HOGRIDER 121 : November 2008-January 2009
INDEX
STAGECOACH IGNORES MINISTERS, PUBLIC GOOD AND STAKEHOLDERS – AS ITS EMPLOYEES REPORTEDLY PELT BUSES WITH EGGS, IS IT THE END OF THE LINE FOR SWT’S “COWBOY COUNTRY” OPERATOR?
DIRTIER TRAINS FOR SWT
NO HELP, NO INFORMATION, AS SWT PERSISTENTLY IGNORES MINISTER
STAGECOACH’S DECEPTION CAUSES SENSATION ON BBC - RAIL MINISTER APPARENTLY IGNORED WHILE PUBLIC CONDEMNS SWT’S GREED
UNDERMINING DISABLED PEOPLE’S CONFIDENCE TO TRAVEL BY TRAIN
WILL SOUTHERN PASSENGERS BE STAGECOACH’S NEXT VICTIMS?
IGNORING PASSENGERS’ NEEDS - A STAGECOACH SPECIALISM: 35-MINUTE INCREASE IN A JOURNEY TIME
PHENOMENALLY POOR HOLIDAY PERIOD SERVICES ON SWT
PHENOMENALLY POOR TREATMENT OF PASSENGERS ON SWT DURING “ADVERSE WEATHER”
REPORTS OF MORE STAGECOACH DISSERVICES TO HAMPSHIRE: FURORE ON RADIO SOLENT
SWT’S ANDOVER STATION CAR PARK RIP-OFF INSPIRES NEW BLOG
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE CRITICISES GREED OF STAGECOACH AND OTHERS
STAGECOACH AND THE RECESSION : AS E-MOTION MAGAZINE DISAPPEARS, SIR ALAN’S FINAL BRAINWASH EFFECTIVELY CONFIRMS THAT SWT NO LONGER RUNNING A PUBLIC SERVICE
PUBLIC REJECTS CUTS ON TOP OF HUGE FARE INCREASES
RITUAL ABUSE AND HUMILIATION – 4
PROTESTS AND DISCONTENT ON STAGECOACH EAST MIDLANDS FRANCHISE - NEW WEBSITE SET UP AND PASSENGERS POSTING SARDINES
NEW SOUTH HAMPSHIRE TIMETABLES 14 DECEMBER 2008 TO 16 MAY 2009
TIMETABLING WONDERLAND
SERIOUS INCIDENT INVOLVING OUT-OF-GAUGE CONTAINER
SAFER SOMETIMES?
RESPONSE ON BEHALF OF SHRUG TO DFT CONSULTATION ON PROPOSALS TO EXPEDITE PROCEDURES FOR (1) THE RE-LOCATION OF STATIONS AND (2) THE REDUCTION OF TRACKAGE THROUGH STATIONS
OUR TOTTON-WATERLOO COMMUTER ESCAPES THE DAILY “COWBOY COUNTRY” MISERY
SWT’S ‘RIGHT TIME’ RAILWAY: DUFF STOCK / CREW SHORTAGES / CANCELLATIONS / TRAINS TERMINATING SHORT OF DESTINATION / STOPS AXED FOR OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE
MEDIA DIGEST
PRIVATE EYE RESEARCH AND COMMENT
ABOUT THE SOUTH HAMPSHIRE RAIL USERS’ GROUP
STAGECOACH IGNORES MINISTERS, PUBLIC GOOD AND STAKEHOLDERS – AS ITS EMPLOYEES REPORTEDLY PELT BUSES WITH EGGS, IS IT THE END OF THE LINE FOR SWT’S “COWBOY COUNTRY” OPERATOR?
[A decade has passed since the then Monopolies and Mergers Commission condemned Stagecoach’s actions against other bus operators as “deplorable, predatory and against the public interest”. The evidence seems to confirm that little has changed. The Preston Bus Company has now effectively been undermined by Stagecoach’s tactics against it. Once Stagecoach took over, services were cut, staff whose jobs had been protected have reportedly been given no work in order to force them into voluntary redundancy, and Preston rues the day. For all the evidence, go to the Lancashire Evening Post website (www.lep.co.uk) and enter “Stagecoach” in the search box. There’s even a video.]
* DfT acknowledges that SWT is one of a small number of franchises in trouble.
* SWT is blatantly failing to meet ministerial requirements to comply “fully and consistently” with revised booking office opening hours. The new, shorter, opening hours come into effect in April, but Stagecoach isn’t bothering to comply with them even while the original longer hours are supposed to be in force.
* Stagecoach Director Sir Alan Greengross infers in the final e-motion magazine that the “public good” can no longer be taken into account on SWT, and accuses DfT of the kind deception which the magazine, including his own articles, has long spun (see separate item). This is clearly a challenge to the DfT’s position that the railways are a public service, publicly specified and privately delivered.
* It has come to light at a transport forum that SWT’s stakeholders are now ignored, whilst the Stakeholder Manager is apparently saying he has been gagged. This obviously removes any scope on SWT for the kind of big improvements which First Great Western has introduced, especially in its timetables, to help meet stakeholders’ aspirations (another big FGW stakeholder event is coming up in Bristol in March).
* Dirtier trains are to match foul stations.
* SWT became the last London train operator to refuse to allow Oyster Cards. The Evening Standard of 9/1/09 reported that all London rail operators would allow passengers to use them except SWT: “SWT wants to apply its own, more expensive, fares structure, and has other demands to which TfL cannot agree.” At the time of writing TfL was claiming to have obtained agreement in principle from SWT, but SWT is insisting the position is not final. Such resistance seems consistent with Stagecoach Chairman Brian Souter’s recent reference to “maximising revenue from planned rail initiatives”, as are the staggering new parking charges and fines at Southampton Airport station.
* Public, unions and the media are increasingly shocked and angered. There are strong feelings against both the recent massive fare rises at a time of low inflation, and allowing operators flexibility to make cuts following such rises. The House of Commons Transport Committee is to mount an immediate inquiry.
* Passenger Focus has severely criticised the cancellation of 4,000 trains on SWT in the last year, in addition to planned cancellations for engineering work. That’s over 11 trains lost every working day, which amounts to total unreliability given the Stagecoach context of short formations, stops axed for operational convenience, and services which never reach their destination. Our performance reports continue to record glimpses of this jigsaw of misery.
* Unsurprisingly, Stagecoach seems to be in a state of panic. Brian Souter has been quoted as saying “It is not going to be a slowdown, it is going to be a thumping, enormous recession." Shares of all the major bus and rail operators have dived substantially over the past year. Stagecoach shares are down by well over half, with their huge surge, following the company’s retention of the South West Trains franchise, virtually wiped out.
* The Glasgow Herald of 5/12/08 reported that Mr Souter had spent almost £3m boosting his stake in Stagecoach at a time of low share prices. That implies that, when the economy picks up, he and his sister Ann Gloag may jointly be enjoying even bigger 9-figure bonuses than before. Meanwhile, the Times OnLine of 30/01/09 reports that “David McCleary, the husband of Ann Gloag, Stagecoach’s co-founder and non-executive director, bought 10,000 shares…”.
[Note, however, the Evening Standard of 3/12/08, which reports, “Fears of a slowdown on the railways have not hurt the dividend, 25% of which goes to Souter and his sister Ann Gloag. The interim dividend is up 33% to 1.8p.” And then note the Southern Daily Echo of 30/12/08, which says “Stagecoach Group, which owns South West Trains has just paid dividends of 4.05p a share – up 39.7% on 2.9p in 2007, which was itself a record high”.]
Despite such unethical greed, there may be a glimmer of hope for thousands of long-suffering SWT commuters. Not long ago, Stagecoach shed its London bus operations whilst clinging to SWT, which had long been its cash cow. Now Mr Souter has used some of his shares as collateral against loans, and has purchased the Eastbourne and Preston bus companies. This could suggest the company is ready to shed SWT and concentrate on bus operations if the franchise does not adequately sate its greed.
That would certainly be fantastic news for Hampshire commuters. In addition, it could effect some improvement in the Government’s ratings, and provide welcome - if belated - recognition of the High Court’s wisdom in refusing to block the “Cowboy Country” programme. Conversely, if Stagecoach wins the Southern franchise with a commitment to longer booking office opening hours, after choosing to reduce opening hours on SWT, will this not be a major scandal? We must presume that Stagecoach was reluctant to reveal information on its latest dealings. Note this entry of 21/01/09 from The Times OnLine: “Directors of Stagecoach, the bus and trains group, were among several FTSE company board members who admitted that they had pledged shares in their respective groups against personal loans, ahead of the Financial Services Authority’s deadline of Friday to make outstanding disclosures”.
“Embattled Preston Bus gives way to Stagecoach [From The Times of 24/01/09]
TOM BAWDEN
Staff at Preston Bus, Britain's last employee-owned bus company, will receive windfalls of about £16,000 after selling their business to Stagecoach for about £5 million.
The sale will put an end to a two-year “bus war” that saw staff [editorial comment: criminal thugs in this case?] from Stagecoach throwing eggs at a vehicle run by Preston Bus, a rap on the knuckles from the industry regulator for bad behaviour and allegations that Stagecoach employed “bouncers” at stops.
But the recession forced Preston Bus to submit to a takeover. The Preston brand will be phased out over the next year, while its 300 staff will receive an average windfall of £16,666, based on a sale price of £5 million. Stagecoach declined to comment on how much it paid.
Peter Bell, managing director and the biggest shareholder in Preston, will leave the combined group. In a statement that suggested all was not forgiven, he hinted strongly that the sale to Stagecoach was a last resort in recessionary times. The company faced an uncertain future as a result of the current economic climate and legislative changes. These issues could have seriously undermined the business and, as a result, the directors decided that it was in the best interests of employees and the business to approach potential purchasers, he said.”
[Use the search engine on www.timesonline.co.uk to find out more about Stagecoach and South West Trains. There are some really damning public criticisms, for example in an article of 22/06/2007 about SWT’s vicious penalty fares scheme. One typical letter says:
“Just reading these articles regarding SWT's stance towards their customers makes me so angry and sick and tired of the system that is in place. This whole method of franchising does not work. It is just an opportunity for a rich company to get richer. Once they win the franchise it seems that their profit is unlimited. It's disappointing that the government does not seem to be doing enough (lack of power?) to put the situation right. We can only blame John Major and Thatcher's legacy that Major tried to live up to. He should've known when railway transport was the only thing that Thatcher didn't privatise out of all the natural monopolies.
In a world where the environment is suffering because of too much CO2 from cars and others, the current system of public transport only encourages people to use their cars.
There is a long road ahead for this situation to be sorted out and I just hope that the end of that road is not too far away. W Y K, South West London.”]
DIRTIER TRAINS FOR SWT
SWT is to wet clean its carriage interiors annually instead of monthly, according to the February issue of ‘Today’s Railways’. The article reports that a particularly shabby suburban unit has been noted. We can also confirm that the toilet door on one class 158 unit has not been lockable for months, the Weymouth portion of the 17.05 had no usable toilet on 22/1/2009, and the gents at Southampton Central remains a disgrace. One commuter recognises a class 158 unit by an apparently permanent fragment of toast.
NO HELP, NO INFORMATION, AS SWT PERSISTENTLY IGNORES MINISTER
On 21/1/09 a moderate frost crippled SWT (See ‘SWT’s Right Time Railway’ in this issue). Passengers wanting the 06.12 from Totton (the fourth largest intermediate town between Southampton and Weymouth) to connect at Southampton Central into the 05.45 Poole-Waterloo found it cancelled. As usual, even the reduced booking office opening hours were not being honoured, despite ministerial requirements, so there was nobody to help. There is a standing arrangement for the 05.45 itself to stop at Totton in these circumstances (agreed by timetable manager Peter Brooks in the presence of DfT officials at a meeting in November 2007). A commuter used the Help Point to request that this be honoured. After much delay, the stop was agreed, but the 05.45 then raced through the station, delaying people for 30 minutes. The passenger lodged a complaint but SWT subsequently denied all knowledge of his call. The next day, when the 06.12 was axed again, due to duff stock, the 05.45 did call at Totton.
Also on 21/1/09, a passenger turned up for the 08.53 from Totton to London. There were crowds on the platform, and the 08.17 was still advertised. At 08.50, the screen changed to show the 08.17 as cancelled, and the 08.53 as the first departure. The booking office was still unstaffed. Presumably the cancellation of the 08.17 wasn’t advertised earlier as passengers would have used the Help Point to complain.
By the end of the commuting week on 23/1/09, there was still no sign of staff presence at Totton, and the plastic sack had fallen from its stand, presumably due to the weight of the rubbish. Small wonder that rat traps are in use?
On 29/1/09, there was again no staff presence at Totton at 06.00. The departure screen on platform 1 showed the 06.45 to Waterloo as the next service. It seems that the stock for the 06.12 to Southampton and Romsey was so duff that Stagecoach was hoping to get away with not running it. A call on the Help Line got the response that the 06.12 was running as normal. The screen then changed to show it as ‘delayed’. A further call on the Help Line got the response that there was a fault with the display system and the 06.12 would run as normal. The train eventually came out of the siding and ground its way slowly to Southampton where, contrary to normal practice, it stopped at the far western end of the platform. As passengers hurried to board, the service disappeared from the departure screens.
STAGECOACH’S DECEPTION CAUSES SENSATION ON BBC - RAIL MINISTER APPARENTLY IGNORED WHILE PUBLIC CONDEMNS SWT’S GREED
* On 15/1/09 transport correspondent Paul Clifton reported, on BBC TV South, that Stagecoach planned to cut SWT’s workforce by 10 per cent, with loss of almost 500 staff. The losses were to be in administrative and managerial grades. An internal memorandum was then leaked to the BBC, showing that the losses included 93 full-time and 87 part-time ticket office staff, 62 full-time and 9 part-time platform staff, and just 22 full-time and 3 part-time managers. South West Trains refused to comment and the BBC discovered that the RMT had not been informed. A video of a shocked Paul Clifton, along with equally shocked presenter Sally Taylor, was placed on the BBC’s website.
* This must rank as one of SWT’s biggest deceptions since only one third of voters in their online poll thought Stagecoach should have retained the franchise but they published a figure of 61% in their e-motion magazine. That shameless deception was underpinned with references in articles attributed to their “independent” Passengers Panel to there being no doubt that the vast majority were pleased Stagecoach had kept the franchise.
* As recently as 13/1/09 passengers had been delighted that Lord Adonis had turned down 80% of Stagecoach’s proposals to reduce ticket office opening hours on SWT. The Evening Standard’s report immediately became the most read item of the day, even though consigned to page 4. The transport minister stressed that SWT would be expected to “fully and consistently” staff stations according to his ruling. Liberal Democrat spokesman Norman Baker added, “This intervention is welcome and gives a signal to other companies not to be so greedy.”
* Stagecoach’s plans had first been revealed in the summer of 2008, when they provoked a huge public protest. The Southern Daily Echo of 19/6/08 reported “Rail chiefs have unveiled plans to slash [booking office] opening hours at Hampshire train stations with the loss of 118 jobs”. The company’s motive was clearly greed, because the Glasgow Metro of 26/6/08 reported: “Transport group Stagecoach said environmental fears and higher fuel costs had sparked a shift towards public transport as it unveiled big revenue rises. The Perth-based firm said revenues rose 13.6% at its train arm and 7.5% at its British bus division”.
* One of the principal reasons that everyone wants staff on stations is security, and this was highlighted in the commendable protests led by Hampshire MPs such as Sandra Gidley, John Denham, Alan Whitehead and Chris Huhne. At 06.20 on 18/07/08, the morning that MPs engaged with the public at Southampton Central, a SWT official was noted putting up a poster stating that London Travel Card operators would be conducting a survey at the station that day, and that £2 would be donated to charity when people completed a questionnaire. We do not know of such a survey having been conducted in the past or since, nor of such short notice being given of any passenger survey by a train operator. It is not clear why anyone would have wanted to conduct one in Southampton, especially as passengers in London are being urged to use Oyster Cards wherever possible. This was presumably a distraction driven by Stagecoach putting greed before ethics as usual.
* It seems that Stagecoach later decided to cloud the issue of job cuts. By 3/12/08, the Evening Standard was reporting a Stagecoach spokesman as saying, “We are not giving out any details on the headcount reduction as yet. It will not involve areas that compromise safety”. Then on 4/12/08, the Glasgow Herald reported Stagecoach Chairman Brian Souter’s comments that: "We think there are significant and substantive cost savings that could be made across the rail business and we will be initiating that over the next few months." The report continues: “He indicated that cuts at the company, which gets around 40% of revenues from rail, are likely to come from areas like marketing”.
* The chances of Stagecoach now taking any notice whatever of the minister’s requirement must be remote. Although Totton is the fourth largest intermediate town between Southampton and Weymouth, the booking office opening hours have not been honoured there for years, and the station is left unstaffed for days at a time. Even the new, shorter opening hours would be a huge improvement on what Stagecoach has actually been delivering. SWT simply doesn’t employ enough staff. For example, there has much hype about the installation of new ticket gates at Southampton, yet commuters often turn up to find them left open, and staff have been overheard saying that nobody is available to attend them.
* Is this Stagecoach saying it can no longer do business with the Department for Transport, because the founders see only 8-figure bonuses or less on the table in a more difficult financial climate? There can be little doubt that the vast majority of passengers would be delighted to see Stagecoach stripped of its rail operations. In the two years since SWT’s on-line poll showed that two thirds didn’t want Stagecoach running their trains, the company has introduced a succession of unpopular measures in pursuance of its greed. Note these comments in the Southern Daily Echo of 16/1/09:
“It is worth pointing out that South West Trains has reported a continuous string of stellar profits, that rail passenger numbers have been growing at near double-digit percentages annually for a number of years, that fares rises are consistently above inflation (6% this year, for instance) and that South West Trains parent company Stagecoach have just increased their ordinary dividend by 32% compared to last year, in addition to having made “extra dividend payments” totalling £690,000 million over the course of the last financial year. And even now the “problem” that they are facing – and are citing as justification for these cuts – is not that revenues and profits are falling, but merely that their hitherto explosive rate of growth has showed signs of slowing slightly. So they may “only” make 10% more profit this year than last, rather than the 27.2% more that they made last year than the year before – poor them. Most businesses would kill to be in that position at the current time!” Andy E.
“A decent government would have introduced some legislation to stop this kind of ruthless behaviour by these greedy companies, who through their selfish actions are only contributing more towards the sharply increasing number of unemployed. With weak kneed government’s failure to act the unions involved may be the only hope left. We should all wish them success.” Paramjit Bahia, Southampton.
“I often read about local MPs who are keen to jump on any bandwagon they feel boosts their egos/image, so why not lobby them to take on this one, that’s what they are supposedly there for. The Echo has a wide coverage area I believe, so it would involve a number of MPs who, collectively, could at least demand an investigation into SWT claims. Sadly, the only losers in a strike are the long suffering public.” B L Springfield.
[The Guardian of 21/1/09 reported that train operators were pleading with government to fund 1,000 extra rail workers. Presumably these comprise the workers which Stagecoach and others are proposing to dispose of. Puts an interesting interpretation on “extra”!]
Interesting letter from The Times OnLine:
“South West Trains will use any excuse to put pressure on staff and threaten their job security to ensure that they get more out of them. Staff cut backs is a regular threat. There are too many high earning Managers and Directors and yet they stay! Why not stop pandering to share holders. P Lewin, Godstone, England”
UNDERMINING DISABLED PEOPLE’S CONFIDENCE TO TRAVEL BY TRAIN
[BBC Website 19/01/09; We understand that South West Trains has overall responsibility for Clapham Junction station]
“PROBE INTO DISABLED JOURNEY DELAY
An investigation has been started after a Sussex woman with disabilities almost missed a conference after rail firms failed to help her with her journey. Anna McNaughton, 22, of Worthing, who has cerebral palsy, suffered lengthy delays travelling to and from London despite a prior request for assistance. Staff at Clapham Junction told Ms McNaughton, who uses a powerchair, they were not confident with the equipment. Southern said it was working with South West Trains to find out what happened.
Ms McNaughton, who speaks with the aid of a computer, was travelling to attend a conference at Earl's Court on Tuesday. The rail companies had been informed the day before that she would be using their services to get into London but when she arrived at the platform at Clapham Junction, to change trains, she was told staff were not happy using the specialist lifting equipment. This meant she experienced a two-hour delay during her journey into the city and had a similar wait on the way back. Her mother, Sue, said: "She was just in tears. She was so upset from it all. It's hard enough getting from A to B in a powerchair anyway and all you ask for is a bit of compassion, a bit of time and a bit of patience. That's all, that's all it takes."
