Johnco, your point is not being disputed by myself sir. Obviously, keeping ALL passengers informed should be a key goal. In reality, the nature of that particular train fire (combined with the extreme weather across the area) caused the system to go into meltdown.
Its also worth noting, that when the mainline is disrupted like it was. Trains are usually diverted via Chertsey. However the first proving train failed at Chertsey due to ice on the Conrail, so diverting trains was not an option.
Hope this has not dented your confidence in using the train, as it was an extreme set of circumstances.
Now I am trying to reconstruct the sequence of events of the day, so would appreciate any help from anybody on any of the following points.
GUILDFORD train fire - allegedly a train went on fire at London Road at 04.58.
Any more information about what happened, eg fire brigade called, fire put out, train removed?
BASINGSTOKE fire alleged to have broken out about 09.00, what time were fire brigade called, and how long before fire was out and train removed?
BERRYLANDS fire - time seems to vary between 09.15 and 10.45. What time did the fire start, when was the fire brigade called, and when was the fire put out and the train removed? This is said to have been the 06.38 from Portsmouth Harbour (1T22). Was it already halted or delayed when the fire broke out, and if so why?
WIMBLEDON train broken down - a number of passengers including myseklf were told before 10.00 that there was a delay due to a train broken down at WIMBLEDON. This was repeated on a number of occasions, and about 11.00 we were told that this WIMBLEDON train had now been removed and we could proceed (but we didn't!). Later we were told that a train had NOW gone on fire at Berrylands and there would be further delays. I can find no other trace of this breakdown. Any info anybody?
There were also rumours of train fires at WOKING (1W44?) on 6 January,
and (1Z26) on 7 January, and possibly another on 8 January. Any info?