Platform announcements concerning doors closing before the train departs have changed recently. Forty-five seconds, rather than thirty, is now the time that doors will be closed before the train departs. Is this a device to pad real journey times in … Continue reading →

In May I posted here about the journey time between Bat & Ball and Maidstone East since the introduction of the new timetable, (62 minutes with 31 minutes waiting for a connection at Otford).  I wrote to both Southeastern and Thameslink about the matter.

The responses show how customer service offices issue standard responses that are frequently not appropriate, when they should forward the issue up the management line or to the relevant department to someone who can send a relevant and informed response.

At the beginning of the month, I read an article in a magazine that advised Wifi installation on Southeastern train services should be complete by June 2018. This was the first time I had seen any information about the date by which Wifi should be available on Southeastern services.

On Wednesday 16 May I successfully accessed the Internet and used my e-mail service between London Bridge and Hither Green on a Class 375 train, so it looks promising. However; my next four journeys on Southeastern trains were not good …