P1Fanatic

Was in london with the mrs on saturday and got a 9.26pm train from Waterloo to get back to wokingham. Got to twickenham and it stationary for 15 mins before anyone bothers to announce that there is a signal failure. Another 15 mins elapses and we are told to get off the train and wait for the next one on same platform (quite where that is going to go if this one cant due to signal failure).

No sooner are we all off but then we are told to get back on again. After a 1hr delay we get under way. Get nr Staines and driver announces next stop in Staines. Get there and several people get off only to rush back on as it actually stopped at Ashcroft which is not a planned stop. Back on our way when mr driver announces that due to delay he wont bother stopping at any stops after Ascot until Reading. So anyone for stop in between must get off at Ascot and wait for another train.

Man you cant make this stuff up. Train is late through no fault of yours, makes an extra unplanned stop thats of use to nobody and then your told ah well get off and wait for another train as we cant be bothered to stop at your station!

Simon

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Dont you just love our public transport system in this country
And forget going anywhere on a sunday as they spend all day doing engineering works and you usually end up getting a bus anyway

Hence why most of us drive everywhere

jonc

The annoying thing is that this always happens when you're on your way home from work, never happens when you're trying to get to work in London!!

White ST

iTrader: (1)

dont knock it it pays my bills as i have 6 coaches on it every weekend and run at night some weeks

tbh tho some of the track that they are working on has been down 30+ years, at the start of the year some gippos took 2miles of old cable and the new cable they had just laid..

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Sounds about right. I've had to use a train 3 times in the past year and each time I had to get off to catch a different train due to works or some form of failure. The service is crap.

andys

Did that exact route for 3 years working in town. I was a broken man at the end of it. I mean 1hour 15 mins to do 30 miles.

PeteBrant

Conversely I use the train on a fairly regular basis and found it to be an excellent service. My flat mate uses it to get from Worthing to London and back every single day and he has problems about twice a year.

It is an absolute **** when it goes wrong, but thankfully its pretty rare.

davegtt

Trains in this country are cr@p. Always have been and always will be

Leslie

Not actually true. I remember when the trains ran exactly to time, were reasonably comfortable, and were a cheap way to travel. That was when they were still nationalised.

Les

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

I now use the train every day to get into Derby from my village and the service is spot on - £3.60 single and then I cycle back home (would only be £4.10 return) and it IS cheaper than driving.
At most you get a couple of minutes delay on the odd day and sometimes(once per week) the conductor can't be arsed selling you a ticket so you get a free ride

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Much more accurate

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Did you live in Japan long, Les

Ns04

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Swisstopher, I'll have you know that I'm considering using a train to come down and visit you in town this week, how about that for a sacrifice and commitment to our friendship eh?

Jerome

One of the reasons that line is so crap is because there is only one line in each direction.

My father lives in Crowthorne (up the road from Wokingham), and he prefered to drive to Farnborough Main to get into Waterloo for all the years he working in town.

Leslie

Well you should know!

Les

Leslie

No but I am right in fact. There were also the days before Dr Beeching chopped the railways right back when there were far more trains and stations all over the country. It really was cheap transport and you did not have to rely on a car.

Les

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

And I shall return the compliment by making sure I am out of the country, just in case

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Spot on
Used to go to Swisszerland a lot and boy are their trains punctual

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

You're so sweet Remember you can run, but you can't hide...

davegtt

Technically it is true. My post didnt mention anything about previous days... just present and future

druddle

Amen to that, i quote frequently do the route from either Martins Heron or Ascot to Waterloo and it is the slowest POS train I have ever had the displeasure of paying over 25 quid to use.

The only positive is that it allows me to watch nearly 3 episodes of South Park or Family Guy......

Dave

andys

it was even worse with the slam door trains that would break down evey 5 minutes / have no air con and leak when raining now that was fun

PeteBrant

But how can you possibly make that choice?

Coffin Dodger

Cr*p isn't it. Only reason to get a train is that you are either already pissed, plan to get pissed, or going into central London (preferably to get pissed ).

You can also have a drink whilst in transit which is nice

windyboy

One time I got the train to Belfast for a night's drinking, the train goes from Bangor through Belfast to Portadown, but we had to change in Belfast and then get off at the next stop to for the pub, so we all changed trains as normal only to be told that the driver of the second train hadn't turned up !!!! and he would be about 30 minutes late, so we jumped in a taxi and went to the pub.

windyboy

Torquemada

So true!! I'm late home far more times than late in to work, sods law!!

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

In a nutshell

pwhittle

on the plus side if it's very late you can get your fare back. My wife goes down to Winchester (5 hour trip) a few times a year, and hasn't had to pay yet.

Working for the council we'r not allowed to drive, as it looks bad, so we have to walk or bus to everything, which just waste hours. I waited 35 minutes the other day for a bus due every 12 minutes, which isn't unusual.

Trouble is people don't formally complain enough. You may not get anything, but complaints are logged, targets get missed, people get kicked, and in some cases tenders get refused.
So come on people - it's jour duty to complain!

Leslie

I thought "always have been" meant previous days as well though.

Les

wiley

iTrader: (63)

i use the london underground everyday to get to work, on average 2 hours to work and back
i love the way people jump to get the seats, and when the door squashes people lol
wiley