Southern trains

[Tricky Dicky]

At 8 a.m. my friend finished a 12 hour shift at the London hospital where she works.
I looked online at the train website and it says the half hourly train to Brighton is running on time - and has said this all morning and still says it now.
The poor cow got over to Victoria only to find this is all f***ing lies and there has only been one train out so far this morning.
These f***ing people responsible for the shit train service and the blatant misinformation need to be f***ing sacked.
They won't be though, and next time we have a bit of snow the same thing will happen.

In case it isn't clear, I am f***ing furious with these incompetent fools, and I'm pretty pissed off with myself for not checking what was really going on, on NSC instead of that useless rail enquiries website.

The C word is not too strong for those bastards

I don't know why, but the Southern website yesterday was sometimes showing the problems with the 2 broken down trains, and sometime showing "No problems". Whilst I knew about the 2 trains at about 14:00, and tried to keep an eye on it, others I ran into said that the Southern site was showing that all is well.

 

[bhaexpress]

At 8 a.m. my friend finished a 12 hour shift at the London hospital where she works.
I looked online at the train website and it says the half hourly train to Brighton is running on time - and has said this all morning and still says it now.
The poor cow got over to Victoria only to find this is all f***ing lies and there has only been one train out so far this morning.
These f***ing people responsible for the shit train service and the blatant misinformation need to be f***ing sacked.
They won't be though, and next time we have a bit of snow the same thing will happen.

In case it isn't clear, I am f***ing furious with these incompetent fools, and I'm pretty pissed off with myself for not checking what was really going on, on NSC instead of that useless rail enquiries website.

The C word is not too strong for those bastards

I have some sympathy for the railways but not in this case. There's simply no excuse in this day and age for not making a far better attempt of keeping people informed. It is utterly disgraceful and whoever is responsible should be dismissed.

 

[Ernest]

Just looked at the Southern website for train times to work for me this afternoon and just blank

 

[grummitts gloves]

Left Hassocks about 6.40am, trying to get to London, got as far as Three Bridges, couldn't get any further, just got home now. Nearly 5 hours!!

 

[Danny-Boy]

Wrong type of snow...

No, wrong type of service provider...what happened to that promise to renationalise Mr Prescott Of course he's a Lord now. And they only had 13 YEARS to fulfill that commitment. Did they f**k.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Southern are a disgrace, maybe if they spent some of the thousands they spent on pointless ticket machines in lesser stations on the trains there service may be a bit better.

 

[bhaexpress]

Southern are a disgrace, maybe if they spent some of the thousands they spent on pointless ticket machines in lesser stations on the trains there service may be a bit better.

Why are the ticket machines pointless ? They collect fares don't they ?

 

[ROSM]

No, wrong type of service provider...what happened to that promise to renationalise Mr Prescott Of course he's a Lord now. And they only had 13 YEARS to fulfill that commitment. Did they f**k.

They did try - they ran the 'nationalised' south east trains for a couple of years after connex were relieved of the franchise and ounctuality and user satisfaction increased significantly.

However trying to undo a privatisation as cock eyed as the rail one was given the long term franchises that had been granted and the screwup that was rail track was never going to be an easy option. It's one I wished they'd take though or at least make the provision of a suitable rail service a statutory obligation.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Why are the ticket machines pointless ? They collect fares don't they ?

Sorry meant gates, they have just installed them in Hassocks/Burgess Hill type stations.

 

[Beach Hut]

Sorry meant gates, they have just installed them in Hassocks/Burgess Hill type stations.

Ticket gates also improve revenue dramatically and make train stations a safer place.

Believe it or not they actually force people to buy a ticket so normally in the first week of a gated station revenue collection goes up around 45% and the sales to the next station increase by about 60% - here endeth the lesson.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Ticket gates also improve revenue dramatically and make train stations a safer place.

Believe it or not they actually force people to buy a ticket so normally in the first week of a gated station revenue collection goes up around 45% and the sales to the next station increase by about 60% - here endeth the lesson.

All well and good, but they are always open.

Plus they will have to sell a lot of tickets between the cheaper stations to make up the money they have spent on them and doing up the stations to fit them in plus the new staff they have to man them.

 

[bhaexpress]

Sorry meant gates, they have just installed them in Hassocks/Burgess Hill type stations.

