johncrossley
Established Member
I can't seem to get any tickets to Roydon today. I know there are replacement buses but they don't seem to be stopping at Roydon. Can that be right? It normally gets a train service on Sundays.
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No tickets to Roydon
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This appears to be correct. No services (train, bus, otherwise) booked to call at Roydon today. On cursory glance, however, I can’t see any reference to this in engineering work updates.
There appears to be no service at all to Roydon today. This is a bit baffling as the replacement buses between Waltham Cross and Stansted pass very close to Roydon station on their way between Broxbourne and Harlow Town. They could stop at the intersection of the Epping Road and B181 towards the station, without taking a detour at all.
I suppose you could ask Greater Anglia (e.g. on Twitter) what they want Roydon passengers to do. It's possible that if you asked the rail replacement bus coordinator or driver to drop you off in Roydon that they would do so, but I don't think it would work the other way around.
johncrossley
Established Member
Don't they use the A414 and A10? If they do, serving Roydon would be awkward.
I'm not on Twitter. Anyone else is welcome to ask them!
Perhaps they do, but it looks to be slightly faster (and shorter) to go through Roydon. So I'm surprised that a Roydon call isn't in these buses.
It's not unusual to see stations missed out on replacement buses where there is another station very close by, but that's hardly the case here. It's a good 2 miles from Roydon to Rye House by foot - by car it's nearly 4 miles, more or less the same as to Harlow Town.
I had a look on Google Maps to see where the Replacement Bus might stop as the road approaching from both directions to the level crossing at the station is quite narrow also I had a look on National Rail Enquiries to see what the Rail Replacement instructions were. All was solved with NRE site saying:--
Location for Rail Replacement Services
Not served by rail replacement.
So they're might be a taxis arranged from Harlow Town, but there is nothing on NRE to say that, or in fact nothing to say what to do on occasions like today.
Location for Rail Replacement Services
Not served by rail replacement.
So they're might be a taxis arranged from Harlow Town, but there is nothing on NRE to say that, or in fact nothing to say what to do on occasions like today.
johncrossley
Established Member
OK, so I opened a Twitter account! 
The advice for Roydon is to use the Help Point.
The advice for Roydon is to use the Help Point.
Mcr Warrior
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Simultaneously both helpful, and, then again, not!
johncrossley
Established Member
Simultaneously both helpful, and, then again, not!
I guess it seems they are obliged to provide transport, but they want people to think there is no service, because taxis cost money.
They are obliged to provide transport for people who bought a ticket before the trains were cancelled for the engineering work. They're not obliged to provide transport for people who don't already have a ticket.
johncrossley
Established Member
Are they going to ask me at the Help Point when I bought my ticket?
The first option is that they might tell you to book yourself a taxi to Harlow Town or Rye House and then send them the bill. Of course you'd also need to send in your ticket and that's where you would get unstuck if you didn't already have one.
Alternatively they might tell you you're on your own (even if you did book before the engineering work was known about), and refuse to assist. Meaning again, you're in pretty much the above position, having to recover your costs from GA.
Finally, it's possible that they would simply take it on trust that you have a valid ticket and book you a taxi anyway. Or possibly arrange for one of the buses to stop at the aforementioned intersection.
johncrossley
Established Member
The main question here is: are GA allowed to advertise no service when a station normally has a Sunday service and there is no alternative station sufficiently close by?
Under their agreement with the DfT - it depends on what the exact wording is. But likely yes.
Under their agreement with passengers - if people booked before the engineering work changes were enacted, no, they must provide an alternative method of transport as well as delay compensation if relevant.
But they have no general duty to the public to operate any particular services, even if they normally operate a Sunday service. That obligation only arises when you form a contract (i.e. buy a ticket).
Rightly or wrongly, it's something that happens all the time during Engineering Work.
Chiltern, for example, don't lay on buses to their London area stations (other than West Ruislip) as London Underground provides an alternative in most cases; nor do they provide buses to Denham Golf Club or Seer Green & Jordans due to poor road access.
Chiltern, for example, don't lay on buses to their London area stations (other than West Ruislip) as London Underground provides an alternative in most cases; nor do they provide buses to Denham Golf Club or Seer Green & Jordans due to poor road access.
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