Lee Webster, of Leonard Cheshire Disability, said: "I think in Anna's case it was quite an extreme example and she was very distressed but generally disabled people face barriers such as physical barriers within the train or barriers at the train station." A spokeswoman for Southern said: "We are working with South West Trains to conduct a full investigation into what happened as clearly Ms McNaughton didn't receive the level of service she quite rightly should expect. "We are sorry for any distress and inconvenience suffered by Ms McNaughton and we will ensure through the investigation that we find out what went wrong and ensure it does not happen again."
“TICKET TO RIDE BUT THEY DON’T CARE (Times, 07/01/09)
Sir, Our local station often has a closed ticket office, forcing passengers to use a ticket machine. When the ticket office is shut, we can’t use either the cloakroom or the waiting room. Presumably no passenger using a wheelchair can get on or off a train either, since it’s necessary to put down a ramp (put in place by the person manning the ticket office) to deal with the gap between the train and the platform.
The ticket machine has no instructions, so as well as some of the ticket horrors already described, using a discount card or trying to get a car park ticket is well-nigh impossible. Complaints to South West Trains about incorrect and overpriced tickets have resulted in vouchers, but these can’t be redeemed with no ticket office open. Years ago Cleckheaton railway station in Yorkshire was stolen, and I remember reading sad appeals from British Rail for its return. I foresee enraged passengers kidnapping ticket machines and demanding open ticket offices as ransom. Felicity Trotman, Salisbury”
WILL SOUTHERN PASSENGERS BE STAGECOACH’S NEXT VICTIMS?
* As our articles on East Midlands Trains are showing, transfer of a franchise to Stagecoach can be dreadful news for the passengers affected. They quickly start complaining of lack of respect and contempt; poor service; poor information; extortionate prices; timetables being ripped apart and downgraded to the disadvantage of thousands; and trains being uncomfortably cramped, overcrowded and rough riding. East Midlands is being turned into the mirror image of South West Trains. It all fits perfectly within Stagecoach Chairman Brian Souter’s arrogant proclamation that “ethics are not irrelevant but some are incompatible with what we have to do because capitalism is based on greed”.
* Stagecoach is one of the four shortlisted bidders for the Southern franchise. This has the most disturbing implications for passengers in Sussex, East Surrey and South London. The Southern franchise is everything that South West Trains isn’t. The timetable is a work of art, providing a tightly-timed network of connecting services; it hasn’t been rehashed and slowed for operational convenience. Try and find a growing town of 30,000 people on Southern with a rubbish service like that at Totton! Try and find massive layover times like those of the 39-past Waterloo-Poole at Southampton Central and Brockenhurst!
The Wessex Electric trains were too good for SWT passengers and were patched up with hazard warning tape by Stagecoach. Southern has heavily refurbished them and has virtually rebuilt the middle coaches with which Stagecoach had merely tinkered. Seats have not been ripped out of suburban trains contrary to passengers’ wishes, as happened on SWT.
Southern has a range of cheap fares, and off-peak morning travel to London can be vastly cheaper than on SWT. In return, people with cheap tickets are barred from swamping crowded evening commuter trains.
Passengers are allowed to relax in comfortable seats without constant threats of penalty fares. And Southern doesn’t produce passenger magazines with deceptive monologues in the name of an increasingly silent Passengers’ Panel.
One of the requirements of the new franchise is that an extra 41 stations on Southern will be staffed from first to last train. This contrasts starkly with the position on SWT, where Stagecoach has been hell-bent on reducing booking office opening hours at stations where the booking clerk is the only member of staff. Experience suggests that Stagecoach will not honour any commitment – the rubbish service which now operates between Waterloo and Weymouth is nothing like the Service Level Commitment (SLC) specified by the Department for Transport, and DfT officials have conceded that the SLC was changed by Stagecoach and Network Rail.
At the end of 2008, five bishops (including the Bishop of Winchester) followed the Archbishop of Canterbury in questioning the Government’s morality in allowing the gap between rich and poor to widen during a decade of affluence. In fact, the Government has given priority to measures for example to alleviate poverty among pensioners and families with children. The Bishops might better have pointed to the founders of Stagecoach who (as exemplified above) aren’t held to commitments yet enjoy 9-figure bonuses and a pair of castles whilst the travelling public has suffered soaring fares; downgraded rolling stock and timetables; and a savage penalty fares scheme which deliberately punishes people who misunderstand the hugely complex fares scheme, despite ticket machines being so difficult to use that SWT has admitted that it would need a book to explain fully how to use them. What could be less Christian than that?
Meanwhile, the powerful Commons Public Accounts Committee has given important parliamentary recognition to the fact that frustrated passengers make attacks on staff more likely, however much such attacks are to be deplored. (Rail News December 2008)
Unfortunately, thousands of Southern passengers probably don’t realize how much they have to lose under a Stagecoach franchise. We must hope the Government does. Already, 400 regular passengers are protesting at Stagecoach’s decision to withdraw the bus link to Bognor station and town centre (‘RAIL’ Issue 608). There is a ray of hope for Southern passengers. A SWT guard was recently overheard telling a passenger that Stagecoach couldn’t withdraw from the Southern franchise having bid for it. It may be the company has lost interest and is seeking some way of extricating itself from the bidding process.
[SHRUG’s organiser was grateful for the opportunity to attend a stakeholder event with Northern Rail towards the end of last year. Northern are bidding for the Southern franchise in partnership with NedRail. They have built up a good record, are clearly passenger-focused and, like First Great Western, put a lot of effort into relations with stakeholders. In addition, a Northern Rail representative recognised that most ticketless travel is not deliberate evasion. I made the point that, however good Southern is, the franchise includes only two stations in Hampshire (Warblington and Emsworth) and that many Southern passengers suffer appalling service on SWT and may well lose trains because of long ticket queues even at major stations such as Southampton Central. The point was noted.
At the time of the meeting, there seemed to be a general expectation in the railway press that Go Ahead would keep the franchise because of their generally good record. However, remarks by Keith Ludeman about the possibility of negotiating service cuts may not find favour with DfT, and it seems increasingly unlikely that the government would snub voters by awarding the franchise to Stagecoach, even if the company were still interested. Northern may well now be a key contender.]
IGNORING PASSENGERS’ NEEDS - A STAGECOACH SPECIALISM: 35-MINUTE INCREASE IN A JOURNEY TIME
* Despite over 1,350 complaints on the NO 450 website against suburban trains being used on Portsmouth-Waterloo commuter services, we understand that Stagecoach applied to downgrade the popular 06.15 Portsmouth-Waterloo as well. We are further informed that the Department for Transport refused their application and that SWT is furious that the information was leaked. In addition, the founder of the NO 450 website was refused his request to attend SWT’s ‘public’ [!!] seminar on 27 November. David Willetts, the MP for Havant, has engaged in robust correspondence with SWT. It seems that SWT’s accounts for 2006-07 show a £23.4m (22.9%) reduction in rolling stock charges. So much for SWT’s contention that the reshuffle was simply to provide more capacity?
* Remember Question 101 in SWT management’s August Webchat event?
“I asked last time if it is possible for there to be a connection between your Portsmouth - Southampton and Southampton - Salisbury services. Would the slight change in timings be possible, I am regularly able to make the change, even though journey planners can't show it. Thanks. Paul Scott, 20 August 2008 14:31”.
The answer was: “I am afraid that it is not possible to retime the Salisbury service later from Southampton, as by doing so it would delay the following Bournemouth-bound CrossCountry service in the Redbridge area.”
At the time, the train from Portsmouth arrived at Southampton at 36 minutes past the hour, and the Salisbury train left at 38 past. From the December 2008 timetable, the train from Portsmouth doesn’t arrive until 38 past, so this passenger will have no hope of connecting. The Salisbury train can’t leave later than 38-past? What would be the 10.38 to Salisbury doesn’t leave until 10.44, because there is an additional First Great Western service at that hour. Clearly, if a later departure is possible when there is an extra train on the scene, it is possible when there isn’t.
* You might have thought early morning services from Totton (the fourth largest intermediate town between Southampton and Weymouth) couldn’t get worse even under Stagecoach. Wrong. The 06.12 from Totton now uses the same platform at Southampton Central as the 06.21 to Portsmouth, presumably because it’s too much bother to switch the latter to platform 4. This means that the Totton train now takes 7 minutes for the three quarters of a mile journey from Millbrook to Southampton Central, and passengers no longer have time to buy a coffee or newspaper before boarding the London connection; sometimes they have to race frantically over the footbridge. This stupid change also means that people wanting to commute from Millbrook or Redbridge towards Bournemouth cannot connect with the 06.25 train at Southampton, so have their journey times extended by about 35 minutes.
PHENOMENALLY POOR HOLIDAY PERIOD SERVICES ON SWT
* Christmas and New Year engineering works on SWT were largely confined to the Clapham Junction-Barnes line, with only services via Richmond and Brentford affected. However, that is only a small part of the overall picture.
* As always at holiday times, there seems to have been a rebellion against the rest-day working caused by tight staffing on SWT, of which many train crew staff have complained to passengers over the years. During the second half of December, large numbers of SWT services were axed due to crew shortages, particularly on the Saturdays 13, 20 and 27 December (see our performance reports).
* Even less effort than usual was made to look after London commuters in the New Year week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday saw Saturday services. So, for example, Totton/Ashurst commuters who usually have a half-hourly evening peak service taking 85/90 minutes had an hourly service taking 116/121 minutes. Sway/Hinton Admiral commuters who usually have a half-hourly evening peak service taking 103/112 minutes had an hourly service taking 161/170 minutes. Passengers at some stations in Southern Dorset saw their journey times increased by around 15 minutes, and service frequency halved. SWT will no doubt argue that some of these times can be reduced by taking later trains and changing en route, but do they really expect passengers to choose this option when they won’t hold ‘connections’ even when passengers are racing to catch them, preferring to play trains rather than look after customers? And the Thursday (New Year’s Day) had Sunday services, with the already slow Waterloo-Poole trains slowed by extended stops at Brockenhurst to allow Cross Country’s weekday services to pass… if only Arriva had won the SWT franchise!
[Note a reader’s comment in the Evening Standard of 13/1/09: “At the same time as the Clapham Junction-Barnes main line was closed last weekend, despite having been shut for 10 days’ repairs over Christmas, rail replacement buses were routed through Wandsworth one-way system, which was at a standstill thanks to road works. When will transport planners ever learn to talk to each other?” (Chris Locke SW15)]
PHENOMENALLY POOR TREATMENT OF PASSENGERS ON SWT DURING “ADVERSE WEATHER”
* On Monday 02/02/09, a moderate snowfall crippled train services in the South East. Massive delays and cancellations. Things weren’t helped by the fact that SWT’s website contained completely wrong information. For example, the reduced services which were supposed to comprise “2 trains per hour” were advertised as “2 hour” services, suggesting the planned service was 4 times worse than it actually should have been. Unsurprisingly, only small numbers of people travelled.
As is so often the case, the Totton booking office was closed at 06.00 when it should have been open. And, of course, when SWT doesn’t bother to staff the booking office, the waiting room is left locked, so passengers freeze in the open. The day started with the first train from Totton (normally the 05.49) leaving 31 minutes late at 06.20 and reaching Waterloo 70 minutes late. As no information was given on the departures screen, passengers had had to use the Help Point to find out that it was running.
The train adhered to the normal stopping pattern of the 05.49 except that the Woking stop was axed. So, having left Basingstoke with scores of empty seats, it trundled past scores of freezing passengers on Woking station, before a long stand outside Wimbledon station for another service to move. There was the customary Stagecoach welcome at Waterloo where each information screen was blank except for a warning of penalty fares. That fitted nicely with the closed booking offices and open ticket barriers.
By early afternoon, some lines were still closed and advertised services were completely unpredictable. The 13.35 from Waterloo got to Southampton Central only 41 minutes late, but the 14.05 was 103 minutes late. The direct route to Portsmouth via Guildford was by then severed. By late evening, the National Rail website showed most planned services as cancelled. Extraordinarily, the 18.12 Reading-Waterloo was to be axed between Reading and Earley, where it was expected to start its journey 147 minutes late.
* On Tuesday 03/02/09, nothing had changed. Totton station was still unstaffed, the waiting room locked, and the departure screen not giving information. Three cardboard coffee cups were still on the outside window ledge from the previous morning, the waste sack was overflowing (good news for the rats), and the platform had dangerous ice patches. Good job nobody slipped on the ice and fell onto the track, as numerous calls to the Help Point went unanswered. One woman complained that she had been reprimanded the previous morning for boarding without a ticket. She had been reluctant to buy one before she was sure of a service, because there was nobody to give her a refund.
Passengers who had turned up for the 05.49 were freezing in the open. The repeated failures to get anyone to answer the Help Point may have been because the first train was running a few minutes later than the previous day, so the Stagecoach “Cowboys” had decided not to bother stopping it at the fourth largest town between Weymouth and Southampton. At 06.29, it swept through the station, smothering people in crisp snowflakes from the track.
Many passengers who had struggled to the station then went home. The second train duly followed at 07.18, so passengers who had turned up for the 05.49 had waited 89 minutes, apparently for Stagecoach’s operational convenience. Despite people going off, there were still about 30 awaiting trains. It was very apparent that the 07.18 ran almost normally to Waterloo as Network Rail had got the tracks in good condition, so the problem was with Stagecoach.
By evening, a normal service was advertised on the SWT diesel routes, but an emergency service operated on other routes that were not actually closed. So the service between Bournemouth and Weymouth ran every two hours, and only 2 trains an hour ran between Waterloo and Bournemouth. The very slow-running 16.35 from Waterloo had scores standing or sitting on the floor, and passengers for intermediate stations (except Brockenhurst) between Southampton and Bournemouth had to wait at Southampton for the 17.05 from Waterloo as their stops were axed from the 16.35.
REPORTS OF MORE STAGECOACH DISSERVICES TO HAMPSHIRE: FURORE ON RADIO SOLENT
TRAINS
* We understand that the much-lamented – especially by disabled people - destruction of Southampton Central’s travel centre was to make way for a Costa outlet. Quite what the point would have been apart from profit, given that there is already a Costa café facing the main entrance to the station, is anyone’s guess, but we further understand that Costa has decided not to proceed with the new outlet.
* We understand that SWT will no longer sell tickets for the Mid-Hants Railway at Alton station, having demanded £17,500 annually and 15% on ticket sales to continue this service.
* Stagecoach intends to continue running ancient slam door trains on the Lymington branch until 2013, despite plenty of sliding door class 508 units being available for hire. [‘RAIL’ Issue 608]
* On 19/1/09, much of the down-side car park at Southampton Central was flooded because autumn leaves had not been swept away.
* Furore on Radio Solent on 2/1/09 about the ticket machine which has been installed at Ashurst station. Passengers found it bewildering and it would not accept cash. It does not sell tickets to individual stations in the London travel zones, and gives no indications of which zones stations fall in. So if you want to make journeys via Wimbledon or Clapham Junction, you have to make enquiries in advance or pay for all the zones to avoid a penalty fare.
* Stagecoach intends to introduce parking charges at Ashurst station’s small car park, causing concern that rail users will park on the public highway. National Rail Enquiries are already advertising an £8 charge.
* South West Trains has contracted out car parking at Southampton Airport station. A £5 charge applies on Saturdays and Sundays and the weekday charge is £10. The 20-minute short-stay facility has reportedly been administered ruthlessly, with drivers fined £80 for staying 21 minutes.
* It has come to light at local authority transport forums that South West Trains now refuses to consult stakeholders. It’s clear therefore that Stagecoach has turned its back on taxpayers who have oiled the company with so many millions of pounds over the years. SWT’s Stakeholder Manager reportedly sat in silence through one forum and, when asked a question, responded that he wasn’t allowed to say anything.
* The misery of suburban stock on services from Waterloo to Portsmouth, Southampton, Poole and Weymouth remains high profile. Letter in the Evening Standard of 20/1/09:
“Long-distance commuters from destinations like Portsmouth and Southampton on South West Trains would be happy with some shorter off-peak trains, providing they have the right seat configuration. We are sick of cramped narrow seats with no legroom and lack of luggage space in trains operating beyond the London suburban area. SWT continues to ignore complaints about this profit-enhancing measure. David Habershon, Emsworth”.
* Cancellations and disruption due to SWT’s chronic train crew shortage are endemic. A typical example from ‘Go By Train’:
Service: 08:07 Romsey to Salisbury on 30/06/2008 operated by South West Trains.
Details: This train will be terminated at Southampton Central. It will no longer call at: Millbrook Hants, Redbridge, Mottisfont & Dunbridge, Dean and Salisbury. This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.
Service: 08:22 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central on 30/06/2008 operated by First Great Western.
Details: This train has been revised. It will additionally call at: Mottisfont & Dunbridge and Dean. This is due to an earlier problem with line-side equipment. [Our underlining]
* Can anything be more farcical than the rail industry’s habit of congratulating itself on just about anything? In the last Rail Industry Awards, SWT was ‘highly commended’ for its work at three stations, including Redbridge, in recognition of “the huge amount of effort and teamwork which has gone into improving the passengers’ journey experience”. Hang on, Redbridge lacks just about every basic amenity, including information screens, except a tiny bus shelter. Weren’t the works at the station simply to render the out-of-use main building safe?
BUSES
* We understand that Winchester Bus Station is being left to deteriorate because Stagecoach intends to deprive the city of this facility. When a member of our Group checked, the prominent ‘Bus Station’ sign had been removed, the station was in a very poor state of maintenance, and only Stagecoach timetables were on display.
Readers will recall that Stagecoach first got out of the red by disposing of Southampton’s bus station at a substantial profit, leaving a disjointed bus system with departure points scattered around the city centre. Note this item in the Southern Daily Echo of 31/12/08, by Rob Vickery, a final year student at Southampton Solent University:
“TAKEN FOR A RIDE BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT
At a time when cutting carbon emissions is key, one obvious solution is to improve public transport.
Usually the lateness and price are the reasons for complaints, but I say it needs to be easier to use and less confusing. It seems absurd that Southampton does not have a central bus station.
A place supplying leaflets or containing TV screens of bus times, or if all else fails somewhere where you can ask an employee, or stay sheltered while you wait.
Coventry used to have this problem, bus stops were scattered all along the roads leading into the city centre, pavements full of people blocking the walkway while they waited for their bus. They built a bus station in 2002 in the hope it would make it easier to use the service around the city and the local area, which in turn would encourage people to leave their private vehicles and use the bus.
So why can’t Southampton have a bus station too? It is confusing enough trying to figure out bus times, and then which bus to get.
Planning your journey becomes even more difficult if you include having to find out which of the many bus stops, scattered all over the city centre, you need to take you to your destination.
I have only lived in Southampton for two years, taking many buses, one of those last week.
Researching my route from one side of the city centre to the docks on the other was not an easy task, even for someone who is fairly Internet savvy. There are various bus companies running in Southampton including Bluestar, First and Uni-link, all with different routes, prices and times, which incidentally all seem to stop before midnight, unlike other cities, such as Nottingham, where bus services run all night. No wonder the average resident would probably rather drive, believe me the way public transport is at the minute, if I could afford to run a car I would choose to too.
People say public transport needs investment to make it more reliable, regular (or at least punctual) and cheaper. I say go back to the beginning and before you do that, make it simpler and easier to use, then try and get people back on it.”
[Bus services in and from Southampton continue to decline. A few years ago, the city enjoyed some token Boxing Day services. This year, there were no services on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day. How long before Good Friday and the Bank Holiday Mondays become bus-less?
>From January 2009 people in Ringwood cannot use the bus to work in Southampton. The only departures from the city are at 10.51 and 13.51, which arrive from Ringwood a few minutes earlier. This is almost certainly the worst service since the railway line to Ringwood closed in 1964. Closure was justified by the availability of alternative bus services.
Following the Stagecoach-type war (in the case of Stagecoach, described by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission as “deplorable, predatory and against the public interest) by Bluestar against Black Velvet over a Southampton-Eastleigh route, Black Velvet was forced off the route in January and Bluestar was to abandon it in February. Also to be axed in February is the X27 Solent Shuttle service between Portsmouth and Southampton, which further highlights the need for a better rail service between these cities.]
