Southwestern trains what to do?
Discussion
If anyone is living in the surrey area using SWT you will know what i mean
The service into london is becomming a total joke
I am delayed more than not these days and they have even made if harder to get compensation for these delays
But its the quality of the service into what is meant to be one of the workds premier cigies that i cannot believe.
Today again i arrived at esher at 745 to get the 752. It and the next 3 trains were cancelled due to some kind of fault.
The next train the 820 arrived at 830 packed and its 840 now waiting to see if the 843 will turn up and if it has any room.
This is not an isolated indicident tho one of the worse ones. There is often some kind of fault or strike.
How is a train company permitted to operate like this ? We are trapped as customers and our jobs are being put at risk because we have chosen to rely on these trains to get into london.
The service into london is becomming a total joke
I am delayed more than not these days and they have even made if harder to get compensation for these delays
But its the quality of the service into what is meant to be one of the workds premier cigies that i cannot believe.
Today again i arrived at esher at 745 to get the 752. It and the next 3 trains were cancelled due to some kind of fault.
The next train the 820 arrived at 830 packed and its 840 now waiting to see if the 843 will turn up and if it has any room.
This is not an isolated indicident tho one of the worse ones. There is often some kind of fault or strike.
How is a train company permitted to operate like this ? We are trapped as customers and our jobs are being put at risk because we have chosen to rely on these trains to get into london.
to counter this, it's very rare that the Reading trains are late. Over the last 5 years for me the service has greatly improved. When I see delays up on the boards in Waterloo it's nearly always the trains going into platforms 10-14, which makes me wonder if those trains are running on some very old track. Yesterday and today there has been points problem, only affecting those trains again.
Which platforms do your trains go into?
Which platforms do your trains go into?
Did it for 2.5 years but decided to change jobs! Back to a car commute. It's saying something when you prefer the M3 and M25 as your commute! When it was South West Trains the fare refunds were automatic when renewing your monthly or annual ticket. Then SouthWestern came in on the premise of improvement but it's actually gkt worse and you make have to use the delay repay manual system. Use raildar.co.uk to check the days late trains and just make a claim.
I was stopped at Farnborough Station this morning at 8.16am after catching the train from an earlier station due to whatever the issues were this morning, the guard was a little panicky in the delivery of the statement that the train had stopped with no forwarding message as to why or how long it would be stopped for; I got off, went to the opposite platform and caught the train back to my 'home' station before getting a cab home to get in the car to drive to work [I get a lift in to my 'home' station but obviously that lift wasn't there when I returned earlier than expected. Needless to say that by the time I was driving in to work on the M3 Eagle Radio updated to say the trains were at that time moving but a little delayed....
Is it reasonable to ask for the cab fare back off SWT - I have the receipt?
Is it reasonable to ask for the cab fare back off SWT - I have the receipt?
It has definitely got much worse under the new franchise. I think that the infrastructure problems caused by Network Rail when they did the Waterloo upgrade were specifically discussed in parliament this week.
SWR will of course blame Network Rail for everything, but in reality most of the fault lies with SWR themselves. They just don't respond to problems as well as SWT used to, and SWT were hardly a shining light in that regard.
Take the issues this week alone:
On Monday morning, they had two signal outages (Network Rail's fault), so decided to cancel three Surbiton-Waterloo trains in a row.The next train that came in was actually terminated at Surbiton leaving the platform dangerously busy and no trains for a while. Why?
In the evening, they still hadn't sorted out the knock-on effects of the outages, even though Network Rail had done their bit and fixed the signalling hours earlier. My train to Surbiton ran almost half an hour late, and when we got there, the guard announced that it wouldn't be stopping at any more stations because it was running so late, and everyone was turfed off!
Yesterday's problems were caused by broken down trains, so nothing to do with Network Rail at all. As soon as one of the trains broke down, they claimed that both lines were blocked (how can one train do that?), and that delays would last a further ten hours!
I think it will really come into focus this year as the strikes start to bite and this will further highlight their inability to deal effectively with small problems.
I'm not sure what the answer is, though. They could take the franchise away and it could get even worse. The infrastructure is knackered and designed for a capacity that is a tiny proportion of the number of passengers currently using it.
