Seats on the train
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Nickerbockers
- Posts: 228
- Joined: 31 Oct 2007 13:04
- Location: Sydenham
I miss that 5.15pm train. It was a little hidden gem, everyone would crowd onto the short 5.05pm when 10 mins later a very long, only half full, blissful 5.15pm departed. And now it's gone, those extra 4mins means there's more time for more people to fill it up - I always thought it was a bit too good to be true! 
Thanks for the info Barty.
I suppose it serves me right for wearing an i-pod, and having my head stuck in The Grauniad. I cant believe that I missed all the notifications though.
Is it normal to do a timetable change at this time of the year?
I'll miss those fast trains, but then I usually did that anyway.
I suppose it serves me right for wearing an i-pod, and having my head stuck in The Grauniad. I cant believe that I missed all the notifications though.
Is it normal to do a timetable change at this time of the year?
I'll miss those fast trains, but then I usually did that anyway.
You can also pick up new timetables in the stations. They're on display at London Bridge or available from the ticket office at Sydenham/Forest Hill.
To save interested parties the bother, the homeward rush hour tains are now: 17.05, .19, .25, .35, .51, .55, 18.05, .20, .24, .34, .51, 19.05, .14, .24, .35, .45, .54. They all stop at all the intermediate stations now.
Also of use at this party season, the last trains home are: 23.15, .24, .53 and 00.26.
I'd like to thank Barty for bravely offering his services. Whilst I also get wound up by a lot of the same things other commuters have mentioned, I think you've being doing a great job of representing the "other side". I'll bitch about the trains when I'm late for work or miss seeing my kids before bed but I appreciate it's often not Southern's fault that a train failed, passengers stood in the doors, a passenger fell ill, people decided to dance on the rails ... etc.
To echo previous thoughts, it is always useful to know some information about what's happening. Any clues could help me reroute or at least provide work with a better explanation than "I don't know - we just sat outside London Bridge for half an hour with no announcements". Sometimes there are train/platform announcements or details on the web and it's always appreciated. So thank you!
To save interested parties the bother, the homeward rush hour tains are now: 17.05, .19, .25, .35, .51, .55, 18.05, .20, .24, .34, .51, 19.05, .14, .24, .35, .45, .54. They all stop at all the intermediate stations now.
Also of use at this party season, the last trains home are: 23.15, .24, .53 and 00.26.
I'd like to thank Barty for bravely offering his services. Whilst I also get wound up by a lot of the same things other commuters have mentioned, I think you've being doing a great job of representing the "other side". I'll bitch about the trains when I'm late for work or miss seeing my kids before bed but I appreciate it's often not Southern's fault that a train failed, passengers stood in the doors, a passenger fell ill, people decided to dance on the rails ... etc.
To echo previous thoughts, it is always useful to know some information about what's happening. Any clues could help me reroute or at least provide work with a better explanation than "I don't know - we just sat outside London Bridge for half an hour with no announcements". Sometimes there are train/platform announcements or details on the web and it's always appreciated. So thank you!
Thanks oin.
I just wanted people to see that it isn't a case of commuters vs "Southern" - a big faceless entity of a train company, many of us who work for Southern (and doubtless all the other train operators) do actually care, and a lot of us also use the trains to get to work, so we've been there too!
Many moons ago, when I worked for another train operator answering National Rail Enquiries, it always annoyed me how the information we were expected to give out to the passengers didn't reach us fast enough.
My own personal feeling (and this is perhaps not one shared by the most regularly inconvenienced commuters!) is that if I know why a train is late, it helps. The train is still late, and I am still annoyed, but at least I have some idea in my mind of why. One or two others share this sentiment, i think.
I just wanted people to see that it isn't a case of commuters vs "Southern" - a big faceless entity of a train company, many of us who work for Southern (and doubtless all the other train operators) do actually care, and a lot of us also use the trains to get to work, so we've been there too!
Many moons ago, when I worked for another train operator answering National Rail Enquiries, it always annoyed me how the information we were expected to give out to the passengers didn't reach us fast enough.
My own personal feeling (and this is perhaps not one shared by the most regularly inconvenienced commuters!) is that if I know why a train is late, it helps. The train is still late, and I am still annoyed, but at least I have some idea in my mind of why. One or two others share this sentiment, i think.
I have to admit, fishcox, that I remember them being in May and September last time I worked in the rail industry (1998)fishcox wrote:Is it normal to do a timetable change at this time of the year?
I think they held off the change till December this year cos it coincided with the end of the major works on the West Coast Main Line between Euston and Glasgow, allowing a vastly improved timetable to operate on that route ASAP.
<incidentally, folks, my former spacious 4-coach train home from work now seems to be a 2-coach squeeze!>