SWT’S ANDOVER STATION CAR PARK RIP-OFF INSPIRES NEW BLOG
(From: www.southwestpains.blogspot.com)
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Imagine this... you purchase a ticket that entitles you to a meal in a restaurant every night for a year. Then one evening you turn up for your prepaid meal only to be told the restaurant is full and you have to leave, your place has been sold to somebody else. Naturally you complain, then they dig out the terms & conditions, which they did not give to you in the first place, which state you are not actually entitled to a meal at all.
Unbelievable eh! Well that's exactly the kind of deal you get when you purchase a yearly car park season ticket from South West Trains for Andover train station car park. For a princely sum you can purchase a season ticket that entitles you to park in that car park for a year, providing they haven't already sold your space to somebody else and the car park is full on any given day that is! Most days the car park is completely full by 8.15am. Not a good deal at all in my opinion, and for 2009 they are putting up the price by 50p a day, approximately another £178 a year, making the total cost over £928 to park your car if your lucky! Since 2007 that's an increase in price of approximately 50%.
So why don't they provide exclusive season ticket car parking spaces ? Well they do ... a grand total of 7 spaces that are all taken by 6.30am. There are no other parking options in the immediate area and the station is not within easy walking distance to town. Incidentally, council run car parks charge over 50% less for an annual ticket!
For me, a yearly train ticket from Andover to Reading costs over £2,300, add to this the car park charge of £928 for 2009 and that's over £3,200 a year in travel and parking (if I'm lucky) expenses. Now the cost by car from Andover to Reading and back is an average of £2,400 per year in fuel (and it guarantees me a seat!). So, are South West Trains doing all they can to ease road congestion and save the environment ... or are they just profiteering from their car park? Seems like the latter to me!
Please take time to write to 'Passenger Focus', your 'MP', 'Trading Standards' & Southwest Trains with your views. Links to their websites can be found on this page.
Let US work together to make the rail service a REALISTIC, FAIR AND AFFORDABLE OPTION!
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE CRITICISES GREED OF STAGECOACH AND OTHERS
* The House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee has criticised 9 companies, including South West Trains, for not handing out compensation forms when trains are delayed. Forms are available only on request, making it less likely that compensation was paid. South West Trains was unavailable for comment. (Southern Daily Echo 25/11/08)
[The Metro of 18/12/08 reported that passengers on First TransPennine and London Overground get a 100% refund for a 30-minute delay, and those on First Capital Connect and National Express East Anglia get a 50% refund. Some other operators, including South West Trains and Virgin-Stagecoach, give no refund for delays under 60 minutes.]
STAGECOACH AND THE RECESSION : AS E-MOTION MAGAZINE DISAPPEARS, SIR ALAN’S FINAL BRAINWASH EFFECTIVELY CONFIRMS THAT SWT NO LONGER RUNNING A PUBLIC SERVICE
* Even SWT’s ‘e-motion’ magazine has bitten the dust, despite being such a high-powered vehicle of deception. Note the subtle change of line in Stagecoach director Sir Alan Greengross’ monologues, which have posed in the magazine as the views of SWT’s increasingly gagged “Passengers’ Panel”:
- In the March-April 2007 issue, he said: “Because public transport is still a public service, even if it is delivered by the private sector, South West Trains must fight for – and be seen to fight for – a better deal for its passengers. There is a proper future for public transport, but it must be based on openness, honesty and a partnership between provider and passenger. South West Trains has done much over the past few years to gain the support of its passengers [about one third of them, per its own poll]. That is far too important to throw away now.”
- In the November-December 2008 issue, with the Stagecoach founders looking to be at risk of forgoing further 9-figure bonuses and castle purchases, the company is presumably prepared to lose that minority support: “Decisions based on the public good rather than commercial imperatives may be highly desirable but the simple fact is that if you are going to charge £1.2 billion for the right to run the railways it is difficult to imagine how it can be other than a pure commercial operation.”
- In the final issue, he makes a characteristic attack on the government which has heaped such huge sums of taxpayers’ money on Stagecoach, accusing it of the kind of deception and spin which he and Stagecoach generally have perpetrated over the years: “One thing the Panel has demonstrated is that if you tell people the truth, they can better accept a situation and cope with the consequences. Playing with words helps no one. --- “Have some wine,” the March Hare said in an encouraging tone. Alice looked round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. “I don’t see any wine,” she remarked. “There isn’t any,” said the March Hare. Sorry, was that the March Hare speaking or the Department for Transport?”
[Hang on, the terms of the franchise were clear and paid little heed to passengers’ interests. Stagecoach took a normal business risk in grossly overbidding for a franchise which had long been its cash cow, and now looks like losing out. Even at the time they won the new franchise, Sir Alan was bleating that a 10% or 20% growth in passengers might not be enough to pay for it. Aren’t rail firms always quick to refer to the risks they take, as a justification for their massive profits?
PUBLIC REJECTS CUTS ON TOP OF HUGE FARE INCREASES
* The 5% RPI increase in July 2008 meant that even regulated fares increased by 6% from January, when inflation had fallen back, prices of almost every other commodity were falling, and many families faced unemployment, repossession or financial hardship. SWT was able to introduce a 7% increase on unregulated fares which it had increased with a 20% greed tax less than two years previously. Passengers and their representatives are angry, the unions and business are united in their unhappiness about high fares, the Liberal Party is opposed and individual MPs, such as Basingstoke’s, Maria Miller, have spoken out. Protests appear much more cogent than in previous years. The RMT is strongly critical of the “legalised scam” taking hard pressed passengers for a ride on fares while raking in bumper profits.
* Nevertheless, the greedier operators want to continue squeezing passengers as much as they can. Christian Wolmar reporting in ‘RAIL’ (Issue 608) on Virgin-Stagecoach’s policy of punishing people who are unable for one reason or another to get on their booked train, continues: “Trains are a public service, provided with vast amounts of subsidy, therefore train companies have an obligation to provide a service that is as accessible as possible within the commercial restraints under which they operate. News from other franchises seems to show that there is no recognition of this at all from the train operators, and that they are winding up for a series of mighty battles with the Department for Transport and ministers. There is considerable fury within the Department over the decision by South West Trains to cut back dramatically on ticket office opening hours, including at some very heavily patronised stations. Indeed, the Southern franchise document has been carefully worded by the Department to ensure whoever wins it will not be able to embark on a similar series of cuts”.
* And South West Trains is now planning to reduce 100 off-peak trains from 12 coaches to 8 (Evening Standard 16/1/09). A spokeswoman is quoted as saying that this was being done for “economic and environmental” reasons and that: “We don’t want just to be carrying thin air”. Hang on, couldn’t it be that Stagecoach’s 20% Greed Tax has driven the missing passengers on to less environmentally friendly forms of transport?
* Comments from readers about operators’ proposed cuts (London Lite 20/1/09) were scathing:
“Surely we cannot be expected to take even more overcrowding without the operators incurring some financial penalties for providing such a dismal service - Sophie, Didcot”
“The Government needs to stand up to the private companies and refuse any further cuts to an already abysmal service – L Gove, Bellingham” “Nationalise the railways, restore the status of passenger to the traveller (not the ridiculous term, customer) and put those passengers’ interests before those of the shareholders – Peter Haldane, London.”
“Maybe the people that make the decisions should actually get on the trains once in a while and what it’s actually like to endure the conditions we suffer every day – Kate, London”
RITUAL ABUSE AND HUMILIATION – 4
* TOO INCONVENIENT TO WAIT FOR PASSENGERS TO ALIGHT!
We have received the following account from a passenger who commutes with his bike from Fareham to Micheldever on the 07.11 service. He says that SWT is so pervasive in its everyday hassles that he rarely notes it, but could not ignore the following. The 07.11 is formed of the cramped class 450 suburban stock. On the morning in question his bike was parked on the train in front of two others. At Hedge End the guard operated the doors in the area adjacent to the bikes. The other two cyclists wanted to alight and had to extract their bikes from behind his. There was some delay because they were trapped by all the passengers alighting or boarding. The guard watched this whole performance and then, just as the alighting passengers reached the door with their bikes, he closed the doors and gave the driver the signal to proceed. He said the train was too late and they would just have to get off at Eastleigh instead. In fact the service was not late and SWT’s slack running means that it is in any case scheduled to stand at Eastleigh for seven minutes. [This sounds all too familiar: remember journalist Andrew Gilligan being left in Birmingham late at night by Virgin-Stagecoach even though there was plenty of room for his bike?]
* Stagecoach’s latest ideas for treating its passengers like children:
- the outer door to the enclosed waiting area on platform 1 at Southampton Central has a note asking people to remove their wellingtons before entering. By the time they get there they will already have walked across the concourse and through the barriers, and in any case the waiting area has a tiled floor which would be very easy to clean. How many people do you see on the station with dirty wellingtons? Just a few at the end of the waterlogged 2008 pop festival on the Isle of Wight. Stagecoach getting house proud? Hardly. Walk across the tiled floor to the toilets and you will generally find them in an appalling condition, with some fittings held together by tape when not actually out of use.
- Go to the toilets on the opposite platform, and you are confronted by a notice saying you are not allowed to eat or drink in them. But who would want to? The more likely cause of the perceived problem is that people leave drinks cans and sandwich wrappings in the toilets because SWT does not provide litter bags on the station. At Totton, which SWT leaves unattended for days at a time, a waste bag is provided, presumably in an attempt to reduce the accumulation of litter on the platform which has created the need for rat traps.
* Making life even more difficult for disabled people:
- A notice is on display at Southampton Central saying no one will be allowed on the platform without a valid ticket. So relatives meeting or seeing off a disabled or frail elderly person have to buy a ticket to Millbrook. The treatment of disabled people generally is still hit and miss on SWT. A wheelchair user frequently travels in the ninth coach of the 17.05 from Waterloo. One evening the guard greeted him with “Good evening, Sir. Nobody told me you were on board… As usual.”
PROTESTS AND DISCONTENT ON STAGECOACH EAST MIDLANDS FRANCHISE - NEW WEBSITE SET UP AND PASSENGERS POSTING SARDINES
[See also www.trainsardine.org]
* “Commuters who are fed up with being packed on to trains like sardines are targeting rail bosses with a fishy postal campaign.
Angry passengers are posting tins of sardines to the managing director of a route which suffers from severe overcrowding. Pressure group TrainSardine.org has been set up to encourage other commuters to send East Midlands Trains boss Tim Shoveller the smelly post.
And they have vowed to identify other rail bosses who were 'behind the chaos' on the Liverpool to Norwich line. 'Once we know, we will make sure they get special recognition - their own tin of sardines,' said a spokesman for the group. 'We are not sardines - we are people. We are not standing for this. We are frustrated with the inability of anyone to sort the problem, poor communication and a lack of respect.' ”(Sunday Metro 23/11/08)
* East Midlands was due to restore train services to Corby from December 2008, but this was not achieved because of its rolling stock shortage. Although main line services at principal stations between St Pancras and Leicester have been severely downgraded to accommodate the direct hourly London-Corby services, many of the Corby trains sit in Kettering station for around 30 minutes, obliterating any advantage of a direct service - a case of pain for pain? This reflects Stagecoach’s rubbish services on SWT, like the 39-past Waterloo-Poole trains which have a dwell time of 13 minutes at Southampton Central and 25 minutes at Brockenhurst.
* [From Christian Wolmar (author of ‘Stagecoach’) in RAIL Issue 605]
“It seems that Stagecoach’s decision to install gates at Sheffield station is immutable and will happen in the late Spring. Despite the furore caused by the proposal among local residents and local politicians, Stagecoach will not budge from its position. It has argued that the gates are a franchise commitment and are essential to protect revenue.
There have been widespread objections locally because the station is a through route for many residents. Stagecoach has partly conceded to local demands by promising local people – and anyone else who asks and fills in a form – smartcards that will allow them to pass through the gates, a scheme that will cost the company in excess of £30,000 a year.
What makes the bullishness in the face of so much opposition inexplicable is that it will not be the main beneficiary of the scheme, since most fare evaders who use the station are travelling on TransPennine or Northern. Tim Shoveller, the young railwayman in charge of Stagecoach East Midlands Trains, has been vociferously arguing the case for the gates, but accepted that for his company the gates are not essential: ‘In terms of our revenue, most tickets are checked on the train, and therefore it won’t make much difference.’
To shore up its case, Stagecoach has been releasing ‘evidence’ in support of the gates, but the statistics have proved not to be very robust. The company had suggested that there were 207 offences at the station in 2007 and that the barriers would help reduce the crime rate. However, it emerged that the statistics related to the surrounding streets of the station as well, and it is unclear how many of them occurred within the area that would be covered by the barriers. Indeed, given there are two major football clubs in the city, it seems a rather low rate of offending.
Then the company implied that as much as 30 per cent of ticket revenue was being lost, but this is not the case. Rather, when there was a blockade for a day in October, ticket revenue at the booking office rose by that amount, which is clearly an entirely different matter and does not suggest that high a rate of ticketless travel at all. The company has also now conceded that gates are not a commitment in the franchise contract which instead states that it should introduce gates provided it obtains planning permission and safety approval, or otherwise it must use its ‘best endeavours’ to reduce ticketless travel.
Shoveller commented that the councilors and MPs in Sheffield, who have also complained very publicly about the failings of the local taxi rank scheme, would be better off addressing a far more important issue for local rail services, the fact that trains take 150 minutes to reach London, a mere 150 miles away, and are therefore far slower than either the East or West Coast main lines.
“The Midland Main Line is a prime case for electrification and it seemed for a while to be at the head of the queue,” he said. “but now it may lose out to the Great Western, which would be a great shame. I won’t be here when electrification happens, but they will be and they should be making sure it happens. The authorities in Sheffield should be focusing on that issue, rather than on internal problems such as gates and taxi ranks, which are far less important.”
That robust attitude does rather remind me of the founder of Stagecoach, Ann Gloag, Brian Souter’s sister, who once parked 20 old buses in the centre of Keswick because the local council refused to agree to its planned development including a bus station. She won!”
* [“Rail companies show contempt for the customer” – letter in RAIL No 607]
“As a regular reader of your column in RAIL, I have often been dismayed at the industry’s response to passengers’ enquiries and service, which I believe is a combination of Government over-interference and indifference on the part of the operators.
I recently tried to book two tickets for my wife and me, from Sheffield to London and back, for Friday December 5 on East Midlands Trains, but without success. We have to be in London for 10.00 to attend a funeral and are able to return from 19.00. I have spent an hour learning how to navigate and use the web page with messages such as “there are no trains available” to prices that are extortionate. Select ‘one traveller’ and there are seats and reasonable prices. Select ‘two seats’ and nothing is available.
In the end I gave up and booked two tickets with reserved seats both ways at the times we want to travel, for a total price of £135 on National Express East Coast from Doncaster. We will drive to and from there – about 40 minutes each way. Nice and green!
It is bad enough that we have to drive to Chesterfield at the moment to get a train, but then East Midlands Trains sends me e-mails telling me that the new timetable with the super-luxury new Meridian timetable starts in December.
The trains are noisy and bumpy, the seats are uncomfortable and too narrow and have a dreadful claustrophobic feel to them – now I cannot travel at a reasonable price. The last three times of travel from London these fantastic new trains didn’t even have the reservations shown, because the staff only turn up a few minutes before the train is due to leave and then blame it on computer problems.
Just how much contempt does the railway industry have to heap on to the citizens of Sheffield? I would love to see a response from those who think this is in any way acceptable in 2008 and onward into 2009. John F Brighton, Sheffield”
NEW SOUTH HAMPSHIRE TIMETABLES 14-12-2008 TO 16-5-2009
SOUTH WEST TRAINS
(Few significant changes; main tinkering changes below)
* There is a new service on Mondays to Fridays from Basingstoke to Waterloo at 06.42, calling at Fleet 06.54, Farnborough 07.00 and Woking 07.11. This is supposed to provide 400 additional peak seats into London. However, with peak trains from Basingstoke and Woking so often reduced in length or cancelled due to duff stock, this change is unlikely to do much to improve capacity overall.
* Portsmouth-Southampton stopping services usually run 2 minutes later on Mondays to Saturdays, ensuring that passengers have no chance of changing to the Southampton-Salisbury stopping service. In the opposite direction, they also run 2 minutes later. This means that the twice hourly direct services from Southampton to Portsmouth reach Portsmouth & Southsea 4 minutes apart in each hour. This must be one of the worst services between two adjacent major cities anywhere in Britain.
* 07.38 Southampton to Waterloo on Mondays to Fridays will cease to call at Shawford, with no replacement service.
* 09.06 Poole-Waterloo on Mondays to Fridays starts from Weymouth at 08.20, calling at Upwey, Dorchester, Moreton, Wool, Wareham, Holton Heath and Hamworthy. The 08.25 Weymouth- Southampton is axed between Weymouth and Poole.
* 15.35 Waterloo-Weymouth on Mondays to Fridays calls at Wool.
* 20.39 Waterloo-Southampton on Mondays to Saturdays calls at Micheldever.
* 05.44 Alton-Waterloo on Mondays to Fridays calls at West Byfleet.
* Woking stop of the 05.15 Yeovil-Waterloo on Mondays to Fridays is axed.
* On Mondays to Saturdays, all SWT trains between Romsey and Salisbury call at Dean and Mottisfont & Dunbridge.
* 16.24 Basingstoke-Portsmouth & Southsea on Mondays to Fridays extends to Portsmouth Harbour.
* The 17.36 Portsmouth & Southsea-Southampton starts from Portsmouth Harbour at 17.33 on Mondays to Fridays.
(There are also several minor changes on the suburban and Windsor lines; interestingly, the national timetable still indicates that Addlestone and Chertsey passengers can travel to Waterloo via Weybridge every day of the week (to avoid the exceptionally slow direct trains via Brentford) but SWT no longer provides these stations with Weybridge services on Sundays.)
CROSS COUNTRY TRAINS
As part of sacked junior transport minister Tom Harris’ legacy, Hampshire and Dorset passengers lose direct services to and from a very substantial number of destinations in the North of England and Scotland. This will cause huge inconvenience and we can be pretty sure that there was no Equality Impact Assessment to measure the consequences for frail and disabled people. Hourly trains now depart from Birmingham for Bournemouth just 3 minutes before trains from Edinburgh, Newcastle, York etc. arrive. There were plenty of direct services between Edinburgh and Bournemouth until recently.
On Mondays to Fridays, northbound departures from Southampton Central to Birmingham and Manchester are every hour from 05.15 to 19.15 with a final service as far as Birmingham at 20.15.
On Saturdays, the same service operates, except that the first train departs at 05.09 instead of 05.15 and there is an additional train at 06.53 to Newcastle. A 20.15 to Birmingham is shown in the National Rail timetable and in Arriva’s on-line booking facility but not in Arriva’s leaflets.
On Sundays, all trains go to Birmingham and Manchester, with a first service at 09.15 and final service at 19.15. A 20.15 to Birmingham is shown in the National Rail timetable and in Arriva’s on-line booking facility but not in Arriva’s leaflets. Engineering works mean that, from 29 March 2009, Sunday trains will not serve Wolverhampton.
All Sunday trains now run via Winchester. The cheapskate Virgin-Stagecoach timetable, with one train each way running fast between Southampton Airport and Basingstoke via Romsey and Andover for driver familiarization no longer applies. The 09.15 from Southampton to Manchester is the former 08.39, accelerated by 36 minutes! For more on the slowness which accompanies Stagecoach franchises, see article on East Midlands.
FIRST GREAT WESTERN
Services between South Hampshire and Cardiff / Great Malvern remain substantially the same. Note that, on Mondays to Thursdays, passengers using the 17.22 from Portsmouth need to change at Bristol for Cardiff; and on Mondays to Fridays, passengers using the 21.20 from Southampton need to change at Westbury for Bristol. Sunday engineering work from 29 March means that Cardiff passengers need to change at Bristol Parkway.
