My day today started terribly. I woke up to noise of torrential rain pounding on my window, which always puts me in a bad mood, as you know its going to be a wet, miserable day. My dad then, thankfully, gave me a lift to Ashton station at about 0815, where unusually the ticket clerk was stood under the canopy in the carpark, telling all pax that there were NO trains to Manchester, due to tw*ts (well he dnt say tht- but thats wht they are!) burning vital signalling equiptment between Ashton & Miles Platting- saying there would be no service for an estimated THREE DAYS! All stopping Hudds services were terminating at Ashton, and then operating an xx:45 service to Hudds, so I got this to Staly, where I arrived at about 0855 (we got stopped at the junction for ages, letting two (presumably delayed) TPE's go North. I then asked the station master in the office when the next train to Manchester (Picc) was. He said the 0849 hadn't get gone, but was running about 45 minutes late due to yet more vandals (gipsy's this time) stealing copper cabling near Cross Gates (this copper cable thing is becoming a major problem, happening 4 times in the last two weeks around W.Yorks). Anyway, he said I would be better off getting the RR bus to Vic, which seen as I was using my Northern pass (and technically hadn't a valid ticket for TPEx), I opted for the bus- plus the train was apparently loosing more time, as it had reported to have stopped for a prolonged time at Dewsbury- for no apparent reason. By now, I should have arrived at college, I eventually got to Manchester at 09:55, arriving at college at about 5 past, meaning I was 1 hour and 5 late, when usually by gettin the 0820 off Ashton, I get to college with 10 minutes before I need to be there. A complete journey from hell. And I have the same prospect of a bus tommorow, unless Notwork Rail work jolly hard to night.... but I doubt that.
*EDIT* Looked on the national rail website, and it is estimated that it will be cleared not in two or three days, but nearly two weeks!!! On week commencing 25th Sept, this is also more serious than I first realised, also affecting the Oldham Loop / Shaw & Crompton, as well as the Ashton line, whatever the perpetrator(s) have done, it must have been serious to knock out two separate lines, for such a prolonged period of time.
Effected area:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/download/managed_files/Vandalism_near_to_Manchester_Victoria.JPG