scott herbertson Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Typing this from the floor of a mobbed train stuck outside york at 21.36. Started my journey on the direct train from Dunkeld (11.37) and have been so far stuck outside Berwick for three hours (broken down train on the platform), chucked off the train at Newcastle(driver shortage) stuck outside York for 1 hour now and the guard has announced there's a freight train on the platform so we are going to be chucked off and have to get a diesel train too leds and then on to London This after my jourmney up was delayed 1 hour because of a signal failure at Berwick and I missed the last train to Dunkeld and Virgin put me on a taxi all the way from Edinburgh Not a happy bunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWJ Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 I feel your pain... My train is 2 hours late because of all that carry-on at Berwick. Apparently there was over-running work and two broken down trains. Because of all the delays train staff couldn't get to the trains they were supposed to take back up. A bit of a 'perfect storm'. At least it'll be a free trip (delay repay) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewie Griffin Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 That sounds like an absolute nightmare. If I were you I think I'd be looking at flying in future, not with Ryan air obviously Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Now on a train to kings cross and managed to get a seat so Ives cheered up. Usually avoid the Sundays but I had to switch it come back today for a hospital appointment tomorrow - not the ideal stress free journey I had envisaged. Will get into kings cross at midnight prob Surbiton around 1.30am making it a nice 14 hour journey... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Lyon Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Keep your chin up Scott - sounds like a real nightmare! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Thanks guys Was nice just to write it and let off a bit of steam.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Yeah, sounds a nightmare, mate. Posted from my phone. In my bed. Cruel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Keep your chin up Scott - sounds like a real nightmare! Posted from Thomsons Bar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Posted from Thomsons Bar Ha ha A pint of beer - god what I'd give for that now. Stuck in Peterborough now and changing driver...a guy has just managed to escape by more or less threatening the guard...expect further escape moves as w close in on London Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Yeah, sounds a nightmare, mate. Posted from my phone. In my bed. Just spotted that second bit I am projecting train nightmares at you using esp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor FinnBarr Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Wife was lucky then, she got the 11.20 from Waverley to Morpeth and got there at 13.01 instead of 12.31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 Ended up in the queue for a Virgin supplied taxi at Kings cross. I was fortunate enough to be going the same way as two ex servicemen, one using a wheelchair (who were recovering from a mate's wedding in Edinburgh the previous day and had therefore had a double whammy of 7 hour delay on a train with no booze and cracking hangovers) so I got promoted up the 1000 strong taxi queue to just behind people who had children - so got home at 1.45am. Door to door 14 hours 8 minutes from Dunkeld as opposed to the scheduled 7hours plus. Hate to think what that cost Branson - prob all 10 full east coast trains all on full refunds for every passenger, plus a couple of thousand taxis. Our one started with the meter at ?63 (the meters start when the get in the queue to pick up) and by the time it reached Surbiton was ?144, and was going on to Epsom. Other taxi lots in the queue were heading to Ashford, Reading and Portsmouth, and would have been mulch more expensive - certainly another million or so on the Branson bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William H. Bonney Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Ended up in the queue for a Virgin supplied taxi at Kings cross. I was fortunate enough to be going the same way as two ex servicemen, one using a wheelchair (who were recovering from a mate's wedding in Edinburgh the previous day and had therefore had a double whammy of 7 hour delay on a train with no booze and cracking hangovers) so I got promoted up the 1000 strong taxi queue to just behind people who had children - so got home at 1.45am. Door to door 14 hours 8 minutes from Dunkeld as opposed to the scheduled 7hours plus. Hate to think what that cost Branson - prob all 10 full east coast trains all on full refunds for every passenger, plus a couple of thousand taxis. Our one started with the meter at ?63 (the meters start when the get in the queue to pick up) and by the time it reached Surbiton was ?144, and was going on to Epsom. Other taxi lots in the queue were heading to Ashford, Reading and Portsmouth, and would have been mulch more expensive - certainly another million or so on the Branson bill. Probably cost branson sod all seeing how stagecoach own virgin trains east coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronJambo Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Probably cost branson sod all seeing how stagecoach own virgin trains east coast. This, and given that the core cause of it was due to network rails signal failure Stagecoach aren't likely to be down either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Ha ha A pint of beer - god what I'd give for that now. Stuck in Peterborough now and changing driver...a guy has just managed to escape by more or less threatening the guard...expect further escape moves as w close in on London Got there yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_hmfc Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Got there yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 Got there yet? Lol yes at nearly 2am Didn't t realise stagecoach owned it. It was a total mess though. The root cause was a train broken down on a platform et Berwick so would guess it was the franchise owner who picked up the tab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William H. Bonney Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Lol yes at nearly 2am Didn't t realise stagecoach owned it. It was a total mess though. The root cause was a train broken down on a platform et Berwick so would guess it was the franchise owner who picked up the tab Really, branson jut paid for the branding. That weasel brian souttar is in charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilnunb Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Oh joy. More Scotfail bullshit with Edinburgh to Glasgow trains tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo 4 Ever Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Oh joy. More Scotfail bullshit with Edinburgh to Glasgow trains tonight. What happened this time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sooperstar Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Train down to Euston from Edinburgh on Saturday 40 odd minutes late. Train back from Kings Cross today 80 minutes late. Both with Virgin, 50% refund for the first one, full refund for the 2nd. Must cost them an absolute fortune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronJambo Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Train down to Euston from Edinburgh on Saturday 40 odd minutes late. Train back from Kings Cross today 80 minutes late. Both with Virgin, 50% refund for the first one, full refund for the 2nd. Must cost them an absolute fortune. East coast line is killing them. They overpaid after mumping that they weren't awarded it. The irony is hilarious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown user Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 The one where I'm getting chased by Thomas the Tank Engine and the Fat Cuntroller's just laughing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Camazzola Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Train down to Euston from Edinburgh on Saturday 40 odd minutes late. Train back from Kings Cross today 80 minutes late. Both with Virgin, 50% refund for the first one, full refund for the 2nd. Must cost them an absolute fortune. Won't cost them anything. They get big compensation payments from Network Rail. Lots of customers don't claim for delays they are entitled to so a bit pot of funds just slush about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Camazzola Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Won't cost them anything. They get big compensation payments from Network Rail. Lots of customers don't claim for delays they are entitled to so a bit pot of funds just slush about. *big Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilnunb Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 What happened this time? Glasgow Central train cancelled then the 5:20pm Queen Street one was cancelled due to a cracked screen. Then this morning I get back into Haymarket and hear them cancelling another Glasgow Central one. No doubt will be getting another 'best' award though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronJambo Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Won't cost them anything. They get big compensation payments from Network Rail. Lots of customers don't claim for delays they are entitled to so a bit pot of funds just slush about. It's all about the blame game. Network rail will only foot a bill if they can be deemed at fault. Eg: There was a derailment at Paddington a couple of years ago which cost in excess of ?10m after delay minutes and damage to infrastructure. On face value it was the drivers fault as he ran a red signal. The signal was one of two ground position lights though which are always supposed to display the same (they're both red or they're both white). The first one was white and the 2nd one was red, which was irregular and was the reason the driver missed the red. Network rail shared the blame and costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 ^^ Man who knows stuff! Do you think the break of British Rail has created, worsened or left unchanged , or improved the speed of resolving such problems and/ or the 'blame culture'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemclaren Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 ^^ Man who knows stuff! Do you think the break of British Rail has created, worsened or left unchanged , or improved the speed of resolving such problems and/ or the 'blame culture'? How good do you think it was in BR days? Not very by my memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronJambo Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 ^^ Man who knows stuff! Do you think the break of British Rail has created, worsened or left unchanged , or improved the speed of resolving such problems and/ or the 'blame culture'? I'm only guessing here but I think the speed of resolving problems has improved as time=money much more than it used to. The blame culture has probably got worse. If a toc can blame another toc or network rail they will. Then there's departments within the toc that blame others. As in, drivers managers might try to pass it onto the guards managers, who can either accept it, throw it back at them, blame dispatch at a station or blame network rail. At the end of the day, someone gets blamed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Camazzola Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 It's all about the blame game. Network rail will only foot a bill if they can be deemed at fault. Eg: There was a derailment at Paddington a couple of years ago which cost in excess of ?10m after delay minutes and damage to infrastructure. On face value it was the drivers fault as he ran a red signal. The signal was one of two ground position lights though which are always supposed to display the same (they're both red or they're both white). The first one was white and the 2nd one was red, which was irregular and was the reason the driver missed the red. Network rail shared the blame and costs. Yeah. What I meant was that if the train company are to blame, they'll already have a pot of funds from previous NR issues where customers haven't put a claim in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronJambo Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Yeah. What I meant was that if the train company are to blame, they'll already have a pot of funds from previous NR issues where customers haven't put a claim in. I don't really know how it works. If NR pay a fixed ?x per minute for delays or if they pay ?x per minute plus what the toc shells out to customers. The TOCs won't be losing out that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 I'm only guessing here but I think the speed of resolving problems has improved as time=money much more than it used to. The blame culture has probably got worse. If a toc can blame another toc or network rail they will. Then there's departments within the toc that blame others. As in, drivers managers might try to pass it onto the guards managers, who can either accept it, throw it back at them, blame dispatch at a station or blame network rail. At the end of the day, someone gets blamed. thanks One thing I dislike about the current system is the fragmentation of ticket sales. In a hurry last time I booked my ticket from Surbiton to Dunkeld via southern rail - it was a couple of pounds cheaper than virgin. Hadn't realised if you do it that way you have to pay for wifi -?5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronJambo Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 thanks One thing I dislike about the current system is