Train delays caused missed appointment

Undervalued

itwasntme001 said:

The thing about changing plans/route if train delays is once you are on you are kind of stuck until the next station, which might take a long while.  Even if you get to the next station to potentially change route, the announcments by train drivers on about the delays are either non-existent or incredbly vague or tells nothing about how long the delay could be.  So you are left thinking it can move any moment and all will be fine, but then you wait, and wait, and wait, and before you know it its too late.

So you either have to make a rule for yourself that says any delays, you just get off the next stop you can and re plan the route.  Or you suck it up and hope for the best.

Trains in this country are not fit for purpose.  Should not be used for anything time critical.  Lesson learnt and will avoid trains as much as possible in future.

Just the same can happen with a taxi or private car, depending on the route.

I live about 35 miles north of Stansted airport. Once you pass Duxford on the M11 there is no way off the motorway before you get to the Stansted junction which is about 20 miles. Round here your read many sob stories about missed flights every time there is a holdup on the M11.

The tighter you cut your timings the greater the chance of being late. That, frankly, is your risk. You gambled on 20 mins for a private medical appointment costing, I assume, £200 - £300. Apart from maybe the cost of any lab fees for blood tests and other consumables I think you are lucky to be offered any reduction. 

It is not your fault the train was late, but it is your fault you cut is so fine. It is not the doctor's fault at all!

Jumblebumble

born_again said:

itwasntme001 said:

p00hsticks said:

itwasntme001 said:

It still baffles me how a tresspasser can cause delays of close to an hour!  Surely you would ge the police to come over, arrest the person and that is the end of that?  All within 20min at most?

Well,  they have to find the person first. The chances are that the British Transport Police will have just received a phone call that there is someone on the line withe a rough indication of the location. They then have to get there themselves and try to locate the person and, if they can;t spot them, make 100% sure that the line is clear.

In my experience, it's often turned out to be someone simply taking  short cut and by the time the police get their they've disappeared of the line...

The delays actually continued for longer than an hour, there were still delays a few hours in.  Just does not make any sense.  If a simple thing like a tresspasser can cause this much problem, trains seem incredible vulnerable to minor issues.  Not fit for purpose and lesson learnt not to rely on it for things that cost me significant amounts.

Will be taking taxis to airports from now on!

If there was only one train running then yes.
But when there are lots of trains to sort out there are massive knock on effects. Especially on busy line running into dead end stations.

End of the day you could take any form or transport & get delayed.

Don't forget it is not just the trespasser, they also have to check to ensure the line is safe & they have not damaged anything that could cause a derailment etc...

And of course their drivers/guards can go out of hours