SOUTHERN
There is minor tidying of last year’s ambitious new Coastway West service. Trains from Southampton to Victoria now generally leave at 13 past and trains to Brighton at 33 past (the token services via Eastleigh remain, with their slightly out-of-sequence departures). Trains between Southampton and Victoria no longer call at Warblington or Bosham. Trains between Southampton and Brighton no longer call at Southbourne. All Victoria-Southampton services now use the Horsham route, like those in the opposite direction. The 21.11 Southampton-Three Bridges is replaced by a 21.13 Southampton-Brighton and the 21.23 Southampton-Three Bridges now runs as far as Barnham (on Mondays to Fridays it starts from Southampton 9 minutes later). These trains connect at Chichester for Three Bridges and at Three Bridges for Gatwick Airport. Southern is due to start Sunday services between Southampton and Brighton in December 2009.
TIMETABLING WONDERLAND
* Talking of timetables, the position nationally is increasingly incredible given that improved scheduling is one of the few ways of improving train services and ridership on a cost-neutral basis. So who’s to blame? Former Minister Tom (Why’s everyone so bloody miserable?) Harris, must take much of the responsibility. It is clear that the DfT has been trying to prescribe timetables in a naïve and amateurish way and he failed to halt the process. * The First Great Western timetable was the original disaster, but First Group has worked strenuously with stakeholders to design a much better timetable which actually takes account of individual passenger needs.
* Next came Southampton-Weymouth. This service is ludicrously bad. Not only did DfT specify a downgrade for some of the largest towns on the route, but they turned a blind eye when Stagecoach introduced a significantly different and substantially worse service than even the one they had prescribed. So Totton, the fourth largest intermediate town on the route, now has lamentably slow standard-hour services, whilst the remote industrial halt at Holton Heath gains direct hourly semi-fast trains to and from London. Stagecoach admits the service is not ideal but puts up every pathetic excuse for not changing it and, unlike First Group, ignores stakeholders.
* Then there’s Cross Country. The geographical extent of this franchise has been described [by outstanding former rail manager Chris Green] as an enhanced version of the national motorway system. Along comes the DfT and axes the top half of the railway M6, and leaves the many students and elderly people in Southern Hampshire and Dorset with direct services only along the route to Birmingham and Manchester. Even on the Manchester route, Macclesfield suffers badly from loss of stops [see letter “Misery for Macclesfield passengers” in ‘RAIL’ Issue 608] – Macclesfield is a comparatively affluent town, but for how much longer?
The Evening Standard of 7/1/09 reported that a coach, which never carries passengers, is being run at an estimated cost of £500 a day from Ealing Broadway to Wandsworth Road because no closure process had been undertaken when Cross Country services via Kensington Olympia were withdrawn. Stakeholders didn’t want the changes; Arriva didn’t want them. In every sense Cross Country is now an imposed service which ignores public and expert opinion.
[South Hampshire has similarly lost direct services in the First Great Western area and beyond, for example to West Wales, Swansea, Torbay, Plymouth, Penzance, Hereford, Shrewsbury and Liverpool, though it has been deemed to need new services to Worcester and Great Malvern.]
* Then there’s the West Coast Main Line, operated by Virgin and Stagecoach. Towns like Stockport, Motherwell, and Watford have seen their fast services decimated. Why did Inter City trains stop at these stations in the first place? Two reasons, stretching back to a clearcut British Rail strategy, are that the stations: (1) serve important centres of population, generating considerable traffic and boosting local economies; and (2) act as out-of-city railheads to relieve pressure on the major cities like Glasgow, Manchester and London. In this respect, such railheads complement the Parkway concept, but as no designation comparable with “Parkway” features in their names, this vital point is apparently lost on DfT. As RAIL magazine has pointed out, West Coast now has a walk-on frequency of service between a handful of major centres, but unaffordable walk-on fares.
[Despite greatly increased capacity for travellers between the centres which West Coast does still serve, Virgin-Stagecoach was the only operator content to leave passengers stranded over Christmas. This was the result of introducing compulsory boarding passes on its London-Glasgow services. And in the New Year a number of infrastructure incidents caused huge delays on the route, with Richard Branson reportedly incandescent with rage - Metro 23/12/08; Evening Standard 7/1/09]
* Then there’s Stagecoach’s East Midlands franchise. The DfT has rightly made much of improved services, operated by Northern Trains, between Nottingham and Leeds. But, as we have previously reported, there is local anger that major towns between Leicester and St Pancras will have much worse services, operated by Stagecoach, for passengers travelling northwards. [See separate item for more news on East Midlands]
SERIOUS INCIDENT INVOLVING OUT-OF-GAUGE CONTAINER
At 10.20 on Friday 19/12/08 a container on the 04.33 Wakefield – Eastleigh train reportedly struck the canopy valance of platform 1 at Basingstoke station. The incident was reported at 10.24, by which time the train was at Worting Junction. The driver was informed and stopped before Litchfield Tunnel.
Wooden debris was found on the first of two empty 40ft containers on the ninth vehicle. The containers were both shown on the TOPS computer system as 8ft 6in containers, but one was in fact 9ft 6in. Paperwork indicated that the load was within gauge, but EWS confirmed the 9ft 6in container was too high for the type of wagon, with maximum size permitted being 8ft 9½in.
It was decided to move the train forward to Wallers Ash freight loop to clear the main track after the gauging engineer confirmed the wagon would fit very tightly through Litchfield and Popham tunnels at walking pace. At around 11.30 the train got underway, cleared the three tunnels at 5mph and arrived at Wallers Ash an hour later. The 10.05 Waterloo - Weymouth service was then able to leave Basingstoke 89 minutes late.
By 15.00 it was clear the wagon would not fit through Wallers Ash tunnel and would strike the canopy at Winchester station, so the only option was to shunt it back to Micheldever yard. The move was scheduled to take place in the small hours of 20/12/08, with the container to be moved removed by road later in the morning. There were various disruptions to other services.
There was around 20ft of obvious damage to Basingstoke platform 1 canopy, but 130ft in total. All structures on the route were checked for damage.
SAFER SOMETIMES?
* An obvious safety concern, but not one which Staqecoach has cared to publicise. All the safety hammers have been ripped out of its trains. This follows a report by the RSSB (Rail Safety & Standards Board), into a number of rail crashes which concluded that containment within the carriages is actually much safer than providing an uncontrolled means of escape through train windows. The report also noted that the glass used in the emergency windows could on crash impact, shatter and throw people from the train.
* In some respects, however, the report can be challenged. It considers that there has been no case where loss of life would have resulted from there being no means of exit via a window. It suggests passengers be advised that, in the event of an accident, they should stay where they are or, if that is not possible, move along the train. This sounds as naïve as telling people to stay indoors and seal their windows and doors with Sellotape in the event of a nuclear explosion. Unless you are a fly, how do you move along a carriage that has toppled on its side and may be on fire?
* The report into the horrific Ladbroke Grove crash, in which trapped passengers were incinerated, noted that escape hammers were not a panacea and could be used by vandals, but it notably concluded that alternative safety measures should be sought. Ah yes, vandals. The Southern Daily Echo of 9/12/08 noted that a youth “[on two occasions] broke into a secure compound [being used in Eastleigh to store SWT carriages] with two other youths and shattered windows and destroyed fittings on a dozen carriages using the emergency escape hammers”.
* In a letter published in the Southern Daily Echo on 20/12/08, the writer says, “South West Trains say that ‘safety and security of our rolling stock remains a number one priority’. Who do they think they are kidding? If that’s true, how can vandals enter their site twice and do £85,000 worth of damage? Have SWT never heard of CCTV and burglar alarms? I suppose security guards / night watchmen are not cost-effective? Much easier to claim on the insurance and put the rail fares up!”
* It seems, therefore, that getting rid of hammers is a useful way of countering the dangers of lax security. Although rail accidents are rare, they all tend to have their individual circumstances. Suppose the worst scenario happens, probably not tomorrow or next week, but say in 20 years time? A class of schoolchildren die, trapped in a de-railed train. Won’t people then question whether the decision to remove hammers without alternative safeguards was a little hasty, and might they just question whether this change was very convenient to companies like Stagecoach, who had no interest in questioning, let alone publicizing, it? And, if the change really was in the travelling public’s best interests, why was that same travelling public left to spot and wonder about the loss of the hammers?
RESPONSE ON BEHALF OF SHRUG TO DFT CONSULTATION ON PROPOSALS TO EXPEDITE PROCEDURES FOR (1) THE RE-LOCATION OF STATIONS AND (2) THE REDUCTION OF TRACKAGE THROUGH STATIONS
“I have only just become aware of this consultation, so it is not practicable to consult others. To avoid simply putting forward personal views, I will restrict my comments to well-recognised or self-evident facts and issues.
In recent times, governments have tended to present regulation as a burden on business rather than as a protection for members of the public. It is instructive to note that travel on London’s regulated bus services has soared while our de-regulated bus services in Southern Hampshire (Southampton-Portsmouth is the most populous conurbation south of a line from London to Bristol) seem to be heading for extinction, with at least 4 rounds of substantial cuts this year, and another round scheduled for this coming January.
These proposals may seem modest and of limited consequence, but the six examples of station re-location represent a range of circumstances and proposal 1 appears to offer a ‘one solution fits all’ approach. There is always a danger that, without full public consultation, important considerations may be overlooked.
At a recent stakeholder event run by NED Rail / Northern Rail on the Southern franchise, one of the delegates pointed out that ‘requirement’ has come to mean what the DfT requires rather than what passengers need. Since the public are the experts on how changes to public transport can affect their lives in practice, it seems reasonable that there should always be a presumption in favour of full public consultation – it fits well with the concepts of a ‘listening government’ and local democracy.
Proposal 1 – Station relocation
* This may appear to be a small issue, but changes even to access at existing stations (opening, closing or relocating entrances and exits) is often controversial. Closing an entrance on one side of a station may result in big detours for pedestrians. A straight-line distance of 400 metres can be much longer in practical terms.
* Local interests may not be apparent unless proposed changes are fully advertised locally – note the current outcry about reduced accessibility around Sheffield station.
* The distance between old and new stations will be irrelevant except for people who live nearby. Who will be walking from one to the other? If the old station is 500 metres from a seafront, bus station or shopping centre, the relocated station could be 900 metres away. What people find tolerable in good weather may be a disincentive to use public transport in bad weather. House buyers generally prefer properties with a garage that is adjacent rather than a few yards away in a block. What counts as distances being ‘significantly increased’?
* The stations mentioned in the consultation have been relocated for entirely different reasons.
- At Morecambe and Wrexham the changes were unconnected with rail travel, and the effects were largely negative for rail users.
- Relocation of Tiverton Junction which, without its branches, would probably now be of little use except to workers at the Lloyd Maunder meat plant, reflected the fact that connectivity is now with road rather than with local rail.
- Filton station was little used because its service had been allowed to wither, and Filton Abbey Wood now serves one of the largest office complexes in Europe.
- Smethwick West had been allowed to become almost derelict with just a token service. The split-level interchange at Galton Bridge is a good facility that is busy even through the evening.
- I haven’t travelled along the Aberdare line for several years but assume the change at Mountain Ash was intended to be a cost-effective element of the improved frequencies which services in the Valleys have seen in recent years.
The overarching picture, therefore, is that some of these changes were beneficial for most rail users and some had adverse consequences for them. Any contraction in public consultation is a contraction in local democracy. Potential compromises, which give better outcomes, may be overlooked. And, if relocation is to remain only an occasional issue, why bother with a procedural change anyway?
Proposal 2 – Reductions in a multiple track railway within a station
This has slightly different implications, because the potential effects of the reductions may not be immediately apparent to individual rail users. But there are significant implications, for example for reliability, capacity growth (passenger and freight), the operation of special trains such as excursions, and disruption to services through engineering works and points/signal failures.
A full consultative process can ensure that stakeholders are able to think about the implications. This again is good for local democracy, and it is good for governments because rail users will not feel socially excluded as they would when discovering retrospectively that a change on which they had no opportunity to comment has brought adverse consequences for them.
In passing, I assume there was no consultation about the reduction of trackage through the major junction station at Havant. This was presented as an improvement, but I cannot see why.
Turning to the Impact Assessment, I am surprised that accelerating the introduction of change is presented as one of the advantages of the proposal. Given the hugely long timescales for doing almost anything on the railways, the change is unlikely to make any difference in practical terms. Denis Fryer.”
OUR TOTTON-WATERLOO COMMUTER ESCAPES THE DAILY “COWBOY COUNTRY” MISERY
03/11/08 Did not travel.
04/11/08 Totton ticket office closed at 07.10. Stepping out to use the cash machines at Southampton Central, noticed a large sign marked "Tickets" at the platform 1 entrance with a very large arrow pointing in the direction of the ticket machines, and in the opposite direction from the ticket office windows. 07.30 from Southampton Central was very hot in the last carriage of unit 444 006. Slow running from Clapham Junction - 5 minutes late at Waterloo. This evening many people were standing in the subway under the platforms at Waterloo waiting for the platform for their train to appear on the departure screen. 18.05 from Waterloo was 4 minutes late at Totton.
05/11/08 07.30 from Southampton Central was 5 minutes late at Waterloo.
06/11/08 New yellow lines have been very thickly painted in the Totton station car park. A pair of revenue inspectors were standing at one of the 3 exits from the up platform at Totton. 06.45 from Totton was 3 minutes late at Waterloo. Ticket barriers at Bank underground station were left open at 13.00, presumably to avoid having to provide staff to let through the high proportion of passengers whose tickets do not work the barriers. At 13.15, 2 of the 6 ticket machines opposite platforms 11/12 at Waterloo were out of order. A poster was boasting of the additional ticket machines being installed, but perhaps SWT would be better employed in getting the existing ones working properly before installing more.
07/11/08 Did not travel.
10/11/08 07.15 from Totton left 7 minutes late, leaving Southampton Central only 4 minutes late due to the slack in the timetable. A delay was reported approaching Winchester due to a "train ahead of us in the platform". The guard apologised for a 15 minutes delay arriving at Waterloo "due to those problems at Winchester", but we actually arrived 20 minutes late. 19.05 from Waterloo was made up of one class 444 unit and one class 450 unit, which was going to go all the way to Weymouth transporting passengers in suburban standard carriages. Before it departed passengers were advised that "this train is approaching its final stop, London Waterloo".
11/11/08 On the 06.45 from Totton, the guard apologised for 3-4 minutes delay due to "problems in the Basingstoke and Woking areas". As we were pulling into Waterloo, it was announced that "this train is for Weymouth". The 17.05 from Waterloo reached Southampton Central to find the platform indicators showing "owning to a fault no information can be displayed at present", the display screens blank and the large board at the downside entrance just showing a few dots. At Totton, the platform indicators were also out of action.
12/11/08 At Southampton Central the incoming 07.02 Southern service was announced as cancelled due to signalling failure at Bursledon and the returning 07.06 service to London Victoria was shown as cancelled due to signalling failure at Fareham. The 17.05 from Waterloo was 6 minutes late at Southampton Central.
13/11/08 Totton ticket office was closed at 06.10. On the 06.30 from Southampton Central, the guard apologised for running 5 minutes late at Winchester due to "speed restrictions" - which must have been quite severe as we had actually come to a stop at one point. Some passengers held onto their drinks as the train lurched sideways when passing over the points at Worting Junction and on the curve after Farnborough station (and it was fairly bouncy passing through Basingstoke station). 5 minutes late at Waterloo. On the 18.35 from Waterloo, the guard apologised for 5 minutes delay due to "congestion".
14/11/08 Totton ticket office was closed at 06.30, with rubbish on the platform and on the seats. When leaving Southampton Central on the 06.45 from Totton, the full stopping pattern of the train was announced including the stations it had already stopped at, following by one of what feels like an increasing number of "you must buy a ticket to get on one of our trains" announcements. A fellow passenger was bemoaning the fact that, unlike any other train that stops at Totton, the 18.05 from Waterloo does not stop at Ashurst (New Forest). As passengers were leaving the train at Waterloo, the "you must buy a ticket" announcement was played again.
17/11/08 Totton ticket office was closed at 06.45 and the ticket machine was showing "out of service", so there was no way to pay for tickets today. Litter was scattered on the station platform and seats. 06.45 from Totton was 2 minutes late leaving, but left Southampton Central on time due to the slack in the timetable. After Southampton Central, the full stopping pattern of the train was announced, including stations it had already stopped at. 7 minutes late at Waterloo. When the 18.35 from Waterloo was reaching Southampton Central, the entirely incorrect announcement that "this train is for Weymouth, the next station is Bournemouth" was made in the rear half of the train (which is for Poole, with the next station being Totton). This has been going on for months if not years now, so have SWT taken the opportunity to correct it when changing some automated announcements? Don't be daft - they have just added a "you must buy a ticket to get on one of our trains" announcement and left the incorrect announcement alone to mislead or worry passengers. At Totton this evening the ticket machine was still "out of service" and litter from this morning was still distributed around the station.
18/11/08 Did not travel.
19/11/08 Totton station ticket office was closed at 06.45 and large amounts of litter were on the platform - the ticket machine was managing to work this time however. As the 06.45 from Totton (2 minutes late at Totton, on time from Southampton Central), approached Basingstoke we heard "can the guard please contact the driver" shortly followed by the guard giving the content-free announcement "apologies for our slow progress at the moment, this is due to congestion in front of us". After coming to a stop in Basingstoke station, we heard several further uninformative announcements before moving off. Eventually the guard reported that the delay was due to "a signal failure between Basingstoke and Winchfield". Arriving at Waterloo the guard reported we were 14 minutes late. On the 14.05 from Waterloo, the next stop was announced as Basingstoke before we stopped at Clapham Junction and the doors opened. Shortly after Basingstoke we ground to a halt and then moved slowly and halted again a number of times. The guard apologised for the "slow progress" due to "signal problems they are experiencing here in the Basingstoke area". Checking the live departure boards on the internet showed that our train was expected to be 5 minutes late arriving at Southampton Central. Meanwhile the "connection" at Southampton Central into the 13.39 from Waterloo for Totton passengers was also shown as expected to be 5 minutes late arriving at Southampton Central. So no problem then, both trains equally late and the "connection" not being threatened. Alas not, as the 13.39 from Waterloo was shown as expected to be leaving Southampton Central on time (after standing 9 minutes of its scheduled 14 minute halt) instead of waiting for the incoming 14.05 service. When the 14.05 was leaving Southampton Airport Parkway, the 13.39 was now shown as having arrived at Southampton Central 11 minutes late, but still expected to leave on time 3 minutes later - with or without connecting passengers obviously. The 14.05 actually arrived at Southampton Central at 15.29 and having positioned myself on the train to be near to the steps at Southampton Central, I sprinted up the steps and down to platform 3, leaping aboard the "connection" as the whistle was blown to send it away. Only one person from the 14.05 made the connection and that was me; another able-bodied man had the doors closed on him as he approached the train and anyone elderly or travelling with children would have had no chance. As I remonstrated with SWT staff about the appalling level of customer service they were providing, all they would say is "if no-one tells us anything, we have to send the train off on time". There was no answer to my plea, "where is the customer service in that?"
20/11/08 Totton ticket office was closed at 06.45 and the waiting room locked shut. From the look of it, someone visited the station yesterday to pick up litter but did nothing else as the notice of engineering works poster was out of date. Two passengers had significant difficulty in buying tickets for London, taking over 6 minutes to use the ticket machine including a call out to others generally "does anyone know how to get a car parking ticket?" This caused a backlog of 6 users queuing to use the machine shortly before the arrival of the next train. However, after about two further users got to the machine, it started flashing its red alarm and went "out of service". This is the second time this week that the ticket office has been closed and the ticket machine out of order. On the 07.15 from Totton at Southampton Central, the stopping pattern for an entirely different service was announced (including stops at St Denys and Swaythling). 5 minutes late at Waterloo. The 17.35 from Waterloo was announced to have only one buffet due to "staff shortages at the Bournemouth depot". During the journey passengers suddenly felt the train slow down and make an emergency stop. The guard reported that we had "had some sort of brake application" and that the "driver is not too sure what has happened". Then the main lights went out. The guard continued "unfortunately for some reason this train has developed a couple of faults" and "I don't know how long we might be here". Apparently, the driver has been told he "has to reboot the whole train". Then "We have some sort of coupling problem on the train" and "we will have to split and couple the train again". The guard made a call "Is there any other qualified South West Trains drivers on board - qualified to drive this route? The guard subsequently reported that the train "seems to feel it is two different trains". Eventually the train staff gave up - the "train still thinks it is split", with a spare driver coming up from Basingstoke and "we will run this as two separate trains" - "these two trains will follow their normal stopping patterns". After the front part of the train had moved off we were told that we would have a "very quick stop at Basingstoke to get another guard on board". 77 minutes late at Winchester (due 18.31, actual 19.48). Live train departure information on the internet showed the stops for the front half of the train (itself travelling 70 minutes late) have been cancelled for Branksome, Parkstone, Hamworthy and Wareham, which is not what passengers were advised on the train. At Winchester, the departure indicators were showing "Please stand clear. This train is not scheduled to stop at this station". 71 minutes late at Totton.
