**** Official Train Commuters Discussion Thread ****

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

I think thats pretty decent for somewhere like Hassocks , especially when you consider in addition to the 5 direct trains you have a further 8 trains that only require 1 change, this ultimately puts less than 10 minutes on the direct train journey.

I take your point but that is far from shafted.

As other posters have said, the amount of times (this year alone) southern have run trains fast and skipped stations on route . . that to me is shafted and shows a total disregard for passengers needs. If they cant get passengers from A to B on time , the minimum they should provide is A to B.

Due to the late running of a train I missed a connecting train by one minute they then decided to run the next train though the station resulting in a 44 minute wait for a service. I ended up walking 25 minutes.

 

[Arthur]

More misery on the Uckfield line last night and this morning.

21:04 45 mins late back last night. Consequently cancelled the last train back up the line.

This morning 6:43 4 coaches. 7:20 cancelled. 7:45 late leaving.

Given up, working from home today.

 

[dazzer6666]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...ndon-train-was-late-every-day-for-a-year.html

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Signal Probs at London Bridge till 2pm latest news.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Now till 3pm at London Bridge

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

I like this bit..



Maybe they could deliver a 100% improved service by cancelling the rest of the trains.

Were you commiserating with our dear friends that they won't be able to get home from work, THPP?

What I don't get is the attitude of Network Rail. We were watching South East News the other night, when a NR spokesman was interviewed about the trouble over the after-Christmas period. He was dressed in a scruffy jacket and a lumberjack shirt. Not important you might think, but to me if you can't be bothered to dress smartly when appearing on camera, it probably reflects your general attitude to your work (and he was a member of office staff, not an engineer). Also, while on the usual crawl into East Croydon Station yesterday, I noticed a redundant disc from a circular saw lying by the trackside and half a ripped hi-vis jacket on the bank. Again, not a good advertisement for the company.

Secondly, more often than not, one crawls into Victoria Station once you cross the river and are past the pumping station. Before Hawk, Enrest or some other member of the railway community on here come on and say, "how else do you expect to get x number of trains in and out in the rush hour?" you would think they could build that into the timetable. It is very often that place that causes an on time journey to turn into a late one.

 

[Mattywerewolf]

Found out my 7.16 from Brighton to Victoria was only on time 3 times last year as well.... Unbelievable cheek to increase prices on that basis.

 

[JTR938]

Has anybody been delayed in receiving their monthly season ticket??
2nd month running now.

Was told this morning to keep buying daily return tickets until they can resolve the issue! And then apply for a refund……

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Now delays till 4.30pm

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Can this be made a sticky.

More signal probs at London Bridge AGAIN today.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I cycled into work today. I wore a hat. But as the weather was mild it was probably not needed.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Were you commiserating with our dear friends that they won't be able to get home from work, THPP?

What I don't get is the attitude of Network Rail. We were watching South East News the other night, when a NR spokesman was interviewed about the trouble over the after-Christmas period. He was dressed in a scruffy jacket and a lumberjack shirt. Not important you might think, but to me if you can't be bothered to dress smartly when appearing on camera, it probably reflects your general attitude to your work (and he was a member of office staff, not an engineer). Also, while on the usual crawl into East Croydon Station yesterday, I noticed a redundant disc from a circular saw lying by the trackside and half a ripped hi-vis jacket on the bank. Again, not a good advertisement for the company.

Secondly, more often than not, one crawls into Victoria Station once you cross the river and are past the pumping station. Before Hawk, Enrest or some other member of the railway community on here come on and say, "how else do you expect to get x number of trains in and out in the rush hour?" you would think they could build that into the timetable. It is very often that place that causes an on time journey to turn into a late one.

Wouldn't happen in Germany; they love a smart uniform over here.

 

[Bozza]

Now delays till 4.30pm

Headed to LBr earlier than normal yesterday as a result and caught the earlier train home (16:57ish to Littlehampton service). It only left a few minutes late but got more and more delayed en route, including a crawl along the coast. Got into West Worthing about 20 minutes late in the end.

