Train didn't stop at my stop!

foolofbeans
foolofbeans Posts: 385 Forumite
in Public transport & cycling
It wasn't actually me but my eldest child has messaged me to say that the train they got on was delayed at one town for 15 minutes so to make up the time the train did not stop at some of the designated stops along the way.
We live in a rural area and my child doesn't drive and will now be at least 10 miles away from the train station they had planned to arrive at.
Is there any right to compensation? Not just for the journey but the additional costs of having to get a taxi back to the station the train should have stopped at Not many buses and child could get another train back but will now be late for work by a couple of hours :mad:

Comments

  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 29,609 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Did you child ask what was offered at the station?
    What did they offer?
  • elverson
    elverson Posts: 808 Forumite
    What were the stations as that will determine the compensation policy.
  • foolofbeans
    foolofbeans Posts: 385 Forumite
    lisyloo wrote: »
    Did you child ask what was offered at the station?
    What did they offer?

    There was no offer of compensation at the train station as it is only manned in the morning.
  • foolofbeans
    foolofbeans Posts: 385 Forumite
    elverson wrote: »
    What were the stations as that will determine the compensation policy.

    I'm sorry I don't understand....do you mean that the compensation level changes depending on which station the train goes past and doesn't stop at?
  • KeithP
    KeithP Posts: 37,567 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    There is more than one compensation scheme.
    Different Train Operation Companies may offer differing schemes.

    I suspect that the question about 'which stations' was to try and close in on the appropriate scheme.
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 46,014 Forumite
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    foolofbeans wrote: »
    It wasn't actually me but my eldest child has messaged me to say that the train they got on was delayed at one town for 15 minutes so to make up the time the train did not stop at some of the designated stops along the way.
    Presumably there was some announcement of this (although if our local trains are anything to go by, audibility is not always good), and presumably other passengers were similarly affected. Could a taxi share not have been negotiated with others wanting to get back to where they should have been?
    foolofbeans wrote: »
    We live in a rural area and my child doesn't drive and will now be at least 10 miles away from the train station they had planned to arrive at.
    To be fair, once they were on the train, their ability to drive or not is irrelevant in this situation ...
    foolofbeans wrote: »
    Is there any right to compensation? Not just for the journey but the additional costs of having to get a taxi back to the station the train should have stopped at Not many buses and child could get another train back but will now be late for work by a couple of hours :mad:
    For compensation, you could look here. It may depend where you are.

    I'm fairly sure when our local train is terminated mid-journey to make up time, there's nothing automatic, but then we're not rural and there are other options. There's a theory that we can use our train tickets on the buses, which is great if you've been sold a ticket (only available on the train) and the bus driver believes you (variable).
    Signature removed for peace of mind
  • Owain_Moneysaver
    Owain_Moneysaver Posts: 11,357 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Depending on the route, the passenger should have got off the train at an earlier stop and continued on a following train that is calling at the destination, or has been overcarried and may take a train in the reverse direction back to the destination.

    If this leads to a delay of more than one hour, normal practice would be for Control to authorise a taxi to continue the journey. This is more difficult to arrange at unstaffed stations, especially if they don't have help points and/or long-line PA.

    The conductor should have patrolled the train after making the announcement and advised passengers which option to take - all conductors should have timetable lookup on their Avantix machines and many now have smartphones with realtime journey planning.
    A kind word lasts a minute, a skelped erse is sair for a day.
  • daveyjp
    daveyjp Posts: 12,507 Forumite
    First Post Name Dropper First Anniversary
    No mention from the OP that there was a guard. It may have been a driver only operation.
  • foolofbeans
    foolofbeans Posts: 385 Forumite
    The announcement was made when the passengers were already on the train. It turns out that my child got off a few stops earlier and caught the following train that stopped at the correct station.

    Thank you all for your advice. There was no huge delay or any issue with not being able to get off at the right stop but I am going to report it to my local transport action group as it seems missing stations out should only be used in exceptional circumstances and it would be good to have a record of how many times 'exceptional circumstances' occurred.
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 46,014 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    foolofbeans wrote: »
    The announcement was made when the passengers were already on the train. It turns out that my child got off a few stops earlier and caught the following train that stopped at the correct station.
    that's good, both that they announced it and that there was a simple way round it.
    foolofbeans wrote: »
    Thank you all for your advice. There was no huge delay or any issue with not being able to get off at the right stop but I am going to report it to my local transport action group as it seems missing stations out should only be used in exceptional circumstances and it would be good to have a record of how many times 'exceptional circumstances' occurred.
    You might find tweeting the rail company worthwhile, or at least reading their tweets. I can pick up a very good idea of what's going on that way!
    Signature removed for peace of mind
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