21/11/08 Totton station was open again after being shut all week - apparently no cover had been provided for staff leave. On the 18.35 from Waterloo, multiple announcements overlapped as we approached Southampton Central - an unnecessarily attention grabbing "this is a special announcement - we take your safety seriously" announcement which ended up as a standard “don't leave bags unattended” message, a "change here for..." message and a "passengers for Bournemouth [...] move forward from this part of the train" message (this latter one with Wareham repeated in the message). During the journey, three separate groups of passengers had to ask fellow passengers which half of the train they were in and another passenger wandered by saying (incorrectly) "I'm sure it doesn't split until Bournemouth". Another passenger apologised for giving the wrong advice to another saying "It wouldn't take much, just a sign with Bluetack on the window".
24/11/08 Totton ticket office closed (yet again!) at 07.30, with litter on the platform. Watching passengers trying to use the ticket machine, one person had difficulty getting the touchscreen to respond to his finger and two people had problems with the machine rejecting coins multiple times before finally accepting the same coins - if you wonder what the scratch marks are on the ticket machine to the right of the main screen, they are where (obviously many) people have rubbed the faces of a coin before trying to get it accepted by the machine. 07.45 was 2 minutes late leaving Totton, but left Southampton Central on time. Passengers sitting on the 20.05 from Waterloo, awaiting its departure, heard that it was "now approaching its final stop, London Waterloo". After arriving at Basingstoke, the guard announced that as we had arrived early, we would be waiting 4 minutes before departure. Also a noticeable dwell time at Winchester, but 6 minutes late at Totton with no reason given.
25/11/08 Totton ticket office was lit this morning, but there was no-one at the counter selling tickets. The 06.12 from Totton left before its scheduled departure time, rushing to dwell for more than 10 minutes at Southampton Central. This evening the newly installed screens in the subway under the Waterloo platforms were blank for platforms 13 and 14. On the 18.05 from Waterloo, seat reservation tickets from the incoming 14.20 service from Weymouth had not been removed, confusing some passengers. Passengers were also surprised to be advised that "this train is approaching its final stop, London Waterloo" and so grateful that the guard went to the trouble of advising all passengers twice that “First Class Off-Peak tickets were not valid on this train”.
26/11/08 New ticket barriers are being installed in the platform 4 entrance to Southampton Central - but they are going to be narrower than the previous ones. On the 08.00 from Southampton Central, the guard announced "if anyone has left a bag by the bicycle rack, please contact the guard situated next to it" - taking a sang-froid attitude to a possible suspicious package.
27/11/08 The Totton station car park bay on the mini-roundabout occupied by a resident's vehicle, so parked (with SWT staff permission) in the unused disabled parking bay - unused due to the absence of step-free access from the down platform at Totton (previously there had also been the nonsense of a wheelchair ramp provided on the down platform so wheelchairs could get from the train to the platform but then couldn't get off the platform, but this foolishness had been removed some time ago). Apparently, the station ticket office was broken into last weekend - perhaps a side-effect of SWT's failure to staff the station at the weekend. Although it might as well as have occurred during the week recently, as the regular Totton staff member is apparently using up his leave entitlement and SWT is choosing to leave the station unstaffed instead of providing relief staff, so Totton ticket office is currently closed more often than it is open. On the 18.35 from Waterloo, at Southampton Central one passenger asked another if they were in the right half of the train for Bournemouth and got the wrong answer, immediately confirmed by the incorrect announcement "this train is for Weymouth, the next station is Bournemouth". A following announcement by the guard was needed to put them straight. Train left Southampton Central before its scheduled departure time.
28/11/08 Did not travel.
01/12/08 Did not travel, but SWT kindly mailed me a reminder to renew my season ticket, enclosing a list of "Popular Route Gold Cards" including Ashurst (misspelt!) but omitting Totton.
02/12/08 Totton ticket office was closed at 06.45 and ticket machine was "out of service", leaving passengers unable to purchase tickets. On the 06.45 from Totton, the in-carriage indicators were repeatedly showing the full stopping pattern for the train, rather than the remaining stops. 8 minutes late at Waterloo. Subways screens for platforms 13 & 14 at Waterloo are still not working.
03/12/08 Totton ticket office was open (but apparently to be closed again for the rest of the week due to uncovered staff leave). The 07.45 from Totton arrived at Southampton Central to find that the rear half of the train would not be attaching and would run short-formed up to London. Passengers were standing from Southampton Central. The guard reported that "the train got broken at Weymouth" and "we had no other rolling stock to join to this service". His comment that we were "a bit congested this morning" probably didn't go down well with those standing. Subway screens for platforms 13 & 14 at Waterloo are still blank. The destination indicator on the 18.35 from Waterloo was incorrectly showing "Poole (stopping service)", pretty confusing as the 18.39 Poole stopping service (and boy, do they mean stopping - 15 minutes at Southampton Central and 25 minutes at Brockenhurst) was on the next platform.
04/12/08 Totton ticket office closed and ticket machine flashing its red alarm, although still apparently working. A fellow passenger could not find how to renew his weekly season ticket using the machine and had to give up. The 06.45 from Totton left before its scheduled departure time. After Winchester, the guard made an announcement about "signalling problems going on in the Fleet and Farnborough areas" and that we would be "subject to 15 minutes delay". Arrived at Waterloo 22 minutes late. The 14.05 from Waterloo left before its scheduled departure time. At Totton, the ticket machine was flashing its red alarm and a sign in the ticket office window reported that the office would be closed from Wednesday onwards "due to unforeseen circumstances" - very economical with the truth as the permanent staff member is actually on very foreseeable annual leave and SWT just can't be bothered to provide temporary staff cover.
05/12/08 Queued for the Waterloo & City line this morning only to be told that it was now suspended due to "signal failure at Waterloo" - 40 minutes late overall. Many trains delayed at Waterloo this evening. Subway screens for platforms 13 & 14 were blank. Platform displays on platform 12 were set to wrong width so you could read only the middle third of the information. On the 18.05 from Waterloo, the guard reported our delayed departure due to "some congestion outside London Waterloo due to an earlier fatality at Woking". 7 minutes late at Southampton Central.
08/12/08 07.15 from Totton was very slow running from Clapham Junction into Waterloo and the guard announced we were arriving "approximately 10 minutes late" but, as a fellow passenger commented, "with no reason given". Subway screens for platforms 13/14 at Waterloo were still blank. A passenger on the 18.35 from Waterloo decided that he would inflict his purchase of a Burger King meal on his fellow travellers on this busy commuter train. 4 minutes late at Winchester.
09/12/08 Totton station ticket office to be closed on Wednesday and Friday as no cover will be provided for staff absence. At London Waterloo a sign reports that the subway underneath the platforms will be closed from 11 December to the New Year for significant engineering works to be completed - apparently widening the subway to allow ticket barriers to be installed. Screens in the subway this evening are either blank (still for platforms 13/14), or displaying a message about a "software error" or advising passengers to consult the timetable (which does not provide platform details for services) or ask station staff (none of whom were anywhere to be seen).
10/12/08 Totton ticket office closed and ticket machine flashing its red alarm. The 07.15 from Totton ran slowly through Woking and the driver announced "for the information of the guard we are being held at a red signal while another train is put across us". Screens in the subway at Waterloo were not working this morning. Some screens were working again this evening, but the platform 13/14 screens are still resolutely blank and as a special treat, the passage up to platforms 13/14 was unlit this evening. On the 19.35 from Waterloo passengers trying to get into the correct half of the train were looking for "where it says which carriage this is". 4 minutes late at Totton where Oyster-type card readers have now been installed.
11/12/08 Totton ticket office open but the ticket machine still flashing its red alarm and reporting "No payment cards. Cash only". Subway at Waterloo open in morning but unexpectedly closed in the evening.
12/12/08 Totton ticket office was closed at 09.30. 09.45 from Totton initially shown as running 12 minutes late, announced as due to "a late running preceding service at Bournemouth", but the delay increased steadily until the train actually departed 22 minutes late, although more than 4 minutes of this was made up before it left Southampton Central due to the slack in the timetable. Of course, given this is South West Trains, the 10.00 London Waterloo fast service was not held for passengers to connect at Southampton Central. At Southampton Central it was announced that "due to current weather conditions", ie it being winter, "trains between Southampton Central and Weymouth are subject to delay and short notice cancellation". Stock for the 10.30 departure from Southampton Central to London Waterloo arrived 5 minutes before the departure time but did not let passengers on board until just before 1030, and was then delayed "waiting for a member of crew" before leaving 11 minutes late.
End of 18 years of commuting.
SWT’S ‘RIGHT TIME’ RAILWAY: DUFF STOCK / CREW SHORTAGES / CANCELLATIONS / TRAINS TERMINATING SHORT OF DESTINATION / STOPS AXED FOR OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE
Note: These details are snapshots, based on passengers' own experiences and website information. Delays should be seen in the context that Stagecoach is generally operating the slowest services since steam. Our Group does not have the resources to provide a full picture of the performance shortcomings which passengers suffer. We are able to provide fuller coverage on some days than on others. In the 2007 National Rail Awards, SWT won only the award for train maintenance. So the number of train failures recorded below speaks volumes.
Trains can become increasingly late during the course of their journeys, or make up time where stops are omitted and passengers thrown off, so the "minutes late" figures may not represent the position at the end of a journey. On many days the loss of peak seats will significantly outweigh the additional seats which Stagecoach boasts of having introduced, adding to the stress and discomfort caused by the ripping out of seats from suburban trains.
Saturday 01/11/08 08.05 Waterloo-Southampton AXED between Waterloo and Woking DUE TO DUFF STOCK. Passengers on the 09.33 Woking-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Surbiton DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 10.33 Waterloo-Guildford AXED between Waterloo and Raynes Park DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 13.10 Bristol-Waterloo 15 MINUTES LATE. 16.28 Waterloo-Windsor AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 17.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth 65 MINUTES LATE DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 17.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 55 MINUTES LATE DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 17.51 Windsor-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 18.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 35 MINUTES LATE DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 18.39 Haslemere-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 19.39 Haslemere-Waterloo AXED between Haslemere and Guildford DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 19.45 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 20.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Woking DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 20.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 MINUTES LATE DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 22.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Woking. 23.12 Waterloo-Shepperton AXED DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 23.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth THROWN OFF at Portsmouth & Southsea.
Sunday 02/11/08 07.28 Hounslow-Waterloo 20 MINUTES LATE. 07.29 Portsmouth-Waterloo 25 MINUTES LATE. 16.57 Guildford-Waterloo 11 MINUTES LATE DUE TO NO CREW; Wimbledon, Earlsfield and Vauxhall stops AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE.
Monday 03/11/08 07.51 Southampton-Portsmouth 20 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN; passengers THROWN OFF at Fratton. 09.32 Portsmouth-Southampton AXED between Portsmouth and Fratton. Passengers on the 18.01 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Clapham Junction DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 20.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Tuesday 04/11/08 07.23 Ascot-Guildford 10 minutes late. 07.54 Hampton Court-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 12.35 Paignton-Waterloo ‘delayed’ due to vehicle hitting bridge. 14.10 Exeter-Waterloo diverted. 14.50 Waterloo-Salisbury 43 minutes late. 15.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.45 Salisbury-Waterloo ‘delayed’. 17.20 Waterloo-Exeter AXED between Waterloo and Woking. 17.45 Waterloo-Havant REDUCED TO 9 COACHES INCLUDING A 4-COACH SUBURBAN UNIT. 18.09 Waterloo-Guildford 17 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.20 Waterloo-Exeter 17 minutes late. 20.05 Waterloo-Poole REDUCED TO 5 COACHES.
Wednesday 05/11/08 06.48 Hounslow-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.20 Yeovil-Waterloo 8 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.45 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo AXED between Waterloo and Twickenham DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 10.03 Weymouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 5 COACHES and 12 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 10.50 Poole-Waterloo 22 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK; Fleet and Farnborough stops AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 11.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth ‘delayed’.
Thursday 06/11/08 04.52 Twickenham-Waterloo AXED between Twickenham and Teddington. 15.09 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.50 Waterloo-Reading REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Saturday 08/11/08 06.30 Waterloo-Southampton 18 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.25 Exeter-Waterloo REDUCED TO 3 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 10.20 Waterloo-Exeter 17 minutes late. 12.10 Exeter-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 12.24 Basingstoke-Waterloo ‘delayed’. 12.44 Alton-Waterloo 10 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Woking and Surbiton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONALCONVENIENCE. FLOODING AT WIMBLEDON STATION – SOME OF THE TRAINS WHICH DID NOT MAKE THEIR BOOKED CALLS THERE: 13.58 Guildford-Waterloo; 14.03 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo; 14.05 Guildford-Waterloo; 14.33 Woking-Waterloo. Passengers on the 14.15 Portsmouth-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Woking. 14.41 Shepperton-Waterloo DIVERTED via Twickenham. 14.57 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 15 minutes late; all intermediate stops before Norbiton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 15.11 Shepperton-Waterloo DIVERTED via Twickenham. 15.12 Waterloo-Shepperton 20 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Fulwell. 16.11 Shepperton-Waterloo AXED between Shepperton and Teddington. 16.15 Waterloo-Haslemere AXED between Waterloo and Woking. 18.10 Exeter-Waterloo 52 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Woking. 21.33 Woking-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 21.35 Waterloo-Southampton AXED between Waterloo and Woking DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 22.20 Waterloo-Salisbury AXED between Waterloo and Woking.
Sunday 09/11/08 Passengers on the 01.05 Waterloo-Southampton THROWN OFF at Basingstoke. 06.44 Waterloo-Windsor 15 minutes late; 06.59 Windsor-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 07.00 Weybridge-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 07.09 Waterloo-Reading 15 minutes late. 07.10 Salisbury-Exeter 18 minutes late. 07.41 Staines-Woking 12 minutes late. 07.44 Waterloo-Windsor 10 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 08.40 Waterloo-Guildford 12 minutes late. 09.07 Waterloo-Basingstoke 6 minutes late. 11.20 Exeter-Waterloo 27 minutes late. 13.15 Waterloo-Paignton ‘delayed’. 14.06 Plymouth-Waterloo 31 minutes late. 14.18 Guildford-Waterloo AXED. 16.00 Waterloo-Guildford 10 minutes late. Redbridge stop of 16.13 Salisbury-Romsey AXED. 16.17 Guildford-Ascot 15 minutes late. All intermediate stops, before Addlestone, of the 16.52 Woking-Waterloo AXED. 17.13 Ascot-Guildford 22 minutes late. 17.16 Basingstoke-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 17.35 Romsey-Salisbury AXED between Romsey and Eastleigh. 18.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 22 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 19.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO A 4-COACH SUBURBAN TRAIN DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 20.18 Guildford-Waterloo 37 minutes late. 21.25 Yeovil-Basingstoke 31 minutes late. 22.10 Waterloo-Guildford AXED between Waterloo and Wimbledon DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Monday 10/11/08 Passengers on the 01.05 Waterloo-Southampton THROWN OFF at Basingstoke. 06.34 Bournemouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 06.38 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 07.52 Basingstoke-Waterloo 15 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.37 Waterloo-Reading 15 minutes late; all intermediate stops before Staines AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 12.35 Paignton-Waterloo 30 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Salisbury. 13.50 Yeovil-Waterloo 14 minutes late. Afternoon flooding on the Eastleigh-Fareham line; 14.09 and 15.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth DIVERTED. 14.10 Exeter-Waterloo 30 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Salisbury. 15.45 Salisbury-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.01 Honiton-Exeter AXED. 16.15 Gillingham-Waterloo AXED between Gillingham and Salisbury. 17.39 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO A 4-COACH SUBURBAN UNIT DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.18 Waterloo-Haslemere 15 minutes late. 18.23 Axminster-Exeter 15 minutes late. 18.42 Southampton-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 19.00 Guildford-Ascot 10 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 19.10 Chessington-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 19.38 Aldershot-Guildford AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Tuesday 11/11/08 07.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo 11 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.20 Yeovil-Waterloo 35 minutes late and REDUCED TO 3 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK; all intermediate stops between Salisbury and Clapham Junction AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 19.20 Waterloo-Honiton REDUCED TO 3 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 19.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 16 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 19.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 22 minutes late. 19.50 Waterloo-Reading 15 minutes late. 20.35 Dorking-Waterloo 9 minutes late. 21.05 Romsey-Salisbury 7 minutes late.
Wednesday 12/11/08 05.39 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 06.12 Waterloo-Weymouth 17 minutes late. 07.20 Waterloo-Reading AXED between Waterloo and Staines DUE TO NO CREW. 08.34 Guildford-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.51 Southampton-Portsmouth AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.55 Southampton-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 08.05 Portsmouth-Basingstoke AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.32 Portsmouth-Southampton 18 minutes late. 08.34 Guildford-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.51 Portsmouth-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 09.42 Southampton-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 18.36 Shepperton-Waterloo 10 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 21.20 Waterloo-Yeovil AXED between Waterloo and Salisbury DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 22.50 Waterloo-Woking AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Thursday 13/11/08 05.12 Yeovil-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 06.19 Woking-Portsmouth 16 minutes late. 08.12 Waterloo-Shepperton AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.03 Weymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late; intermediate stops after Southampton Airport AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 17.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 10 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Barnes AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. Passengers on the 18.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth THROWN OFF at Havant DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 32 minutes late. 19.15 Waterloo-Havant 25 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 21.54 Portsmouth-Eastleigh AXED between Portsmouth and Fratton DUE TO NO CREW.
Friday 14/11/08 04.52 Twickenham-Waterloo ‘delayed’. 05.45 Poole-Waterloo 6 minutes late. 07.13 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 09.09 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 13.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 17 minutes late. 18.24 Waterloo-Dorking REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.32 Waterloo-Basingstoke REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Saturday 15/11/08 06.39 Reading-Waterloo AXED between Reading and Wokingham. 11.53 Ascot-Guildford AXED between Ascot and Aldershot and 15 minutes late. 12.23 Ascot-Guildford 16 minutes late. 18.15 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 18.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth THROWN OFF at Guildford DUE TO NO CREW. 20.09 Reading-Waterloo AXED between Reading and Ascot. 20.15 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 14 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Hounslow and Barnes AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 20.39 Reading-Waterloo AXED between Reading and Wokingham. Passengers on the 22.35 Waterloo-Poole THROWN OFF at Bournemouth DUE TO NO CREW.
Sunday 16/11/08 07.09 Waterloo-Reading 20 minutes late; all stops before Twickenham AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 09.18 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 10.32 Portsmouth-Waterloo 9 minutes late and REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 10.46 Waterloo-Kingston 20 minutes late; all intermediate stops before Twickenham AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 13.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.35 Romsey-Salisbury 6 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late and REDUCED TO A 4-COACH SUBURBAN TRAIN. 17.20 Waterloo-Yeovil 16 minutes late. 17.32 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO A 4-COACH SUBURBAN TRAIN. 17.55 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Bournemouth DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 18.21 Reading-Waterloo 24 minutes late. Passengers on the 18.48 Portsmouth-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Fratton. 20.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO A 4-COACH SUBURBAN TRAIN. 20.09 Waterloo-Reading 15 minutes late. 20.39 Yeovil-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 21.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO A 4-COACH SUBURBAN TRAIN DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 21.37 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO A 4-COACH SUBURBAN TRAIN DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Monday 17/11/08 Fatality at Witley. 04.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo DIVERTED via Eastleigh. 05.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth DIVERTED via Eastleigh. 05.57 Haslemere-Waterloo AXED. 06.15 Portsmouth-Waterloo 9 minutes late. 06.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 07.10 Haslemere-Waterloo AXED. 07.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED. 07.45 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 08.45 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED. 17.20 Waterloo-Exeter 35 minutes late. 17.49 Plymouth-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 17.53 Waterloo-Basingstoke REDUCED TO 8 COACHES. 17.55 Waterloo-Alton REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.20 Waterloo-Exeter 10 minutes late and REDUCED TO 6 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.23 Axminster-Exeter AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.39 Waterloo-Poole 16 minutes late. 20.05 Waterloo-Poole 24 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 21.00 Exeter-Salisbury 34 minutes late.