SWR will of course blame Network Rail for everything, but in reality most of the fault lies with SWR themselves. They just don't respond to problems as well as SWT used to, and SWT were hardly a shining light in that regard.
Take the issues this week alone:
On Monday morning, they had two signal outages (Network Rail's fault), so decided to cancel three Surbiton-Waterloo trains in a row.The next train that came in was actually terminated at Surbiton leaving the platform dangerously busy and no trains for a while. Why?
In the evening, they still hadn't sorted out the knock-on effects of the outages, even though Network Rail had done their bit and fixed the signalling hours earlier. My train to Surbiton ran almost half an hour late, and when we got there, the guard announced that it wouldn't be stopping at any more stations because it was running so late, and everyone was turfed off!
Yesterday's problems were caused by broken down trains, so nothing to do with Network Rail at all. As soon as one of the trains broke down, they claimed that both lines were blocked (how can one train do that?), and that delays would last a further ten hours!
I think it will really come into focus this year as the strikes start to bite and this will further highlight their inability to deal effectively with small problems.
I'm not sure what the answer is, though. They could take the franchise away and it could get even worse. The infrastructure is knackered and designed for a capacity that is a tiny proportion of the number of passengers currently using it.
A few years ago I regularly commuted to & from St Albans from Camberley / Farnborough Main via SWT & FCC - thankfully i stopped a few months before London Bridge was closed and services re-routed, etc. Now that trip on a frequent basis was never perfect under the previous franchises, and you expected delays, but under the new setups it seems far worse when I had cause to use both a couple of weeks ago.
Then again, how the transport minister (not sure if it was Grayling at the time) thought giving Govia the former FCC contract, after they were already spectacularly f
king up the other 2 services that went via London Bridge into central London, was a good idea I don't know.
Same goes for the current SW franchise that replaced SWT - again a fantastic decision. Appoint a franchise run by a company with a history of pissing off their workers on other franchises and expect the service to improve overnight. Instead they make it worse. From memory, they'd only been running the franchise for a day when they announced that they were going to get rid of the guards and were apparently "surprised & disappointed" that the workers announced strike action. What did they think was going to happen?
Then again, how the transport minister (not sure if it was Grayling at the time) thought giving Govia the former FCC contract, after they were already spectacularly f
king up the other 2 services that went via London Bridge into central London, was a good idea I don't know.Same goes for the current SW franchise that replaced SWT - again a fantastic decision. Appoint a franchise run by a company with a history of pissing off their workers on other franchises and expect the service to improve overnight. Instead they make it worse. From memory, they'd only been running the franchise for a day when they announced that they were going to get rid of the guards and were apparently "surprised & disappointed" that the workers announced strike action. What did they think was going to happen?
Edited by AlexRS2782 on Friday 2nd February 15:53
Been communting from Fleet to Waterloo for about 11 years now. Usual train are the 06:10 or 05:50 in the morning and then the 16:39 or 17:12 in the afternoon.
I has been worse since SWT took over especially immediately post WAT upgrade. I agree they don't seem to be able to manage the rolling stock well enough when a problem occurs, in the 10 years with the previous TOC i can count on one hand the major delays or cancellations I recall each year.
The strikes haven't helped and they have perpetuated poor performance. I have used the delay-repay several times (with a few speculative test runs) and they do repay come compo direct into my account.
On balance it worst but not as bad as the OP has had to deal with.
I has been worse since SWT took over especially immediately post WAT upgrade. I agree they don't seem to be able to manage the rolling stock well enough when a problem occurs, in the 10 years with the previous TOC i can count on one hand the major delays or cancellations I recall each year.
The strikes haven't helped and they have perpetuated poor performance. I have used the delay-repay several times (with a few speculative test runs) and they do repay come compo direct into my account.
On balance it worst but not as bad as the OP has had to deal with.
ALawson said:
Been communting from Fleet to Waterloo for about 11 years now. Usual train are the 06:10 or 05:50 in the morning and then the 16:39 or 17:12 in the afternoon.
I has been worse since SWT took over especially immediately post WAT upgrade. I agree they don't seem to be able to manage the rolling stock well enough when a problem occurs, in the 10 years with the previous TOC i can count on one hand the major delays or cancellations I recall each year.
