What happens if last train of the day is cancelled

[al78]

If you have gone out for the evening, for example, and you planned to get the last train home, but the train for some reason was canceled and there was no chance of getting a train until the following morning, would the rail operator be obliged to provide alternative transport or would it be just hard luck and you'd have to sort yourself out?

 

[GadgetMan]

Railway would provide alternative transport or overnight accommodation in most cases.

 

[YorkshireBear]

If you have gone out for the evening, for example, and you planned to get the last train home, but the train for some reason was canceled and there was no chance of getting a train until the following morning, would the rail operator be obliged to provide alternative transport or would it be just hard luck and you'd have to sort yourself out?

No a railway company would never do that in this situation ever.
If they did well id suspect they would be in a lot of trouble. You would be provided with a taxi or a hotel (or some other alternative).

 

[Flamingo]

If there were severe weather conditions and a warning had been given not to travel, then you could well be told "Tough" (although it may be worded a bit better), this was happening in December in the flooding.

As a general rule, however, the railway will get you home. Every one in the tens of thousands standing in Cardiff after the Olympic football was got home eventually.

If it is a case that you missed the last train, then it is your problem - and the last train is often subject to an ammended running time as that's when NR come out to play! I would always check if relying on it what it is doing tonight - it may be diffrent than the last time.

 

[DarloRich]

If there were severe weather conditions and a warning had been given not to travel, then you could well be told "Tough" (although it may be worded a bit better), this was happening in December in the flooding.

As a general rule, however, the railway will get you home. Every one in the tens of thousands standing in Cardiff after the Olympic football was got home eventually.

agreed - That said I can think of plenty of people who, on being told tough, would would book into a hotel and try and claim the money back. I bet the TOC would settle 8 times out of 10 to avoid any bad publicity. It is very easy to get a story in the press these days..............

 

[WelshBluebird]

I always wonder how this works with unmanned stations. Because obviously at manned stations you can just ask the staff. But at unmanned stations, what happens? Are the NRE / ToC phone lines open late at night? And even if they are I personally wouldn't be very confident in getting help late at night!

 

[p123]

No a railway company would never do that in this situation ever.
If they did well id suspect they would be in a lot of trouble. You would be provided with a taxi or a hotel (or some other alternative).

I'm not saying that they have 'done it to me', but CrossCountry left me stranded at Glasgow Central one night.

They cancelled their last train and there was nobody to help, and no instructions for the passengers travelling out on that train.

Both Virgin Trains and Scotrail said it wasn't up to them to assist me and CrossCountry had no means by which they could be contacted at that time of night.

Although in saying that, I have been told (on these forums) that VT and SR should have sorted it out for me. But having not known that at the time, I was essentially 'abandoned' by CrossCountry. As for being in a lot of trouble, I complained and got the usual customer service generic-type "we're sorry, it probably won't happen again" response that genuinely felt like no management who would have been responsible for ensuring it didn't happen again had been told of the incident.

 

[Flamingo]

I always wonder how this works with unmanned stations. Because obviously at manned stations you can just ask the staff. But at unmanned stations, what happens? Are the NRE / ToC phone lines open late at night? And even if they are I personally wouldn't be very confident in getting help late at night!

I've often wondered myself! hock:hock:

 

[GadgetMan]

I'm not saying that they have 'done it to me', but CrossCountry left me stranded at Glasgow Central one night.

They cancelled their last train and there was nobody to help, and no instructions for the passengers travelling out on that train.

Both Virgin Trains and Scotrail said it wasn't up to them to assist me and CrossCountry had no means by which they could be contacted at that time of night.

Although in saying that, I have been told (on these forums) that VT and SR should have sorted it out for me. But having not known that at the time, I was essentially 'abandoned' by CrossCountry. As for being in a lot of trouble, I complained and got the usual customer service generic-type "we're sorry, it probably won't happen again" response that genuinely felt like no management who would have been responsible for ensuring it didn't happen again had been told of the incident.

