Once upon a time - not so very long ago - there was a small town in Holland with a small railway station. The Netherlands is very well-connected by rail, but this also means that each and every little station does not necessarily have as much traffic as the most crowded and intensive stations in the cities. Because of this, the station master - cum ticket seller in such stations was often the only person permanently employed there, and this was also true of this particular small town.
 
The station master/ticket seller/information provider in this small railway station thus was a person whose job was not so demanding that she or he could not spare the time for a quick chat with customers, or spend some time providing information in detail, or just smile. And many travellers found this to be one of the nicer parts of the journey, simply because of the extra human contact, the friendly exchange of greetings, the possibility of engaging with a known and trusted face.
 
But the Netherlands, like so many other Europeans countries then went through a phase of deciding that its public sector - of which the railways was a part - was too large, that it employed too many people, and that the most efficient way of cutting costs was to get rid of certain jobs, especially those that could be "efficiently" replaced by machines. Thus the friendly ticket seller found that he was no longer needed, since tickets were most easily and cheaply sold by clever, if ugly, machines that could also give the necessary change for money and provide programmed information.
 
This meant that there was now no one permanently present at the little railway station, which in the off-peak hours began to wear a deserted and desolate look. Meanwhile, other people in the society were losing their jobs, as the same attitude permeated decisions of both public and private employers, and the young found it more and more difficult to get jobs. Gangs of unemployed youths roaming the streets became a more frequent sight, and one of the places they found convenient to congregate in was the deserted railway station, which also became a home for the more derelict.
 
This made the users of the little railway station feel very unsafe indeed, especially in the times of day when there were few passengers. People using the services at these times occasionally faced some minor incidents, but more importantly the sense of insecurity made the public demand for better control and law and order more vociferous. So the railways put up signboards stating what people can and cannot do at railway stations, but of course such unfriendly commandments are not only not enforceable, but actually egg on some to do things they otherwise would not. Most seriously there was recently an incident of "meaningless violence" when some teenagers vandalising bicycles at the station ended up killing a passenger who tried to stop them.
 
There is, therefore, now a feeling that the law and order situation is so serious that more policing is required. The government which recognises the social pressure for tighter security is, however, also toying with more "innovative" ideas. Already, in schools private security firms have been employed to maintain discipline, following "rationalisation" of teacher numbers and the resulting higher student-teacher ratios. It is, therefore, very likely that the railways may engage the services of private security firms to place guards on duty at this and other stations, with strict instructions to monitor all the activities and enforce the commandments.
 
The job of the guard at the station will be difficult and potentially dangerous, and he will also be under constant pressure because his job will not be on a permanent contract and any slip can mean that that security firm which has hired him simply throws him out. It would not be surprising, therefore, if his demeanour is severe and unfriendly, and that seeing him hardly makes people feel more cheerful and positive. Thus, in addition to the ticket machine, our station seems destined to once again have a person continuously present at the railway station. But, instead of the relaxed and friendly station master cum ticket seller, people are now reconciled to be confronted by a tense and hostile armed guard whenever they go to the station.