simoncox.com train times

Well I am back from an 18 day break from commuting and delays are immediately apparent. Yesterday the 08:09 arrived at 08:35 and today it arrived at 08:34 - both journeys therefore over 20% longer.

A lot of people on the train looked pasty, gaunt and ill with small sores, red eyes and inflammed noses. It was sort of like travelling on a Victorian train in most aspects with the Dickensian characters and service punctuality. Are these people ill because they commute? How much are we loosing out to other countries in terms of productivity because of our appauling rail services destroying the well being of the working commuters? A ghost of Commuting past perhaps...

Arrived at the station nice and early this morning to discover that my place on the platform was already taken by some woman. Now I know I don't own the rights to perch myself in the same place exclusivley every day but bl**dy h*ll woman - I'm only away for a couple of weeks and etc etc etc.

08:06 - train departure time of the 08:09 is changed to 08:11
08:09 - changed to 08:18
08:15 - changed to 08:21

Arrived at London Bridge at 08:54...

I got a cab home from the office's Christmas party last night. The driver said it would be about £45 but when we arrived he asked "how much you want to pay, £70, £80? He got £50 and a snarl.

Why don't they run the Caterham train later in the evenings in December?

The 08:09 left on time today and arrived at 08:30 amazing!
Then the driver went and spoilt it all by turning the lights out before every one had got off. Silly driver.

I was late this morning and the 08:30 had only four carriages which shlould have meant a complete crush or that I could not get on but the train was strangley empty. I can't work this one out yet. Perhaps the two carriages from Tattenham Corner that they attach at Purley are normally full of people who spread out along the whole train at Purley.
Naturally we arrived 3 minutes late despite a small light train.

The 08:09 arrived at 08:11 this morning with its usual six carriages but with at least twice as many passengers as normal. An earlier train must have been cancelled - but as usual we had no explanation.

I couldn't even think about getting on as it was so jammed packed.
My stoic neighbour Griff plunged onto a fairly packed 08:16 Victoria train with the intention of changing at East Croydon. I don't usually do this as often it is as crowded at East Croydon and so nothing is gained.

So I had to wait for the 08:30, I moved to the front end of platform possibly upsetting the natural equilibrium of those commuters who normally stand at this forgotten, bleak, unroofed platform position. The train arrived at London Bridge late at 09:02. The driver actually apologised which is rare. Not a good start to the week.

Looks like rail commuters have a lot to gripe about following the introduction of new timetables yesterday. Many services have been re-timed so that the journey takes longer. The cynic’s amongst us will assume that is so the rail companies can meet their time targets easier. Some services have been cut and some added so the daily commuting pattern is disrupted. Apparently the timetable out of Waterloo has not been changed for about 40 years! The changes will seriously upset some people’s lives.

Huge shake-up for rail commuters - BBC
Big changes for rail passengers - BBC

Railways in Crisis - BBC special

Apparently all the train companies that have services arriving in London have reported improvements in their arrival times. Bah. I heard this on the local news last night and it means nothing. 1 train getting in on time means an improvement and that could be down to pure luck.

Meanwhile I have to apologise to the young lady reading her book in the doorway to South Croydon Station this morning keeping out of the rain. Unfortunately I was thinking of a great many interesting things and forgot to lower my brolly which hit the door frame showering her with the vast quantity of water that I had accumulated on the walk there. I received an exclamation of "thanks..." which snapped me out of my reverie and elicited an apology from me before I walked onto the platform with a large grin. (Teehee.)

So a tube driver goes through seven red signals in a row. That in my books is endangering the passengers lives he was put in charge of and the lives of the passengers in the preceding train.
So what do London Underground do? Demote him. Well thats not good enough. This man is still able to put passengers lives ay risk.

And what do the Union do? Well what would you do? Go on strike of course.

As I am sure all tube passengers would agree with me this state of affairs is appalling. Tube driver Unions use safety as an issue every single time they don't get their demands and this time they are backing someone who has put lives at risk.

Some tube drivers are decent people doing a hard job and others should not be allowed near a train, even to write down its number.

So it's christmas eve! Not so many people going into work today because a lot have taken Christmas eve as holiday - as they do every year. So when te 08:09 arrives at South Croydon this morning do we have a minimal four coach sardine train? No. Do we have a standard six coach rake? No. In fact what turns up is a luxury eight coach train with enough seats for people to lay down and have a nap on the way to work. Nice but somewhat inefficient and a gesture that would be better served on teh days when we get four coaches on a hot summers day and no one is on holiday.
What genius planned that then?