the fragmentation of ticket sales. In a hurry last time I booked my ticket from Surbiton to Dunkeld via southern rail - it was a couple of pounds cheaper than virgin. Hadn't realised if you do it that way you have to pay for wifi -?5 I agree, but I think one of the problems with it is that there's discretion allowed with pricing. For example, for "payback" for previous lengthy disruption there are very favourable fares from the south Cotswolds line to Oxford and London. For what it's worth, I wouldn't ever pay for WiFi on a train as it's reliant on mobile sim cards for the signal. If you can't get a signal on your phone then you probably won't get internet via WiFi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemclaren Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 thanks One thing I dislike about the current system is the fragmentation of ticket sales. In a hurry last time I booked my ticket from Surbiton to Dunkeld via southern rail - it was a couple of pounds cheaper than virgin. Hadn't realised if you do it that way you have to pay for wifi -?5 You call it fragmentation, others would likely call it choice and competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locky Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 4 of us went down to the Newcastle game on Sunday and arrived 2 hours later than planned. Thankfully we booked early trains and planned a proper day of it. By the time we got upto St James for my mate to get his top, and back down to the pub it was almost 2pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronJambo Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 You call it fragmentation, others would likely call it choice and competition. It's not really a choice when you can only normally travel from A-B with one operator though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilnunb Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 And now the 4:39pm Kirkcaldy to Edinburgh has been cancelled. Arrrrrggghhhhhh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Blame Dr Beeching we did for everything railway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Camazzola Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 4 of us went down to the Newcastle game on Sunday and arrived 2 hours later than planned. Thankfully we booked early trains and planned a proper day of it. By the time we got upto St James for my mate to get his top, and back down to the pub it was almost 2pm. You can claim for 100% of the cost of your journey for that delay. Just look for the delay repay section of the provider's webpage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 You can claim for 100% of the cost of your journey for that delay. Just look for the delay repay section of the provider's webpage. An example of the confusion for those who don't regularly travel is if you book through one provider (I usually book through Southern as they send their tickets out free and most journeys I do are with them) but the operator is different who do you reclaim your fare from if it's late Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 I agree, but I think one of the problems with it is that there's discretion allowed with pricing. For example, for "payback" for previous lengthy disruption there are very favourable fares from the south Cotswolds line to Oxford and London. For what it's worth, I wouldn't ever pay for WiFi on a train as it's reliant on mobile sim cards for the signal. If you can't get a signal on your phone then you probably won't get internet via WiFi. I think that has changed in the last six months on the east coast line - used to be very ropey but I had fulll service all the way apart fro just outside London and between Berwick and Edinburgh - much better than the EE I have on my mobile. Fortunately I didn't pay for it as once we were delayed for an hour it was offered free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronJambo Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 I think that has changed in the last six months on the east coast line - used to be very ropey but I had fulll service all the way apart fro just outside London and between Berwick and Edinburgh - much better than the EE I have on my mobile. Fortunately I didn't pay for it as once we were delayed for an hour it was offered free They'll be using numerous sim cards, one from each of the major providers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Camazzola Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 An example of the confusion for those who don't regularly travel is if you book through one provider (I usually book through Southern as they send their tickets out free and most journeys I do are with them) but the operator is different who do you reclaim your fare from if it's late. The operator I'd believe. I've had tickets issued from Scotrail, used a Cross Country who were late and claimed against Cross Country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott herbertson Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 . The operator I'd believe. I've had tickets issued from Scotrail, used a Cross Country who were late and claimed against Cross Country. They don't explain it to you, is my point, and you only have a couple of weeks to claim. If they take too much time to reply and you have it wrong you invalidate your claim In most walks of life you would claim from who you bought it off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locky Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 You can claim for 100% of the cost of your journey for that delay. Just look for the delay repay section of the provider's webpage. I'm not overly fussed. Our mate works for virgin trains and got us half price tickets anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannibal Lecter Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 . The operator I'd believe. I've had tickets issued from Scotrail, used a Cross Country who were late and claimed against Cross Country. Correct, you claim against the train operating company who caused the delay. For instance if you had to make one journey on 2 separate companies, it's the one who caused the delay of you getting to your final destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilnunb Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Another day, another spate of Scotfail cancellations. You've just got to laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallMeAl Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Absolute shambles because of a cable theft at Inverkeithing.. Scotrail staff clueless as per usual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronJambo Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Absolute shambles because of a cable theft at Inverkeithing.. Scotrail staff clueless as per usual They can only give you the info they've got and it's not their fault that network rail can't maintain the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.