167 minutes of delay over four weeks. Not a good month!

Delay Repay Claims; total 1 January 2015 to 31 July 2015 inclusive = £34.15 (Thameslink = £11.41, Southeastern = £22.74). Two outstanding, one Thameslink and one Southeastern.

Keith is a SRTA member and a regular commuter from Bat & Ball to London via Sevenoaks. Each month he gives his personal experiences and views.

Week of 6 July 2015

Total lateness 31 minutes: Southeastern 12, Thameslink 19

• Monday 6 July – The 07.23 too full to be worth boarding and the 07.28 was crowded; no seat for me this morning. The 17.24 from Cannon Street was very busy this evening. Only two middle of three unusable seats vacant on departure from London Bridge in the carriage I was travelling in. Interestingly there were seven people standing between the standard and first class accommodation … and seven unoccupied first class seats.
• Tuesday 7 July – I travelled direct to St Pancras International this morning to ride on a special train from King Cross to York hauled by a Deltic diesel locomotive and returning later in the day hauled by Tornado, a replica A1 class steam locomotive that was completed in 2008. I returned from London Victoria changing at Otford. No delays worth mentioning today.
• Wednesday 8 July – My journey to work was a repeat of Monday; standing again. In the afternoon I went to Ealing Broadway returning from there in the evening to Paddington Station by train due to the strike on the London Underground. The bus from Paddington was very full and slow taking almost an hour to Trafalgar Square for London Charing Cross Station.
• Thursday 9 July – My journey to work was again a repeat of Monday; standing once more. The return journey from Cannon Street on the crowded 17.24 was very slow arriving sixteen minutes late at Sevenoaks. This was attributed to delays caused by a train failure earlier in the day.
• Friday 10 July – Very unusually the 07.10 arrived at Bat & Ball early. It departed fifteen seconds early arriving in Sevenoaks one minute early. The 07.23 and 07.28 were busy this morning but I managed to get a seat on the 07.28; first time for quite a few days. A good run in to London Bridge but waited there for a long time for a path in to Cannon Street eventually arriving there one minute late.

Week of 13 July 2015

Total lateness 29 minutes: Southeastern 15, Thameslink 14

• Monday 13 July – Both the 07.23 and 07.28 were busy this morning. I just missed out on a seat on the 07.28. The 17.24 from Cannon Street was busy again this evening.
  

  Credit: www.ianvisits.co.uk

  One of the four coach units making up the 18.00 Thameslink train to Bat & Ball tonight was number 319008. Mentioned before in this diary as being of historical interest because it was the first train to carry passengers in to the Channel Tunnel. This train has been repainted and in the process lost the commemorative plaques and nameplates “Cheriton” on one side and “Coquelles” on the other. A transfer with the name “Cheriton” was observed on one cab side but I was not able to see what was on the other side.

• Tuesday 14 July – A usual morning journey, both the 07.23 and 07.28 were busy and no seat for me again. The return journey on the 17.24 was uneventful today.
• Wednesday 15 July – I travelled from Bat & Ball to Sevenoaks on the 08.58 this morning, one minute late at Sevenoaks. The first train to Cannon Street is not until 09.44 therefore I travelled on the 09.14 to Charing Cross and used the free transfer on the London Underground to Cannon Street. No time saving but at least I was travelling towards London rather than waiting on Sevenoaks station for over forty minutes. The 17.24 service home was very crowded again.
• Thursday 16 July – The 07.23 too full to be worth boarding and the 07.28 was crowded again. I slightly changed my boarding position on the platform this morning and was rewarded with a seat! The return journey on the 17.24 was slow on the approaches to Sevenoaks arriving five minutes late at 17.58. The 18.00 departure to Bat & Ball departed was two minutes late.
• Friday 17 July – The 7.10 from Bat & Ball to Sevenoaks was two minutes late departing and was then held on a red signal outside of Sevenoaks Station arriving five minutes late. The 07.23 was full but surprisingly the 07.28 departed Sevenoaks with empty seats in the coach I travelled in. The 17.24 from Cannon Street was busy this evening and departed two minutes late; only one minute late arriving at Sevenoaks.

