!