Tuesday 18/11/08 07.46 West Byfleet-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 06.50 Weymouth-Waterloo 9 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.20 Yeovil-Waterloo ‘delayed’ DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.21 Reading-Waterloo 7 minutes late. 07.24 Basingstoke-Waterloo 15 minutes late and REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK; all intermediate stops before Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. Vehicle hit bridge at Sway. 13.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 59 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Bournemouth. 14.03 Weymouth-Waterloo 35 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Southampton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 14.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 35 minutes late. 14.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 44 minutes late. Passengers on the 14.50 Poole-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Bournemouth. Passengers on the Poole portion of the 15.35 from Waterloo THROWN OFF at Bournemouth. 15.50 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Bournemouth and 36 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Basingstoke AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.35 Waterloo-Weymouth REDUCED TO 9 COACHES, INCLUDING A 4-COACH SUBURBAN UNIT, DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.50 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Bournemouth. 16.56 Havant-Waterloo AXED between Havant and Woking. 17.03 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Bournemouth. 17.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 9 minutes late. 17.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 22 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 18.39 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late. 19.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 12 minutes late and REDUCED TO 5 COACHES. 19.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 19.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 12 minutes late. 20.05 Waterloo-Poole 27 minutes late.
Wednesday 19/11/08 06.50 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.24 Basingstoke-Waterloo AXED DUE TO SAFETY CHECKS. 08.39 Reading-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 06.04 Bournemouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late DUE TO SAFETY CHECKS. 08.33 Weybridge-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.35 Weymouth-Waterloo 5 minutes late DUE TO SAFETY CHECKS. 08.39 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke DUE TO SAFETY CHECKS. 08.48 Effingham Junction-Waterloo AXED between Effingham Junction and Epsom DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 09.06 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Bournemouth DUE TO NO CREW. 09.48 Salisbury-Romsey 32 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Eastleigh. 11.05 Romsey-Salisbury AXED between Romsey and Eastleigh. 21.20 Waterloo-Reading 7 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Thursday 20/11/08 Passengers on the 00.05 Waterloo-Southampton THROWN OFF at Eastleigh. 12.20 Waterloo-Plymouth AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.20 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Poole DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.36 Portsmouth-Southampton AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.02 Waterloo-Guildford REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 17.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 71 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK; stops at Branksome, Parkstone, Hamworthy and Wareham AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 17.39 Waterloo-Portsmouth 65 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 17.49 Plymouth-Waterloo 30 minutes late. 18.15 Waterloo-Fratton REDUCED TO 9 COACHES. 18.20 Waterloo-Exeter 25 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.30 Waterloo-Epsom AXED. 18.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 38 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 18.42 Waterloo-Shepperton 15 minutes late; all intermediate stops before New Malden AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 18.50 Poole-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 20.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 20.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 30 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 20.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 21.10 Weymouth-Waterloo 44 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Bournemouth. 21.36 Portsmouth-Southampton 12 minutes late.
Friday 21/11/08 07.55 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Bournemouth. 08.25 Weymouth-Southampton AXED between Weymouth and Dorchester. 14.20 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Bournemouth. 22.23 Waterloo-Alton REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. Passengers on the 22.35 Waterloo-Poole THROWN OFF at Bournemouth DUE TO NO CREW. 22.53 Waterloo-Alton REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Saturday 22/11/08 SEVERAL HOURS OF MAJOR DELAYS DUE TO DUFF TRAIN at Ashford. 08.50 Waterloo-Reading AXED. 10.39 Reading-Waterloo AXED. 11.07 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 13.37 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 13 minutes late; stops from St Margaret’s to Mortlake inclusive AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 18.39 Reading-Waterloo AXED between Reading and Ascot. 20.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 21.03 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 18 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Kingston AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 21.09 Reading-Waterloo DIVERTED via Brentford. 21.15 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 21.20 Waterloo-Reading 14 minutes late. 22.03 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED.
Sunday 23/11/08 MORNING FATALITY AT EPSOM, WITH WIMBLEDON-EPSOM-GUILDFORD SERVICE SUSPENDED. Passengers on the 14.50 Basingstoke-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Woking DUE TO NO CREW.
Monday 24/11/08 06.12 Totton-Romsey AXED. 06.20 Honiton-Waterloo AXED between Honiton and Salisbury DUE TO NO CREW. 15.50 Waterloo-Gillingham ‘delayed’ DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.01 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo ‘delayed’ DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 7 minutes late. 17.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 7 minutes late.
Tuesday 25/11/08 04.59 Twickenham-Waterloo AXED between Twickenham and Strawberry Hill. 06.00 Eastleigh-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.06 Basingstoke-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED between Portsmouth and Fratton DUE TO NO CREW. 07.29 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 27 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Southampton and Waterloo AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. Woking stop of 17.03 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 19.20 Waterloo-Honiton 15 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Wednesday 26/11/08 07.25 Weymouth-Brockenhurst AXED between Weymouth and Poole. Passengers on the 10.24 Waterloo-Dorking THROWN OFF at Clapham Junction DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Thursday 27/11/08 07.10 Southampton-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.05 Waterloo-Weymouth REDUCED TO 5 COACHES. 16.35 Waterloo-Weymouth REDUCED TO 9 COACHES.
Friday 28/11/08 07.21 Reading-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.32 Waterloo-Guildford REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 17.34 Guildford-Waterloo 10 minutes late; All intermediate stops between Guildford and Effingham Junction AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 18.35 Waterloo-Reading REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 18.42 Waterloo-Shepperton REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 19.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Saturday 29/11/08 10.39 Waterloo-Poole 19 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 11.03 Weymouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 12.03 Weymouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.35 Waterloo-Weymouth REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.03 Weymouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.35 Guildford-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.41 Shepperton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 18.42 Waterloo-Shepperton 10 minutes late; all intermediate stops before Norbiton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 19.35 Waterloo-Weymouth REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Sunday 30/11/08 08.11 Shepperton-Waterloo AXED between Shepperton and Surbiton DUE TO NO CREW. 11.20 Exeter-Waterloo 21 minutes late DUE TO NO ROLLING STOCK IN PLACE. 11.30 Waterloo-Guildford 12 minutes late. 15.34 Shepperton-Kingston AXED. 15.49 Woking-Alton AXED. 16.13 Ascot-Guildford AXED. 16.17 Guildford-Ascot AXED. 16.26 Woking-Alton AXED. 16.45 Alton-Woking AXED. 17.13 Ascot-Guildford 19 minutes late. 17.15 Alton-Woking AXED. 17.26 Woking-Alton 10 minutes late. 17.45 Alton-Woking AXED between Alton and Farnham. 19.17 Guildford-Ascot 25 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Aldershot AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE.
Monday 01/12/08 07.09 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 5 minutes late. 18.18 Waterloo-Haslemere REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.23 Waterloo-Basingstoke 15 minutes late and REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 19.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 28 minutes late. 19.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 56 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Southampton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 19.50 Poole-Waterloo 55 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Brockenhurst. 21.36 Portsmouth-Southampton AXED between Portsmouth and Fratton DUE TO NO CREW. 21.55 Southampton-Waterloo 20 minutes late.
Tuesday 02/12/08 14.53 Ascot-Guildford 22 minutes late. 15.00 Guildford-Ascot 11 minutes late. 15.23 Ascot-Guildford AXED between Ascot and Aldershot. 15.35 Waterloo-Weymouth ‘delayed’. 19.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 23 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW; all intermediate stops after Winchester AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE.
Wednesday 03/12/08 05.15 Guildford-Portsmouth 17 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Havant, including Portsmouth & Southsea AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.28 Waterloo-Windsor REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. Passengers on the 16.53 Ascot-Guildford THROWN OFF at Aldershot DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.58 Waterloo-Windsor REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 19.02 Waterloo-Woking REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 20.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 14 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN; all intermediate stops between Hounslow and Barnes AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 20.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late.
Thursday 04/12/08 05.43 Portsmouth-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 05.45 Poole-Waterloo 25 minutes late. 06.12 Totton-Romsey 2 minutes late DUE TO DUFF LIGHTING. 07.04 Bournemouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 5 COACHES. 07.24 Waterloo-Reading 34 minutes late; Martins Heron, Winnersh, Winnersh Triangle and Earley stops AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. Passengers on the 07.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Hilsea DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.44 Alton-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES. MANY MAINLINE ARRIVALS INTO WATERLOO AROUND 08.00 AT LEAST 5 MINUTES LATE. 07.52 Basingstoke-Waterloo AXED. 08.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED. 09.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 16.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 29 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.02 Waterloo-Woking REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.05 Waterloo-Weymouth REDUCED TO 9 COACHES, INCLUDING A 4-COACH SUBURBAN UNIT, DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.50 Poole-Waterloo 18 minutes late and AXED between Poole and Bournemouth DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 19.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 12 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 20.10 Weymouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 20.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo ‘delayed’. 20.45 Portsmouth-Waterloo 50 minutes late. 20.50 Waterloo-Woking ‘delayed’. 20.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo ‘delayed’.
Friday 05/12/08 07.46 Effingham Junction-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. AFTERNOON FATALITY: NO NORMAL MAINLINE SERVICE ON WATERLOO FOR HOURS. EXAMPLES: 13.20 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Dorchester and between Basingstoke and Waterloo. Passengers on the 13.50 Yeovil-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Basingstoke. Passengers on the 13.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Basingstoke. Passengers on the 14.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Guildford. Passengers on the 15.15 Alton-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Aldershot. 15.24 Basingstoke-Waterloo AXED. 15.33 Woking-Waterloo AXED between Woking and Surbiton. 15.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED. 15.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED. 15.53 Waterloo-Alton AXED. 16.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Guildford. 16.03 Waterloo-Guildford AXED. 16.05 Waterloo-Weymouth AXED. 16.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED. 16.20 Waterloo-Exeter 54 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Salisbury. 16.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 25 minutes late. 16.39 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 16.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED between Waterloo and Surbiton. 16.50 Waterloo-Yeovil AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 17.05 Waterloo-Weymouth AXED between Waterloo and Woking (advertised on SWT’s website as AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke, so some people who could have caught the Portsmouth train and changed at Woking made other arrangements). 18.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 18.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED. 18.39 Waterloo-Guildford 17 minutes late. 18.45 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED. 18.55 Waterloo-Alton 20 minutes late and AXED between Waterloo and Woking. 19.03 Weymouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 19.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth 25 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Waterloo and Basingstoke AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 19.24 Basingstoke-Waterloo 15 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 19.54 Basingstoke-Waterloo 16 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 21.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Woking.
Saturday 06/12/08 00.18 Waterloo-Kingston AXED. 00.40 Woking-Alton AXED. 00.42 Waterloo-Strawberry Hill AXED. 04.52 Twickenham-Waterloo AXED between Twickenham and Kingston. 08.25 Exeter-Waterloo REDUCED TO 6 COACHES. 11.15 Alton-Waterloo 16 minutes late; West Byfleet stop AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 12.20 Waterloo-Plymouth REDUCED TO 6 COACHES, WITH NO BRISTOL PORTION. 14.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 50 minutes late; Brockenhurst, Branksome and Parkstone stops AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 15.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth 20 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Fareham and Fratton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 15.20 Waterloo-Yeovil 15 minutes late. 15.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late. 18.12 Waterloo-Shepperton AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 19.35 Waterloo-Weymouth REDUCED TO 5 COACHES.
Sunday 07/12/08 Passengers on the 01.05 Waterloo-Southampton THROWN OFF at Eastleigh. 07.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 38 minutes late. 07.32 Yeovil-Waterloo 26 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 07.48 Basingstoke-Poole 25 minutes late. 07.51 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.52 Woking-Waterloo 37 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.20 Waterloo-Plymouth 20 minutes late and REDUCED TO 3 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. Hedge End and Botley stops of the 08.26 Eastleigh-Portsmouth AXED. 09.55 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Bournemouth. Passengers on the 10.25 Twickenham-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Clapham Junction DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 11.18 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED between Waterloo and Clapham Junction DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 13.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 20 minutes late. 14.06 Plymouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 3 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.48 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.55 Poole-Waterloo and 16.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo (which combine at Eastleigh) BOTH FORMED OF DUFF STOCK; Poole portion AXED between Poole and Bournemouth; Portsmouth portion 17 minutes late; all intermediate stops of the combined train between Basingstoke and Waterloo AXED.
Monday 08/12/08 05.45 Poole-Waterloo suffered DUFF HEATING; passengers travelled in their overcoats. Announcements on board the 06.12 Totton-Romsey were for a Chandlers Ford line departure from Romsey. 16.24 Hampton Court-Waterloo 15 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Surbiton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE.
Tuesday 09/12/08 05.10 Exeter-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 06.18 Winchester-Portsmouth AXED between Winchester and Fareham DUE TO NO CREW. 06.20 Honiton-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 07.53 Waterloo-Alton 26 minutes late; all intermediate stops before Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late; Farnborough stop AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE.
Wednesday 10/12/08 06.38 Portsmouth-Waterloo 9 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 06.58 Guildford-Waterloo 21 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.04 Guilford-Waterloo 18 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.20 Waterloo-Woking 15 minutes late; all intermediate stops before Surbiton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 10.11 Shepperton-Waterloo 8 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Kingston AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 20.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth 30 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 22.28 Portsmouth-Havant AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.59 Havant-Fareham AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Thursday 11/12/08 05.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 25 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK; passengers THROWN OFF at Bournemouth. 05.45 Poole-Waterloo freezing cold. Passengers on the 06.30 Waterloo-Weymouth THROWN OFF at Bournemouth DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 06.55 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.18 Southampton-Weymouth ‘delayed’ DUE TO DUFF STOCK; passengers THROWN OFF at Bournemouth. 07.55 Weymouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.30 Poole-Waterloo 30 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 09.03 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Bournemouth DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 09.06 Poole-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 09.23 Ascot-Guildford AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 09.39 Haslemere-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.07 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 16.07 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo ‘delayed’. 16.45 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 18.22 Waterloo-Weybridge REDUCED TO 4 COACHES.
Friday 12/12/08 06.43 Southampton-Waterloo 13 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.45 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 21 minutes late; all intermediate stops before Hounslow AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.09 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.45 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 17.57 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 18.36 Shepperton-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.03 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.27 Waterloo-Twickenham AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Saturday 13/12/08 Flooding affected the Salisbury-Exeter line. Passengers on the 05.10 Exeter-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Castle Cary. Passengers on the 06.15 Salisbury-Paignton THROWN OFF at Westbury. Passengers on the 06.41 Exeter-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Yeovil. 06.58 Westbury-Waterloo 30 minutes late. Passengers on the 07.22 Basingstoke-Yeovil THROWN OFF at Westbury. 08.05 Romsey-Salisbury AXED DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 08.25 Exeter-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Yeovil. 09.20 Waterloo-Exeter 23 minutes late. 10.07 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 10.33 Woking-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. All intermediate stops, after Surbiton, of the 10.33 Waterloo-Guildford AXED. 11.33 Waterloo-Guildford AXED between Waterloo and Surbiton DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 11.35 Exeter-Waterloo AXED between Exeter and Westbury. 12.35 Exeter-Waterloo 57 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK; passengers THROWN OFF at Salisbury. 12.39 Waterloo-Poole 25 minutes late; Shawford stop AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 12.54 Basingstoke-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 14.23 Waterloo-Alton AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 14.35 Exeter-Waterloo AXED between Exeter and Salisbury DUE TO NO CREW. 16.15 Alton-Waterloo AXED between Alton and Farnham DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 17.15 Alton-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Farnham DUE TO NO CREW. 18.39 Waterloo-Poole AXED between Waterloo and Southampton DUE TO NO CREW. 18.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 19.33 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 19.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 19.50 Poole-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Basingstoke DUE TO NO CREW. 20.45 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 20.48 Salisbury-Romsey AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.03 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED. 22.07 Romsey-Romsey AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.27 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.00 Romsey-Romsey AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.13 Waterloo-Windsor AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.39 Waterloo-Eastleigh AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.48 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Sunday 14/12/08 09.05 Hampton Court-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.40 Waterloo-Guildford ‘delayed’. 08.48 Waterloo-Shepperton AXED. 09.07 Waterloo-Basingstoke 44 minutes late. 09.15 Waterloo-Exeter 10 minutes late. 10.11 Shepperton-Waterloo AXED. 10.22 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 10.37 Portsmouth-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 10.42 Portsmouth-Southampton AXED between Portsmouth and Fratton. 11.27 Guildford-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 15.53 Kingston-Shepperton AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 16.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 16.34 Shepperton-Kingston AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Monday 15/12/08 07.47 Woking-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO CREW SHORTAGE. 06.20 Honiton-Waterloo 23 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK; Woking stop AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 07.20 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Bournemouth DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 07.29 Portsmouth-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Bedhampton. 18.15 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo AXED. 18.38 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 19.02 Waterloo-Guildford AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 20.36 Waterloo-Hampton Court AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 20.38 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 20.50 Waterloo-Woking AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 20.57 Salisbury-Bristol AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 21.24 Hampton Court-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 21.58 Waterloo-Windsor AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.03 Woking-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.03 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.09 Waterloo-Dorking AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.25 Bristol-Salisbury AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.12 Waterloo-Shepperton AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.27 Waterloo-Twickenham AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Tuesday 16/12/08 05.45 Poole-Waterloo freezing cold. 05.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 26 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Bournemouth and Weymouth AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 07.30 Shepperton-Waterloo AXED between Shepperton and Strawberry Hill. All stops of the 07.39 Waterloo-Guildford, from Raynes Park to Bookham inclusive, AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 08.00 Shepperton-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 08.22 Epsom-Waterloo AXED. 08.31 Dorking-Waterloo AXED between Dorking and Motspur Park. 16.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.50 Waterloo-Yeovil REDUCED TO 5 COACHES (REDUCED TO 2 COACHES beyond Salisbury) DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.58 Waterloo-Windsor REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. Passengers on the 18.20 Waterloo-Exeter THROWN OFF at Yeovil. 19.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 13 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 22.28 Portsmouth-Havant AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.59 Havant-Fareham AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Wednesday 17/12/08 05.40 Basingstoke-Weymouth 18 minutes late; stops at Hamworthy, Holton Heath, Wool, Moreton and Upwey AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 08.50 Bristol-Salisbury AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 11.05 Dorking-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 11.58 Waterloo-Windsor AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.50 Poole-Waterloo 21 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW; all intermediate stops after Basingstoke AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 15.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Woking. 16.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 16.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth 29 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Haslemere and Fratton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.24 Basingstoke-Portsmouth 15 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 16.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth 9 minutes late. 17.15 Portsmouth-Waterloo 8 minutes late. 17.45 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 18.15 Waterloo-Fratton 30 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth 30 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Fratton DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 19.15 Portsmouth-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 19.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 54 minutes late. 20.18 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED. 20.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth DIVERTED via Eastleigh; intermediate stops Guildford to Havant AXED. 20.45 Portsmouth-Waterloo 26 minutes late. 21.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth DIVERTED via Eastleigh; intermediate stops Guildford to Havant AXED. 21.18 Portsmouth-Waterloo 19 minutes late and AXED between Portsmouth and Fratton.
Thursday 18/12/08 04.54 Basingstoke-Waterloo ‘delayed’ DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.07 Woking-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES. 07.13 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES. 07.29 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 07.45 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo AXED between Waterloo and Clapham Junction. 07.45 Portsmouth-Waterloo 24 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 07.47 Woking-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES. 08.33 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED between Waterloo and Clapham Junction. 08.47 Woking-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES. 12.20 Waterloo-Plymouth 18 minutes late. 12.35 Paignton-Waterloo 19 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.05 Waterloo-Weymouth AXED between Waterloo and Southampton DUE TO NO CREW. 14.10 Exeter-Waterloo 19 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 16.01 Honiton-Exeter AXED. 17.49 Plymouth-Waterloo 49 minutes late. 17.57 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.23 Waterloo-Basingstoke REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.24 Waterloo-Dorking REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 19.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 42 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 19.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 16 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 21.30 Southampton-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.05 Waterloo-Bournemouth 15 minutes late.
Friday 19/12/08 06.04 Bournemouth-Waterloo / 06.11 Poole-Waterloo AXED west of Winchester. 07.20 Yeovil-Waterloo 10 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.29 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.58 Guildford-Waterloo 15 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW; all intermediate stops after Motspur Park AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. FREIGHT TRAIN HIT THE CANOPY OF BASINGSTOKE STATION, CAUSING SEVERE DISRUPTION OF SERVICES. 13.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 34 minutes late and AXED between Weymouth and Bournemouth; all intermediate stops after Southampton Airport AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 14.03 Weymouth-Waterloo 33 minutes late. 14.20 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Bournemouth. Passengers on the 14.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth THROWN OFF at Fratton DUE NO CREW. 15.42 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 15.44 Southampton-Portsmouth 26 minutes late. 16.20 Waterloo-Exeter 36 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.25 Waterloo-Alton REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.15 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 17.49 Plymouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO NO CREW. 19.15 Waterloo-Havant 18 minutes late.
Saturday 20/12/08 06.53 Windsor-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 08.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 20 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 09.42 Waterloo-Shepperton AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 10.41 Shepperton-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 11.42 Waterloo-Shepperton AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 11.50 Waterloo-Salisbury AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 12.39 Waterloo-Poole AXED DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 12.41 Shepperton-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 13.50 Waterloo-Woking AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 15.03 Woking-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 16.12 Alton-Waterloo 12 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.50 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Southampton DUE TO NO CREW. 17.15 Alton-Waterloo 19 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 17.44 Alton-Waterloo 20 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 18.15 Alton-Waterloo AXED between Alton and Farnham. 18.44 Alton-Waterloo 8 minutes late.
Sunday 21/12/08 13.34 Shepperton-Kingston AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Monday 22/12/08 07.20 Yeovil-Waterloo REDUCED TO 3 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 10.20 Waterloo-Exeter REDUCED TO 3 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 12.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 60 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Southampton Airport AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 13.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 36 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Southampton Airport AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 13.50 Poole-Waterloo 46 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Basingstoke AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 14.47 Plymouth-Waterloo AXED between Plymouth and Exeter DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.50 Poole-Waterloo 33 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Basingstoke AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 15.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 35 minutes late; stops at Pokesdown, Christchurch, New Milton, Winchester, Basingstoke and Clapham Junction AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 17.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Woking. 18.31 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.52 Reading-Ascot AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 19.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 20.18 Portsmouth-Waterloo 39 minutes late. 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 20.45 Portsmouth-Waterloo 59 minutes late. 22.08 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Tuesday 23/12/08 05.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 12 minutes late. 07.10 Haslemere-Waterloo 28 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. Passengers on the 12.10 Exeter-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Salisbury DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 12.20 Waterloo-Plymouth 28 minutes late. Passengers on the 14.10 Exeter-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Gillingham. 15.30 Exeter-Honiton AXED. Passengers on the 15.33 Woking-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Wimbledon DUE TO NO CREW. 16.01 Honiton-Waterloo AXED. 16.33 Waterloo-Guildford AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 19.24 Basingstoke-Waterloo 10 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Woking and Surbiton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 21.09 Waterloo-Dorking AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.35 Dorking-Waterloo AXED DUE TONO CREW.
Wednesday 24/12/08 06.28 Aldershot-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 06.38 Aldershot-Guildford AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.00 Guildford-Aldershot AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 09.42 Reading-Waterloo 14 minutes late due to passengers transferring between trains [DUFF STOCK OR WRONG ANNOUNCEMENT?]; all intermediate stops between Staines and Waterloo AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. Raynes Park stop of the 10.12 Waterloo-Shepperton AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.35 Waterloo-Weymouth REDUCED TO 9 COACHES, INCLUDING A 4-COACH SUBURBAN UNIT, DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.20 Yeovil-Waterloo AXED.
Saturday 27/12/08 08.03 Weybridge-Barnes AXED DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 08.10 Ascot-Guildford THROWN OFF at Aldershot DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 08.35 Waterloo-Weymouth THROWN OFF at Bournemouth DUE TO NO CREW. 09.04 Guildford-Ascot AXED between Guildford and Aldershot DUE TO NO CREW. 09.20 Barnes-Kingston AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 09.59 Brockenhurst-Lymington AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 10.03 Waterloo-Guildford AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 10.07 Romsey-Salisbury AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 10.14 Lymington-Brockenhurst AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 11.28 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 12.03 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Bournemouth DUE TO NO CREW. 14.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 18 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.33 Weybridge-Barnes AXED between Weybridge and Staines DUE TO NO CREW. 16.03 Weybridge-Barnes AXED between Weybridge and Staines DUE TO NO CREW. 16.20 Waterloo-Woking AXED DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 19.50 Barnes-Kingston THROWN OFF at Strawberry Hill DUE TO NO CREW. 19.53 Kingston-Barnes ‘delayed’, and AXED between Kingston and Hampton Wick DUE TO NO CREW. 20.03 Weybridge-Barnes AXED between Weybridge and Staines DUE TO NO CREW. 20.26 Twickenham-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 21.26 Twickenham-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.00 Windsor-Waterloo AXED between Windsor and Staines. 22.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.20 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.33 Weybridge-Barnes AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.56 Barnes-Kingston AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.57 Waterloo-Shepperton AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Sunday 28/12/08 00.32 Kingston-Shepperton AXED DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 07.48 Basingstoke-Poole THROWN OFF at Eastleigh. 08.35 Southampton-Portsmouth AXED between Southampton and Fareham. 09.12 Barnes-Woking AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 09.55 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Bournemouth. 10.52 Woking-Barnes AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 12.30 Barnes-Kingston AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Monday 29/12/08 05.38 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Bournemouth DUE TO NO CREW. 06.58 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. MORNING FATALITY AT NEW MALDEN CAUSED WIDESPREAD DELAYS OF UP TO ONE HOUR, AND DISRUPTION CONTINUED ALL AFTERNOON: 13.55 Waterloo-Reading AXED. 14.09 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 14.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED between Waterloo and Surbiton. All intermediate stops, after Ascot, of the 14.12 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 14.13 Barnes-Weybridge AXED between Barnes and Staines. 14.39 Haslemere-Waterloo AXED between Haslemere and Guildford. 15.00 Windsor-Waterloo AXED. 15.11 Shepperton-Waterloo AXED. 15.20 Barnes-Kingston AXED between Barnes and Twickenham. 15.20 Waterloo-Reading AXED. London Road, Clandon and Horsley stops of the 15.38 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. All intermediate stops, before Epsom, of the 15.39 Waterloo-Guildford AXED DUE TO OPERATIONALCONVENIENCE. 15.42 Reading-Waterloo AXED. 16.12 Reading-Waterloo 40 minutes late; Egham, Staines, Feltham, Twickenham and Kingston stops AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. Mortlake, North Sheen, St Margaret’s, Twickenham, Teddington and Hampton Wick stops of the 16.38 Barnes-Kingston AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.42 Reading-Waterloo AXED between Reading and Bracknell. 18.20 Waterloo-Reading ‘delayed’; Richmond, Twickenham, Feltham, Staines and Egham stops AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE.
Tuesday 30/12/08 07.28 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO STOCK IN PLACE. 09.28 Waterloo-Windsor 12 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW.
Wednesday 31/12/08 06.46 Reading-Waterloo 13 minutes late; stops at Egham, Staines, Feltham, Twickenham and Kingston AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 21.09 Waterloo-Dorking AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 21.23 Waterloo-Alton 14 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 22.35 Dorking-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.07 Kingston-Barnes AXED DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 23.13 Barnes-Woking THROWN OFF at Staines DUE TO NO CREW. 23.15 Alton-Woking AXED between Alton and Farnham DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 23.38 Barnes-Kingston AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Thursday 01/01/09 18.23 Paignton-Waterloo 29 minutes late.
Friday 02/01/09 08.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. Limited afternoon London-Bound service from New Malden and Raynes Park due to signalling problems. 17.33 Woking-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 20.44 Southampton-Portsmouth 25 minutes late. Passengers on the 20.50 Barnes-Kingston THROWN OFF at Strawberry Hill DUE TO DUFF STOCK [NOTIFIED AT 19.22, – WHY NO ALTERNATIVE STOCK AVAILABLE?] 21.23 Kingston-Barnes AXED between Kingston and Strawberry Hill DUE TO DUFF STOCK [NOTIFIED AT 19.24 – WHY NO ALTERNATIVE STOCK AVAILABLE?]
Saturday 03/01/09 08.05 Dorking-Waterloo AXED between Dorking and Epsom DUE TO DUFF STOCK. Passengers on the 08.43 Barnes-Weybridge THROWN OFF at Staines DUE TO NO CREW. 09.03 Weymouth-Waterloo 11 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 10.03 Weybridge-Barnes AXED between Weybridge and Staines DUE TO NO CREW. 11.12 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Sunday 04/01/09 12.25 Paignton-Waterloo 50 minutes late. Passengers on the 13.48 Weymouth-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Bournemouth DUE TO NO CREW. 13.50 Penzance-Waterloo AXED between Penzance and Exeter DUE TO NO CREW. 14.40 Chessington-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. Overrunning engineering works. 14.54 Waterloo-Poole 57 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Basingstoke and Bournemouth, except Eastleigh, Southampton Airport, Southampton and Brockenhurst AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 14.57 Guildford-Waterloo 20 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW; all intermediate stops after Wimbledon AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 15.15 Waterloo-Exeter 55 minutes late. 15.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 27 minutes late. 15.39 Waterloo-Reading 14 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.54 Waterloo-Poole 30 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Bournemouth DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.00 Basingstoke-Waterloo ‘delayed’. 16.10 Waterloo-Guildford 13 minutes late. 16.16 Basingstoke-Waterloo ‘delayed and REDUCED TO 4 COACHES; all intermediate stops after Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 17.15 Waterloo-Paignton 50 minutes late. 17.16 Basingstoke-Waterloo 25 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 17.55 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Bournemouth. 18.37 Waterloo-Basingstoke 20 minutes late. 18.55 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Bournemouth. 19.24 Reading-Waterloo 55 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. Passengers on the 19.39 Waterloo-Reading THROWN OFF at Twickenham DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 19.54 Reading-Waterloo 30 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 19.58 Salisbury-Bristol 20 minutes late. 20.05 Windsor-Waterloo 44 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN; all intermediate stops after New Malden AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 20.09 Waterloo-Reading 35 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 20.39 Waterloo-Reading diverted via Weybridge DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 21.05 Windsor-Waterloo AXED between Windsor and Staines DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 21.24 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 22.00 Barnes-Kingston AXED DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 22.38 Kingston-Barnes AXED between Kingston and Strawberry Hill DUE TO DUFF TRAIN.
Monday 05/01/09 07.20 Basingstoke-Yeovil 20 minutes late. 07.24 Basingstoke-Waterloo AXED. 08.39 Waterloo-Poole AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.20 Weymouth-Waterloo ‘DELAYED’ DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 14 minutes late and REDUCED TO 5 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.50 Waterloo-Woking 10 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 16.20 Waterloo-Exeter 20 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.52 Reading-Waterloo 10 minutes late. Front, instead of rear, portion of the 18.05 Waterloo-Weymouth detached at Bournemouth DUE TO BEING TOO DUFF TO RUN BACK FROM WEYMOUTH WITHOUT ASSISTANCE; 40 minutes late and all intermediate stops between Bournemouth and Weymouth AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 18.20 Yeovil-Waterloo 19 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.35 Waterloo-Weymouth 10 minutes late.
Tuesday 06/01/09 Passengers on the 06.23 Portsmouth-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Winchester DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.10 Chessington-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 08.50 Bristol-Salisbury AXED between Bristol and Westbury. 17.20 Waterloo-Exeter 29 minutes late. 18.20 Yeovil-Waterloo 33 minutes late. 18.42 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Wednesday 07/01/09 Freezing conditions but passengers on the 05.45 Poole-Waterloo suffered lack of heating and commuters complained angrily about being blasted with cold air; free coffee provided on request – just as the train approached Wimbledon!! 07.24 Reading-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 08.22 Epsom-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 12.05 Dorking-Waterloo AXED between Dorking and Ashtead DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 12.35 Dorking-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo 16 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Haslemere and Guildford AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.03 Weybridge-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 16.24 Basingstoke-Portsmouth AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.11 Shepperton-Waterloo 9 minutes late due to delay on previous journey; all intermediate stops after Kingston AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 17.28 Waterloo-Windsor REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.37 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.39 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.43 Waterloo-Shepperton ‘DELAYED’ DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.02 Waterloo-Woking REDUCED TO 8 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.52 Waterloo-Weybridge ‘DELAYED’ DUE TO DUFF STOCK. Passengers on the 20.20 Waterloo-Exeter THROWN OFF at Honiton DUE TO NO CREW.
Thursday 08/01/09 06.55 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES. 08.20 Yeovil-Waterloo AXED between Yeovil and Salisbury DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 8 minutes late. 22.38 Aldershot-Guildford AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Friday 09/01/09 06.43 Southampton-Waterloo REDUCED TO 8 COACHES. 17.15 Portsmouth-Waterloo 25 minutes late. 17.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 22 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Woking. 17.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 19 minutes late. 17.52 Waterloo-Weybridge 14 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.01 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 13 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Kingston AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 18.05 Waterloo-Aldershot 21 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.20 Waterloo-Exeter REDUCED TO 3 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 19.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Woking. 19.35 Alton-Waterloo 9 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 19.48 Salisbury-Romsey 15 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 20.00 Guildford-Ascot 13 minutes late.
Saturday 10/01/09 07.33 Woking-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.28 Waterloo-Windsor 22 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 20.58 Waterloo-Windsor AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 22.23 Windsor-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 23.13 Waterloo-Windsor AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Sunday 11/01/09 Passengers on the 12.18 Basingstoke-Paignton THROWN OFF at Exeter DUE TO NO CREW. 13.50 Penzance-Waterloo 74 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Plymouth and Exeter AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 15.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 26 minutes late; New Milton and Brockenhurst stops AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.10 Paignton-Exeter AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 20.15 Alton-Woking AXED between Alton and Farnham DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Monday 12/01/09 06.42 Exeter-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 08.25 Exeter-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 12.20 Waterloo-Plymouth REDUCED TO 6 COACHES. 15.15 Portsmouth-Waterloo 25 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK; all intermediate stops after Havant AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 16.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 9 COACHES. 16.39 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 9 COACHES. 17.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 18.14 Alton-Waterloo 15 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE.
Tuesday 13/01/09 06.04 Bournemouth-Waterloo 5 minutes late. 08.23 Waterloo-Woking 17 minutes late; all intermediate stops before Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 17.37 Weybridge-Waterloo 10 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Hounslow and Barnes AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 17.54 Basingstoke 25 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Woking AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE.
Wednesday 14/01/09 Signalling problems at Fareham; no morning peak services from Botley and Hedge End towards Winchester and Waterloo. 05.43 Portsmouth-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 06.23 Portsmouth-Waterloo 28 minutes late. 06.38 Portsmouth-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 07.24 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED between Portsmouth Harbour and Fratton and REDUCED TO 9 COACHES. 07.55 Portsmouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 08.05 Portsmouth-Basingstoke AXED between Portsmouth and Eastleigh. 08.55 Portsmouth-Waterloo delayed. 09.58 Waterloo-Windsor 13 minutes late. 17.22 Reading-Waterloo 25 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Staines AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 18.15 Waterloo-Fratton REDUCED TO 9 COACHES.
Thursday 15/01/09 18.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED. 21.38 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
Friday 16/01/09 Signalling problems in the Fleet area. 05.43 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. Unheated 05.45 Poole-Waterloo 15 minutes late, arriving at Waterloo at the time it was due to depart for Portsmouth. 06.34 Bournemouth-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 06.42 Portsmouth-Waterloo 8 minutes late. 06.50 Southampton Airport-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 06.54 Basingstoke-Waterloo 8 minutes late. 07.06 Basingstoke-Waterloo 8 minutes late. Passengers on the 07.10 Southampton-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Basingstoke. 07.50 Waterloo-Salisbury AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 08.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED. 08.50 Waterloo-Salisbury AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 09.35 Waterloo-Weymouth AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 17.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.37 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.45 Waterloo-Havant REDUCED TO 9 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.37 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 19.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.55 Waterloo-Alton 14 minutes late.
Saturday 17/01/09 07.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.50 Waterloo-Reading 15 minutes late. 16.23 Ascot-Guildford DIVERTED due to signalling problems. 17.00 Guildford-Ascot 19 minutes late. 21.53 Surbiton-Guildford AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 22.33 Waterloo-Guildford AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Sunday 18/01/09 08.14 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 14 minutes late and REDUCED TO 4 COACHES “DUE TO PASSENGERS TRANSFERRING BETWEEN TRAINS” [FROM DUFF TRAIN TO TRAIN IN WORKING ORDER?]. 10.10 Crewkerne-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 13.49 Woking-Alton AXED. 18.05 Hampton Court-Waterloo 15 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 20.13 Salisbury-Romsey 19 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 21.27 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Monday 19/01/09 04.30 Portsmouth-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 04.40 Havant-Portsmouth 21 minutes late. 05.45 Weymouth-Waterloo 8 minutes late. Most mainline trains into Waterloo around 08.00 were up to 10 minutes late. 06.42 Exeter-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 07.53 Waterloo-Alton 15 minutes late. 08.55 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED between Portsmouth and Fratton DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Tuesday 20/01/09 06.15 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 06.55 Weymouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 9 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Wednesday 21/01/09 DAY STARTED WITH DUFF TRAIN AT DORCHESTER (EXCUSE FOR CANCELLATIONS LATER CHANGED TO POOR WEATHER), SIGNALLING PROBLEMS AT WOKINGHAM, AND SERVICES BETWEEN FRATTON AND FAREHAM REPLACED BY BUSES DUE TO LIGHT FROST. 05.19 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Woking. 05.50 Portsmouth-Waterloo 59 minutes late. 06.12 Waterloo-Weymouth 67 minutes late. 06.12 Reading-Waterloo 48 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Ascot and Clapham Junction AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 06.12 Totton-Romsey AXED. 06.23 Portsmouth-Waterloo 54 minutes late. 06.38 Portsmouth-Waterloo 43 minutes late. 06.42 Reading-Waterloo 31 minutes late; Feltham, Twickenham and Richmond stops AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 06.42 Portsmouth-Waterloo 65 minutes late. 06.55 Weymouth-Waterloo 33 minutes late and AXED between Weymouth and Wool. 07.11 Havant-Waterloo 65 minutes late; AXED between Havant and Haslemere and passengers THROWN OFF at Woking. 07.12 Reading-Waterloo 29 minutes late; stops at Feltham, Twickenham and Richmond AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 07.20 Poole-Eastleigh axed. 07.24 Reading-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.25 Weymouth-Brockenhurst AXED between Weymouth and Wareham. 07.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Woking. 07.38 Southampton-Waterloo AXED. 07.45 Portsmouth-Waterloo 30 minutes late. 07.55 Weymouth-Waterloo 124 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Bournemouth. 08.05 Waterloo-Weymouth 38 minutes late; all intermediate stops before Southampton Central AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE; on arrival at Southampton, passengers THROWN OFF. 08.05 Portsmouth-Basingstoke AXED. 08.20 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED. 08.20 Waterloo-Reading 23 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Ascot AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 08.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED. 08.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED. 09.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Woking. 09.03 Weymouth-Waterloo 42 minutes late and AXED between Weymouth and Wool. 09.15 Waterloo-Haslemere AXED. 09.20 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Wareham. 09.39 Waterloo-Poole AXED. 09.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke AXED. 09.50 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Brockenhurst. 10.03 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Bournemouth. 10.20 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Wool. 10.39 Haslemere-Waterloo AXED. 11.03 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Wool. 12.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED between Waterloo and Guildford.
Thursday 22/01/09 07.24 Reading-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 06.12 Totton-Romsey AXED between Totton and Southampton DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke 15 minutes late. 16.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 16.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke REDUCED TO 4 COACHES. 16.39 Waterloo-Portsmouth REDUCED TO 4 COACHES.
Friday 23/01/09 05.50 Waterloo-Reading REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.42 Reading-Waterloo REDUCED TO 4 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.42 Waterloo-Shepperton DIVERTED to Hampton Court due to flooding. 07.55 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.45 Waterloo-Havant REDUCED TO 9 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.12 Reading-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 22.23 Windsor-Waterloo AXED.
