Trains on Monday- waaaaah! [Update: full match day service]

[poidy]

Trains on Monday- waaaaah!

Great.

So on top of everything we are now faced with the embarrassment situation of the players kicking off for extra time in front of a half empty Amex. As if opposing fans didn't think we could be anymore plastic.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Great.

So on top of everything we are now faced with the embarrassment situation of the players kicking off for extra time in front of a half empty Amex. As if opposing fans didn't think we could be anymore plastic.

The reality is that 25K people with homes to go to, many a long way away, on a school night will be stuck in the middle of nowhere with few transport options. It's all a bit shit really.

 

[poidy]

Trains on Monday- waaaaah!

The reality is that 25K people with homes to go to, many a long way away, on a school night will be stuck in the middle of nowhere with few transport options. It's all a bit shit really.

Totally agree but the watching nation doesn't give a shit about that. As far as they're concerned it's just another plastic stick to hit us with.

Shame

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Also been told that trains from Falmer going east after 10 are terminating at Lewes, so those of us going to Eastbourne and beyond are well shafted.

Is this true?

As I understand it they're not striking or sick, it's southern fail who aren't paying for overtime?

There is legislation that requires a trade union to give due notice of strike action or face penalties. But what about an employer locking staff out when they are available for work and willing to do it? Is that legal?

 

[Bozza]

Is this true?

Might be...



Source: https://www.southernrailway.com/mobile/your-journey/improvement-works/

 

[Shooting Star]

Camping at the Amex after full-scale pitch invasion as we win on pennos?

 

[el punal]

It's a bit long but I was pissed off.

Dear Mr Horton

I used to be a regular user of your train service. However, I got rather fed up with paying nearly five thousand pounds a year, only for that service to be regularly withdrawn from me, and helped to institute a remote working policy at my company instead. A move that was enthusiastically taken up depriving you of not just my annual season ticket revenue but probably in the region of fifteen thousand pounds altogether. If only I'd know that was just the tip of the non-service iceberg.

Next week I need to use your service (why I'm still calling it that I don't know. Let's instead call if an occasional attempt) on just two occasions. The first time I would be in need of an occasional attempt would be to get me and my son to a football match on Monday night. Along with twenty eight thousand or so other people. I have just been informed that your attempt on Monday may not even be occasional. In short you will not be providing an adequate service, which is a shame because I have already paid for it as part of the ticket.

I have three stark choices. Pay again for a coach service or taxi, risk my nine year old son being stranded at Falmer past midnight or tell him he can no longer go to the biggest game of the season. I think I shall opt for the coach, which will be an additional eight pounds. A cheque for that amount would be nice but I won't hold my breath.

I will also need to use your occasional attempt on Wednesday to get to a company meeting in London. This will be even harder since you will probably not be providing a service at all. Shame that attendance is mandatory. "Ah but our nasty guards are on strike, the bolshy troublemakers" you will say, or words to that effect. So a few questions about that and your lack of ability to provide a service on Monday, when they are not on strike, that you are contracted to.

1) Why are you "short staffed" all the time? I'll give you a multiple choice on this. Is it a) you are not paying your bolshy guards overtime, b) you are too stupid to hire enough staff or c) both of the above?

2) Why do you believe that Driver Only Operated (DOO) trains are safe? In the two instance in which I want to avail myself of your occasional attempt - the football and the rush hour - your inadequate number of carriages are always filled to overcrowding. Only tunnels and the third rail seem to prevent the Indian solution being taken up. The number of near miss safety incidents at both that I have seen over the years is staggering. London Bridge only involves me. The aforementioned nine year old son is a factor in the football crowd. They are NOT dispatched safely now with guards and platform staff. How can removing those people make things better (by better I do not mean "more profits" I mean a better service which you are contractually obliged to provide)?

3) How can you justify taking money from Brighton and Hove Albion football club to provide a service and then not provide it? Will Tony Bloom be getting a refund?

A copy of this email will be sent to my MP with a call for you to lose your franchise immediately on the basis that you are not providing a service and you're barely providing an occasional attempt.

