Away games by train

[side effect]

Ever missed the start of a game recently as its chaotic of late. So many reasons a train can be cancelled or delayed these days.

[side effect]

Let's have a Sunday moan

So you have a 8hr journey from King's X to Aberdeen which your not looking forward to and you get to Kgx to find out because of engineering works overrunning it's cancelled and starting at Peterborough.

You really need to think about travelling by rail these days as I've already said. So many things can ruin your day

 

[Gank]

Do you people seriously get this annoyed about train foibles? Or are you just trying to outdo each other?

[Nurse Ratched]

Also, how is it that they blare those messages out in fucking overkill, especially the H&S ones the whole journey, and I even recall the buffet ones being so extensive that it informed passengers that OREOS formed part of the selection…

YET if the fucking thing stops in the middle of nowhere, it can be a good 20 minutes before anyone is made the wiser as to the reason for the delay?

I get that it’s “an incident further down the line”, (it would hardly be fucking stopping if it was behind them on the line), but do the drivers not even have mobile phones, if all else is failing?

It's none of your business why the train has stopped and your journey is being delayed. Entitled much?

[WHU(Exeter)]

Mike, that could be a fair point about the drivers and using mobiles. But surely another member of the crew could give someone a bell to find out what the score is?

again with trains, is there a name for the specific mental disorder that makes people get up and down to check things in their STOWED baggage, every 10 minutes for an entire three hour journey?

or a word beyond ‘imbecile’ to describe those who can spend a good 20 minutes wandering up and down the entire length of the train to find their seat, and then when they do, reacting as if they’d broken the enigma code?

[Mike Oxsaw]

It wouldn't surprise me if drivers are banned from using personal mobile phones whilst in the cab, even if the train is held at a red signal.

There is a mobile protocol specifically for railway use but I suspect that is limited (in the UK) to exchanging signalling information, not speech.

And the incessant messages are, I believe purely used on a psychological basis - to break the journey up into "manageable segments" and hopefully distract fare-paying passengers from any problems.

Repeat after each stop, or every 30 minutes, whichever is the longer gap is ample.

[WHU(Exeter)]

Also, how is it that they blare those messages out in fucking overkill, especially the H&S ones the whole journey, and I even recall the buffet ones being so extensive that it informed passengers that OREOS formed part of the selection…

YET if the fucking thing stops in the middle of nowhere, it can be a good 20 minutes before anyone is made the wiser as to the reason for the delay?

I get that it’s “an incident further down the line”, (it would hardly be fucking stopping if it was behind them on the line), but do the drivers not even have mobile phones, if all else is failing?

[side effect]

Lineside fire at Stevenage means East Coast Main Line is advising not to travel.

[side effect]

Another person hit by a train between Lancaster and Preston. Glasgow to Euston trains that were not terminated are running hrs behind.

So sad, it seems like an everyday occurrence.

[Mike Oxsaw]

As we're talking about choo-choos, it makes little sense creating a new thread for this:

Louise Haigh said "it would make absolutely no sense" to have the high-speed route terminate at Old Oak Common in west London on BBC Radio 5Live .

Expect HS2 to be downgraded and rebranded as a normal railway line soon to solve the problem.

[WHU(Exeter)]

Latest was arriving half-time up at Bolton and already 2 (or 3?) down - that was a supporters coach though, rather than train. 
Been all around the country for many a year with West Ham and amazingly not had a problem getting there on time, but only because I used to set off with hours to spare.
simply can't afford it anymore, so switched to non-league, but would dread the trains scenario now - places like Hull City, Leeds Utd, you have to be on a certain train back, or you're stuck - so you pay in advance, know how long you've got to get to the station, but nowadays you'd be stuffed if a long VAR incident enetered the equation.

Also get a train down from Bristol to Exeter to visit family once every few weeks, and even in the middle of summer, when a lot of tourists are heading to the south west, they stick only four carriages on, and as the train comes all the way down from Scotland, through Birmingham, it's stuffed to the gills. Every single time they then have announcements, to imply that there was a problem that day that caused the crowding, as if they'd planned to have 3 or 4 extra carriages available, but there was some kind of hitch. The reality being that they plan for just the 4 every time.

Still, at least you can 'sit back and relax', whilst the entire range of buffet options is blared out every 10 minutes, in between health and safety announcements.

There cannot be another country in the world, where the service is so expensive, compared to the absolute shit provided.

[cup of tea]

London Falcon

My point is reserved seats are all well and good, however if my reserved seat is removed and I'm told to sit on another train, the booking system loses some
of its rigidity.  Happy to stand if im given back the money for the seat i've booked.  The rail stance is currently "yeah we know you reserved a seat, but we couldn't be arsed to staff properly so fuck you"

It's on the rail company to sort this.

That is exactly how it should work, but the sheer incompetence of the rail franchises these days is unreal.

I used to commute from Wivenhoe to London daily for work, I don't think there was one single day where the trains worked properly. Sure, some of it was out of the franchise hands i.e. stuff network rail or whatever its called this week were responsible for but it was daily late in and late home. I was leaving home at 6am and getting in at gone 8pm some days. In the end when I was made redundant having been there for 19 years it was a relief to get debt free and not have to endure this 'service' for £6k a year, which, I had to pay over 10 months through a work loan so with NI and tax I was literally paying out close to £2k a month.

