F*cking nightmare of a bastard commute

[davesgcr]

Risk assesment - a derailment at 40 will generally keep the train upright .....having seen a track buckle right in front of a train I was in the cab off (South Tottenham for the record) - quite unnerving. We stopped easily enough only doing 20mph with a full and hard brake application - it was 6pm on a very hot evening and your correspondant was keeping the service going. We inched over it at 4 mph and carried onto Barking - the PW coaxed it back in with crowbars and several buckets of cold water. It just literally "popped" in front of us......

 

[davesgcr]

All about 20 mins late on Thameslink tonight - the cunning traveller knows which trains are the air con ones .....

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Back in Dante's Inferno

No cock ups so far, at least not compared to the extra hour I had to endure yesterday.

Poor you for having to visit Birmingham.

 

[machine cat]

Aircon kept going off and on on the way up to Leeds. At Leeds there were numerous delays. Managed to on a delayed by 30 minutes train to Huddersfield, this time no aircon at all

 

[Puddy_Tat]

fairly substantial balls-ups on both the southern and sw trains bits this evening.

blargh.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Poor you for having to visit Birmingham.

Delays at Piccadilly I heard, too.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

fairly substantial balls-ups on both the southern and sw trains bits this evening.

blargh.

Nasty, worked at home today, too hot to venture out.

Have to schlep into town tomorrow though, will see what sweaty joy that brings.

 

[QueenOfGoths]

Delays coming home, 45 minutes for what on that train should be a 30 minute journey. Could have been worse tbh, the train was really empty so I put my bare feet in the seat. Yes. My bare feet *rebel*

 

[Puddy_Tat]

anyone understand 'delay repay' enough to know what to do about this evening's cock up?

my journey home is on southern from balham to clapham junction, then sw trains in the general direction of berkshire

bit on southern was 22 minutes late so i missed connection at clapham junction, the next train from clapham junction was 28 minutes late here (hence 58 minutes later than i would have been home if southern bit had been on time.)

southern pay out if you're over 30 minutes late, swt if you're over 60 minutes late.

my arrival was not late enough to claim off swt, but can i claim from southern for what was a cumulative cock-up? or will they tell me to sod off since their bit was only 22 minutes late?

to be fair to both companies, neither the signal failure somewhere on southern, or the broke down freight train near staines, was directly their fault, but presume they then claim from network rail / freight operator.

 

[davesgcr]

Claim against Southern as "root cause" of delay - making it clear the cumulative delay. They should consider it sympathetically. Helps to be polite.

The train operators claim off Network Rail in any case for such issues (Schedule 8 of the Track Access agreement if you like law and contracts) .....Good luck.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Delays at Piccadilly I heard, too.

Seems so - I was working at home today and I heard various announcements as I walked through the station earlier to pick up some shopping. Due to OHL problems outside the station it seems. The concourse was heaving - and boiling - felt sorry for the poor sods waiting for trains home.

 

[davesgcr]

Carnage all over - I will read the National log with interest in the morning ....(Manchester was a 323 set which lost a pantograph at Ardwick) ....

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Claim against Southern as "root cause" of delay - making it clear the cumulative delay. They should consider it sympathetically. Helps to be polite.

The train operators claim off Network Rail in any case for such issues (Schedule 8 of the Track Access agreement if you like law and contracts) .....Good luck.

thanks

i'll give it a go.

haven't got anything out of them for the major cock-up between clapham junction and wandsworth common a few weeks back yet, though...

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Carnage all over - I will read the National log with interest in the morning ....(Manchester was a 323 set which lost a pantograph at Ardwick) ....

Taking down the wires at Ardwick would do for the station.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Monumental balls up this evening - all 'Windsor' lines closed due to signal failure near Clapham Junction.

I am pissed off with this whole commuting thing.

 

[Roadkill]

Risk assesment - a derailment at 40 will generally keep the train upright .....having seen a track buckle right in front of a train I was in the cab off (South Tottenham for the record) - quite unnerving. We stopped easily enough only doing 20mph with a full and hard brake application - it was 6pm on a very hot evening and your correspondant was keeping the service going. We inched over it at 4 mph and carried onto Barking - the PW coaxed it back in with crowbars and several buckets of cold water. It just literally "popped" in front of us......

I see the RAIB are suggesting that hot weather and buckled track are probably responsible for the freight-train derailment in Lincolnshire a couple of weeks back.

Yup, someone's done a pretty thorough job of that.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I see the RAIB are suggesting that hot weather and buckled track are probably responsible for the freight-train derailment in Lincolnshire a couple of weeks back.

Yup, someone's done a pretty thorough job of that.

I think the line might be blocked.

 

[Roadkill]

I think the line might be blocked.

 

[tommers]

Thursday - tube strike
Friday - first great Western strike
Saturday - bus replacement service due to planned engineering works.

Great stuff.

 

[marty21]

Stood all the way from Paddington to Bath Friday evening , never seen a train so rammed . All due to cancellations as a result of the strike . Really regretted not driving down .

 

[marty21]

and the way back was not without problems, the 4pm train was cancelled so I had to make a quick transport decision - should I get the 4.20 to Waterloo, or wait for the 5pm to Paddington which would be mega rammed. The Waterloo train takes nearly 3 hours, the Paddington train 90 minutes, with a 40 minute start the arrival in London time wasn't that different.

I plumped for Waterloo and got a seat

 

[davesgcr]

and the way back was not without problems, the 4pm train was cancelled so I had to make a quick transport decision - should I get the 4.20 to Waterloo, or wait for the 5pm to Paddington which would be mega rammed. The Waterloo train takes nearly 3 hours, the Paddington train 90 minutes, with a 40 minute start the arrival in London time wasn't that different.

I plumped for Waterloo and got a seat

And a very pleasant ride no doubt via the Salisbury route - one I always recomend for UK newbies....

 

[Tony_LeaS]

And a very pleasant ride no doubt via the Salisbury route - one I always recomend for UK newbies....

Use to love me journeys to Grateley every week to school and home.

Someone with a pram (with no child in) blocked a tube door which I tried getting into which was a regularly busy train. Couldn't get on. The next 7 trains were so busy I couldn't fit on. Wasn't too annoyed but what can you do really.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Amazingly, the lateness figure has dropped to a mere 81%.

 

[marty21]

And a very pleasant ride no doubt via the Salisbury route - one I always recomend for UK newbies....

It was very pleasant

 

[mango5]

Been sitting for more than an hour at Southampton Airport station as a series of trains are cancelled at short notice. Bet whatever comes will be short on coaches and rammed too

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Been sitting for more than an hour at Southampton Airport station as a series of trains are cancelled at short notice. Bet whatever comes will be short on coaches and rammed too

Have they done the usual trick of telling you nowt, so you have no idea what is actually going on?

 

[tommers]

Thursday - tube strike
Friday - first great Western strike
Saturday - bus replacement service due to planned engineering works.

Great stuff.

And Monday a train broke down in West Norwood and they stopped all the trains from Balham. So I ended up walking from Streatham Common (which is fucking misnamed) to crown point.

4 out of 4.

Today wasn't bad though, the trains were only 10 minutes late. And packed.

 

[mango5]

Have they done the usual trick of telling you nowt, so you have no idea what is actually going on?

Yes the staff mysteriously evaporated. Then I saw one and was very polite so he suggested I get on a local train which is now crawling towards Winchester with lots of breaks for a little rest. "Stay on til Basingstoke when we might know more" says the guard. tbf this is only the second time I've had this in two years of quite smooth commuting but I probably won't get home til midnight rather than 9ish.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Yes the staff mysteriously evaporated. Then I saw one and was very polite so he suggested I get on a local train which is now crawling towards Winchester with lots of breaks for a little rest. "Stay on til Basingstoke when we might know more" says the guard. tbf this is only the second time I've had this in two years of quite smooth commuting but I probably won't get home til midnight rather than 9ish.

It's infuriating isn't it. I hope you get home soon.