I have often wondered that, if the station is unmanned I can understand it but I've seen the gates left open at many London stations which were certainly no unmanned so yes, you're quite right. It's worth noting that gates or no gates I've also seen more than one person jump over them even when there are platform staff in view.

 

[Beach Hut]

All well and good, but they are always open.

Plus they will have to sell a lot of tickets between the cheaper stations to make up the money they have spent on them and doing up the stations to fit them in plus the new staff they have to man them.

What you fail to mention in your response is the vast amount of persistent ticketless travel which this addresses.

 

[bhaexpress]

What you fail to mention in your response is the vast amount of persistent ticketless travel which this addresses.

Yes but it doesn't if the gates are not monitored or left open. I had something else with these gates recently, a youth tried to come through the gate at theame time as I did, he nearly got smacked for his attempt and I did point hom out the the platform staff. Miond you I'm a fairly large bloke but I'm sure some people would have been intimidated.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

What you fail to mention in your response is the vast amount of persistent ticketless travel which this addresses.

The stations that they are fitting with them are not going to be losing massive amounts, Brighton and Haywards have gates now so the only stations you could get between with out being realistically caught are Preston Park, Hassocks and Burgess. Not really worth spending the amounts they have.

 

[beorhthelm]

It's not just Germany though. In the past couple of days I have heard or read quotes from people from Canada, USA, Scandinavia and Poland talking about how their trains or planes keep going in far worse weather. There's no reason why we couldn't have the same - it's just poor planning on behalf of the transport companies.

I dont know why we compare us to Germany, Canada, Scandinavia, Poland etc. they *will* have months of snow inches deep. we *might* have snow for a week in Decmeber, another in Feburary. how many years in the past ten as there been no snow in the south, quite a few iirc. do we want tens or hundreds of millions spent on equipment to sit idle for those 10 weeks in 10 years they are needed? maybe we do on the day the snow hits but where else might the money be invested (better points, signalling and fixing general maintence of the line springs to mind). oh, and fining the train companies isnt going to help with lines buggered, thats Network Rail - which is nationalised. what we should be asking the government is why the rails and points are so sensitive to bearly freezing temperatures.

though the train operators are awfull at communication when there is a problem, which they can and should do something about, even when its a minor/everyday delay it seems to throw them completely.

 

[Beach Hut]

The stations that they are fitting with them are not going to be losing massive amounts, Brighton and Haywards have gates now so the only stations you could get between with out being realistically caught are Preston Park, Hassocks and Burgess. Not really worth spending the amounts they have.

Well I am sure SR can rely on your business nous to know they got it wrong.

How long have you been an expert on revenue collection then ?

 

[Arthur]

What you fail to mention in your response is the vast amount of persistent ticketless travel which this addresses.

Not if the gates are always open surely?

Tunbridge Wells has recently installed barriers every time I've come back that way since they are always open because they are never manned. That said as long as you have a ticket to somewhere the muppets on the gates always just let you through anyway as do the guards on the train.

 

[Spider]

Ticket gates also improve revenue dramatically and make train stations a safer place.

Believe it or not they actually force people to buy a ticket so normally in the first week of a gated station revenue collection goes up around 45% and the sales to the next station increase by about 60% - here endeth the lesson.

This stat sounds very suspect! Since the small stations on the line are the only ones without ticket gates, most people would have to buy a ticket to get through at one end or the other?

The Haywards Heath ones are f***ing stupid anyway, they aren't manned for a lot of the time, and because there's only 4 gates across, it seems as though the staff are forced to simply let everyone walk through anyway.

 

[Thimble Keegan]

But you might not get home tonight!

I managed to squueze on a train from Charing Cross to London Bridge. London Bridge was carnage but eventually got on a train that was going to East Croydon. Unfiortuantely the brakes were frozen and the driver spent the next 40 minutes trying to fix them. Eventually I gave up wandered up the platforms to see that a FCC was due in 2 mins. It arrived, virtually empty and I hopped on to find a seat (it was even one of the newer trains) and settled back for the long slog back to Brighton. Was very slow until we got past Gatwick and then a bit faster.

This morning went to the station heard all the annoucements and then went home again!!!

I will deal with trying to get home tonight when the time comes. Last night, Charing X was a disaster but that was nothing compared to London Bridge where nothing was going anywhere, hence why I gave up and opted for a night on the office floor!!

Let's see what this evening brings...

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Whitehall BHA