A total of 250 minutes delay (Southeastern 95, Thameslink 155) – better than the 701 minutes last month, but still pretty poor when you consider that I only travelled on thirteen days this month.

Delay Repay Claims: total 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016 inclusive = £147.70
Ten claims outstanding against Thameslink

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 05 December 2016

Total lateness 93 minutes: Southeastern 32, Thameslink 61

• Monday 05 December – Another bad start to the week by Thameslink, they cancelled the 06.24 from Bat & Ball to Sevenoaks and the 06.48 to Luton therefore this must have been a genuine cancellation of the 06.24 service rather than one for their convenience to prevent the 06.42 departure from Sevenoaks, (06.48 at Bat & Ball), running late. The 06.42 eventually departed Bat & Ball at 06.51 resulting in an eight minute late arrival at Sevenoaks. The first service I could travel on to Waterloo East was the 07.03. Probably due to the 06.54 to Cannon Street being cancelled this train was very busy when it arrived at Sevenoaks with a few people already standing. I was lucky and got one of the last two available seats when I boarded. The train was delayed at Chelsfield due to problems with one set of doors not closing completely. The total delay to my journey was forty minutes this morning: the first Delay Repay claim of the week! Whilst waiting for a train this morning at Bat & Ball I notice that on platform one there is one light that is not working and one that flickers on and off intermittently. On platform two there is also one light that flickers on and off intermittently.
• Tuesday 06 December – The 06.24 from Bat & Ball was late again today arriving at Sevenoaks at 06.29. Luckily the 06.31 to Waterloo East was also running late so I was able to catch it. The train was full and standing in the front four coach unit which was low density stock. The rear four coach unit was a high density 375/9 one, accordingly there were a few seats available for Sevenoaks passengers although some people were already standing. On departure from Sevenoaks there were no free seats and about six people standing in the coach I was in. After the Orpington stop many people were standing. I expect that the overcrowding on this service was made worse by the Southern strike and their passengers using Southeastern services. It has been announced that Southern passengers will be receiving compensation for the inconvenience that the strike has caused them How about some compensation for Sevenoaks and Orpington commuters who have had great difficulty obtaining seats on their usual trains due to the overcrowding caused by the Southern strike?
• Wednesday 07 December – The 06.24 from Bat & Ball was late again today arriving at Sevenoaks at 06.28. When the 06.31 to Waterloo East arrived at Sevenoaks it was already full and standing. The train was formed of two low density stock four coach units today. I decided to wait for the 06.41 departure which had plenty of seats available when it arrived at Sevenoaks.
• Thursday 08 December – When I arrived at Bat & Ball this morning the 06.24 was shown on the information screen as being two minutes late this changed almost immediately to three minutes late. The screen flickered and I thought it briefly displayed “Cancelled” in respect of the 06.24 departure. The 06.16 to Blackfriars was running three minutes late therefore I crossed the footbridge and travelled to London on this train. Arrival at Blackfriars was eight minutes late. The announcements over the P.A. system on the train advised that the next station was Shoreham when the train departed Bat & Ball I thought that it was strange that we were not stopping at Otford but we did. The announcements were one station premature all the way for some unknown reason. I noticed on the Internet that Thameslink were cancelling a lot of services late afternoon/early evening and two that I often use were cancelled. Accordingly, I quickly revised my travel home plans and made for the 15.43 departure from Waterloo East.
• Friday 09 December – I arrived at Bat & Ball early this morning and the 06.24 to Sevenoaks and the 06.16 to Blackfriars were both shown as being on time. I decided to wait for the 06.24 because the journey to London via Sevenoaks and on to Waterloo East is my preferred route. Big mistake! As soon as the 06.16 departed the 06.24 was shown as being expected at 06.26, this soon became 06.27 and eventually arrived at Sevenoaks at 06.30. I expected to miss the 06.31 to Waterloo East but Southeastern were also having problems. This service departed about 06.40 and arrived in London at 07.15 thirteen minutes late. The three faulty lights at Bat & Ball Station I mentioned on Monday have not been attended to yet.

