Brighton Rail

Sorry for the lack of posts

tw — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:58:50 +0000

It’s been one hell of a few weeks with some overseas travel, the sale of our house and the start up of a new business. Not that you need to know all that. With so much happening I have heardly had the time to moan about the service from either Southern or First Capital. To be honest, apart from one cancellation, they have been okay.

I also received a voucher for £33 from Southern which was quite nice. Trouble is, they don’t allow any change to be given when it’s used and I have a gold card. This means that I need to find a ticket for £30 otherwise I lose out. Nice one Southern, very cunning.

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Adonis criticises First Capital Connect rail services

tw — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 10:07:43 +0000

First Capital Connect offers a “shoddy” service for commuters using the line from London to Bedford and Brighton, Transport Secretary Lord Adonis says.

Standards are nothing like what “passengers expect”, he added, after strikes over pay, driver shortages and disruption caused by the cold weather.

He has demanded “urgent improvements” and did not rule out the option of stripping the firm of its franchise.

Another day, another cancelled train

tw — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:47:32 +0000

18:46 this time. First Capital Connect again. Not much more I can say about the bunch of idiots who are playing toy trains in real life. As long as they get my money each month that’s okay.

My 5 hour train journey

tw — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:53:03 +0000

No trains from London Bridge

So the train ride in this morning was so close to perfect, but alas it ended up a complete joke.

It seems the snow has once again caused havoc with the service from Brighton to London Bridge. DSo much so that the 07:33 crawled into London Bridge at a little before 10am, when it should have been 08:43.

Knowing the pain of the return leg during rush hour I decided that enough was enough and to turn around and head home, knowing that I could log on from the warmth of my living room. Again though, the rail networks would play their hand. There were no trains leaving London Bridge from any platform.

So, stuck at a cold station, I had to wait for the next rain to appear which as luck would have it, was only about half an hour away. One of th0 eonly trains to leave was a service by First Capital. Now how ironic is that!

I arrived back home at about 12:30, which means that I have spent 5 hours going too and from London. I hate to think what it will be like when the rush hour commute begins at 5pm this evening. All I can say is good luck, and I’m glad I’m not there. I’m sure there are many people suffering today.

Bloody First Crapital Connect!

tw — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:22:18 +0000

I’m ill. the kind where you leave work early and just want to fall into bed.

It looks like First Capital Connect are plotting against me though. The 16:27 has been cancelled.

Now my night is going to consist of getting to East Croydon in the hope of a train going in the general direction of Brighton.

Its at times like these I wish I worked closer to home.

Size matters

tw — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:32:12 +0000

I use the ‘overcrowded’ tag as a prediction of what is to come. The 07:33 is made up of eight carrages instead of twelve and there are already people standing.

Good luck those getting on at East Croydon. Or, for that matter, Preston Park!

First Capital Connect’s Brighton service goes into meltdown

tw — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:50:49 +0000

First Capital Connect’s rush hour service is in chaos this afternoon after it cancelled a raft of services.

The Argus has the full report about FCC trains from Bedford being cancelled. That must be why I was freezing my butt off earlier this evening. FCC say:

“The majority of these faults developed while trying to provide a service through heavy snow and sub-zero conditions.”

“Our engineering team is working around the clock to repair the trains as quickly as possible, however a number remain out of action which is affecting the level of service we can provide.”

Three and out

tw — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:45:10 +0000

18:30 delayed. 18:39 delayed. 18:40 cancelled. What is going on?

How the hell am I going to get home if they can’t get a single train to stop at London Bridge and go to Brighton?

I’m going to do the ‘Delay Repay’ tomorrow to see if I get money back on this joke service.

Why the delays?

tw — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:08:23 +0000

You would have thought that it was still snowing by the delays and cancelled trains from Brighton this morning. The 07:37 was cancelled which meant a trip to London Victoria and a tube across London! What a start to the year eh?

The snow hits again

tw — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:52:27 +0000

Ever the optimist, I got on the 07:33 this morning thinking there would be hardly any delay getting to work this morning. After all, only a few weeks back we had snow and I guess that could be used as practice for the next time, eg this time.

But alas no. It’s now almost 9am and we have only just left East Croydon. I reckon I will be in work for about 10am, which means a two and a half hour journey.

Still, I have the return leg to look foward to still. Oh joy.