Permit to travel

The 1990s. British Rail was being run down ready for its carving up and selling off to the private sector. And for a group of young Bromley supporters it presented a golden opportunity for discount away travel.

Many of you will remember Connex and the Major government’s sterling efforts to turn much of South London’s rail network into a British version of the New York City subway of the early 80s. The slam door trains on the stopping services were being replaced by the driver-only-operated Networker trains that are still falling to bits and catching fire today, and stations were routinely left unstaffed. For us football-mad, cash-strapped teenagers, this meant that travelling to many away games became effectively free, or to be more precise – cost the princely sum of 5p. You could go miles by suburban train without seeing a single member of railway staff.