"Delayed_again" twitter feed comments

[Dave1987]

The well known "Delayed_again" twitter account made a rather outlandish comment today claiming the *ALL* the current fleet on GEML should be scrapped and replaced with brand new trains. He included the 360 fleet in this claim stating that he thought that the entire fleet was "past it" and GEML deserved an entire new fleet. I normally don't pay much attention to his ramblings on twitter as he tweets so much rubbish when he clearly knows nothing about the rule book or railways operations. But this latest claim really takes the biscuit. The issue I see is that a lot of others follow him on Twitter and seem to think he knows what he is on about even though he doesn't. Its getting to the stage where people are starting to believe what he says instead of what the people on the GA & NR feed say and that could be potentially dangerous. IMO its getting to the stage now where something needs to be done especially when he and others and contradicting the TOCs feed and NRs feed on certain matters.

 

[Tetchytyke]

People believe what they want to believe. The "official" twitter feeds have their own fair share of half-truths and lies- London Midland told me my season ticket is "already discounted because of engineering works"- and people will be skeptical about the corporate tweets.

As for the GE stock, apart from the 379s Abellio's stock is pretty knackered, at least superficially. The 360s are alright mechanically but the seat covers are starting to look very frayed and worn, and the pale blue and purple First corporate colours don't exactly help them look clean either.

 

[telstarbox]

I find in this kind of situation described by the OP it's best to step away from the PC for a bit and do something else

 

[chubs]

Tbf the commuters pay a lot and most of the stock is in a sorry state.

The 170's and 360's are barely 10 years old and seriously need attention cosmetically. The door buttons are falling off the 379's.

Everything else *is* old, and I think the majority of the users really would like some brand new stock instead of more cast off's down the line.

Not saying I agree with other things the account says or that any of this is Abellio's fault, but I can see why people agree with him.

 

[ExRes]

How can 'Delayed_again' possibly be wrong if he says it on twitter

 

[samuelmorris]

Seen this nonsense spouted all over the place. In my humble opinion the 360s are not in the condition they should be, but they're hardly a disgrace. The door buttons falling off the 379s is less poor maintenance than a design defect which admittedly should be sorted. The white livery wears dirt badly so most of the EMUs do admittedly look filthy but inside they're fairly reasonable, I'd even go as far as saying the 360s are in a worse state inside than the 321s - the 321 interiors may be dated but I've never seen them unacceptably dirty inside. The same is true of the 360s but the seating is becoming a little threadbare and they seem quite grubby inside. Really, I think the 321s could do with all having the high-spec refurbishment as shown int he demonstrator, at least to the standard of the 'cheaper' half, if anything just to reduce the noise level and add air conditioning for the summer months when they can get pretty stifling. That doesn't mean the fleet needs replacing though, let alone the 360s.
The 315s are admittedly getting on a bit but still seem fairly reliable, and are also irrelevant due to TfL's imminent replacement programme for both sides. 317s I can't really comment on as I don't travel on them often enough.

I would actually argue that the biggest problem AGA have is the inherent punctuality problems on the fast side of the GEML, on the approach to Liverpool Street as well as around Shenfield. I'd hazard a guess at probably 75%+ of the services I use being delayed 3-5 minutes in the stretch between Liverpool Street and Stratford and having to try and make that time up elsewhere. That isn't much to complain about, but it all adds up. Having your train 5 minutes late every day is a bit of a nuisance it must be said.

 

[al.currie93]

I feel that they all just need a repaint and interior refresh and they'll be fine. As has been said, most are mechanically sound

 

[TheEdge]

What annoys me more about Delayed_Again (and the now defunct Stowtom) is because I work for AGA I can't go on Twitter and call them up on their "suggestions"

 

[iphone76]

I prefer the standard 321s with windows over the demo train. I got off it after two stops the other day as the air con wasn't working and the thought of the germs floating around the carriage made me feel ill. (Lots of coughing and sneezing).
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Ps. Has stowtom's account gone now? He used to go on somewhat.

 

[TheEdge]

Ps. Has stowtom's account gone now? He used to go on somewhat.

