simoncox.com train times

the following are the booked train times for journeys from South Croydon to London bridge from Monday to Friday each week. It is these published times that I am comparing my actual journey times and experiences against.

08:30 departed at 08:37
Only 4 carriges today. This train was so full that I could not phisically get on it. I had to wait for the 08:40.

08:40 - departed at 08:46
Arrived London bridge at 09:21

Crap journey.

The trains heaters were on for the first time since last winter this morning. This is great and most welcome in the cold depths of winter but its still autumn.

I, like most commuters, have to walk to the station and I dress appropriatly for that journey. So why is the heat on on the trains - no one needs it.

When pasengers are still turning up to the station without coats its a pretty good sign that its not yet cold enough to put the heaters on. Now that they are on I suspect we will see a rise in passengers being ill as the heated train provides a great incubation tank for all sorts of nasty germs. Influenza will be on the increase soon.

• With carriges more packed than ever do we actually need heating on trains?
• So why are the heaters on?
• Who decides when exactly the heaters go on and under what conditions?
• Is it in the drivers control to turn them down or off?

Another bad journey this morning.

Someone was standing where I normally do. Horror! I bet she queue jumps as well.

08:09 was on time and actually had the full eight coaches today but I had to stand, as did nearly all the people at my station. This gives some indication of what happens when they only provide six or even four coaches.

I have been using trains from this station since 1992 and I always get in the train at the same door and yet I hardly ever recognise anyone. Today because I was standing I was able to look up and down the coach and I did not recognise a single person. I was actually worried for a moment that I had got the Victoria train by mistake. Maybe they are the same people everyday but their life force has been sucked out by the incessant monotony and harassment of such a dull part of their day. Who knows.

So I get to London Bridge at practically the same time as another train so that there are twice as many people on the platform as usual. So I queue up to go through the automated barriers and shuffle forward. I pass my Oyster card over the yellow spot and the gates don't open. I crash into them and the person behind crashes into me. Great. Then I notice a little hand written sticker on the yellow spot advising that this gate is not accepting Oyster cards today. So I have to go back to the end of a different queue. Bloody hell. Not happy.

I get into the ticket hall of the Underground and its is jam packed with people. there must be safety implications here. I spend the next five minutes of my life shuffling forward with feet at 10 and 2 o'clock (the optimum shuffle position) in a crowd of hot sweaty garlic ridden commuters.

Just don't f*%$£*# talk to me today.

Caught the 08:30 this morning and it arrived at London bridge at 09:06.
12 minutes late over a 24 minute journey.

Saw one person I recognised.

When I got to the underground there was a massive queue. They had reduced the number of entry gates to three to prevent overcrowding at the top of the escalator. However when I got through the barriers I found that all the escalators were working. What's wrong with these people?

Drama on the train today as a women felt a tad feint. One chap offered her a seat, all the windows were opened and everyone moved as far away from her as possible. Obviously to give her air... nothing at all to do with problem dissacociation... My theory is that the feinting lady was a member of Southern Rail staff trying to shift focus away from the late running service.

Meanwhile the train arrived at 08:14, 5 mins late and arrived at London Bridge at 08:40, 10 minutes late.

More crowding at the underground but today they had remembered to actually switch an escalator off (it could be the government doing this you know - making our lives a subservient misery).

Spotted three regular faces in the train today - highest this week.

Left late this morning and decided to catch the 08:37, the fast train up to London Bridge. However that kep getting delayed. I just hate it when they keep advacing the expected time by a minute everytime you look away.

I had walked a fair way down the platform to ensure that I could get oin this train, sometimes it is very crowded, so when I realised that the 08:40 was arriving I did not have time to swap platforms.

Booked time:
08:37 - 08:58 = 21 minutes
Actual time:
08:44 - 09:14 = 30 minutes

Tonight was like going on a pilgrimage home. I got the 19:13 from London bridge having watched a very silly woman on the underground block the other up escalator with her "large bag on wheels" device. When a queue of about 20 had piled up behind her, with lots of people doing the 'head to the side' to see what the hold up was move, some chap tapped her on the shoulder and said "shift it" (or appropriate words to that effect - I couldn't actually hear, but whatever he said was short and effective...).

So the 19:13 train leaves on time and I am nodding off because it been a hard day but I keep waking up because I am worried about making those snorting, snoring noises in public. The train was going at a walking pace most of the way. It was obvious it was going to be late. People were getting stressed.
This service was booked as:
19:13 - 19:45 = 00:32

So we arrive at South Croydon at 19:58 - a full 13 mins late.
The driver gave some excuse about an earlier broken down train but as a passenger on the 19:13 my train was not broken down so why the delay. And why did a train break down anyway? They don't in Japan. I have often got fast trains from London Bridge to East Croydon only to find that the stopping services to South Croydon are 10 mins or more late in arriving at East Croydon. Why? Why not change the timetable to reflect the service we actually get rather than the service we are meant to have.

Rubbish, rubbish service again. It's a wonder no one has gone postal, as I understand the expression is, on one of the trains yet.