Naked train drivers

There's a headline you don't see every day.

Midland Mainline has sacked a driver for taking a nude photograph of himself in his own cab. According to the Sun:

Maniac train drivers have been stripping off at 125mph in a crazy game of “dare”.

Furious bosses called in police after one idiot used his mobile to take a naked photo of himself as his express sped between Sheffield and London’s St Pancras.

He sent the snap to a stunned office girl at rail company Midland Mainline — where shocked staff alerted chiefs. The driver was sacked.

But last night five others were said to have been involved in the stunts — in which they would “flash” colleagues at the controls of oncoming trains.

It happens that I commute on Midland Mainline every day. I have to say that the company's performance has been much improved in recent months. Is that just a coincidence?

Could it be that drivers are now keen to get back to the depot and get dressed, with the result that the trains run on time? Or could it be that they feel more vulnerable when they are naked and are therefore less likely to go past a red signal?

According to the BBC report:

A spokeswoman for the train drivers' union Aslef said no one was available for comment.

I am not altogether surprised.

Meanwhile, if your little boy expresses the ambition to be a train driver, seek immediate professional help.