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PINZA NEWS AGENCY
London 23 June 2000
John Prescott today hailed the success of his Traction Image Summit. The Summit followed a reasearch study by the Psychology Department of the University of Welwyn Viaduct which showed that many rail travellers suffered a reduction in self worth and feelings of deprivation as a result of the cover photo policy of the railway press.
Prescott said 'Editors of railway magazines only put pictures of shiny new traction and rolling stock on the covers to try and sell their magazines. Imagine how people must feel if their daily train is Mk 1 stock or a Pacer when they see these ideal images of trains they can only aspire to. Freight customers also suffer when they get a Class 37 or 56 instead of the Class 66s the magazines prefer'.
As a result of the summit the railway editors have agreed a voluntary code of practice under which the average age of equipment shown on the cover of each magazine over the year must equal the average age of the UK traction and rolling stock fleet.
A spokesman for Modern Railways said 'We have calculated that with the prototype Deltic now 45 years old, featuring it on the cover twice a year will enable us to use photographs of brand new equipment on the other 10 issues and still meet the average age requirement of the code. We are also holding a rare colour photo of 10000/10001 in reserve, he added'.
Exemptions will be granted to Rail Express and Traction with the average age of cover photos being that of the surviving Modernisation Plan equipment.
ENDS
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