Another 'UFL' moment, this morning at Welwyn Garden City. If those last three words make you go 'oh not again', I would skip the rest of the post! My 'favourite' train is 2C13 0727 Cambridge - King's Cross. This has mostly been cancelled since the start of the May 2018 service, but thankfully is included in the July 15th timetable. After a couple of weeks with few appearances, it had run Monday to Wednesday this week. It has had random slightly different timings on Live Departures - some days it is 0822 as shown in the timetable, other days it is 0821 or 0824 for no apparent reason. But our luck ran out at WGC today and despite it showing on Live Departures as running (at 0824) earlier, it ended up cancelled. Instead, Live Departures and the station passenger information screens promised 1P11 at 0827 as an additional stop at platform 2 (this is the 0735 Peterborough - King's Cross). It was showing as few minutes late though, so if this didn't stop, we would have to leg it back across the footbridge to platform 4 for 2Y17 0832 WGC - King's Cross...
In the end 1P11 was held up by some other services across Digswell Viaduct. Eventually, it came into view and it was apparent that it was going to pass at speed on the up fast line. I was the first to run up the stairs, but only to see 2Y17 start to move bang on 0832. This was despite one of the revenue staff asking for it to be held and telling customers that it would be held one minute to 0833! Thus circa 100 people were left behind.
Presumably, the stop order was cancelled before 1P11 left Stevenage or else the 100+ commuters to WGC must have ended up at King's Cross? The absence of a passenger emergency alarm stop at Brookmans Park (the next platform on the fast line) suggests WGC bound passengers were not on 1P11. That would have allowed a 10 minute window for staff at Stevenage to call their colleagues and prevent them being made to look completely stupid (and possibly the subject of abuse). I can understand that getting information from service control is hard, but surely station staff at least should help each other out? And really, just don't promise to hold trains that you can't hold or aren't going to be held...
So we had to wait for the 0852 (2C15 0750 Cambridge North - King's Cross). This was already full and standing because of the cancellation of 1R11, the 0812 Baldock - King's Cross, which is not a normal cancellation and is worked by 365s. 2C15 is a really boring train, with 13 minutes between its booked arrival at Finsbury Park and its time into King's Cross, presumably as it is timed as if going to Maidstone and there isn't a platform available until seven or so minutes after it would naturally want to arrive. Despite being scheduled it is clear that many passengers perceive this extra time as a delay.