Train guard wouldn't let me on!

Outpost

karlcoot wrote: »

Thanks for the sensible replies. Yes I should have arrived earlier as I usually do but hey ho as already said, sh*t happens.

Isn't this basically what I said at the start? Glad you agree anyway.

I still don't understand why you started down the road of complaining to the company because you missed the train.

[Deleted User]

Basically it is, Mr know-it-all. Apologies for not meeting your high standards. Do you honestly think I set out with the idea that I would be arriving on the platform at 19:28? Not a chance. I just genuinely thought I was in the right and had a chance to get on.

harz99

johann_van_der_splat wrote: »

Southern Railway do this as well, and have done for some years. It was never an issue in the days of slam door trains, of course.

We still have slam door trains - its just that they are now fitted with electro-mechanical means of locking them securely, and consequently cannot be opened once shut secure, which in turn means that an intending pax misses the train rather than risking slipping under the wheels whilst attempting to open a door on a moving train!;)

Outpost

karlcoot wrote: »

Basically it is, Mr know-it-all. Apologies for not meeting your high standards.

Aww name calling? Bless. :rotfl:

Apology accepted anyway.

asbokid

harz99 wrote: »

I am assuming this would be a diesel HST train

Well it definitely wasn't an electric locomotive..

The Great Western Main Line is a complete joke. It is "the last of the major main line routes in the UK to be using diesel trains as the main source of locomotive power".

The Government has been promising to electrify the line since 1956, if not earlier.

Every few years, there's a major re-announcement to inform us that the billion pound electrification programme is "on schedule".

Man will finally land on the moon long before the Great Western Main Line is electrified.

tripled

Sounds to me like the guard had already signalled the driver to depart if the train started moving just after you spoke to him/her. It can take an HST 20 seconds or more to get moving after that point. Otherwise they might have unlocked the doors or let you on through the guard's door as the train was on time, I've seen it happen before, although it's up to the guard.

It was 19.28:02 according to you, so the train scheduled to depart at 19:28 was perfectly entitled to set off. You would have been directed to a dispatcher both for your safety and because they can assist you in finding an alternative journey if available.

I can't see you getting anything other than a polite letter from First explaining why you are wrong - I'm sure the guard's boss will understand why he/she didn't think it was safe to let you try to board a several hundred ton High Speed Train in the process of setting off and accelerating. To abort the departure at that point, let you on, then go through the departure procedure again could have taken a couple of minutes.

Bad luck - I've seen the !!!!-end of plenty of trains I was aiming to catch disappearing before, and expect I will see a few more yet. It's always annoying but only once ever the train company's fault (for which I got a free taxi 60 miles home).

spiro

tripled wrote: »

It was 19.28:02 according to you, so the train scheduled to depart at 19:28 was perfectly entitled to set off.

Exactly, should have been on the train by 19.27:20 ready for a 19.28:00 departure.

chris175

I work as a Signalman, but I will say first that anything I say is my opinion and is not the opinion or view of Network Rail or any Train Operating Company (sorry for that, but I value my Job!)

Train timing is absolutely critical for the efficient operation of the network, as you may or may not know trains cannot just follow the last one, there is route set by the signalman at a certain time for a train. If that train is late using that path, even by 1 minute, there might be another train wanting to use or cross that same path, so in turn will also be delayed, that in turn may delay another, and another and another. So as you can see a small delay can quickly snowball into huge delays very quickly.

Take Crewe station for example, for the Manchester to South Wales train to run it must run from the North East of the station, cross 3 lines of the West Coast Mainline and arrive on platform 6 to depart to the South West. Whilst the route is set for that train the entire West Coast Mainline at Crewe is Blocked to train traffic i.e nothing else moving! The same happens in the opposite direction. All at the same time as trying to run another 30 trains an hour through the area (one every 2 mins avarage).

As you can see delaying a train can and does cause huge problems!

wba31

chris175 wrote: »

I work as a Signalman, but I will say first that anything I say is my opinion and is not the opinion or view of Network Rail or any Train Operating Company (sorry for that, but I value my Job!)

Train timing is absolutely critical for the efficient operation of the network, as you may or may not know trains cannot just follow the last one, there is route set by the signalman at a certain time for a train. If that train is late using that path, even by 1 minute, there might be another train wanting to use or cross that same path, so in turn will also be delayed, that in turn may delay another, and another and another. So as you can see a small delay can quickly snowball into huge delays very quickly.

Take Crewe station for example, for the Manchester to South Wales train to run it must run from the North East of the station, cross 3 lines of the West Coast Mainline and arrive on platform 6 to depart to the South West. Whilst the route is set for that train the entire West Coast Mainline at Crewe is Blocked to train traffic i.e nothing else moving! The same happens in the opposite direction. All at the same time as trying to run another 30 trains an hour through the area (one every 2 mins avarage).

As you can see delaying a train can and does cause huge problems!

Sounds like a game my wife has on her iPhone...

[Deleted User]

It's good to know the reasoning and the detailed procedures involved. Shame the guard couldn't tell me similar! Thanks.