He has moved from Stowmarket to Birmingham. LM and VT, we apologise. Didn't stop him posting yesterday though about GA delays... :roll:

 

[Drsatan]

Last year I briefly followed Stowtom on Twitter, since although I don't live near a Greater Anglia station I wanted to gauge if travelling using them was really that bad. In fairness to him, he seemed to respect the GA Twitter people, and accepted that not everything that went wrong on the East Anglia main line was GA's fault. He did used to complain about excessive first class accommodation though, which is either justifiable or not, depending on one's perspective.

I do wonder where delayed_again gets his statistics from? I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's an ex NXEA or GA manager who has a grudge against his former employer. Certainly if he claims reliability for the class 321 fleet has decreased since March 2012 (and then posts a photo of a document which appears to confirm this), he must be able to get inside knowledge from somewhere.

I say this all as a layman.

 

[Jala_150]

Having read delayed_agains feed a number of complaints are about litter. I see people discard their papers, bottles and food containers on the floors/seat regularly. So why do people find it acceptable to litter on trains when they wouldn't do it elsewhere? It's amazing how much litter is discarded on one journey.

 

[dubscottie]

Privatisation has done SOME good things for the railways but should we not bring back the RCH (so stuff couples) and the Design Bureau so that things like seat covers and door buttons do what they are supposed to do?

The 321's might be in better nick cause they were built by the railway for the railway and materials were tested before squadron use!

Its small things like dirty seats and shabby paint that give passengers a bad impression.

 

[455driver]

Privatisation has done SOME good things for the railways.

Agreed, but has Privytisation been more good than bad?

 

[dubscottie]

Agreed, but has Privytisation been more good than bad?

That would be for another thread on a TOC by TOC basis..

 

[samuelmorris]

I feel that they all just need a repaint and interior refresh and they'll be fine. As has been said, most are mechanically sound

A bit more than just a repaint I think - the appearance of the 'brown & red' 315s mere months after their relivery is, shall we say, sub-optimal

 

[vicbury]

First Great Western Kicked My Cat makes for an amusing read on Twitter. The person/people behind it are usually respectful towards FGW staff and seem fairly clued-up.

 

[Qwerty133]

I do wonder where delayed_again gets his statistics from? I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's an ex NXEA or GA manager who has a grudge against his former employer. Certainly if he claims reliability for the class 321 fleet has decreased since March 2012 (and then posts a photo of a document which appears to confirm this), he must be able to get inside knowledge from somewhere.

I say this all as a layman.

Firstplatform (anti FCC Twitter) used to work for FCC but I don't think any of the others have worked for TOCs.
To be honest every TOC gets them at one point or another, but have to admit @southern_trains can be funny.

 

[90sWereBetter]

I'm still surprised Delayed Again hasn't blamed Abellio for ebola, ISIS, mass immigration and climate change yet.

I pay no attention to the account, but is it respectful to staff, or does it go around slagging them off because they work for Abellio?

 

[EM2]

Firstplatform reckons he's back on the railway, although is not saying where...

 

[TheEdge]

I pay no attention to the account, but is it respectful to staff, or does it go around slagging them off because they work for Abellio?

No, the Anglia ones are all quite happy to slag off GA, staff, NR, other passengers. Everything.

We had one witness an incident and was almost gleefully tweeting photos in seconds... :roll:

 

[BobPhlegming]

I stopped following Delayed Again when it became clear it was just non stop slagging off GA.

Off topic, but does anyone know what happened to all the diesel units on GA today? Nothing from Cambridge to Norwich or Ipswich during the evening rush hour.

 

[86246]

I stopped following Delayed Again when it became clear it was just non stop slagging off GA.

Off topic, but does anyone know what happened to all the diesel units on GA today? Nothing from Cambridge to Norwich or Ipswich during the evening rush hour.

That is the problem with Delayed Again. Even if it is not Abellio's fault they get blamed.

It was reported on Anglia Gen that 3 x 156s went to Ilford on Thursday evening for tyre turning. An Ipswich to Cambridge and Norwich to Cambridge diagram was cancelled throughout most of the day. The 47s are also reported to be out today.

It must be autumn.

 

[TheEdge]

Off topic, but does anyone know what happened to all the diesel units on GA today? Nothing from Cambridge to Norwich or Ipswich during the evening rush hour.

Slipping and sliding led to quite a lot of units with out of spec wheel flats being out of service so for the last few days there has been a lot of unit swaps and cancellations.