simoncox.com train times

I arrived at the station in time for the 08:30 this morning and was actually the first into the coach, which was over crowded as usual. Most of the people get off at East Croydon to either get trains to Victoria or actually go to work in Croydon. Before we got there though I had to endure 4 minutes of trying to keep balance. I was positioned just inside the seating area, not the door area, but just a bit too far away from an upright grab handle. So I had to opt for a very high up horizontal grab rail on the overhead luggage rack. Of course I received a tut from some chap trying to read his paper - my jacket was waving around a bit. Four minutes later we are approaching East Croydon station and of course all those getting off decide to get ready by standing up, even though the train has not actually reached the platform or even started to slow down. I had to let go of the grab handle and re-orientate my-self but at that moment the diver decides to brake - a gentle brake at first but got progressively hard. I staggered, stood on a ladies toe, felt my self going over and looked at everyone’s faces who had turned in my direction as in slow motion I reeled onto a petite ladies lap.

Naturally I got up faster than I had gone down and apologised profusely while turning bright red. Nobody laughed. Nobody smiled - apart from the lady who I had landed on and that was out of embarrassment.

What a start to the day...

And we arrived at 08:58 instead of 08:54 - but I am not sure my incident had anything to do with the late running.

I just missed the 19:13 to Caterham and had to wait for the 19:40 fast to Brighton (Thameslink) so I moseyed over to platform 5 where at 19:30 they announced that the 19:40 to Brighton was re-routed away from London Bridge as were all Thameslink trains because of a signal problem at Blackfriers. That's OK I thought - I will just wait 3 minutes more and get the 19:43 to Caterham.

The announcer then recommended that passengers for East Croydon get the 19:43 Caterham train. The 19:43 comes from Charring Cross and is the first Caterham train of the evening that does not start at London Bridge and as it stops at all the intermediate stations on the way, Brockley, Sydenham and Forest Hill etc, it is usually fairly full before it gets to London Bridge. This was not looking good.

At 19:35 the announcer announced (as indeed announcers do) that the Caterham train would consist of only 4 coaches – normally eight. Absolute bl**dy classic.

So I decided to go and get the 19:53 Reigate train from platform 10 which was fast to Norwood Junction then East Croydon.
With 12 minutes before it was due to leave it was already packed – once again a 4 coach train though I’m not sure how many it is normally. All the corridor space was already crowded so I got into the guard’s van and over the next 5 minutes that got packed out as well. There must have been about 40 people crammed in the cage, with the bicycles. Cattle are treated better than this when they are exported. This train was 5 minutes late getting into East Croydon.

I got off at East Croydon and changed platforms to get the Caterham train to take me to South Croydon and I am sure it was the 19:43 that turned up, late of course, as it had only 4 carriages which were all empty… I got to South Croydon at 20:14. Unamused.

After last night journey debacle I was not amused to find a third of the train missing this morning and again it was jam packed.
When I first moved to Croydon this train used to be eight carriages but over the past few years it has become six on such a regular basis that six is now considered to be the normal mode. Now they are trying to get us to think that four carriages is the normal mode. What has happened to all the rolling stock?

I don’t have any alternative to get to my place of work, as I am sure that most other passengers do not.

Southern Railways – sort it out! Stop taking your passengers for granted and abusing our custom.

Journey
08:09 departed at 08:10
Arrived London Bridge at 08:35 = 3 minutes late.
Stood all the way – have back ache.

This weekends rail crash has brought a bit of sobriety back to this blog and I do appreciate that there are people in mourning over lost ones.

At times like this I have contemplated what would happen if the trains that I commute in derailed. There have been a couple of spots in recent years where the track has been so poorly maintained that passenger have been thrown about the carriage. One was at Forest Hill on the fast up line and the second and much more serious one was between New Cross and London Bridge right opposite the reclamation heat plant. Both were around for several months it really did feel like the carriage was about to derail. The consequences on such a packed train would be horrendous. After the Clapham Junction rail crash I understood that the inquest advised that overcrowding must stop.

On the other hand though I am wondering if anyone has talked to Peugeot about the car on the Ufton Nervat level crossing... Lets hope it wasn’t a new car ad shoot that had gone horribly wrong.

London Bridge is a fine example of Southern Railways lack of commitment to its passengers. For this example I am concentrating on the announcements for the Caterham trains. These are timetabled to leave London Bridge at approximatly 20 minute intervals during the evening rush hour. The trains are always packed with commuters. In someones infinate wisdom the trains occasionally depart from different platforms - it depends on the departure time and even then they get swapped about a bit. Thus you are never quite sure where where the next train will be.

Often the train is made up from a two car service and they add a four car inbound service to it. This means that the two carriges are often sitting at a platform for over 15 minutes plus before the platform is announced.

Last night for example the platform was announced with 4 minutes to go before the train left. The old and infirm often have trouble getting to the platform in time amoungst the massive rush to get a seat. It's like a bun fight at times. If one gets there early one should be rewarded with a seat to make oneself comfortable while one waits. As it is we are stood on an overcroweded concourse that is a pickpockets haven and I constantly get barged by people rushing for thier trains. Not a good experience.

Southern / London Bridge - sort it out!