What is the longest delay you have had?

[mralexn]

I have tried searching but not found a thread on this, so forgive me if there is ^^

but i was just wondering what is the longest train delay you have had?,

for me it would be on the Caledonian sleeper a few months ago when the 90 on the front failed and they had to get another one, we finally got into fort william around 275 Down!,
Still thanks Scot rail for the lie in ^_^

 

[swt_passenger]

15 hours late into Newcastle from Plymouth during a strike in 1972...

 

[mralexn]

15 hours late into Newcastle from Plymouth during a strike in 1972...

OUCH!! what happened exactly?, where did you get stuck too?

 

[atillathehunn]

Not the UK, but still train...

I was due to get the train from Lyon to Lucca (Italy) last summer via Turin, Milan, and Florence. We failed only about an hour from Lyon, but in typical French fashion we got no information and the train crew buggered off! We were stuck for around 5 and a half hours in some tiny village in Switzerland! I was due to arrive in Lucca at around 6.30pm. In the end I didn't get there until well past midnight. To make matters worse, my phone had died so I had no way of contacting the family in the Lucca to let them know where I had got to!

Another one was in Kenya, I was due to get the train from Butere to Kisumu, to change to the overnight train to Nairobi. The train from Butere didn't turn up for three days...

 

[swt_passenger]

OUCH!! what happened exactly?, where did you get stuck too?

At the very least New St, Derby and Sheffield - maybe more, it's a long time ago. Basically relief drivers were not always showing up on time, they were abandoning trains in platforms at random, refusing to operate particular stock if it wasn't to their liking etc. At one station the whole train load of pax was transferred cross platform to another train and then back again after a couple of hours when a different driver showed up.

Funny thing was IIRC people just shrugged their shoulders and got on with it, don't remember the media getting involved much, and no-one had thought of compensation schemes in those days...

 

[DiscoStu]

(In the UK)Was on the Southbound Clansman in 1988, and the 47/4 failed at Bannockburn (nr Stirling). We sat there for three hours. It was worth it though because 26041 rescued us

(Abroad) Was on a sleeper train from New Delhi to Varanassi in 2007. Don't know the reason for the delay, but we arrived over five hours late .... then took a boat trip down the Ganges river and saw numerous dead bodies floating past. Great day.

 

[asylumxl]

In total 3 hours after being on a train which hit someone, then being detrained at the next station eventually and put on a later service which then was running late.

Unfortunately, the TOC didn't do delay repay .

 

[scotsman]

In total 3 hours after being on a train which hit someone, then being detrained at the next station eventually and put on a later service which then was running late.

Unfortunately, the TOC didn't do delay repay .

You wouldn't have got anything for the suicide delay anyway

 

[sunday]

A combination of unorganised rail replacement bus services and sheer incompetence got me back 4 hours late earlier this year. Thats in addition to the extra hour to account for the fact it was a bus instead of a train.

 

[duffman82]

4 hours late on my first rail trip back from london, Pendo Failed at Lichfield Trent Valley and we had a Class 57 come and get us and took us all the way to Lime St.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

You wouldn't have got anything for the suicide delay anyway

You can now though...

 

[mralexn]

You can now though...

does it depend on the TOC ?

i see east coast are doing delay repay for any reason the train is late over 30 mins ,

however there are different rules with different tocs im guessing?

or has there now become a "delay repay" standard that all the Tocs have to provide?

 

[chefchenko]

mine was the inverness sleeper about 7 yrs ago, 2 or 3 hours late at carlisle,i think it was something to do with no driver onward to edinburgh ? i was late for work but at least we got free square sausage sandwiches and hot drinks from perth onwards and i think i got some tokens from scotrail for £30 or so !!

 

[Big Chris]

In proportion to my journey the worst delay I have experienced was 9 hours on a 3hr20min trip. After Christmas while the West Coast was being upgraded, thedy included a fire at Birmingham International and a fight between two mothers over a buggie on a rail replacement coach. Needless to say it was not the relaxing journey I had hoped for.

 

[43167]

Think my longest involved a charter train hauled by 56115. All the lights on the loco went out and the train stood at Blackburn for at least 3 hours. Despite speculation that an assisting loco was coming from Warrington, the train finally got underway, when a tempory headlight arrived, by taxi, from Preston. Never found out why it took so long.

 

[Statto]

Most i've been delayed is 1 hour in 1995 when the Class 86 Loco failed at Watford, & we had to wait for a spare Loco to arrive in from Bletchley.

However i remember reading about someone who ended up taking 10 hours from Blackpool to Leeds one Sunday in November 2000, just weeks after the Hatfield derailment, & was only offered 50% compensation.

