Later today I'm making a journey from Stevenage to Exeter St Davids. As it happens I've got a trough Advance ticket as this was the cheapest option.
The itinerary tells me to get a Thameslink train to Farringdon, change to the Underground and go to Paddington for the GWR train to Exeter. All very well except there are no Underground trains from Farringdon today due to engineering work.
The alternative way I'd normally get to Paddington is to take the Victoria Line from Finsbury Park or Kings Cross to Oxford Circus and change to the Bakerloo Line. But the Bakerloo's not operating today due to strike action.
Thankfully I know my way round London so I'll change to the Central Line at Oxford Circus, travel to Lancaster Gate from where it is a short walk to Paddington. Lancaster Gate is a recognised interchange station for Paddington so all's well.
I've had absolutely no contact from the ticket retailer about the potential disruption to my journey. How hard would it be for ticket retailers to contact customers who have booked tickets in advance and notify them of potential disruption due to underground engineering and strike action? Should they be required to do this.
It doesn't worry me too much as I'm in the know on this sort of stuff but it has the potential to cause much stress to a 'normal' passenger. I wonder how many people will get charged a new fare for missing their booked train today? All of this has the potential to give the railway a bad name.
Airlines notify me if there's a change or potential delay to my journey. WHy can't the railway do this?
The itinerary tells me to get a Thameslink train to Farringdon, change to the Underground and go to Paddington for the GWR train to Exeter. All very well except there are no Underground trains from Farringdon today due to engineering work.
The alternative way I'd normally get to Paddington is to take the Victoria Line from Finsbury Park or Kings Cross to Oxford Circus and change to the Bakerloo Line. But the Bakerloo's not operating today due to strike action.
Thankfully I know my way round London so I'll change to the Central Line at Oxford Circus, travel to Lancaster Gate from where it is a short walk to Paddington. Lancaster Gate is a recognised interchange station for Paddington so all's well.
I've had absolutely no contact from the ticket retailer about the potential disruption to my journey. How hard would it be for ticket retailers to contact customers who have booked tickets in advance and notify them of potential disruption due to underground engineering and strike action? Should they be required to do this.
It doesn't worry me too much as I'm in the know on this sort of stuff but it has the potential to cause much stress to a 'normal' passenger. I wonder how many people will get charged a new fare for missing their booked train today? All of this has the potential to give the railway a bad name.
Airlines notify me if there's a change or potential delay to my journey. WHy can't the railway do this?