There can be few PR professionals who have not spared a thought for
Railtrack corporate affairs director Philip Dewhurst this week, and
breathed a sigh of relief that they are not standing in his shoes.
The finger of blame has been pointed at Railtrack by the media, despite
the fact that whatever problems may lurk elsewhere in the network, on
this occasion, the company appears to be guilty of little more than
letting a train, operated by another company, run through its working
signal system.
This is in no way to belittle the scale of this tragedy. It is an
appalling, senseless waste of life - made all the more difficult to
stomach by the fact that it was preventable, at a price. But the sheer
fury of public emotion, fanned by the media, has led to a level of
demonisation that makes Dewhurst’s task next to impossible.
Any proactive attempts to defend Railtrack will undoubtedly be seen as
heartless by the media, and labelled as wanton PR trickery and
self-promotion?
Thames Trains’ decision to hire an agency to handle its ’crisis public
affairs’ could also well lead to criticism regarding allocation of
funds.
While in fact, the decision to hire the consultancy is motivated by a
desire to improve lines of communication between the rail industry and
Government during the inquiry. A move that is likely to benefit
commuters in the future.
In such highly charged circumstances any proactive stance or any
statement made is in danger of being seen as inappropriate, yet if the
company were to refrain from commenting, the silence could construed as
callous indifference to the suffering of its customers and the concerns
of the public at large.
To make the task even more impossible, while Dewhurst now faces the
challenge of finding a way to convey Railtrack’s sympathy in an
appropriate fashion, at the end of the day he also has a responsibility
to protect the reputation of the company and its share price. Railtrack
cannot cannot simply throw up its arms in a fit of remorse, accept all
responsibility for the tragedy, and effectively agree to cease
trading.
So is there a solution? There is no magic panacea, but one thing is
clear.
Apportioning blame will only serve to further undermine the reputation
of the entire industry. The rail wars have already badly damaged the
confidence of commuters, and the perception of any further fragmentation
will effectively scupper any Government plans to move commuters from
road to rail. It is a seemingly impossible balancing act and one which
will require an extraordinarily intelligent reading of the climate of
public emotion.
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