I've taken the WfH option today.

 

[Bozza]

Can this be made a sticky.

No - it will get overlooked.

Subscribe to the thread to make it easy to find here: https://nortr3nixy.nimpr.uk/subscription.php

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

And the prize for Britain’s worst train goes to …


So, how late was your train? The 07.29 Brighton to London Victoria service has made headlines as the worst in Britain, after failing to roll in at its scheduled time of 8.35am on a single occasion in the last year. It may be little consolation to those trundling slowly through Sussex to know their train may not be the absolute worst: neither Network Rail, the Department for Transport or the rail regulator have those figures to hand. It was left to angry commuters to ask train operator Southern to research and confirm the suspicion that this service never ran to schedule.
According to the official standard, though, the 07.29 slowcoach was only late 73% of the time. That is because punctuality, for commuter services, is officially defined as up to 4 minutes and 59 seconds behind time. Compensation is normally only paid for delays six times the lateness threshold.
Rebecca Francis, 37, aboard the 07:29, said she failed to reach work in Marylebone on time for the past three months: “It’s at least 10 minutes late on a daily basis. Between October and December, I had to apply for delay compensation at least five times for this train.” Southern’s stats show the train gets in less than 10 minutes late most of the time – 71% of trains last year – so only a small part of the annual season ticket cost (more than £4,000 since the January fare rise) can be clawed back.
Southern thinks, but can’t confirm, that the 07.29 is the only one of its services never to arrive to the minute. The following and preceding Brighton-Victoria trains actually did meet their schedule on occasion, albeit on only 1% and 2% of their attempts – although the poor 07.44 presumably stood little chance of overtaking its predecessor. Southern admits the stats are “not brilliant” but says the line is one of the most congested routes in the country and the knock-on effects of delays can be enormous.
Two years ago, then transport minister Norman Baker infuriated some train operators by trying to make the so-called “right-time” – punctuality as it appears on commuters’ watches, expectations and real-life plans – the default measure of lateness, rather than the five- or 10-minute relaxed “public performance measure”, the yardstick on which reputation and commercial franchises are judged. At time of writing, a mere 44% of Southern trains between Victoria and Brighton had run late on Tuesday by the official count. The truth can only make us angrier.

 

[Comedy Steve]

I guess the logic could be that BH population (and hence demand) is twice that of Hassocks at least.......still crap though.

Hassocks serves Hurstpierpoint, Ditchling, Sayers Common, Albourne, Woodmancote, Henfield, and for those people who need a car park (i.e. Preston Park won't do), northern Brighton. Southern Rail have admitted as such, having just spent a huge amount of money updating the station facilities, and now the services have been slashed.

I had a bit of a rant about this on Twitter yesterday and a driver of the London/Brighton route replied to me. I included it for balance (note, language NSFW) : https://storify.com/stephencgrant/london-to-brighton-train-rant

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Why on earth can't they just invest in a robust signalling system as a priority rather than tarting up stations? OK, it's nice to have station facilities fit for the 21st century, but signal failure cause stupid amounts of delays and subsequent compensation claims. Seems like a no-brainer.

 

[Lankyseagull]

For any Uckfield Line Commuters, this blog started last week http://southernrail.fail/

Hats off to whoever is responsible - love the entry 'getting a seat on the 18:08' under 'Rants and Stuff'

Good work!

 

[spring hall convert]

Southern admits the stats are “not brilliant”

 

[Badger]

For any Uckfield Line Commuters, this blog started last week http://southernrail.fail/

Hats off to whoever is responsible - love the entry 'getting a seat on the 18:08' under 'Rants and Stuff'

Good work!

That's quality, I particularly like:

"Surely that doesn’t matter though? Commuters wait patiently behind the barriers for the platform to be announced right? So we all have an even chance of getting a seat once the train is allocated a platform. These are the thoughts of an amateur. The experts on this line never wait for the platform to be announced."



So true, once you know the regular platform there's no waiting on the concourse, get to your spot as quickly as possible.