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My worst ever delay: 161 minutes

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yorkie

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On my way back from London on 25 June last year, I got to King's Cross just as the 20:07 fast Peterborough train was pulling out. So I got the 20:21 (with the intention of getting the 21:00 from King's Cross from Peterborough).

I overheard someone going to Hitchin on the phone saying "I'm at Finsbury Park, my train calls at Stevenage and then Hitchin. Is that fast or slow?" "... wow I'm on a fast train!" :lol:

Well, that person and anyone going only to Hitchin was very lucky as the conductor told us on arrival "I have some bad news: there has been a double fatality at Arlesey and this train terminates the train here, onward road transport will be provided..."

I later discovered that the train involved was the 20:07 which I had just missed. :shock: I wasn't sure what to do, but a quick check of the timetable confirmed the 21:00 does call at Stevenage.

So I got a train back to Stevenage, where there was an HST in platform 3. It was the 20:30 King's Cross to Leeds, that had been stopped at Stevenage by the signallers at 20:50 who had wisely thought it best that they stop the train at a station rather than in the middle of nowhere.

Trains for Cambridge were still running (down fast trains were passing through Stevenage at 75mph on the slow line due to the HST blocking the fast line) on time, and trains that were supposed to go to/from Peterborough were starting/terminating at Hitchin.

I wrote to GNER in praise of the driver, who got out of the train for the whole 2 and a half hours that we were at Stevenage, to chat to passengers. He was very helpful, giving people updates, answering their questions etc. A real credit to GNER.

Because it was a double fatality, it took longer to clear than normal. We were told 'unofficially' that 2 people had jumped in front of a WAGN train.

At approx 2310 we were given the all clear, and we finally departed from the unscheduled stop at Stevenage at 2315 (due to pass at 2048).

We had to use the slow lines for some of the way (presumably due to the suicides) arriving Peterborough 2350 (2hrs 38mins late!).

I got off at Doncaster at 0054 (2 hrs 41 late!), got the 2100 from King's Cross (which had been held at KX for some time probably departing 2300ish, and many passengers would have got alternative trains on different routes, and the 2200 was cancelled) that departed Doncaster 0101 and I arrived York 0120!

GNER were very good at dealing with it, and WAGN & GNER were allowing anyone who wished to abandon their journeys to go back to London on WAGN and make their journey the next day instead (However the vast majority of people needed to travel on that day).
 
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Craig

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yorkie said:
I wrote to GNER in praise of the driver, who got out of the train for the whole 2 and a half hours that we were at Stevenage, to chat to passengers. He was very helpful, giving people updates, answering their questions etc. A real credit to GNER.
I've found that GNER staff are usually very helpful anyway.
 

clagmonster

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I once had a servie take 3 hours Peterborough-Grantham wtih further delays at Newark. 5 hours Kings Cross-Doncaster it took. Due to a birds nes tripping out the OHLE at Newark. Sad thing was, I was on a tram. Though GNER were very helpful. I am good at blowing up the east coast, this was just one of many.
 

Tomnick

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Once delayed for five hours at Retford (our (charter) train was four hours late ex-Stevenage, then delayed a further hour at Grantham) - finally terminated at Carlisle six hours down, to return home via the Tyne Valley line rather than going through to Edinburgh as originally planned!
 

86242

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My record delay beats that! It was the 17:24 from Cardiff to Reading and London and got to Reading at 23:49 we went out to Seven Tunnel Junction and was told we may be here for a while due to a signaling failure (little did we know we would be almost 5 hours late!). We waited there for well over an hour before going back to Newport at a speed of 10mph. We sat at Newport for over 2 hours before finally continuing at a pretty slow speed out to Seven Tunnel Junction and via Glouster...
 

Guinness

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My worst delay? It would proberly have to be the time I was coming back from the Wessex 31s meet. At Brighton I got a 377 to Victoria then tube to Euston. I had planned to get the 18:32 back to Macclesfield but was packed. I waited for the next one which was due in about 20 minutes. Then all of a sudden the whole of Euston stations was deserted except for a 12 car 321 and the Sleeper.

The annoucement came that a Power Failure at Wembley had caused all trains to a halt and most trains terminated at Watford Junction (Including my train). There were 2 Pendos in at the station next to each other. I hung around to find out that one was broken (As per bloody usual :roll: ) and the other was an ECS. Virgin then found it would be a good idea that the ECS should go to Liverpool. The next Manchester Train was in 2 hours. So after an hour or so I got to Crewe for a lift back home...
 

joeholmes

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What a contrast, supposedly very good at tackling problems GNER, however the 91 that got stuck in the Heat, GNER train Manager supposedly went very quiet to the passengers that day!!

......

I went on GNER 91111 and found the Train Manager to be very unhelpful and the fact that they were cleaning up and re-placing dishes and laying cutlery extra-ordinarly loudly, considering i was trying to sleep in first class and saw i was trying to sleep, the cleaner and train manerger made no effort to quite down for us in first class,

i do not expect that paying the extra for first class, sorry but i dont...