Week of 12 December 2016

Total lateness 87 minutes: Southeastern 18, Thameslink 69

• Monday 12 December – And just when you think things cannot get worse Thameslink demonstrates that they can. The first working day of the new timetable and this morning Thameslink cancelled the 06.24 and 06.42 services from Bat & Ball to Sevenoaks, the 07.10 was the first train to Sevenoaks. The 06.16 to Blackfriars ran but was only four coaches rather than eight. The following two services to Blackfriars and beyond at 06.48 and 07.12 were cancelled. I think that the 05.43 service ran but I am not sure about this. I decided to travel to Blackfriars on the 06.16 departure from Bat & Ball because it should have got me to London sooner than the 07.10 to Sevenoaks. However the train was delayed on route and arrived at Blackfriars eighteen minutes late. Effectively though my journey to work today took just over one hour longer. The first Delay Repay claim of the week. The delay to this service was due to two things both relating to the station stops; firstly, the train was half the normal length and people were having to rush along the platform to where the train stopped before attempting to board. Secondly, after Bellingham it was almost impossible to board the train but people were trying hence the station dwell times were greater than allowed for. Matters were made worse by people standing on the train with rucksacks on their backs therefore taking the space of two people and folding bicycles occupying floor space where a person could have stood. These folding bicycles were causing problems at stations because people standing on the platform hoping to board the train could see a gap and kept asking people to move down the train but they could not see that the floor space was taken by a folding bicycle. The result was some heated exchanges of words! Thameslink’s problems were being attributed to vandalism, but no further details were forthcoming.
• Tuesday 13 December – When I arrived at the station this morning the 06.24 from Bat & Ball to Sevenoaks was shown as being due at 06.28 which would have made a connection with the 06.31 departure to Waterloo East unlikely. I had deliberately arrived early in case there was a repeat of yesterday’s cancellations therefore I decided to catch the 06.16 to Blackfriars. As walked towards the footbridge the 06.24 was shown as being due at 06.27, a slight improvement, however I continued to platform one. The 06.16 to Blackfriars departed Bat & Ball one minute late and was eight minutes late arriving in London. Fortunately this train was composed of eight coaches today. However, compared to my usual arrival time in London when travelling via Sevenoaks I was twenty-two minutes late.
• Wednesday 14 December – Did not travel today.
• Thursday 15 December – My only journey today was in the evening from Otford to Victoria then on to Wembley Park and return. Southeastern were six minutes late arriving at Victoria and five minutes late arriving at Otford on the return leg.
• Friday 16 December – Did not travel today.

Week of 19 December 2016

Total lateness 34 minutes, Southeastern 9, Thameslink 25

• Monday 19 December – I arrived at Bat & Ball Station in time to catch the 06.16 departure to Blackfriars in case the 06.24 to Sevenoaks was cancelled or running very late. This morning the 06.24 was shown as being on time therefore I waited for this service because travelling to Waterloo East is the quickest journey to work for me. The 06.24 arrived one minute late at Sevenoaks. When the 06.31 to Waterloo East arrived at Sevenoaks it was two low-density units and the first five coaches were full and standing. Fortunately, there were a few seats available in the last three coaches but a few people were standing on departure. Very few, in any, passengers boarding the train at Orpington would have found a seat.
• Tuesday 20 December – When I arrived at Bat & Bat both the 06.16 to Blackfriars and the 06.24 to Sevenoaks were shown as being on time, therefore I decided to travel on the 06.24. However, as soon as the 06.16 had departed the 06.24 was shown as running late, I began to wonder if I should have taken the Blackfriars train. The 06.24 arrived at Sevenoaks at 06.29 just as the 06.31 to Waterloo East was running in to platform one. I managed to cross the footbridge and board the train just as the doors began to close.
• Wednesday 21 December – When I arrived at Bat & Bat the 06.16 to Blackfriars was shown as being on time and the 06.24 to Sevenoaks expected at 06.26. This changed to “on time” and I decided to wait for this service. As soon as the 06.16 had departed I began to wonder if I had taken the right decision because the 06.24 departure was now shown as expected 06.27. The train eventually arrived in Sevenoaks at 06.30 and the 06.31 departure to Waterloo East was already alongside platform one. I could not cross the footbridge quick enough to board the train. Accordingly, I travelled on the 06.41.
• Thursday 22 December – When I arrived at Bat & Bat this morning both the 06.16 to Blackfriars and the 06.24 to Sevenoaks were shown as being on time. I decided to travel on the 06.24 an as soon as the 06.16 had departed the 06.24 was shown as expected at 06.26, this soon changed to 06.27. The train eventually arrived in Sevenoaks at 06.31 but fortunately the 06.31 departure to Waterloo East was running late. I quickly crossed the footbridge to platform one and soon after the 06.31 arrived.
• Friday 23 December – I did not travel today.

Week of 26 December 2016

Total lateness 36 minutes, Southeastern 36, Thameslink 0

• Monday 26 December – Did not travel
• Tuesday 27 December – I travelled from Otford to Bromley South today, the 13.47 was running late, the 14.00 was cancelled and the 14.07 was on time when I arrived at Otford station. For a while the departure screen kept changing as to which the first departure would be; eventually the 13.47 arrived and departed at 14.13. It arrived at Bromley South twenty-five minutes late.
• Wednesday 28 December – Did not travel
• Thursday 29 December – Did not travel
• Friday 30 December – Did not travel

Incidents and this month’s issues: –

New Class 700 Trains

Now having travelled on a few of these trains I do not expect the window seats to be popular with passengers because along the floor beside the coach body side is a very intrusive cable/pipe route that is covered in a metal shield. This protrudes approximately one third of the width of the window seat into the passenger space; effectively making it difficult to sit straight with your feet on the floor. Accordingly, many peoples’ upper leg and knees will be edging across the adjacent seat. Another reason is that when it is dark outside there is very little light falling on the window seat areas from the overhead carriage lighting making it difficult to read. It does seem to me that the lighting in many modern trains is not bright enough. One good point, the toilets on these trains appear to be well designed.

Anorak Update

The following Monday to Friday Thameslink services to/from Sevenoaks are due to be Class 700 trains: –
07.16 Bedford to Sevenoaks
09.42 Sevenoaks to Kentish Town
11.50 and 15.20 West Hampstead to Sevenoaks
13.30 Sevenoaks to West Hampstead
17.00 Sevenoaks to Bedford