The TOC operating the station should've contacted XC control (manned 24/7) to arrange alternatives.

Sounds like you were fobbed off.

 

[AlexS]

I've often wondered myself! hock:hock:

If you're stranded, just get hold of them as you can, if you have a mobile or there's a phone box etc, call National Rail Enquiries. If that's not possible for some reason, then if there's a signal post or lineside telephone on the platform call the signaller who can pass a message on to the TOC that they have a passenger stranded. Just get hold of anyone who can sort the problem out, particularly if you really are stuck and have no means of getting help yourself and claiming it back later.

 

[maniacmartin]

Its happened to me at an unmanned station. No-one answered the phone lines or help points, and I made my own way home at my expense.

 

[tsr]

If you are absolutely unable to contact any TOCs, NRE or NR, and you are sure you cannot use the help points or platform/level crossing phones, I would suggest you call the BTP - you may wish to call 101 (the non-emergency general police number) and ask to be put through, if the BTP number is not displayed or you can't remember it. It is totally unacceptable to leave a passenger stuck on a platform all night, especially if you are in a remote location on a cold evening (for example).

In the highly unlikely event that you are unable to carry out any of these actions, attempt to flag down any engineering train or ECS move, if there is one. I am sure that, if it gets this far, a train driver will be happy to put a call through to NR.

Under no circumstances should any passenger trespass on the line in order to access a telephone! Due to the natures of unpredictable train movements, electrification (including any exposed signal cabling), trip hazards, and also structures/phones with Limited Clearance, it is safer to be stranded!

 

[Be3G]

I notice it's been suggested a couple of times that one should call NRE in such situations. Does anyone actually know for certain if they can help though? I always thought they were just for phoning to plan journeys, enquire about tickets and the like – that they had no real link to the railway's ‘back offices’. My assumption therefore would have been that the best they can do is give you the phone number for the customer services of the cancelled train's TOC, which would probably be closed by that time anyway. Or do NRE actually have a facility to escalate things such as stranded passengers to people who can help?

 

[CockneySparrow]

I notice it's been suggested a couple of times that one should call NRE in such situations. Does anyone actually know for certain if they can help though? I always thought they were just for phoning to plan journeys, enquire about tickets and the like – that they had no real link to the railway's ‘back offices’. My assumption therefore would have been that the best they can do is give you the phone number for the customer services of the cancelled train's TOC, which would probably be closed by that time anyway. Or do NRE actually have a facility to escalate things such as stranded passengers to people who can help?

I would be totally surprised if NRE doesn't have any links to the TOC back offices, even late at night there should be no reason why they can't contact the nearest 24 hour station the operator runs

 

[RJ]

Call up the switchboard and ask to be put through to the appropriate TOC's control. The telephone number is in the public domain and should be used if necessary.

 

[AlexS]

I notice it's been suggested a couple of times that one should call NRE in such situations. Does anyone actually know for certain if they can help though? I always thought they were just for phoning to plan journeys, enquire about tickets and the like – that they had no real link to the railway's ‘back offices’. My assumption therefore would have been that the best they can do is give you the phone number for the customer services of the cancelled train's TOC, which would probably be closed by that time anyway. Or do NRE actually have a facility to escalate things such as stranded passengers to people who can help?

They can generally tell you if for example a replacement bus is coming to collect you and so on and so forth. If they can't help further I'd imagine they'd tell you.

 

[DelayRepay]

Its happened to me at an unmanned station. No-one answered the phone lines or help points, and I made my own way home at my expense.

This happened to me too. I sent in my taxi receipt to the TOC who refunded it without quibble, and apologised for the broken help point.

I always make sure I have enough cash/credit card to either get home by another means, or get a hotel for the night if I'm relying on the last train and if there is nobody in the town I'm travelling from who will be able to help me. I realise this isn't an option for everyone but I'd rather have the means to sort myself out, if needs must.