The strikes haven't helped and they have perpetuated poor performance. I have used the delay-repay several times (with a few speculative test runs) and they do repay come compo direct into my account.
On balance it worst but not as bad as the OP has had to deal with.
The advantage you have got is getting trains as early as you do. It doesn't mean that you will miss all of the problems, but the impact will be minimised more often. I find that the worst delays come from SWR's inability to deal with incidents rather than the incidents themselves.I has been worse since SWT took over especially immediately post WAT upgrade. I agree they don't seem to be able to manage the rolling stock well enough when a problem occurs, in the 10 years with the previous TOC i can count on one hand the major delays or cancellations I recall each year.
The strikes haven't helped and they have perpetuated poor performance. I have used the delay-repay several times (with a few speculative test runs) and they do repay come compo direct into my account.
On balance it worst but not as bad as the OP has had to deal with.
There have been a few times this week where their reaction to incidents seemed either totally disproportionate or just plain wrong. I'm no expert of course, but I really would like to understand the reasoning behind some of the decisions made.
I live in Farnham and Luckily this line has proven to be very resilient and well served by SWR.
The signalling between Woking and Waterloo has never been right since the upgrade and my take is its mostly down to the network, not necessarily the rail operator. Trains can’t run if those tracks aren’t right.
The signalling between Woking and Waterloo has never been right since the upgrade and my take is its mostly down to the network, not necessarily the rail operator. Trains can’t run if those tracks aren’t right.
ALawson said:
Been communting from Fleet to Waterloo for about 11 years now. Usual train are the 06:10 or 05:50 in the morning and then the 16:39 or 17:12 in the afternoon.
I have commuted for the past 16 years on SWT, currently I get the same trains in the morning joining at Farnborough, ( normally the 0556 ) with varying options to get home later.I have to say that since the new franchise, SWT service has nose dived in a spectacular way. A week or two ago, I had to get the 0616 from Farnborough because the previous 0556 was delayed by 68 minutes. The train originates at Basingstoke but by the time it got to Farnborough, it was barely boardable. I ended up dragging myself and my bike in to the circular toile. I had to rest my bike up in one corner, and then just sat on the floor outside as there was nowhere for anyone to go.. As the train progressed though, it just got worse. By Woking the toilet had 5 people in it, sat on the bog, the shelf, the disabled handle and the floor, and people were just unable to board it. As is always the case, not so much as a whiff of an apology or explanation. I have travelled in all manner of cramped conditions before but this was something else. I was hunched over standing in an awkward position for around 45 minutes unable to move, with my back killing during the entire journey. couldn't move so much as a toe sue without treading on someone elses body parts.
I have also noticed the updates on the National Rail app for SWT are non existant or blank. In addition, I am unable to claim any delay repay compo as I pay a monthly rate through work for my travel and the sceme doesn't allow it's use.
I am just thankful that I always travel with a road bike, so I have the option of just getting off and riding home when it gets silly. But I feel for those that travel in peak times.
Edited by Dizeee on Monday 12th February 10:57
Dizeee said:
I have commuted for the past 16 years on SWT, currently I get the same trains in the morning joining at Farnborough, ( normally the 0556 ) with varying options to get home later.
I have to say that since the new franchise, SWT service has nose dived in a spectacular way. A week or two ago, I had to get the 0616 from Farnborough because the previous 0556 was delayed by 68 minutes. The train originates at Basingstoke but by the time it got to Farnborough, it was barely boardable. I ended up dragging myself and my bike in to the circular toile. I had to rest my bike up in one corner, and then just sat on the floor outside as there was nowhere for anyone to go.. As the train progressed though, it just got worse. By Woking the toilet had 5 people in it, sat on the bog, the shelf, the disabled handle and the floor, and people were just unable to board it. As is always the case, not so much as a whiff of an apology or explanation. I have travelled in all manner of cramped conditions before but this was something else. I was hunched over standing in an awkward position for around 45 minutes unable to move, with my back killing during the entire journey. couldn't move so much as a toe sue without treading on someone elses body parts.