 

[Mojo]

You wouldn't have got anything for the suicide delay anyway

You do if the Toc offers Delay Repay, hence asylumxl's comment. FGW do not offer Delay Repay as they operate under the older system of compensation.

My longest delays have both been about an hour and a half. The first was when travelling back from Gatwick Airport to Montpelier on a ticket routed via Warminster and Salisbury. I was due to change at Clapham, Woking, Salisbury and Temple Meads. I made it as far as Woking on time and spent a bit of time on the platform there and also a similarly lengthy period at Salisbury. I missed the last train from Temple Meads to Montpelier so alternative arrangements were made. This was caused by a fatality somewhere in SWT land.

I was also delayed on the last train of the night on a Saturday from Birmingham to Euston. We stopped south of Milton Keynes, because "a London Midland train has hit a load of cardboard boxes" so said the TM. We moved off after an hour of not moving anywhere (and with barely any information) but by this time the fast lines were closed for most of the remainder of the trip, so we crawled along behind a stopper. Missed the last Tube of the night, and at the time I stupidly didn't think of requesting onward transport so I had to get a Night Bus to Cockfosters.

 

[Clip]

Ive been pretty lucky with delays - the worst i can remember is a 3 hour delay on the sleepr to Sydney and 2 hours getting the last train to Margate a few years back when it snowed. We were stopped at longfield or one of them cos the train in front was having difficulty making the climb ahead.

 

[Flamingo]

7th February 1991, long before I worked for the Railway. The 16.30 (ish) from Liverpool Street to Norwich. Got in after 1am. Snow (the wrong type, as I remember!)

Since working on the railway, I took over six hours to get Pad-Cdf once. Train in front had a fatality at Goring, we were shuttled back to Reading, had to wait for a platform, then had to turn around again. Added to this was the fact that the tunnel was closed, so were were planned to go Gloucester, had a problem (can't remember what) on the single line at Kemble, it was one of those days!

 

[AlterEgo]

You do if the Toc offers Delay Repay, hence asylumxl's comment. FGW do not offer Delay Repay as they operate under the older system of compensation.

Virgin also have a compensation agreement in place since 1997 (although the new franchise will put a new, more generous scheme into place). Virgin will in almost all cases compensate for things such as suicides, and waive the exceptions highlighted in the NRCoC.

My longest delay was just last week! OHLE damage at Stowe Tunnel on the WCML. I was 240 late by the time I got back....no comp for me as I was travelling on a pass.....

 

[jj1314]

I remember a particularly delayed journey a few months ago - in fact, thinking about it, this was November 2008. I was trying to get from Penzance to Bangor.

The first train, one of First Great Western's huge HSTs, left Penzance at around 8am (I think) and was routed via Pinhoe/Crewkerne and scheduled to rejoin the GWML before Reading (where we were due to change onto a Cross Country train to New Street). The first delay - about an hour or so - was at one of the passing loops on the West of England (is that the name?) line waiting for an SWT service to free up a single section. On departure, our train then lost half an hour or so through constant wheel-slipping. 'Hilariously', further along the route, we were given the wrong route by a signaller and had to reverse for a mile or so which led to all sorts of chaos in the quiet coach!

Once we made it to Reading, it became apparent the national network was in a bit of a state. Heavy rain was falling and the Cross Country service was down on the boards as an hour or so late. Finally, a Voyager appeared and it was evident - looking at around 200 people on the bay platform - that we'd be stood for much of the journey.

Of course, things had to go downhill from there. We were held at a red signal in the approach to Birmingham to - and I quote - "wait for flood water to subside." I'd seen the news the day before and was too jaded to panic - but remember wondering whether the flood could 'subside' in anything under a day or two!

On arrival at New Street, the concourse was in chaos and as it was a Sunday evening, trains further north were limited. We were escorted to a London Midland 350 heading towards Crewe. Having been sat on the train for 15 minutes, with no movement, an announcement then told us to find an identical train on an adjacent platform. Good thing we'd travelled light!

Eventually, left New Street around 11pm. On arrival at Crewe, there was no staff in sight and no mention of the 01-something train towards Holyhead. The station looked 'closed' but 10 to 15 of us stood on the far platform, hoping for a sign of life. A train eventually arrived, we boarded, and arrived into Bangor around 3am.

So in all, a roughly 9 hour trip ended up taking nearer 17. I didn't think to claim compensation. All this hassle and, almost ironically, because I'd sold my car the weekend before and delivered it to Penzance knowing (or so I thought) that I would be able to rely on public transport!