Week of 20 July 2015

Total lateness 83 minutes: Southeastern 62, Thameslink 21

• Monday 20 July – The 07.23 was crowded as usual, I managed to get a seat on the 07.28. The first four coach unit nearest the barriers at Cannon Street of the 17.24 this evening was low density stock. The train was crowded and first class was declassified. I resisted the temptation of a more comfortable seat and moved further down the platform and boarded the train there in case it arrived late at Sevenoaks and a quick transfer to the 18.00 departure to Bat & Ball was required. A good move; the train was five minutes late today.
• Tuesday 21 July – Seats were available on both the 07.23 and 07.28 today. I just got one on the 07.28 because the driver stopped in the wrong place which resulted in a scramble for the doors! The departure of 17.24 from Cannon Street was delayed this evening due to trespass in the Greenwich area. This caused trains to back up towards the London terminals. The train was very crowded and first class was declassified again, why not just do away with it. It arrived at Sevenoaks thirty-six minutes late; delay repay! Accordingly the 18.00 departure had long gone and I travelled on the 18.30 to Bat & Ball. This train was Class 377 stock which will eventually replace all the Thameslink Class 319 trains that are usually used on this line. These trains are similar to the Class 375 ‘s that provide our mainline services from London to the coast. It was the first time I had seen and travelled on a Class 377 on this route.
• Wednesday 22 July – A bad start to the day the 07.10 from Bat & Ball to Sevenoaks was cancelled this morning; second delay repay claim this week, Southeastern 1, Thameslink 1! I decided to travel to Blackfriars because the connection off the 07.40 at Sevenoaks to a Cannon Street service can be tight and the train will definitely be crowded and seats scarce. The 17.24 service home this evening was crowded again.
• Thursday 23 July – The Information Screen at Bat & Ball Station was working intermittently this morning. The 07.23 was crowded and there were only unusable middle of three seats on the 07.28; I had to stand. The train did not depart Sevenoaks until 07.30 although it arrived on time. The train was delayed at London Bridge due to a problem with the doors. I abandoned the train and travelled onwards to Cannon Street on different service; seven minutes delay. The 17.24 was only eight coaches this evening, was very crowded and arrived six minutes late at Sevenoaks. The stock to form the 18.00 to Bat & Ball was nowhere to be seen. It eventually appeared from the sidings to the south of the station and departed at 18.07. The driver must have been keen to make up time we arrived at Bat & Ball in only two and a half minutes after departing Sevenoaks.
• Friday 24 July – I travelled to Canterbury via Sevenoaks today. Incurred minor delays in both directions.

Week of 27 July 2015

Total lateness 24 minutes: Southeastern 14, Thameslink 10

• Monday 27 July – The 07.10 was 7 minutes late arriving at Sevenoaks this morning. I got a seat on the 07.28 today: thankfully no delay due to the previous day’s derailment at Chilham. The 17.24 may have had a fault this evening the driver appeared to reboot the train couple of times and we departed two minutes late and arrived at Sevenoaks eight minutes late just in time to see the 18.00 disappearing towards Bat & Ball.
• Tuesday 28 July – The 07.10 arrived on time at Bat & Ball this morning but sat there at a red signal for two and a half minutes, arriving at Sevenoaks two minutes late. Probably due to the start of the school holidays there were a few seats on the 07.23 this morning. I opted for the 07.28 and got a seat. On departure there were a few middle of three unoccupied. The train waited at London Bridge for a couple of minutes for a platform to become available at Cannon Street. The 17.24 was made up of two low density and one high density four coach units; very crowded tonight.
• Wednesday 29 July – Both the 07.23 and 07.28 were crowded this morning, I missed getting a seat on the 07.28 due to the train not stopping where it was expected to; only a few unusable middle of three available. Two minutes early arrival at Cannon Street this morning. The 17.24 was made up of three low density units. Many people were standing after London Bridge but the first class was not declassified. The derailment last Sunday seems to be affecting stock allocation this week.
• Thursday 30 July – The 07.23 was crowded but I just managed to get a seat on the 7.28; two minutes early at Cannon Street again. The air conditioning may not have been working because one of the usually locked windows on this class 375 train were open. The 17.24 was made up of two low and one high density units; quite a lot of people standing.
• Friday 31 July – Not at work today but I still travelled to Cannon Street but later at 08.00 from Bat & Ball. My destination today was Epping; Central Line from Bank. I returned on the 17.45 from Cannon Street; no delays or incidents today.

Other observations this month

• At Cannon Street there were people handing out leaflets advising Goldcard season ticket holders of a “new benefit courtesy of Southeastern”! Goldcard holders are now able to download free book samples. I wonder if these are just extracts or compressed versions of the original books. Cynically I thought is this in advance of anticipated major delays and it is a way of keeping captive passengers occupied! Personally I would prefer more effort to be put in to providing more seats, better connections at Sevenoaks and running to time.
• The Metro Newspaper is now available in a stand on the footbridge at Sevenoaks. This saves those changing trains at Sevenoaks having to pass through the barriers to obtain a copy if there local station does not have any. I am sure the barrier staff are pleased about this because many people needed to be let through the barrier in one direction if they wanted a Metro because they passed both ways through the barriers to close together and their tickets would not work the barriers on the second occasion.
• After hearing and reading recent comments in the media about the train from Brighton to London that is always late it occurred to me that the 07.10 from Bat & Ball to Sevenoaks offers competition; it is very rarely at Sevenoaks by the due arrival time of 07.14. Even though it is allowed four minutes for the journey but only three in the reverse direction!