Yesterday I was travelling in a group back from Jersey to Gatwick and we missed the flight. We literally missed the doors closing by five seconds which meant we had to wait another 2.5 hours for the next flight home.

When you miss a flight (and it's the first time I've done so) you start asking 'where could I have made up the time'? Now admittedly we were cutting it fine but what really thwarted us or rather me was getting through security. I'd already checked-in online and printed off my boarding pass so the only thing I needed to do was get through security (maybe I was lulled into a false sense of time hence the cutting it fine bit). Anyway the queue for security was long and slow, for Jersey, and as I was carrying a laptop, cables and general work paraphernalia I was pulled aside and everything had to come out to be checked. This wasn't the first time I've been pulled aside at airport security carrying the same bag and contents; having it done at Belfast where they swab everything for explosive residue was much more unnerving (not that I had anything to worry about but you get niggling thoughts). However it took just long enough for us to miss the flight.

After pointlessly pleading with the gate staff to let us on the plane we were escorted back to the unsecure part of the airport and 2.5 hours later we had to go through security again. Yet again the bag had to be searched and contents examined. It was almost comical this time. Second time around we'd left plenty of time and did make the flight.

Now even though I was a bit miffed about all the security time-wasting I understand the necessity of it (one wonders if there's another way though). What does strike me as ludicrous is that there have been reports in the media recently that they're thinking of bringing the same style of security into mainline railway stations. Please don't, it'll cause chaos and there's no way to realistically cover all the entry points to the rail network. In my mind it would be a colossal waste of money.

My regular station, Waterloo, handles more people a day than Heathrow. I just can't imagine scanning even a small percentage of Waterloo's commuters; it would be a commuter's nightmare. As a regular commuter I try and make my journey as hassle free as possible. For example, I recently switched back from an Oyster card to a paper one because they are fractionally quicker in the rush hour when you come across Revenue Protection Officers (what was wrong with 'Ticket Inspector'?) as I do daily; they can read the front of the paper ticket as opposed to using a relatively slow hand-held device to scan them.

Airport-style security in railway stations would be the commuter's equivalent of the congestion charge. It would invariably deter people from using trains. In fact my extra-cynical side thinks the regular train commuter would end up paying more for it if it was introduced.

PS Am thinking I should rename this blog or add a new topic 'Rants about Waterloo/Commuting'.