On another occasion the last train was just showing as "delayed" with no information. However there was a (public) bus due going in the same direction, which took a lot longer. I stopped the bus, the driver asked if I had a train ticket. I said yes and he said he had been told to accept train tickets because the train line was blocked. He kindly waited while I ran down to the platform to tell the other folk who were waiting. So the TOC had made arrangements, even if they hadn't told anyone!

 

[Beveridges]

When Rangers football fans came to Manchester back in May 2008, there were so many of them that hundred's of thousands of them missed the last trains back home at night due to horrendous overcrowding. Some of them were still waiting to get home at 12:00 the next day having been there since 20:00 the previous night.
TPE and Virgin were an absolute disgrace. They hardly put on any additional capacity. I wonder how they got out of that one, after leaving so many stuck?

 

[Qwerty133]

If you are absolutely unable to contact any TOCs, NRE or NR, and you are sure you cannot use the help points or platform/level crossing phones, I would suggest you call the BTP - you may wish to call 101 (the non-emergency general police number) and ask to be put through, if the BTP number is not displayed or you can't remember it. It is totally unacceptable to leave a passenger stuck on a platform all night, especially if you are in a remote location on a cold evening (for example).

In the highly unlikely event that you are unable to carry out any of these actions, attempt to flag down any engineering train or ECS move, if there is one. I am sure that, if it gets this far, a train driver will be happy to put a call through to NR.

Under no circumstances should any passenger trespass on the line in order to access a telephone! Due to the natures of unpredictable train movements, electrification (including any exposed signal cabling), trip hazards, and also structures/phones with Limited Clearance, it is safer to be stranded!

If (like me) you have a capped contract you would be unable to call BTP (0800) or 101 with its flat rate so would that make it acceptable to call 999 even though it is not a real emergency but is the only way you have to get in touch with someone.

 

[barrykas]

TPE and Virgin were an absolute disgrace. They hardly put on any additional capacity. I wonder how they got out of that one, after leaving so many stuck?

Depends on the circumstances...Network Rail make sure the relevant bodies are aware of planned Engineering Work. If they choose to go ahead and schedule events so people haven't got a chance of getting home afterwards anyway (e.g. having a late kick-off of a cup match at Wembley on a Saturday, with Engineering Work on the WCML from, say, 8pm that day), the rail industry can hardly be blamed for the ensuing chaos!

 

[Tom B]

I wouldn't say I have the confidence in NRE to do anything meaningful to help. They seem to be incapable of understanding anything other than a timetable enquiry. I was stuck on a train at Hitchin a year or so ago - train rammed, no information, and no staff. When I phoned NRE after 45 minutes sitting there, they thought I wanted to plan a journey from Hitchin, because the computer said there were no East Coast trains that stop there...

Are the numbers for the TOC control rooms clearly displayed at all unmanned stations? As normal rate numbers, not premium 0845/0870 numbers, I hope.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

When Rangers football fans came to Manchester back in May 2008, there were so many of them that hundred's of thousands of them missed the last trains back home at night due to horrendous overcrowding. Some of them were still waiting to get home at 12:00 the next day having been there since 20:00 the previous night.
TPE and Virgin were an absolute disgrace. They hardly put on any additional capacity. I wonder how they got out of that one, after leaving so many stuck?

Was that the night that they invaded the track (causing the station to be closed for a time) and broke several train windows (causing services to be cancelled)?

 

[Flamingo]

I've known of one last train (a good few years ago now), that on a Saturday night from Pad to Cdf was diverted via GCR (the tunnel was closed due to engineering works). It then missed it's slot down Awre because of late running due to police attendance at several stations as the Cardiff City fans started kicking off big-time on-board, and had to terminate at Gcr.

The passengers were sorted out into "ordinary" and "fans" by police at Gcr, but every bus that turned up refused to take the fans due to their behaviour at the station. It was the next morning before they were eventually taken home.

The TM involved had several weeks off after it, he was very shaken by the whole thing, he was threatened with all sorts between London and Reading, let alone when he had to say it was terminating.

