Passengers face triple whammy during LM strike

[MKB]

My experience of the London Northwestern Railway (LM) Saturday strikes (travelling from Nuneaton to Euston and Nuneaton to Liverpool) so far is that passengers are getting a very raw deal.

- All advance fares have been removed, so passengers are typically having to pay around three times the price to travel on strike days.

- Revised journey times are considerably higher than they need to be because LM are refusing to allow passengers to travel via reasonable routes that, while longer, would minimise the delay. This is because LM will not put in place cross-ticket acceptance with Virgin or Chiltern.

- Having arrived at your destination with over an hour's delay compared to the published journey time that you booked, LM are refusing to pay Delay Repay, as they will only measure the delay based on their last-minute revised timetable. So, a 75-minute booked journey from Nuneaton to Euston can take twice that and you're entitled to no compensation.

I am really struggling to understand how any of this can be justified.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Revised journey times are considerably higher than they need to be because LM are refusing to allow passengers to travel via reasonable routes that, while longer, would minimise the delay. This is because LM will not put in place cross-ticket acceptance with Virgin or Chiltern.

Is it that LNR are refusing to put it in place, or is it that those TOCs are refusing to offer it? It is normal when a TOC is disrupted due to strikes not to do this.

Of course LNR could simply purchase walk-up tickets for their passengers on those services, but that would probably be unreasonably expensive.

As for Delay Repay, given how reliably (or not) the emergency timetable has operated I think you're in with a very good chance of at least an hour's worth.

 

[gray1404]

My understanding is that it depends what timetable was advertised when the customer booked their ticket. If the ticket was purchased before the strike timetable was announced they a customer is entitled to claim delay repay against the original timetable. I suspect any passenger may have to remind WMT of this if their inital claim is rejected. If the ticket was purchased following the publication of the strike timetable then delay repay can only be claimed against the revised timetable if delays occur.

It really is poor that WMT have not arranged ticket acceptance with other TOCs. At the very least I would have expected them to arrange acceptance with Chiltern between Birmingham and London.

 

[infobleep]

Is it that LNR are refusing to put it in place, or is it that those TOCs are refusing to offer it? It is normal when a TOC is disrupted due to strikes not to do this.

Of course LNR could simply purchase walk-up tickets for their passengers on those services, but that would probably be unreasonably expensive.

As for Delay Repay, given how reliably (or not) the emergency timetable has operated I think you're in with a very good chance of at least an hour's worth.

South Western Railway have arranged ticket acceptance for some TOCs, so it is possible.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It really is poor that WMT have not arranged ticket acceptance with other TOCs. At the very least I would have expected them to arrange acceptance with Chiltern between Birmingham and London.

Chiltern have their own overcrowding issue per another thread. Why would they offer to make it worse? They are not required to do so.

 

[gray1404]

The other thread about overcrowding on Chiltern was based on one train that was shorted formed, not that every Chiltern service is overcrowded.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The other thread about overcrowding on Chiltern was based on one train that was shorted formed, not that every Chiltern service is overcrowded.

Most Saturday trains are overcrowded at this time of year, being Christmas shopping time.

 

[gordonthemoron]

I got the 20:20 Virgin service from Euston to Milton Keynes last Saturday. THe number of pax who got off at Milton Keynes was unbelievable, looked a lot more than on a weekday peak service

 

[Bletchleyite]

I got the 20:20 Virgin service from Euston to Milton Keynes last Saturday. THe number of pax who got off at Milton Keynes was unbelievable, looked a lot more than on a weekday peak service

It would anyway as VT-only off peak tickets are cheaper.

 

[boxy321]

There were very clear announcements made this morning about tickets not being accepted at Coventry between TOCs. Seems VT et al getting fed up with it.