I was extremly dissapointed with this and wrote to GNER with my grief!

Joe
 

yorkie

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Joe, which coach were you in?

Were you, by any chance, in the Restaurant car?
 

tramboy

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Worst ever delay has to be it taking about five hours Durham-Newark Northgate, instead of the booked 1.5 by direct train.

It was the day after the derailment between Doncaster and York, when GNER were in chaos...getting people to York and then shuttling them to Leeds.

To try and get home early, i was booked on a train at just past 6am, a HST that started in Aberdeen earlier that morning. Five minutes before it was due to arrive...cancelled, and it was suggested that we took the Voyager following it to Leeds and changed there. 1O10, the four car voyager was therefore packed, so i was stood from Durham-Leeds in a rather warm vestibule.

At Leeds, we dashed across platforms to a 225 Mallard set, which wasn't calling at Newark, just its booked stops (a bit of a pain as the day before all GNER trains were stopping everywhere...a friend was on a 373 that stopped at Newark...which was too long!) Anyway, i stood on the Mallard set (vestibule end seats need to come back) to Doncaster, where i had to wait for the next GNER train to come along. 54 minutes later, a 225 set that we had passed (on the voyager)on our way into Leeds sitting in a siding pulls in, and i finally end up in Newark, about 3 hours later.

Not any fault of GNER or Virgin, but it was just a very long trip to stand!

Cheers

Dave
 

yorkie

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tramboy said:
..(vestibule end seats need to come back) ...
I disagree as on Saturday there were loads of seats including whole tables but some people blocked the vestibules as they preferred to sit there. It extended dwell times. There were people at the vestibules at both sides of the coach I was in, people who were unable to find (proper) seats at KX, going north of York, but hadn't bothered to find seats after people got off at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark and Doncaster (Yes a few got on but this was a late evening train so more people got off).

I always feel sorry for the people on that train who are joined by the drunks who board at York every Saturday night though, :(
 

joeholmes

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Im am not too sure but i am definatly sure about the fact that i wasnt in the reserant coach............. even if i was i was still in first class and i think it was appauling!

Regards

Joe
 

Dave A

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My longest delay is from London to Brighton. Delibrately got on the train at 7am so we could get there for the whole day (day trip). A bit the way out of Victoria, we were stuck for almost an hour on a cold train, because the air con on a 377 decided to work :roll:, early in the morning. A trip supposed to be 2 hrs took around 3 1/2. :roll:

But nothing compared to yours :shock:
 

HSTfan!!!

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I don't think I've really been hit by any major delays - maybe I'm just lucky apart from having to abandon a rail journey to cardiff and instead catch the bus...
I was supposed to catch a voyager from york once, and found it to be severely delayed, but before long one I didn't even know was timetabled arrived so I was happy enough! Longest delay being stuck on a train can't have been more than 15minutes or so for me! :D
 

Jim

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HSTfan!!! said:
I was supposed to catch a voyager from york once, and found it to be severely delayed

Some people get used to that, did you get a seat :?:
 

Jim

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Just fact. Anyway, that is not a bad record HST fan
 

Galvanize

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I was delayed by 2.5 hours last Summer on a Pendo from Euston to Wolverhampton, which had a fault developing as we passed tring and as we passsed Leighton Buzzard, the driver slammed the brakes on and the pantographs fell (I was in coach C). We were stuck for ages, control couldn't make up their minds whether to Terminate the train, drag us to Bletchley or Milton Keynes Central, or leave us be <(. The last carriage was still on the platform and eventually, control stopped a Mark 3 set at Leighton Buzzard (which diverted to the slow lines at Ledburn Junction) which we all piled onto and we headed on. Since the train was 50 minutes late (being stuck behind our Pendo), we terminated at Birmingham new street instead of Wolves. This meant we missed our connection (1254 Wolves-Machynlleth) by 2 hours. So at BNS we piled aboard the 14:18 voyager to Wolverhampton to catch the 14:54 instead. We complained to Virgin but we got no compensation :x.

/Rant over
 

Techniquest

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Nearest for me is the occasional delay of no more than an hour usually for me. Stranded in Reading once for 3 hours (0723 to 1030-ish) due to a foolish TM who sold me a ticket invalid for my return journey in late 2003.
 

Met Driver

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I once got stranded on the Cotswold Line for a couple of hours due to a defective train. As a gesture of good will, the items on the refreshments trolley were issued to passengers for free! Plus, I was allowed up front for a bit, so it wasn't all bad.
 

voyagerdude220

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joeholmes said:
Ill have none of that offence at the voyagers thank you!!!

Joe

Nice to see I'm not the only one backing up Voyagers & Super Voyagers :)
 
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Tom

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voyagerdude220, please can you not bump topics which are over 3 months old unless you have something important and valid.
 
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