Jobsworth inspector turn passenger off Barcelona-Malaga train over dog carrier

A JOBSWORTH train inspector made a woman travelling with her son and her bull terrier get off a train on the Barcelona-Malaga high-speed rail service because the dog carrier did not fit regulations.

A young man travelling on the train referred to the incident as “one of the greatest injustices I have seen” on social media.

Miguel Galiano used his Twitter feed to describe how events unfolded, allegedly much to the indignation of other passengers.

He said it all kicked off when the woman requested the inspector’s assistance because the dog carrier did not quite fit under a table, asking him if she could put it somewhere else

Galiano pointed out the dog was muzzled and maintained it wasn’t bothering anyone, but that the woman simply wanted to put it in a better place.

But, he claimed, instead of helping the woman the inspector began telling her off because the carrier was not regulation size, informing her she would have to get off at the next station.

Galiano’s account is that the passenger explained she had to catch a flight to Panama, and that if she got off the train she would miss it. At this point other passengers came to her defence, calling on the inspector to have a heart.

“You could see that the inspector did not like it at all that people were on the side of the woman and he became even more stubborn and with very bad manners”, the young man Tweeted.

The woman reportedly could not hold back her tears, while other passengers advised her to contact the Renfe train operator to explain what was happening. When she called Renfe the company allegedly said she was in the right and asked to speak to the inspector.

Galiano’s version of events is that the inspector refused to take the call and threatened to call the police if the woman did not get off the train.

When the train pulled in to the next station Renfe security personnel called in the police to take over. The officers told her that it was the inspector who had the final word in the matter, but offered to do everything they could to ensure she got to her destination.

Galiano claims he spotted the inspector “laughing with his colleagues and slapping himself on the chest.”

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Written by

Cathy Elelman

Cathy Elelman is the local writer for the Costa de Almeria edition of the Euro Weekly News.

Based in Mojacar for the last 21 years, Cathy is very much part of the local community and is always well and truly up on all the latest news and events going on in this region of Spain.

Her top goals are to do the best job she can informing the local English-speaking community, visitors to the area and the wider world about about the news in Almeria, to learn something new every day, and to embrace very new challenge this fast-changing world brings her way.

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