Train leaving early

[marshmallow]

The other day I was travelling on a South Western Railway service from Staines, where signs state that train doors close up to 30 seconds before departure, however to my horror the doors on one service were closed around 2.5 minutes before the scheduled departure time, and the train departed over 2 minutes early! I complained to a member of staff at the station who was surprised and said that someone would be in trouble when the train got to Waterloo, however there was no apology let alone any attempt to help my situation; he simply told me when the next train would depart.

I feel that this is unacceptable, since although there may be another train in 10 minutes, this could have a much more significant effect, e.g. missing a train connection and being delayed by over an hour. What would you have done in this situation?

 

[AlterEgo]

I complained to a member of staff at the station who was surprised and said that someone would be in trouble when the train got to Waterloo, however there was no apology let alone any attempt to help my situation; he simply told me when the next train would depart.

Given that the next train was 10 minutes away, what would you want him to do to help your situation?

If you were significantly delayed as a result, you could claim Delay Repay, or you may have needed to have your ticket endorse. What help did you need in your situation?

 

[sjoh]

I think it's probably a point of complaining to ensure it doesn't happen again. After all, I for one would obviously rather make the connection I'd booked than get a refund, in ideal circumstances.

 

[chorleyjeff]

Given that the next train was 10 minutes away, what would you want him to do to help your situation?

If you were significantly delayed as a result, you could claim Delay Repay, or you may have needed to have your ticket endorse. What help did you need in your situation?

An acknowledgement that an error was made and an offer to advise what to do if a problem had been caused.
I dread the thoughts of nationalisation and the idea that passengers are an inconvenient nuisance.

 

[Clip]

I had this on the overground once and made a complaint and got a tenner off tfl.

theres pretty much nothing the station staff can do except pass on your complaint.

 

[The Planner]

You mean they're not now?

 

[AlterEgo]

An acknowledgement that an error was made and an offer to advise what to do if a problem had been caused.
I dread the thoughts of nationalisation and the idea that passengers are an inconvenient nuisance.

An acknowledgement/apology isn’t help, and my post was solely asking what help the OP needed.

 

[chorleyjeff]

You mean they're not now?

Not in my experience.

 

[TEW]

I think it's probably a point of complaining to ensure it doesn't happen again. After all, I for one would obviously rather make the connection I'd booked than get a refund, in ideal circumstances.

I don't think complaining will stop it happening again. It's just human error. The guard could have done over a hundred stations calls just that day, it is very easy to make an error like that.

 

[skyhigh]

Not wishing to start the whole discussion again (I'm sure there's been several threads on this topic - see this for example), but it's entirely possible the guard dispatched the train at the right time according to their company-issued watch/screen they were nearby to/clock on the train etc...

 

[Bromley boy]

The other day I was travelling on a South Western Railway service from Staines, where signs state that train doors close up to 30 seconds before departure, however to my horror the doors on one service were closed around 2.5 minutes before the scheduled departure time, and the train departed over 2 minutes early! I complained to a member of staff at the station who was surprised and said that someone would be in trouble when the train got to Waterloo, however there was no apology let alone any attempt to help my situation; he simply told me when the next train would depart.

I feel that this is unacceptable, since although there may be another train in 10 minutes, this could have a much more significant effect, e.g. missing a train connection and being delayed by over an hour. What would you have done in this situation?

This is probably down to a simple error, most likely a driver or guard misreading their schedule card. It's certainly not ideal but unfortunately it does happen from time to time.

It's difficult to see what more the member of staff you complained to could usefully have done in this situation and thankfully it sounds like the delay to your journey was pretty insignificant in this instance.

In this situation I'd probably have thought "no harm no foul", grabbed a coffee with my spare ten minutes and joined the next available service.

 

[TEW]

Not wishing to start the whole discussion again (I'm sure there's been several threads on this topic - see this for example), but it's entirely possible the guard dispatched the train at the right time according to their company-issued watch/screen they were nearby to/clock on the train etc...

Not unheard of for the time on the staff's schedule card not to match the times being displayed on the CIS screens either.

 

[Antman]

The other day I was travelling on a South Western Railway service from Staines, where signs state that train doors close up to 30 seconds before departure, however to my horror the doors on one service were closed around 2.5 minutes before the scheduled departure time, and the train departed over 2 minutes early! I complained to a member of staff at the station who was surprised and said that someone would be in trouble when the train got to Waterloo, however there was no apology let alone any attempt to help my situation; he simply told me when the next train would depart.

I feel that this is unacceptable, since although there may be another train in 10 minutes, this could have a much more significant effect, e.g. missing a train connection and being delayed by over an hour. What would you have done in this situation?

Probably not much the station staff could do in the circumstances but it's certainly worth making a complaint about.

 

[sheff1]

What would you have done in this situation?

It's difficult to see what more the member of staff you complained to could usefully have done in this situation ....

Ask whether they had a connection to make. If the answer was "yes", and it was now likely to be missed, advise the time of the next connecting train and, if necessary (Advance etc), endorse the ticket. If the answer was "no" then an apology, although not "useful", would be appropriate.