You understand I'm dissatisfied with your service, right?

Yours sincerely

Wonderful! I would love to read the reply, but the problem then would be that they have insufficient staff to process it.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Also been told that trains from Falmer going east after 10 are terminating at Lewes, so those of us going to Eastbourne and beyond are well shafted.

Might be...

View attachment 74707

Source: https://www.southernrailway.com/mobile/your-journey/improvement-works/

Thanks, Bozza.

I've just had a response from Southern to a question I asked on Twitter.

What times do trains run from Falmer to Glynde next Monday after 21:30?

The answer:- There is a 22:15 service that includes a bus replacement service from Lewes.

My next question will be:- How many bus seats will you be providing, to take account of the many hundreds of passengers who will be travelling east of Lewes?

 

[albionalex]

Will the club open the turnstiles early then? Otherwise there will be a crush with everyone trying to enter the stadium at 6:30.

 

[Gazwag]

Will the club open the turnstiles early then? Otherwise there will be a crush with everyone trying to enter the stadium at 6:30.

I though they opened at 6pm, I have gone into the NS at about 6.15pm occasionally

 

[Bozza]

Will the club open the turnstiles early then? Otherwise there will be a crush with everyone trying to enter the stadium at 6:30.

I suggested this to the club this morning. I'm not sure how practical it would be for them to get the required staffing in early at such short notice.

Forecast for Monday evening is fine so early arrivals who don't fancy Dick's / Seven Stars may want to make use of the outside bar.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

Both I and 'Wrong Direction' live fifteen minutes from the AMEX.
We are so lucky that we can down tools at whatever time I say.
I get pissed off when I don't get in Dicks two hours before kick off !
A huge to thousands of fans who have to 'fight the fight' to even get to watch us

 

[albionalex]

I though they opened at 6pm, I have gone into the NS at about 6.15pm occasionally

They're supposed to open an hour and a half before kick off. However, for most evening games the doors for WSL haven't opened until after 6:15.

 

[Ernest]

Both I and 'Wrong Direction' live fifteen minutes from the AMEX.
We are so lucky that we can down tools at whatever time I say.
I get pissed off when I don't get in Dicks two hours before kick off !
A huge to thousands of fans who have to 'fight the fight' to even get to watch us

You don't EVEN need a COAT to get there

 

[happypig]

It's a bit long but I was pissed off.

Dear Mr Horton

I used to be a regular user of your train service. However, I got rather fed up with paying nearly five thousand pounds a year, only for that service to be regularly withdrawn from me, and helped to institute a remote working policy at my company instead. A move that was enthusiastically taken up depriving you of not just my annual season ticket revenue but probably in the region of fifteen thousand pounds altogether. If only I'd know that was just the tip of the non-service iceberg.

Next week I need to use your service (why I'm still calling it that I don't know. Let's instead call if an occasional attempt) on just two occasions. The first time I would be in need of an occasional attempt would be to get me and my son to a football match on Monday night. Along with twenty eight thousand or so other people. I have just been informed that your attempt on Monday may not even be occasional. In short you will not be providing an adequate service, which is a shame because I have already paid for it as part of the ticket.

I have three stark choices. Pay again for a coach service or taxi, risk my nine year old son being stranded at Falmer past midnight or tell him he can no longer go to the biggest game of the season. I think I shall opt for the coach, which will be an additional eight pounds. A cheque for that amount would be nice but I won't hold my breath.

I will also need to use your occasional attempt on Wednesday to get to a company meeting in London. This will be even harder since you will probably not be providing a service at all. Shame that attendance is mandatory. "Ah but our nasty guards are on strike, the bolshy troublemakers" you will say, or words to that effect. So a few questions about that and your lack of ability to provide a service on Monday, when they are not on strike, that you are contracted to.

1) Why are you "short staffed" all the time? I'll give you a multiple choice on this. Is it a) you are not paying your bolshy guards overtime, b) you are too stupid to hire enough staff or c) both of the above?