 

[222007]

For me its 3 and a half hours at birmingham new street. This was about 8 years ago when there was signalling problems between Derby and New street. I was going to Newquay and ended up missing the connection at Par Virgin CrossCountry as it was didnt have a clue nor did the station staff at new street but now being in the industry i realise it wasnt as straight forward as i thought it was all those years ago

 

[caliwag]

6 hours on the ECML, about '97. One of the many 'points failures' (anyone know why it was so bad in those days?). Single-line working (around Newark I think).
Coal trains paraded past, I honestly think that we'd been forgotten.

Arrived home in York after 3am. That was the start of my commuting YRK to KGX...didn't bode well.

 

[Bittern]

A few months ago -before I even boarded a train- a 334 failed on the single line near Hamilton which caused massive delays! I had to be in Glasgow for 10:30. Ha! Didn't get there until nearly 13:00!

 

[syorksdeano]

I think my longest ever delay must have been Bradford to Llandrindod Wells a few years ago. Should of arrived at something like 10am. Eventually arrived at 7:40pm via Cardiff and a taxi from Cardiff as no trains were running due to flooding. I left Bradford at some stupid time (5am)

 

[PaulLothian]

5 hours or so, arriving in Athens overland from Paris in 1972 after three nights in couchettes - it did mean that we saw much of northern Greece in daylight.

On the return journey, the train became so late crossing Yugoslavia that we were attached to the following train from Venice - about 20 coaches (double headed) that needed a double pull-up at each stop. No idea why.

We were four hours late at Brig, and the couchettes that should have been attached had been sent on with another train, despite the fact that most of the berths were to be used by passengers on our service. Despite this the SNCF managed an on-time arrival in Paris!

When you're young, you enjoy that sort of adventure!

 

[Solaris]

December 1981 - very cold as I recall. Left Manchester Picadilly at approx 4PM and due to arrive in Cardiff at about 9PM. However, we actually arrived at Cardiff Central at 5AM the following morning. About 13 hours in total. Two failed engines and a 2AM change at Gloucester in -13C temps (where some passengers were ferried off to hospital suffering from hypothermia as the trains heating had packed up). Felt like a scene from Dr Zhivago!
S

 

[Ostrich]

Not long after the WCML electrification was completed (1974?), you could catch the Saturday early-morning Birmingham - Glasgow/Edinburgh, arriving around 12:30, take in a soccer match, leave Scotland around 17:45 and get back in Birmingham for 22:30. For a period, a limited number of cheap promotional return tickets went on sale at New Street the Wednesday before, on a first-come first-served basis, and cost, from memory, £4. The train, again from memory, was the "Midland Scot" - correct me if I'm wrong!

All went swingingly until the Saturday when my return train (Class 87) failed at Oxenholme. We stood on the platform for some time, watching the pantograph rise, hit the overhead with a flash, and promptly descend again.

Eventually a Class 40 arrived wrong line from Preston and towed us to Crewe, where a replacement locomotive was rustled up. I recall we eventually arrived in New Street around 02:30, the cumulative delay was well over 3 hours.

 

[asylumxl]

Quite suprised sonic2009 hasn't posted in this thread

 

[scotsman]

Last November. Edinburgh - Inverness at the start of Scotland's worst winter since erm...the last one. Got there 20 late due to a late running southbound train coming off the single section at Dalwhinnie.

On the return journey everything went fine until Aviemore. Upon stopping, the Driver blasted the horn and got out, I noticed a bit of a burnt smell - the cooling fans were on full whack. We sat there for around 15 minutes, the Conductor informed us that there was a fault (later found to be caused by water ingress from melting snow), and in order to continue, the Driver had to isolate a number of things including the pass com. From there we carried on without incident.

However, the late arrival meant me and my mate missed our connection to Edinburgh. No matter, we hung around in -6C and snow for the 1800, arriving at 1756, when the crew promptly headed for the mess - there was no-one to relieve them. We boarded, grateful for the heating. We sat for 20 minutes while nothing happened, we decided to open LDB on our phones - our train was cancelled. Some other passengers came through, looking for crew - we told them it was cancelled and they 'evacuated' the train.

Ten minutes later the entire train was crammed into the station manager's office, where he was organising taxis. We refused, on the grounds that the last pirates they hired had a driving policy which permitted speeding and drivers who saw no issue with doing 94mph on the single carriageway sections of the A9. At 1915, some 2 and a quarter hours after we were meant to depart, a train arrived from Inverness for Edinburgh - it left 20 minutes later and I arrived in Kirkcaldy some 155 minutes late.