simoncox.com train times

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.

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

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.

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.

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...

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.

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 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?

I was at South Croydon in time to get the 08:09 this morning but I was unprepared for the utter mess that Southern had got themselves into this morning.

The 07:49 Victoria had not arrived - due to a broken down recieving train at Chipstead.

There was a London Bridge Train shown booked for 08:04 - this is not in the timetable and has never happened before so I assume it was a extra train put on - and it arrived late at 08:11 with only 4 carriges and was full to the brim. Some people managed to get on but they were squeezed in like the tube at rush hour. It's not safe - remember the Clapham crash report.

The 08:09 London Bridge was due at 08:37.

I cought the 08:27 Victoria train and changed at East Croydon which was packed with people looking lost. As I got off the rain I heard one passenger remark that it had taken him an hour to get there and he was not happy.

I caught the 08:32 from East Croydon and arrived at London Bridge at 08:45 - 13 minutes - which is very fast.

I wonder how much damage this disruption does to the countries economy. I strongly suspect that there will be a lot of fractious people at work in London today.

Paula decided that she would leave at the same time as me this morning as she had to get the train up into the West End of London. I hate this as it severely disrupts my routine - my little world of self, my commuting cocoon is invaded. I have to do extra things like lock the door behind us, not plug my headphones in and listen to the radio, not bundle onto the train and try and get that last seat, talk politely and not read my book. However Paula realised that she had forgotten her mobile phone and had to go back. It was only 20 meters but did I wait? No. Because I have this routine in place I can time getting to the station in time for the train to perfection. Disruption to this pattern usually means that I am late and miss the train. Paula caught up with me on the platform and the trains were up the creek anyway.

07:54 arrived at 08:13 - packed - could not to get on.
08:01 arrived at 08:15 - packed - decided not to get on.
08:09 arrived at 08:19 - nearly empty! Got a seat! Arrived at London Bridge 08:48... Ah Mondays.

London Bridge was packed this morning and the tube was worse. It took me three goes to get on a tube train - a wait of about 17 minutes this morning. The guy next to me sneezed twice before he blew his nose into his handkerchief. Germs everywhere...

Terrible mornings travel today. the 08:01 was cancelled so we had all those extra people get on the 08:09. I couldn't get on at first but due to the fact that the Victoria trains were up the spout as well there was another train in front of the 08:09 and I mean just in front, about 100ft, which meant I was able to squeeze into a carriage further up the platform much to the dismay of those inside. Of course when we got to East Croydon more people wanted to get on and the same at Norwood Junction.

I hate standing. It's not the effort but the fact that people are crammed up against you invading your personal space. You are much more likely to contact disease in these situations and if there was ever a disaster like a derailment, not unknown on the UK railways, then there is a massive chance you will cop it big if your standing up.

And I always end up next to the person who's had a ton of garlic in their dinner from the night before - I am assuming that they are not having it on their morning cereal, or some sweaty person, or a person who is shouting into their phone telling lies how they have been held up, or some mother has unwisely picked a packed commuter train to take her large sharp edged pushchair complete with loud occupant on for some mysterious purpose...

Tube wasn't too bad though.

Absolute chaos at East Croydon this morning. I managed to squeeze onto the 08:09 which I couldn't yesterday. The train was packed - not everyone could get on at South Croydon. So we trundle up to East Croydon and the doors open and people start to get off. Because the train is packed it takes a little longer for people to actually get off. Obviously the people waiting to get on have to keep out of the way as well. So everyone was surprised when after about 10 seconds the door closing alarm went off and they started shutting. People were still trying to get off - never mind those on a very crowded platform trying to get on. So the people standing next to the doors held them open - as I am sure they were doing in every carriage, while the people from deep in the train tried to get off.

At this point the platform staff started shouting at people to let the doors shut - they got louder and louder, shouting at the top of their lungs. The young lady holding one of the doors in our section started saying to the people trying to get on that she couldn't hold much longer, the mechanisms are very strong. Then the doors shut. We could hear shouting and swearing up and down the platform.

The train lurched forward an started to gather speed and then to our amazement slowed and stopped further up the platform and the doors opened...

It seems that the train may not have been in the station properly or that not all the platform was available. However there was no announcement to this affect from the driver - the same ginger haired driver from the train that was also late yesterday I noticed.

There was no communication with the passengers inside the train at all and because of the overcrowded situation there could have been serious injury. People were panicked thinking that they might not be able to get off at their stop - a very stressful experience.

Southern should be ashamed at this appalling situation.

08:09 arrived at 08:11 - Packed Arrived at London Bridge 08:35 - booked 08:30.

It really was like being in a cattle truck this morning.

A measly four coach train this morning instead of the usual cramped six or comfortable eight - we were packed like sardines. Inevitably the train was five minutes late into London Bridge and there is a turnaround time of 4 minutes so it was at least a minute late leaving on the return journey - as the crowds waiting to get on can attest. A packed sweaty train full off flu carriers - health and safety must do something about this.

So this mornings journey to work started off with the ticket office being shut. That's the first time I can ever remember it being shut at 8am. A couple of ticket inspectors were selling tickets in the street - almost like touts outside a concert shouting "Standing tickets for the 8:09".

Only when I got to the platform the 08:01 was delayed till 08:12 and the 08:09 till 08:13. When the 08:01 did turn up it was packed - I could not get on so had to wait for the 08:09 which came in a few minutes later. And the heating was on. Again. In summer. Idiots.

I get to London Bridge and the Jubilee has a points failure - long delays and huge crowds so I opted for a Northern line journey to Bank and then the DLR to Canary wharf. It was so hot and crowded that I now know what boiled potatoes feel like.

And then I find out that the Rail companies want to reduce the number of some services and charge a congestion fee for certain peek trains while the passenger numbers are rising! - Independent and the Government have a little somethign to say. Hang on - I am already paying the full whack for my pre 09:30 journey and they want to charge me more? Yes we have known the trains are over 100% capacity - they have been well before the Clapham rail crash enquiry pointed out that they shouldn't be years ago.
The Londonist has a few choice words to say.

So the holiday period is over for Mr Average and his kids are back at school. this inevitably means more people travelling to work by train. In their infinite wisdom Southern have reduced the 07:54 from South Croydon from a comfortable 8 carriages to a 6 car bun fight. Last week I could get a seat easily - I could pick and choose and even people at Norwood Junction were getting seats. This week I can barley get on the train its so crowded. Hence I get to work hot sweaty and annoyed. My colleagues get short tempered answers from me and therefore they treat their customers badly who take it out on their kids who wreck the trains.

And I read in the Metro this morning that the Train companies, who have recently put the ticket prices up above inflation, are demanding and getting above inflation handouts from the government while treating their passengers worse than we allow animals to be transported.

Greedy grasping idiots the lot of them.

I arrived at the station in time for the 07:54 this morning and Southern only bothered to supply a train with four coaches. By the time it arrived at South Croydon it was fully packed so I could not physically get on - though a lot of people tried. When I say packed I do mean it - it is more like tube travel except there will not be another train in two minutes and the people looked physically in discomfort. What annoys me is that the records will show that Southern provided a train service for that time. It will not show that they provided an inadequate service.

Actually its good news for a change - but not for this week. the Jubileee line is shut so that an extra carrige per train can be added for 2006. When they built the Jubilee line extension they added extra long platforms and extra saftey doors allowing for expansion later on - whihc is now. This will allow a lot more passengers to use each train - or put anouther way we get a little more space for a while. The line is back up and running first week of 2006.