 

[Zoe]

Back in 2002, I travelled from Taunton to Newton Abbot on a day where due to extreme weather the night before, the first train didn't run until mid afternoon. When it came to the return journey, after phoning National Rail Enquiries I was informed that the last train of the day (a Virgin Cross Country service at about 2230) was running but when I arrived at the station it had been cancelled. The FGW platform staff simply said that due to weather earlier in the day, they couldn't guarantee any service would run and refused to provide any alternative arrangements. The sleeper did run and rather than sit all night on Newton Abbot station I went to Paddington and then back to Taunton. It was a Sunday evening but the sleeper did go via Taunton so would it have been beyond reasonable for a special stop order to have been issued for Taunton?

 

[PR1Berske]

When Rangers football fans came to Manchester back in May 2008, there were so many of them that hundred's of thousands of them missed the last trains back home at night due to horrendous overcrowding. Some of them were still waiting to get home at 12:00 the next day having been there since 20:00 the previous night.
TPE and Virgin were an absolute disgrace. They hardly put on any additional capacity. I wonder how they got out of that one, after leaving so many stuck?

Capacity will always stifle Britain's railways. There's no "give" in the system, you either accept the timetable and its restrictions or you're stuffed.

 

[09065]

If you're stranded, just get hold of them as you can, if you have a mobile or there's a phone box etc, call National Rail Enquiries. If that's not possible for some reason, then if there's a signal post or lineside telephone on the platform call the signaller who can pass a message on to the TOC that they have a passenger stranded. Just get hold of anyone who can sort the problem out, particularly if you really are stuck and have no means of getting help yourself and claiming it back later.

Can you possibly have just recommended a passenger to go to a lineside telephone and talk to the signaller? Are you really that stupid considering that many areas are 3rd Rail, many areas still have non-passenger trains running and Lineside/SPT Telephones are not there for the whim of disgruntled passengers.

I would expect better from someone on a railway forum.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Can you possibly have just recommended a passenger to go to a lineside telephone and talk to the signaller? Are you really that stupid considering that many areas are 3rd Rail, many areas still have non-passenger trains running and Lineside/SPT Telephones are not there for the whim of disgruntled passengers.

I would expect better from someone on a railway forum.

Erm, no, he's not telling anybody to go anywhere near the 3rd rail, or any rail, try reading the post...

if there's a signal post or lineside telephone on the platform call the signaller

 

[09065]

Erm, no, he's not telling anybody to go anywhere near the 3rd rail, or any rail, try reading the post...

Which are not actually for public use (for a start) as well as the fact that if you are on a platform you are not on the lineside.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Which are not actually for public use (for a start) as well as the fact that if you are on a platform you are not on the lineside.

Which I'm sure, as (I believe) a member of station staff, he's fully aware of.

But if you're standing at an unstaffed station, in the cold/dark/rain, with no other means of contacting 'the railway' and, 45 minutes after it was due, the last train hasn't shown up and there's no other information...

 

[WelshBluebird]

I've known of one last train (a good few years ago now), that on a Saturday night from Pad to Cdf was diverted via GCR (the tunnel was closed due to engineering works). It then missed it's slot down Awre because of late running due to police attendance at several stations as the Cardiff City fans started kicking off big-time on-board, and had to terminate at Gcr.

The passengers were sorted out into "ordinary" and "fans" by police at Gcr, but every bus that turned up refused to take the fans due to their behaviour at the station. It was the next morning before they were eventually taken home.

The TM involved had several weeks off after it, he was very shaken by the whole thing, he was threatened with all sorts between London and Reading, let alone when he had to say it was terminating.

And yet I would still say that is unacceptable from FGW / the bus drivers.
The vast majority of football fans are not violent, and I am willing to bet that a hell of a lot of those who were left stranded at GCR did nothing at all wrong.
If I was left stranded at a station for no reason other than being a football fan, then I would not be happy to say the least.