I have also noticed the updates on the National Rail app for SWT are non existant or blank. In addition, I am unable to claim any delay repay compo as I pay a monthly rate through work for my travel and the sceme doesn't allow it's use.
I am just thankful that I always travel with a road bike, so I have the option of just getting off and riding home when it gets silly. But I feel for those that travel in peak times.
I thought you were BiB and travel was free. I have to say that since the new franchise, SWT service has nose dived in a spectacular way. A week or two ago, I had to get the 0616 from Farnborough because the previous 0556 was delayed by 68 minutes. The train originates at Basingstoke but by the time it got to Farnborough, it was barely boardable. I ended up dragging myself and my bike in to the circular toile. I had to rest my bike up in one corner, and then just sat on the floor outside as there was nowhere for anyone to go.. As the train progressed though, it just got worse. By Woking the toilet had 5 people in it, sat on the bog, the shelf, the disabled handle and the floor, and people were just unable to board it. As is always the case, not so much as a whiff of an apology or explanation. I have travelled in all manner of cramped conditions before but this was something else. I was hunched over standing in an awkward position for around 45 minutes unable to move, with my back killing during the entire journey. couldn't move so much as a toe sue without treading on someone elses body parts.
I have also noticed the updates on the National Rail app for SWT are non existant or blank. In addition, I am unable to claim any delay repay compo as I pay a monthly rate through work for my travel and the sceme doesn't allow it's use.
I am just thankful that I always travel with a road bike, so I have the option of just getting off and riding home when it gets silly. But I feel for those that travel in peak times.
Edited by Dizeee on Monday 12th February 10:57
There have been a few shocking trains I agree, not many but if you have been on them then a nightmare. I have squeezed onto a 06:10 that followed up a cancelled or delayed 05:50 and by the inner London stations it was a joke.
I have thought about cycle commuting to the station but I think I would need a Brompton, the rules about full size bikes and the like combined with work hours would mean it would need to be folding.
ALawson said:
I thought you were BiB and travel was free.
There have been a few shocking trains I agree, not many but if you have been on them then a nightmare. I have squeezed onto a 06:10 that followed up a cancelled or delayed 05:50 and by the inner London stations it was a joke.
I have thought about cycle commuting to the station but I think I would need a Brompton, the rules about full size bikes and the like combined with work hours would mean it would need to be folding.
It was never free travel - it costs each month, last time I was part of it it was around £70 a month.There have been a few shocking trains I agree, not many but if you have been on them then a nightmare. I have squeezed onto a 06:10 that followed up a cancelled or delayed 05:50 and by the inner London stations it was a joke.
I have thought about cycle commuting to the station but I think I would need a Brompton, the rules about full size bikes and the like combined with work hours would mean it would need to be folding.
ALawson said:
Been communting from Fleet to Waterloo for about 11 years now. Usual train are the 06:10 or 05:50 in the morning and then the 16:39 or 17:12 in the afternoon.
I has been worse since SWT took over especially immediately post WAT upgrade. I agree they don't seem to be able to manage the rolling stock well enough when a problem occurs, in the 10 years with the previous TOC i can count on one hand the major delays or cancellations I recall each year.
The strikes haven't helped and they have perpetuated poor performance. I have used the delay-repay several times (with a few speculative test runs) and they do repay come compo direct into my account.
On balance it worst but not as bad as the OP has had to deal with.
Hardcore!I has been worse since SWT took over especially immediately post WAT upgrade. I agree they don't seem to be able to manage the rolling stock well enough when a problem occurs, in the 10 years with the previous TOC i can count on one hand the major delays or cancellations I recall each year.
The strikes haven't helped and they have perpetuated poor performance. I have used the delay-repay several times (with a few speculative test runs) and they do repay come compo direct into my account.
On balance it worst but not as bad as the OP has had to deal with.
hadenough! said:
Even she's lost a lot of her enthusiasm since she started.
Was walking out of Nandos in Camberley the other day and I saw her. She smiled at me and said Hello and only having a vague recollection of the face i said Hi etc and that was that. Took me about 5 mins to remember her but she remembered me from earlier in the year when I used to commute into London, months ago now!Gassing Station | Thames Valley & Surrey | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff