Spongthrush
Member
- Joined
- 16 Jul 2019
- Messages
- 10
After a rather chaotic experience yesterday AM Winchester-Waterloo my wife asked me too many questions that I can't, with basic knowledge of the rail system, answer, so...
...disruption yesterday due a failed train at Redbridge. We were on an Advance ticket so pitched up a little early. As our booked train was showing 53 mins late, we asked the SWR guy by the barriers if we had to wait for our delayed (but booked) train, or could we get on anything*. The SWR guy didn't, or couldn't answer the question. *I assume that we had to stick with SWR and couldn't use XC. My times below are approx and only for example.
1. If holding an Advance ticket for the e.g. 1048 Winchester-Waterloo, can one travel on a service departing around that time or must one wait until it arrives an hour late?
Now I get there's some jiggerypokery required to recover some sort of normality after a problem, but yesterday the recorded announcements and train indicator were telling us about the next direct train to Waterloo being e.g. the 0948 departing at 1040. Which would be fine if it actually stopped and a shame as it was half empty. The next train, the delayed 1018 was then announced as the next train to Waterloo but only 5 coaches, causing those with pushchairs some angst as platform was heaving by now. Thankfully, loads of people exited the train, everyone piled on, to be told to get off as the train was out of service (and reversing it turned out), the train indicator and announcements still not in synch with reality telling us the train was headed to Waterloo. The next train was announced as 'not stopping at this station' but did.
2. Why are the passenger announcements and train indicators not linked to whatever system the crews use? Clearly the train operating staff have been told where they're going.
3. How on earth is a passenger to know what is going on, 'in the old days' someone would make a manual announcement, have such staff been automated?
4. Are the ticket barrier staff, who look like the go to (only) person to ask actually completely in the dark too? I'm guessing that the public expect them to know, but maybe that's not their job description? If so, I feel sorry for them being the target of abuse by disgruntled passengers.
thanks!
Ian
...disruption yesterday due a failed train at Redbridge. We were on an Advance ticket so pitched up a little early. As our booked train was showing 53 mins late, we asked the SWR guy by the barriers if we had to wait for our delayed (but booked) train, or could we get on anything*. The SWR guy didn't, or couldn't answer the question. *I assume that we had to stick with SWR and couldn't use XC. My times below are approx and only for example.
1. If holding an Advance ticket for the e.g. 1048 Winchester-Waterloo, can one travel on a service departing around that time or must one wait until it arrives an hour late?
Now I get there's some jiggerypokery required to recover some sort of normality after a problem, but yesterday the recorded announcements and train indicator were telling us about the next direct train to Waterloo being e.g. the 0948 departing at 1040. Which would be fine if it actually stopped and a shame as it was half empty. The next train, the delayed 1018 was then announced as the next train to Waterloo but only 5 coaches, causing those with pushchairs some angst as platform was heaving by now. Thankfully, loads of people exited the train, everyone piled on, to be told to get off as the train was out of service (and reversing it turned out), the train indicator and announcements still not in synch with reality telling us the train was headed to Waterloo. The next train was announced as 'not stopping at this station' but did.
2. Why are the passenger announcements and train indicators not linked to whatever system the crews use? Clearly the train operating staff have been told where they're going.
3. How on earth is a passenger to know what is going on, 'in the old days' someone would make a manual announcement, have such staff been automated?
4. Are the ticket barrier staff, who look like the go to (only) person to ask actually completely in the dark too? I'm guessing that the public expect them to know, but maybe that's not their job description? If so, I feel sorry for them being the target of abuse by disgruntled passengers.
thanks!
Ian