In the summer months with no AC the journey was like something you wouldn't let an animal travel in, 100oc on a train packed like sardines, suit and shirt soaked through and in the winter heating not working, broken seats etc.

Having used trains regularly, especially more so since starting work in London in 1994 there were never as many problems until I would say early 00s and that goes for weekend travel as well.

Just back from Spain a few weeks ago, modern AC trains and you can travel at high speed from major cities like Madrid to a destination say 300 miles away and it would be around £40 - here London to say Manchester around £150 for that shambles.

The railway system here is fucked, renationalisation won't do anything, it is to do with rolling stock, infrastructure and pure greed

[Mad Dog]

London Falcon

My point is reserved seats are all well and good, however if my reserved seat is removed and I'm told to sit on another train, the booking system loses some
of its rigidity.  Happy to stand if im given back the money for the seat i've booked.  The rail stance is currently "yeah we know you reserved a seat, but we couldn't be arsed to staff properly so fuck you"

It's on the rail company to sort this.

[northbankboy68]

The success of privatisation.

[Mike Oxsaw]

I know this is striding beyond the initial comment of the initial post but it's not unreasonable to expect the railway companies to deploy some sort of "Thunderbirds" service where a replacement train for a cancelled service can be set up in less than an hour.

[London_Falcons]

On the last two trips to Liverpool for the Cup game, my return trip was delayed by at least 3 hours,

last season, it was overhead cables being torn down, and this season, someone decided to use a train to end their life.

Both times, I got the total return fare back via Delay Repay.

[London_Falcons]

The good old hypocrisy of the British Public.

In the last few posts on this subject:

If I have reserved a seat on this train, it's my seat.

If my train is cancelled, I will sit in a reserved seat on the alternative train, and if the person who has the reservation comes along, they can do one!

[Mad Dog]

Once trains are cancelled and those that have seats booked are put on a different train it becomes a bit of a free for all.  We had this coming back from Liverpool on a stag a couple of months back.
we had seats booked and they cancelled out train.  I've paid for a seat.  so i sat down.  Luckilly nobody came looking for the seat so I didn't have an awkward conversation.  But either way I paid for a seat.  It's not my fault the rail company decided to put me on a another train.  And I've got fucked knees so im sitting down.

Once trains before or after are cancelled  and youve been told to take a particular train, reservations should become null and void 

[wils]

Train travel has become miserable these days. Even Eurostar has become an ordeal. Not sure it's cancellations/delays making it so, I think it's the over crowding. Too many people and a decline in the civility of those people. Just feels tense.

[Fifth Column]

Cup of Tea

100% - if I've got a seat booked I'll push every #### out of the way and take my seat.  On an evening match last season going back up north from KX it was rammed and a European bloke, 20s, wanted to argue with one of our lot whose seat he was sitting in.  After a while he was told in no uncertain terms to get out of the seat.  I never understand why anyone just allows someone else to sit in their seat, especially if the train is packed.

[cup of tea]

I have done the Caledonian Sleeper with the old rolling stock and new rolling stock. Sure, the old stock had its problems but I won't be travelling on the new one again, absolutely horrific

[side effect]

About 6 year old the new rolling stock. Seats are so uncomfortable and due to health and safety the lights stay on.

Berths with showers I believe can be up to 400 quid .
 

[side effect]

About 5 year old the new rolling stock. Seats are so uncomfortable and due to health and safety the lights stay on.

Berths with showers I believe can be up to 400 quid .

[Mike Oxsaw]

And tonights Sleeper service to Glasgow is cancelled again and so Avanti passengers will have more company tomorrow as they have given ticket acceptance without informing their own passengers any warning.

I know usually they let the sleeper passengers stay overnight on the train until the first train out of Euston in the morning, when you should have arrived in Glasgow already.

This is shocking not just the toc but network rail.

This is my sad hobby while I'm coming off longterm meds.

Viewing complaints on twitter.

Isn't the sleeper service rammed to the gills with brand new rolling stock?

Not as if there's only one physical route between Euston & Glasgow either. Probably too few berths sold to turn a profit, so cancel the service.

[side effect]

And tonights Sleeper service to Glasgow is cancelled again and so Avanti passengers will have more company tomorrow as they have given ticket acceptance without informing their own passengers any warning.

I know usually they let the sleeper passengers stay overnight on the train until the first train out of Euston in the morning, when you should have arrived in Glasgow already.

This is shocking not just the toc but network rail.

This is my sad hobby while I'm coming off longterm meds.

Viewing complaints on twitter.

[cup of tea]

I've just seen that someone who booked with Lner couldn't board the service as it was packed as Lner gave ticket acceptance to Grand Central passengers who earlier or later train was cancelled.

This is an everyday occurrence

Be warned there are many other issues that can make your expensive journey a nightmare

I have had this many times before both for football and leisure. If you have an official booked seat reservation then just politely tell the person occupying the seat to fuck off. I don't care if the train is rammed, I have booked this train and I have booked this seat.