2) Why do you believe that Driver Only Operated (DOO) trains are safe? In the two instance in which I want to avail myself of your occasional attempt - the football and the rush hour - your inadequate number of carriages are always filled to overcrowding. Only tunnels and the third rail seem to prevent the Indian solution being taken up. The number of near miss safety incidents at both that I have seen over the years is staggering. London Bridge only involves me. The aforementioned nine year old son is a factor in the football crowd. They are NOT dispatched safely now with guards and platform staff. How can removing those people make things better (by better I do not mean "more profits" I mean a better service which you are contractually obliged to provide)?

3) How can you justify taking money from Brighton and Hove Albion football club to provide a service and then not provide it? Will Tony Bloom be getting a refund?

A copy of this email will be sent to my MP with a call for you to lose your franchise immediately on the basis that you are not providing a service and you're barely providing an occasional attempt.

You understand I'm dissatisfied with your service, right?

Yours sincerely

"Dear Guinness Boy,
Myself, my fellow directors and the shareholders read your letter with interest; we would spin you a load of corporate platitudes to fob you off but we've just opened another magnum of Bollinger (paid for by not employing staff to run the service) so would therefore advise you to 'go piss up a rope'.
Up yours,
Charlie

Sent from my Chauffeur driven Mercedes"

 

[Deadly Danson]

It's a bit long but I was pissed off.

Dear Mr Horton

I used to be a regular user of your train service. However, I got rather fed up with paying nearly five thousand pounds a year, only for that service to be regularly withdrawn from me, and helped to institute a remote working policy at my company instead. A move that was enthusiastically taken up depriving you of not just my annual season ticket revenue but probably in the region of fifteen thousand pounds altogether. If only I'd know that was just the tip of the non-service iceberg.

Next week I need to use your service (why I'm still calling it that I don't know. Let's instead call if an occasional attempt) on just two occasions. The first time I would be in need of an occasional attempt would be to get me and my son to a football match on Monday night. Along with twenty eight thousand or so other people. I have just been informed that your attempt on Monday may not even be occasional. In short you will not be providing an adequate service, which is a shame because I have already paid for it as part of the ticket.

I have three stark choices. Pay again for a coach service or taxi, risk my nine year old son being stranded at Falmer past midnight or tell him he can no longer go to the biggest game of the season. I think I shall opt for the coach, which will be an additional eight pounds. A cheque for that amount would be nice but I won't hold my breath.

I will also need to use your occasional attempt on Wednesday to get to a company meeting in London. This will be even harder since you will probably not be providing a service at all. Shame that attendance is mandatory. "Ah but our nasty guards are on strike, the bolshy troublemakers" you will say, or words to that effect. So a few questions about that and your lack of ability to provide a service on Monday, when they are not on strike, that you are contracted to.

1) Why are you "short staffed" all the time? I'll give you a multiple choice on this. Is it a) you are not paying your bolshy guards overtime, b) you are too stupid to hire enough staff or c) both of the above?

2) Why do you believe that Driver Only Operated (DOO) trains are safe? In the two instance in which I want to avail myself of your occasional attempt - the football and the rush hour - your inadequate number of carriages are always filled to overcrowding. Only tunnels and the third rail seem to prevent the Indian solution being taken up. The number of near miss safety incidents at both that I have seen over the years is staggering. London Bridge only involves me. The aforementioned nine year old son is a factor in the football crowd. They are NOT dispatched safely now with guards and platform staff. How can removing those people make things better (by better I do not mean "more profits" I mean a better service which you are contractually obliged to provide)?

3) How can you justify taking money from Brighton and Hove Albion football club to provide a service and then not provide it? Will Tony Bloom be getting a refund?

A copy of this email will be sent to my MP with a call for you to lose your franchise immediately on the basis that you are not providing a service and you're barely providing an occasional attempt.

You understand I'm dissatisfied with your service, right?

Yours sincerely

Superb stuff

 

[Guinness Boy]

"Dear Guinness Boy,
Myself, my fellow directors and the shareholders read your letter with interest; we would spin you a load of corporate platitudes to fob you off but we've just opened another magnum of Bollinger (paid for by not employing staff to run the service) so would therefore advise you to 'go piss up a rope'.
Up yours,
Charlie

Sent from my Chauffeur driven Mercedes"

Gallows humour. But amusing.

 

[downham seagull]

After last time I'm gonna travel down and be prepared to run to the Amex from Brighton. 4.8 miles which should take me 33 min max. Quicker than queuing!!!

 

[Brightonfan1983]

It's a bit long but I was pissed off.

Dear Mr Horton

I used to be a regular user of your train service. However, I got rather fed up with paying nearly five thousand pounds a year, only for that service to be regularly withdrawn from me, and helped to institute a remote working policy at my company instead. A move that was enthusiastically taken up depriving you of not just my annual season ticket revenue but probably in the region of fifteen thousand pounds altogether. If only I'd know that was just the tip of the non-service iceberg.

Next week I need to use your service (why I'm still calling it that I don't know. Let's instead call if an occasional attempt) on just two occasions. The first time I would be in need of an occasional attempt would be to get me and my son to a football match on Monday night. Along with twenty eight thousand or so other people. I have just been informed that your attempt on Monday may not even be occasional. In short you will not be providing an adequate service, which is a shame because I have already paid for it as part of the ticket.

I have three stark choices. Pay again for a coach service or taxi, risk my nine year old son being stranded at Falmer past midnight or tell him he can no longer go to the biggest game of the season. I think I shall opt for the coach, which will be an additional eight pounds. A cheque for that amount would be nice but I won't hold my breath.

I will also need to use your occasional attempt on Wednesday to get to a company meeting in London. This will be even harder since you will probably not be providing a service at all. Shame that attendance is mandatory. "Ah but our nasty guards are on strike, the bolshy troublemakers" you will say, or words to that effect. So a few questions about that and your lack of ability to provide a service on Monday, when they are not on strike, that you are contracted to.

1) Why are you "short staffed" all the time? I'll give you a multiple choice on this. Is it a) you are not paying your bolshy guards overtime, b) you are too stupid to hire enough staff or c) both of the above?

2) Why do you believe that Driver Only Operated (DOO) trains are safe? In the two instance in which I want to avail myself of your occasional attempt - the football and the rush hour - your inadequate number of carriages are always filled to overcrowding. Only tunnels and the third rail seem to prevent the Indian solution being taken up. The number of near miss safety incidents at both that I have seen over the years is staggering. London Bridge only involves me. The aforementioned nine year old son is a factor in the football crowd. They are NOT dispatched safely now with guards and platform staff. How can removing those people make things better (by better I do not mean "more profits" I mean a better service which you are contractually obliged to provide)?

3) How can you justify taking money from Brighton and Hove Albion football club to provide a service and then not provide it? Will Tony Bloom be getting a refund?

A copy of this email will be sent to my MP with a call for you to lose your franchise immediately on the basis that you are not providing a service and you're barely providing an occasional attempt.

You understand I'm dissatisfied with your service, right?

Yours sincerely

Great stuff.

A couple of years ago, they made an operating profit of £100 mill. In taking over a few other train companies, they're looking at £1 billion yes billion in revenue. And poor old Charlie isn't yet on half a mill a year salary.

*whisper it* --- what is their priority, passeng-sorry customers, or shareholders?

 

[Carrot Cruncher]

Thanks, Bozza.

I've just had a response from Southern to a question I asked on Twitter.

What times do trains run from Falmer to Glynde next Monday after 21:30?

The answer:- There is a 22:15 service that includes a bus replacement service from Lewes.

My next question will be:- How many bus seats will you be providing, to take account of the many hundreds of passengers who will be travelling east of Lewes?

I see they still haven't given an answer to that. I fear there'll be serious trouble at Lewes after the game. If I were going to Eastbourne/Seaford after the game, I'd definitely head back to Brighton and pick up a 12.