The Fat Controller in my son’s Thomas Tank Engine books complains about “confusion and delays” and that’s explains the situation on our Thameslink train services from Eynsford.
Many of us were dreading the new timetable because of its promise of new, slower, services and worse connection times at Swanley onto slower trains to Victoria.
However we have not been able to experience this because Thameslink have been unable to run their trains properly. We have faced daily cancellations, many at last minute, random unannounced rail replacement bus services and a failure of the platform information signs. Nobody can give us a straight answer to the problem and Thameslink seem unable to apologise.
As is typical of the Balkanised management of the railways, Southeastern have been unhelpful and refused to stop their fast trains at Eynsford and Shoreham when the Thameslink services have ceased completely. It would add a few minutes to the train journey time, but it would save hours of waiting and worry for those at our stations.
It’s week 2 now and the chaos continues. Commuters are frustrated and fed up and getting angry. How can changes that have been expected for years (actually decades: remember, this is implementing what was originally called the Thameslink 2000 programme!) not have been properly planned and not have worked reasonably smoothly?
Please can we have our old timetable back? – it worked!
Even the trains we have are changing into buses to give us those all important journey opportunities we have been craving
Is it fair on Maidstone line passengers to have to call at thameslink stations because thameslink cannot get their act together?
Mid-afternoon on Sunday 3 June and the last FOUR northbound Thameslink trains from Sevenoaks tonight are already showing as cancelled, with no replacement buses mentioned. Passengers may need to remind Thameslink of their obligations under Section 28.2 of the National Conditions of Travel. Insist on a taxi or hotel if Thameslink leave you stranded !
28.2: “Where disruption prevents you from completing the journey for which your ticket is valid and is being used, any Train Company will, where it reasonably can, provide you with alternative means of travel to your destination, or if necessary provide overnight accommodation for you.”
We’d hope that Maidstone line passengers would not begrudge a couple of minutes to save fellow travellers an hour or more waiting on the platform
As the trains now only go from Sevenoaks to Blackfriars South Eastern may as well run the service so when there is a cancellation they will be obliged to stop the fast services at Shoreham and Eynsford as they used to.
I am afraid Govia are becoming the new masters of Newspeak – the Thameslink timetables were changed to improve the service, the work at London Bridge was necessary to improve the punctuality and increase the number of Southeastern rush hour trains. And its spreading the Rail Delivery Group having admitting that customers are not getting the cheapest fares i.e. they are being overcharged, now wants revenue neutral proposals to simplify the system i.e we can simplify the system if we accept the existing overcharging. In the meantime Fallon’s chum Grayling is still in a job.
I pretty sure that the Govia plan is to run the Blackfriars service so badly that nearly every one stops using it and then they can then close the line as uneconomic. They certainly don’t seem to give a damn about connecting with feeder services.