Southern Trains: Major Issues - how to protest?

fozmcfc

I know the service pretty well and unfortunately how rude and demanding East Grinstead line commuters are even a 3 minute delay is cause for complete uproar and outrage and calls for people to be flogged (well maybe not the flogged bit).

Over the past few years the service has actually improved, including new trains and also direct services to and from Uckfield throughout the day for the first time in absolute years (I'm going back at least 15 years here).

The Uckfield line is still running on diesel trains and as Southern don't have that many units, those trains will certainly not be that old.

Assumably the OP has a season ticket, so any discount for service levels being lower than agreed will be recompensed in that way.

By the title of the thread, I was expecting to see delays on every train and 30 + delays on the vast majority of journeys.

It would appear that by moving to Oxted, the OP has turned into one of those people, I talk about in my first paragraph.

Owain_Moneysaver

sammylou100 wrote: »

... If you complain to them they will send you a £3 voucher, renewable against train journeys (which isn't helpful when you already have a season ticket!)

You can use RTVs to pay the difference between a standard class and a first class ticket, in conjunction with a standard class season, to travel in first class. It might add insult to injury if I described that as an occasional 'treat'.

Altarf

sammylou100 wrote: »

If you complain to them they will send you a £3 voucher, renewable against train journeys (which isn't helpful when you already have a season ticket!)

Since the voucher is valid for at least 13 months, why not use when you buy next years season ticket? Or is that a bit obvious.

PasturesNew

moonrakerz wrote: »

By all means criticise what is wrong - but at least put forward an argument that withstands even a modicum of scrutiny..............

Can't go through that lot. Don't know one train from another, but I do know the train I met the other day at Bodmin was late (again), as was the return journey train leaving from Bodmin. And the door handles were on the outside.

Newquay to Par line's dead slow. And single track, but there's only one train going along that at a time.

Sneezy

Limit wrote: »

Northern do this in Manchester, They put the oldest crappiest stock on the busy commuter routes in retaliation to the scrapping of the congestion charge.

Which line are you on? Leeds-Manchester is pretty appauling (and so are others from what i hear about them).

The lastest farce is an increase in the number of cables stolen and signalling problems - different days of course. Last week the power was out at Manchester Victoria and trains were only running to a certain point and then Northern were going to provide replacement buses. Ended up getting a normal bus to work and got there an hour later than normal!

OP this isn't region specific its all over - there's nothing you can do unless you want to drive into London everyday - and then you will have to spend probably more hours stuck in traffic on the m25.

PasturesNew

Limit wrote: »

So you are on 421s? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_421

They are iconic! They are slowly being withdrawn anyway. As for them running late ever though it might be line conditions? Issues etc?

You know you could always buy a car

I have a car, the trains are useless. If I were to go to London I'd most likely drive to Exeter first as it's quicker to do that than catch the train here and sit on it while it trundles along.

I went to pick up a friend from St Austell the other year ... only to get a text to say he'd not managed to get off the train as the person at the front didn't know how to open the door and the train had set off again. I had to get a text to him to say get off at Truro and I'll pick you up there ... and off I went to Truro.

The last two times I've picked somebody up on this route, the train seemed to be on time until it got south of Exeter. On one journey somebody was thrown off the train for smoking, then later somebody refused to buy a ticket and the police had to be called. Train ended up being delayed 30+ minutes. The second time it was just late... no particular reason.

After Exeter the train dawdles along. Most buffets terminate at Plymouth. Many routes are shut down for various reasons. Had a derailment the other week, a fire at Luxulyan this week, a fire over Liskeard way had the potential to shut the line down and the line into Paddington was shut down overnight on the Wednesday as some scrote had nicked 90m of cabling, reducing the four lines out of Paddington to one.

PasturesNew

I just did a quick check, I can hear the trains from here as my station's about 200 yards away. If I wanted to go to London and back on Monday, it'd mean catching one at 7am (never realised that one existed!) and arriving just before 12:30. Coming back, if I miss the 4pm train (which arrives here at just before 9.30pm allegedly) then I'd have an overnight trip (aka: sitting alone on a dark/forlorn station until the final connectioN), leaving London at 6pm and getting home at 7am the next morning.

There are alternatives .... which involve driving to various other stations, which, when you look at the times etc makes you realise it's easiest/quickest to just drive the first 100 miles.

The cheapest of these options is showing right now at £103 return.

Owain_Moneysaver

Limit wrote: »

Is first class grim on these trains?

I don't know, but it certainly won't get you there any quicker!

Owain_Moneysaver

PasturesNew wrote: »

... If I wanted to go to London and back on Monday, it'd mean catching one at 7am (never realised that one existed!) and arriving just before 12:30. .....

Well I could get a sleeper at about midnight arriving Euston 08.30, return leave Euston at about midnight and arrive home 8.30 (with one easy change).

Would cost a bit if one missed the £19 bargain berths though!

moonrakerz

PasturesNew wrote: »

Can't go through that lot. Don't know one train from another, but I do know the train I met the other day at Bodmin was late (again), as was the return journey train leaving from Bodmin. And the door handles were on the outside.

Newquay to Par line's dead slow. And single track, but there's only one train going along that at a time.

This reinforces the paucity of your original post.

You condemned the "Paddington to Penzance" line as being slow, single track, outdated, etc, etc - when what you were actually talking about was a minor branch line in the "wilds" of Cornwall.

......and - if "there's only one train going along that at a time" there shouldn't be a problem with trains passing each other !