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Title: 'Margaret Gow: From Bath by train, I do wish I had driven' (from Rutland Times) Post by: Chris from Nailsea on December 29, 2012, 13:51:48 From the Rutland Times (http://www.rutland-times.co.uk/news/features/margaret-gow-from-bath-by-train-i-do-wish-i-had-driven-1-4625611):
Quote Well, I said I wouldn^t do it, and I did. I^ve been using the railway again - different company; much worse! This happened only because the NHS insists that I must be nearly blind before I can have my cataracts operated on: I would have had to drive home from Bath in the dark. Instead, the journey involved three trains both ways. In hindsight, driving home in the dark would have been much, much better. It started off fine - a friend drove me to Oakham; the train was on time, everything looked good ... until Birmingham. The train to Bristol was late. And more late. Then, some three minutes before it was due the arrival platform was changed to the other side of the tracks. I hadn^t been through this abysmal place since 1954 so I had no idea where the lift was. The herd stampeded up some 20 steps, across and down the stairs just as the train rolled in with another horde trying to get off. Chaos ensued! But that was nothing compared with the return trip. The Bath-Bristol train was stationary outside Temple Meads for about five minutes: not a problem - it made the wait for the Birmingham train shorter. Not so. The Bristol-Birmingham was late by 16 or 18 minutes (the announcer didn^t seem sure) and continued in the same all the way to New Street. My neighbour had a new-fangled phones giving railway information and was able to find where the next train to Glasgow would be, but not the Birmingham-Stansted one. Timing had become critical, so I positioned myself by the door, luggage ready for the ^off^, my platform still unknown. Not surprising, really, as the train had left three minutes earlier! My Brummie friend was there to help, and took me to ^Reception^ so I could get information and a claim form. Bless him, he and his wife took me up the escalator for a free coffee and then carried my suitcase back down. Evidently, porters are a thing of the past, but not only that, so are waiting rooms and platform seats at New Street, so we stood in the cold for an hour. The Oakham train, which only had to come from the depot, was held back by the York one which was (yes, you^ve guessed) late. The platform seemed almost as full after it left, but of course some of us should have been on the 18.22. With exquisite evil intent, ^our^ driver stopped some 30 yards from where we stood, causing everyone to rush up to... the TWO coaches on offer. My seat, 50A, was taken by a chap who said, quite reasonably, that it was valid for the earlier train and did not think I could fit on his lap given that there was a table in the way. A young lass kindly gave me her seat, but there were many who had to stand for nearly an hour, to Leicester. My booked taxi driver wasn^t in Oakham - he had to go to Peterborough. For once I was pleased I had a mobile phone: thank you, Dean, for getting me home via your mate after a six-hour journey instead of what should have been under four. I gather that Swiss and German trains always run on time: maybe they could come and run ours. Bath was jumping. The sun shone, the Christmas market booming, the cathedral full of light, and there was a rugby match on. I went to a Shoppers^ Carol Service, where the young vicar told a Christmas cracker joke: How does Joseph like his pizza? Deep-pan, crisp and even! (Groan). Have a happy New Year! Title: Re: 'Margaret Gow: From Bath by train, I do wish I had driven' (from Rutland Times) Post by: trainer on December 29, 2012, 14:12:17 It is a salutary reminder to have an account of travelling from someone who is not a regular traveller that although many of us with an understanding of the system make allowances for these problems it is sometimes just not good enough. One hoary old myth is perpetuated here: German and Swiss trains are not always on time and having travelled extensively in both countries I can vouch for that personally. With the Swiss hourly timetable, when it all goes pear-shaped they end up not calling a late train 'late' but re-labelling it the next one and hoping you don't notice! The Belgians did that to me once as well. Railway paradise does not begin at Calais.
Title: Re: 'Margaret Gow: From Bath by train, I do wish I had driven' (from Rutland Times) Post by: Brucey on December 29, 2012, 14:17:30 I'm afraid that I have to take a rather unsympathetic view towards this story.
Birmingham New Street is a very unwelcoming station. Especially with the current work going on which has removed a large amount of platform space. This is one of the reasons for the platform numbers not being announced immediately, so the platforms don't become overcrowded. There are waiting rooms at New Street at the platform level, I used one back in November whilst waiting for my train to Telford Central. With regards to porters, if she felt unable to cope with luggage, then a good idea would have been to phone ahead to the train company and ask for assistance to be provided at the station. That doesn't seem an unreasonable thing to ask someone without a disability affecting their mobility to do. Quote My seat, 50A, was taken by a chap who said, quite reasonably, that it was valid for the earlier train and did not think I could fit on his lap given that there was a table in the way. I'm sorry, but I find it incredibly rude that she'd try to boot someone out of a seat for which she didn't have a reservation.Quote I gather that Swiss and German trains always run on time: maybe they could come and run ours. Bath was jumping. She obviously doesn't know that Deutsche Bahn are the ultimate owner of CrossCountry!Title: Re: 'Margaret Gow: From Bath by train, I do wish I had driven' (from Rutland Times) Post by: grahame on December 29, 2012, 14:53:28 Quote Well, I said I wouldn^t do it, and I did. I^ve been using the railway again - different company; much worse! This happened only because the NHS insists that I must be nearly blind before I can have my cataracts operated on: I would have had to drive home from Bath in the dark. Instead, the journey involved three trains both ways. In hindsight, driving home in the dark would have been much, much better. Oh dear - not only does the rail industry but also the NHS get it in the neck from Ms Gow; I'm so glad she didn't drive - it reads to me as if she would have been a significant risk on the road. She would probably have been happier (and safer) getting a taxi / minicab all the way. Quote My Brummie friend was there to help, and took me to ^Reception^ so I could get information and a claim form. Bless him, he and his wife took me up the escalator for a free coffee and then carried my suitcase back down. Err - if she had more luggage that she could manage, then she was breaking the conditions of carriage which state: "Unless you are disabled or have reduced mobility and have made arrangements in advance for assistance, you should be able to manage your luggage without additional help." I have every sympathy for occasional passengers who read a timetable / are given train times and assume that's when their train WILL run. The sympathy soon evaporates when you find them admitting that they would risk their lives and the lives of others to drive (and make it a bit easier for them), that they've been taking more kuggage than they're allowed, and that they even tried to make someone give up his reserved seat so that they could get a seat on a train for which they did not have a reservation. I wonder if anyone has pointed this out to Ms Gow, who has chosen to raise the matters in public, so is presumably happy to have them discussed. Title: Re: 'Margaret Gow: From Bath by train, I do wish I had driven' (from Rutland Times) Post by: vacmanfan on January 03, 2013, 12:02:04 Trains in the Uk are so terrible... Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bore off! Title: Re: 'Margaret Gow: From Bath by train, I do wish I had driven' (from Rutland Times) Post by: Richard Fairhurst on January 03, 2013, 12:56:30 Oh, the good old Rutland Times. I think the last time I read it (as a former resident of Rutland) was when one of its columnists was equating the hunting ban to Nazism.
Rutland is actually a lovely place, but you wouldn't know it from its newspapers! Title: Re: 'Margaret Gow: From Bath by train, I do wish I had driven' (from Rutland Times) Post by: vacmanfan on January 03, 2013, 13:20:03 I wonder if this person would support fast, efficient trains that were on a brand new line giving her the excellent service she wants if it were at the end of her garden??
Title: Re: 'Margaret Gow: From Bath by train, I do wish I had driven' (from Rutland Times) Post by: eightf48544 on January 03, 2013, 13:28:10 Trains in the Uk are so terrible... Zzzzzzzzzzzzz Bore off! Fully agree but why do we tolerate it? Trains do tend to run late connections are missed, Birmingham New Street is a dump. They do tend to change platforms at short notice. We do run 2 coach trains when it should be 4. She didn't mention travelling in Vomiter so assume Birmingham - Bristol and return she considered OK apart from being late. There is nothing really factually incorrect in her piece (except reserved seat) and German and Swiss trains not running late. Unfortunately DB's Fernwerke seem to have problems with ICs and ICEs running late, but RE's seem very punctual. Title: Re: 'Margaret Gow: From Bath by train, I do wish I had driven' (from Rutland Times) Post by: vacmanfan on January 03, 2013, 13:35:01 Like I said, everyone opposes new infrastructure in this country. Our railway is over 120 years old and is still the same as it was in the early 1900s in some places with single lines and semaphore signals.
The only way to improve is to build new, but the middle class snobs who have nothing better to do than bad mouth public services will only ever oppose as it might spoil their view. Take the Dawlish sea wall. Granted, a great piece of engineering in its time but now it is well outdated and a black hole of money to keep it running. But would we be allowed to run a new line through a more direct and efficient route? No chance. Environmentally opposed and opposed by those whom it might pass. Seems that everyone wants the perfect railway infrastructure but... "Not in my back yard" Title: Re: 'Margaret Gow: From Bath by train, I do wish I had driven' (from Rutland Times) Post by: eightf48544 on January 04, 2013, 00:03:38 As many of you know I live right by the GWML. i would much rather live near a railway line than a motorway.
I can somwetimes hear the M4 when I'm in the garden and it's not windy. It's a dull continuous roar rather than a short swish. Turbos and HSTs are almost silent when coasting. Looking forward to electrification as it will be quiter still. This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |