DD13's Solo Train Journey

[EThreepwood]

What age did you let your children go on a long distance train journey alone?

DD13 wants to go visit her grandparents by train. It'll be about 2.5 hours with no changes.
I'll drop her off and they will pick her up.

I'm just wondering if it'll be safe for her?
She's savvy, she goes for walks alone and to different cities on the train with friends.
But she's half Asian and the riots have been worrying me recently.
Also men have been trying to feel her up while I have been with her since she was 10. I don't think they realised I was her mother. So being alone in a compact space is worrying me too.

What do you all think?

Dd did a journey if about the same length last month, having just turned 14. She was put on at one end and collected at other and once she had her headphones and a spare power banknshe was happy to do it. She's never experienced the kind of unpleasant behaviour from men like your dd has though so I'd be much more wary in your circumstances.

Hmmm its a tricky one I think, given the current situation and the fact that your poor DD has been assaulted and creeped on by disgusting men I'm so sorry she has been subjected to that kind of behaviour.

On the other hand if she is a sensible girl, there are no changes, GPs are meeting her off the train, then she will most likely be fine. Can you reserve her a seat in a quiet carriage / they are motly filled with folk working on their laptops and less likely to have a load of lairy, half drunk 'lads' in them. Also get her to text you every half hour or so to set your mind at rest.

As a story that will either reassure or horrify you, when my sister was 6 and I was 3, my mother put us on a train to London to stay with my aunt (a 3 and a half hour journey) , my sister was instructed to 'look after your sister', and we at in the guards van on our suitcase, the guard having been asked to 'keep an eye' on us. But I'm old - that kind of thing happened then (or at least it did in my family!) Anyway we survived, only slightly mentally scarred.

It's a no from me.

Could you go part way and gp join her on the train at that point? If she gets unwanted attention when you are there how confident is she likely to be when alone? I'm not sure would be prepared to risk it.

I think my main worry would be if the train gets delayed or diverted. You could follow her train online and ring her every so often.
Earphones (or even a large off-putting book) are a fairly good defence against annoying men.