 

[fowler9]

Dealing with complaints similar to this I find the fact is that almost always the customer wants money or a guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong ever again. Unfortunately for them the later should never be promised, the former may be possible. I would love to ask some customers to guarantee they will never make a mistake again.

 

[Surreytraveller]

however there was no apology let alone any attempt to help my situation; he simply told me when the next train would depart.

If he told you when the next train would depart, then he obviously did attempt to help you!

 

[fowler9]

If he told you when the next train would depart, then he obviously did attempt to help you!

Ah but were there hugs? That personal touch makes all the difference. As I mentioned I deal with similar complaints and all you can tell the customer is that you are very sorry and that you are aware that that doesn't give them their time back plus you try to minimise any delay for them. Then the customer says "Thats not good enough".

 

[Bromley boy]

Ask whether they had a connection to make. If the answer was "yes", and it was now likely to be missed, advise the time of the next connecting train and, if necessary (Advance etc), endorse the ticket. If the answer was "no" then an apology, although not "useful", would be appropriate.

I don’t disagree that a passenger in this situation has a legitimate grievance.

However endorsement of the ticket would only be possible the member or staff:

a. Knows for a fact the train left early (by the actual time rather than the passenger’s version of it);
b. Has authority to endorse said ticket.

For these reasons this kind of thing is probably best dealt via customer service and delay repay etc.

If I was in the OP’s situation, where no real inconvenience had been caused, I’d feel mildly irritated but probably wouldn’t feel the need to seek out an apology or pursue the matter further. Of course that’s just my take on it.

 

[PHILIPE]

There are complaints all the time about trains leaving early on ATW Twitter

 

[samuelmorris]

Almost every Charing Cross bound service from London Bridge seems to do this nowadays (assuming it isn't delayed such that it wouldn't be possible of course). Any idea why? it's not the end of the world but it is annoying.

 

[yorkie]

Almost every Charing Cross bound service from London Bridge seems to do this nowadays (assuming it isn't delayed such that it wouldn't be possible of course). Any idea why? it's not the end of the world but it is annoying.

That's different; it's probably policy to allow it in this example, if another train isn't too far behind, as it makes sense not to hang around.

 

[Kite159]

Almost every Charing Cross bound service from London Bridge seems to do this nowadays (assuming it isn't delayed such that it wouldn't be possible of course). Any idea why? it's not the end of the world but it is annoying.

South Eastern use a "go when ready" system at London Bridge & Waterloo East for inbound services as the next service won't be far behind

Similar to Haymarket for Edinburgh bound services

 

[Bromley boy]

Almost every Charing Cross bound service from London Bridge seems to do this nowadays (assuming it isn't delayed such that it wouldn't be possible of course). Any idea why? it's not the end of the world but it is annoying.

Why is it annoying?

It’s because frequency of “up” services is such that the timetable is irrelevant. Nobody is planning to get a particular “up” train from London Bridge who wouldn’t be equally happy with one either two mins before or two mins after! Trains often arrive up to four minutes ahead of book, and there would be no point in them sitting there, blocking a platform.

This is especially the case now the dual up/down platforming is in operation when the priority is getting the trains away so that the platform staff can attend to the service arriving on the adjacent platform.

Of course, it’s a different story on the down where trains will always leave on time - although they typically arrive with only a couple of minutes in hand so the dwells don’t tend to be very long.

 

[Surreytraveller]

Almost every Charing Cross bound service from London Bridge seems to do this nowadays (assuming it isn't delayed such that it wouldn't be possible of course). Any idea why? it's not the end of the world but it is annoying.

Why is it annoying when the next train is right behind? It's the same at Clapham Junction for trains going towards Victoria. Its to prevent delays occurring.
I presume you've never travelled on the Underground? You would have no idea if the train you're travelling on is on time, unless you'd gone to catch the first or last train of the day.

 

[fowler9]

At the end of the day if the train after is ten minutes later then it isn't a major headache. Try it on with your boss, they'll just tell you you should allow enough time for things to go wrong.

 

[Bromley boy]

At the end of the day if the train after is ten minutes later then it isn't a major headache. Try it on with your boss, they'll just tell you you should allow enough time for things to go wrong.

You make an excellent point.

My days of commuting into London became a lot easier when I accepted that things can go wrong and started getting a train or two ahead of the train I needed to get, or three or four trains ahead if it was imperative that I get to my destination for a particular time.

Ok you lose a few minutes in bed, but so much better to have a relaxed commute, with time in hand, than to spend the entire journey sweating and constantly watch checking!

If only more people would adopt the same approach the faces staring blankly into my cab window of a morning might look a little less depressed

 

[tsr]

Almost every Charing Cross bound service from London Bridge seems to do this nowadays (assuming it isn't delayed such that it wouldn't be possible of course). Any idea why? it's not the end of the world but it is annoying.

Some urban stations in London have instructions (can be temporary or permanent) to allow staff to dispatch the train when safe and ready, without waiting for the booked time. This is usually to try to avoid services bunching up at bottlenecks, especially if a delayed fast service gets in the wrong order with a punctual one, and then gets stuck in a queue because the service ahead is waiting for time.