Saturday 24/01/09 05.10 Exeter-Waterloo 17 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 06.16 Reading-Waterloo 28 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK; Feltham, Kingston and Clapham Junction stops AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 07.15 Barnes-Weybridge AXED between Barnes and Hounslow. 08.07 Kingston-Barnes 45 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Twickenham. 09.15 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED between Portsmouth and Fratton. 14.43/15.13/15.43 diverted due to signalling problems; all intermediate stops from Barnes Bridge to Hounslow inclusive AXED. 15.58 Guildford-Waterloo 30 minutes late. 16.40 Chessington-Waterloo 29 minutes late. 17.20 Waterloo-Woking 20 minutes late; all intermediate stops except Surbiton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 21.27 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo AXED between Waterloo and Strawberry Hill DUE TO NO CREW. 23.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late.
Sunday 25/01/09 01.05 Waterloo-Southampton diverted; Southampton Airport stop AXED. 07.11 Shepperton-Waterloo 15 minutes late. Passengers on the 09.35 Waterloo-Weymouth THROWN OFF at Brockenhurst due to overrun of engineering works. Passengers on the 09.48 Weymouth-Waterloo THROWN OFF at Bournemouth. 11.55 Poole-Waterloo AXED between Poole and Brockenhurst. 13.48 Weymouth-Waterloo AXED between Weymouth and Bournemouth DUE TO NO CREW. Passengers on the 13.52 Woking-Barnes THROWN OFF at Staines DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.06 Woking-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.30 Barnes-Kingston AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.30 Barnes-Kingston AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Monday 26/01/09 06.43 Southampton-Waterloo 4 minutes late even though stops from Hook to Farnborough inclusive AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 07.20 Waterloo-Reading 10 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.54 Waterloo-Dorking 17 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 20.54 Hampton Court-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Tuesday 27/01/09 04.55 Southampton-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 05.26 Poole-Brockenhurst AXED between Poole and Bournemouth. 05.45 Salisbury-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 07.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke 17 minutes late; all intermediate stops to Woking AXED DUE TOOPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 07.24 Reading-Waterloo 12 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Ascot and Staines AXED DUE TO OPERATIONALCONVENIENCE. 08.02 Woking-Waterloo 14 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Woking and Surbiton AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE (POSSIBLY BECAUSE THIS SERVICE IS AT THE TOP OF THE ‘OVERCROWDED’ LEAGUE). 08.07 Romsey-Salisbury AXED between Romsey and Eastleigh DUE TO DUFF STOCK (PITY IT IS A PEAK COMMUTER SERVICE FROM CHANDLERS FORD TO SOUTHAMPTON). 19.52 Waterloo-Weybridge 20 minutes late DUE TODUFF STOCK. 20.20 Waterloo-Reading 15 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK.
Wednesday 28/01/09 05.00 Portsmouth-Basingstoke 30 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.00 Aldershot-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 07.20 Yeovil-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 08.37 Waterloo-Reading 5 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 13.3- Waterloo-Portsmouth 14 minutes late DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 14.05 Waterloo-Weymouth ‘delayed’; stops at New Milton, Christchurch, Pokesdown, Hamworthy, Holton Heath, Wool, Moreton and Upwey AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 14.48 Salisbury-Romsey 15 minutes late. 14.50 Poole-Waterloo 17 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Basingstoke AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 15.07 Romsey-Salisbury 20 minutes late. 16.05 Waterloo-Reading 10 minutes late.
Thursday 29/01/09 Morning peak trains into Waterloo delayed up to 15 minutes by signalling problems. 17.50 Waterloo-Reading 9 minutes late.
Friday 30/01/09 04.55 Southampton-Waterloo ‘delayed’ by engineering work. 06.42 Portsmouth-Waterloo REDUCED TO 9 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.45 Salisbury-Waterloo ‘delayed’ DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 15.54 Havant-Waterloo REDUCED TO 9 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 17.45 Waterloo-Havant REDUCED TO 9 COACHES DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 18.48 Waterloo-Guildford 18 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 18.54 Waterloo-Dorking 24 minutes late. 18.57 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.06 Waterloo-Hampton Court 12 minutes late. 19.27 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 8 minutes late; all intermediate stops after Richmond AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL COINVENIENCE. 20.11 Shepperton-Waterloo 8 minutes late; all intermediate stops between Teddington and Wimbledon AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 22.03 Weybridge-Waterloo AXED.
Saturday 31/01/09 LANDSLIP ON THE WEST OF ENGLAND LINE – NO TRAINS BETWEEN EXETER AND CREWKERNE ALL DAY. ‘PRIOR INCIDENT’ IN THE WINCHESTER AREA - ONE THAT STAGECOACH MADE EARLIER PERHAPS? 11.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 68 minutes late; passengers THROWN OFF at Basingstoke. 11.50 Poole-Waterloo 60 minutes late; Fleet and Farnborough stops AXED DUE TO OPERATIONAL CONVENIENCE. 12.03 Weymouth-Waterloo 46 minutes late. 12.20 Weymouth-Waterloo 24 minutes late. 12.50 Poole-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 12.55 Portsmouth-Waterloo 45 minutes late. 13.54 Basingstoke-Waterloo AXED. 15.05 Waterloo-Weymouth AXED between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 15.23 Waterloo-Alton AXED between Waterloo and Woking.
Sunday 01/02/09 AS ON 31/01/09, NO TRAINS BETWEEN EXETER AND CREWKERNE ALL DAY DUE TO LANDSLIP. 20.09 Waterloo-Reading 47 minutes late. 20.18 Waterloo-Windsor 50 minutes late. 20.24 Reading-Waterloo 26 minutes late. All intermediate stops, from Guildford to Havant inclusive, of the 20.30 Waterloo-Portsmouth AXED. 20.32 Portsmouth-Waterloo 34 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 20.39 Waterloo-Reading 41 minutes late. 20.48 Portsmouth-Waterloo 32 minutes late DUE TO DUFF TRAIN. 20.57 Guildford-Waterloo AXED DUE TO DUFF STOCK. 21.11 Shepperton-Waterloo 26 minutes late. 21.32 Portsmouth-Waterloo AXED. Kingston, Twickenham, Feltham, Staines and Egham stops of the 21.39 Waterloo-Reading AXED.
Monday 02/02/09 MODERATE SNOWFALL: SKELETON SERVICES WITH MASSIVE DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS.
Tuesday 03/02/09 SKELETON SERVICES WITH MASSIVE DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS AGAIN. By evening, diesel services were advertised as running normally; for example, 14.10 Exeter-Waterloo 45 minutes late DUE TO NO CREW. 15.30 Exeter-Honiton AXED DUE TO NO CREW. 16.01 Honiton-Exeter AXED DUE TO NO CREW.
MEDIA DIGEST
AIR
* The Government’s approval of a third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow would raise annual flights there from 480,000 to 605,000, less than half the increase originally planned. However, this looks like the beginning of the battle rather than the end. Boris Johnson wants a replacement airport in the Thames Estuary while David Cameron would scrap plans for a third runway in favour of a high-speed rail link to reduce domestic flights. Many have voiced concerns, including ministers John Denham, Hilary Benn, Ed Miliband and Harriet Harman, MPs including those with neighbouring constituencies, green campaigners, the leader of Wandsworth Council, and hundreds of people whose homes and businesses will be destroyed by the airport’s expansion. Louise Ellman, Chairman of the Commons Transport Committee, recognises the economic benefits it could bring but calls on the Government to assess air travel trends and environmental conditions. It would be unsurprising if this becomes the biggest and highest-profile green campaign since Twyford Down.
First, the odds on the success of a campaign are high. There must be a general election by 2010 and Labour needs to fight for every seat. London played a major role in bringing the party back to power. Approval of the airport’s expansion may well lead to loss of vital seats, thus increasing the likelihood of a change of government. The Conservatives can very reasonably play the green card all the way, and David Cameron is committed to stopping the expansion even if work has started (the Government has now stated that planning permission will not be granted before the next general election).
Secondly, global terrorism and climate change have for some time vied for pole position among the threats which the country faces. David Miliband has now conceded that terrorism is much more fragmented than it has hitherto been portrayed and that the concept of a war on terror is false. That leaves global warming in number one position. And its expected consequences for Britain are much less severe than for some of the poorest countries in the world. So the arguments are essentially ethical as well as environmental.
Thirdly, there are the health issues. Doctors are predicting a rise in ill health in areas which would suffer from higher pollution levels. Increased incidence in asthma in children is a leading risk. It seems odd that a government which made the elimination of child poverty a top goal should not be more concerned. The aviation industry talks glibly of cleaner aircraft, but the effectiveness and timescales of such technological change are far from certain, and the government wants to accelerate the airport’s expansion. What impact assessments have been made? It seems to be accepted that the health of people living along the Thames Valley is already affected by air traffic.
Fourthly, the need for expansion is far from clear. Switching all domestic flights to rail appears a perfectly viable alternative option, especially with air traffic in decline at Heathrow as elsewhere. Spain’s new high speed trains have reportedly taken 400,000 passengers from the airlines over the last year, with domestic flights down 20 per cent. Our transport ministers now seem to be offering new rail links to Heathrow as a sweetener, but there is scepticism and rightly so. Remember that, in 2001, South Hampshire’s desperately needed rapid transport scheme was approved as a sweetener to the announcement that the South West Trains franchise had been re-awarded to Stagecoach despite the company’s dreadful record. Stagecoach’s behaviour remains as appalling as ever, and the rapid transport scheme is dead and buried.
Fifthly, UK governments tend to follow US policy, and President Obama has given priority to green issues, and the ‘anything goes’ ethos of the Bush administration appears dead and buried.
Martin Salter, MP for Reading West commented: “A third runway fails three important tests. On air quality, the air around Heathrow is so bad that we are already breaching our obligations under EU legislation. Secondly, the Government promised in 2003 to sort out road transport nearby and it still hasn’t. Third is the environmental test. Labour’s credibility is on the line. If ministers think this is the end of the matter, they are living in Cloud cuckoo land. A legal challenge will follow immediately and there will be continuous protests.”
John McDonnell, whose Hayes and Harlington constituency will be most hard hit by the new runway commented: “Gordon seems to be literally bulldozing this through. We will lose seats not just in London but across the country in those marginals with majorities with less than a thousand votes. Those who view the environment as an important issue will turn against us”. (Numerous press reports; quotations from the Evening Standard of 12/1/09)
BUSES
* A second skirmish has broken out in the Southampton area between Bluestar Buses and Velvet buses. Bluestar adopted Stagecoach practices, running duplicate buses three minutes in front of its rival’s services on a Southampton-Eastleigh route. (Southern Daily Echo 1/1/09)
* Business is booming on local services operated by Go Ahead and First Group. Reasons are thought to include concessionary fares for over-60s and rising petrol prices. (Southern Daily Echo 3/12/08)
RAIL
(FARES)
* Thousands of commuters may get cheaper tickets from a new review of London’s fare zones which the Mayor has agreed. Surbiton and Kingston are particularly expensive, as they are currently in Zone 6, despite being only 12 miles from Waterloo. News of the review came after a meeting between the Mayor and Kingston and Surbiton MP Ed Davey. However, Mr Davey warned that the change would need the agreement of South West Trains. [Some hope?] (Evening Standard 6/1/09)
(NETWORK RAIL)
* Network Rail has started work on a new footbridge and two lifts at Fareham station. The work is being carried out in conjunction with improvements at Fratton and Havant and should be completed by the spring. (Southern Daily Echo 10/11/08)
* Network Rail has confirmed plans to raise £4bn worth of debt on the public markets as it attempts to scale down its dependence on government funding. The company says it is close to securing agreement with the Office of Rail Regulation over closing a £2.6bn funding gap in the £28.5bn expenditure programme for 2009 to 2014. (Guardian 21/11/08)
(OPERATORS)
* Enfield North MP Joan Ryan handed out 500 flyers, with First Capital Connect’s freepost address, about proposals to cut booking office staff at busy Enfield Chase station. The company threatened to bill her because it pays for every letter handled by the firm in charge of its outsourced customer relations department. She pointed out that the company says it is ‘passionate about delivering good customer service for everyone’. FCC later backed down. (Enfield Advertiser 23/10/08; Evening Standard 5/11/08; This is Local London website 23/11/08)
(POLICE INTERFERENCE WITH INNOCENT PASSENGERS)
* “The British Transport Police stopped and questioned 160,000 people on Britain’s railway stations in the 12 months to September 2008. More than 60,000 were stopped using counter-terrorism powers. Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat transport spokesman, commented that the “sheer scale of the number of people stopped by police on railway property is ridiculous”. In Scotland, almost 10,000 were stopped in the 24 weeks to mid-December, a figure Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said is “something that deeply, deeply troubles me”. Regardless of a person’s background “you’re entitled to be treated with respect – not to be routinely stopped, harassed, and investigated,” MacAskill told the BBC. In 2006/07, BTP officers carried out 30,000 stops through England, Scotland and Wales.” (RAIL Issue 609)
Meanwhile British Transport Police have told MPs they want to change the railways’ conditions of carriage so that people who buy a London Tube or train ticket would automatically be giving their consent to be searched and could be forced to walk through knife-detecting arches. (Guardian 16/1/09)
[Apart from further undermining civil liberties, this is likely to drive London knife carriers to avoid the major stations and use those like the ones which SWT leaves unstaffed, so increasing any dangers which ordinary passengers may face.]
(PROJECTS)
* The Mayor of London has scrapped new transport links worth £3 billion. These include the Thames Gateway road bridge from Newham to Greenwich; the Oxford Street tramway; the Cross River tramway via Waterloo Bridge; the Docklands Light Railway extension to Dagenham Dock; the Croydon Tramlink extension to Crystal Palace; and the Greenwich Waterfront Transit bus route.
TfL will now focus on upgrades of the Piccadilly, District, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines to provide a 28% increase in capacity by 2018. The Mayor is also committed to Crossrail, and wants the government to make good a shortfall in funding for the East London Line extension from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction. He has announced that Canary Wharf will get a Crossrail station. The Chancellor has promised that Crossrail will go ahead despite the recession, but there are still concerns about whether the Mayor can raise £3.5bn of the cost through a tax on firms (Evening Standard 6/11/08; 17/11/08 and 19/11/08; Metro 17/11/08)
* Engineering company Arup hopes to build an express route from Heathrow to Southampton, and Basingstoke’s Conservative leaders support the proposal. (Basingstoke Observer 3/12/08)
* The Docklands Light Railway extension to Woolwich arsenal was officially opened by Boris Johnson on 12/1/09, seven weeks ahead of schedule. (Evening Standard 12/1/09))
(RECESSION)
* First Group declared itself recession-proof in November, as it announced a 44% rise in profits. The rise was partly due to its US activities – the acquisition of Greyhound Coaches and becoming the largest operator of yellow school buses. The company’s one concern was First Capital Connect, where it has now followed Stagecoach’s example by seeking to cut ticket staff at 28 stations. In January First’s shares fell by almost 30p, due to problems with Greyhound. (Evening Standard 5/11/08, 6/11/08; 12/1/09 and 14/1/09)
* The introduction of 8 out of 23 new four-car trains for First Capital Connect is reportedly going to be delayed beyond the March 2009 deadline because manufacturer Bombardier is affected by its suppliers facing financial difficulties. On a more positive note, it is also reported that the Government is unlikely to allow First TransPennine to obtain additional coaches from Siemens because it wants the construction of new rolling stock to create jobs in Britain. This effectively means that no more of the hated Desiro-type carriages will be imposed on rail users in Britain, and SWT will be left the country’s outstandingly uncomfortable network. (RAIL )
* Go Ahead is seeing growth on its Southern and South Eastern franchises slowing as city jobs are cut, but expects its profits to be on target because of inflation-busting fare increases. (Evening Standard 16/12/08)
* The downturn in growth on National Express’ East Anglia and East Coast services will result in 700 jobs being axed. The company is also shedding its Dot2Dot London hotel-to-airport minibus taxi business. (Evening Standard 17/12/08)
[Plans to scrap its much-praised restaurant car service on East Anglia has met with big protests, and this has been reprieved until early march to test a new version of the company’s “at seat” trolley service].
* Eurostar carried 21% more passengers in the first full trading quarter after its move from Waterloo to St Pancras. However it shows no growth in the last 3 months of 2008 compared with the last quarter of 2007. (Evening Standard 12/1/09)
PRIVATE EYE RESEARCH AND COMMENT
(HEATHROW)
* Growing support for a high-speed electric railway to Heathrow has put the British Airports Authority on the offensive about its aspirations for a third runway at Heathrow, which remains government policy. The BAA recently held a conference to rubbish fast trains as an alternative to a new railway but are now reduced to pleading for a third runway and a high-speed railway. BAA’s best hope is that the current Government will sign up to a new runway in a manner which prevents a future Conservative government from scrapping it. Meanwhile, BAA must have delighted the government by confirming its contribution of £230m for Crossrail when the runway decision is imminent. [Issue 1223]
* Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon used a Commons debate on the new runway to regurgitate the air lobby’s arguments, accusing opponents of the scheme of “trying to damage British business” and “export” British jobs to the continent. On the same day, Tourism Minister Barbara Follett was apologising to thousands of visitors delayed on the Tube, light railway, and congested roads as they struggled to a tourism exhibition in Docklands. Turkey’s tourism minister commented, “I thought Istanbul was bad enough”. Ms Follett explained that the weather can be variable in this country, but the weather was typical for November. Labour’s priority for the Tube was to squander billions on public-private partnerships. Now its response to the everyday shambles on London’s transport is to pretend Britain’s reputation and economy will be saved as long as more Britain’s can fly out of Heathrow for holidays and hen parties. [Issue 1224]
* It’s not only at Heathrow where operators are pressing for more flights from bigger airports. East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Robin Hood, Bristol and Lydd airports all have big plans for expansion, with a range of environmental consequences, including serious increases in noise pollution. [Issue 1223]
* The Government’s mention of high-speed rail in announcing its approval of expansion at Heathrow fooled some people, including BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds, who reported, “The government also announced a new high-speed rail line will be built”. What was actually announced was a new company “to help consider the case” for a high-speed line (HSL). So we’re no further forward than when the Strategic Rail Authority commissioned a report in 2001 which concluded that, “in economic, safety and accessibility terms, HSL performs better than the alternative interventions considered” and “has the potential to reduce some of the forecast growth in domestic air travel within the UK”. Consideration will initially be limited to developing a proposal for a London-West Midlands line by the end of the year, after which the government will “assess the options”. That should please the aviation industry as the economics for such a short distance may not look good compared with the big overheads which will not be balanced by the big revenue that would come from a longer new line. More importantly for the government, the new line wouldn’t undermine air traffic between London and Manchester/Scotland – even Virgin’s 125mph Pendolinos have hammered London-Manchester traffic. DfT briefing acknowledged that it would be “perverse” to ignore developments in Europe and the rest of the world and Japan had had bullet trains since 1964 (45 years of British perversion), yet DfT can’t even decide to electrify more lines. Consideration of a new HSL will be led by David Rowlands. While he was a permanent secretary at the DfT, high-speed rail went nowhere and further Heathrow expansion was fast-tracked. [Issue 1228]
(FARE HIKES)
* Recession, rising unemployment, cheaper petrol and fears of deflation won’t stop huge New Year increases in rail fares. The private train firms have never experienced a shrinking economy. With high employment, house prices forcing people to commute further, choked roads and costly parking, their business has grown however steep the fares or poor the service. They have had to find ways to price people off the railways. With rising unemployment, Stagecoach is looking to increase fares to compensate for a decline in commuting. So unregulated fares on South West Trains and East Midlands will increase by 7% while general inflation is 4%. Businesses served by British Chambers of Commerce reckon rail fares are too high. Even expense-account travellers using Virgin-Stagecoach’s London-Manchester “anytime” ticket (£387 first class; £247 standard class) could diminish.
The biggest hike on unregulated fares is 11% on Cross Country [comparatively small when it is remembered that the 7% on SWT is the second increase since its 20% Greed Tax on off-peak tickets to London was introduced]. Only London Midland is freezing unregulated fares. After fast-growing profits for so many years, train operators are determined recession won’t spoil the party. The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) claims that, in real terms, fares have risen by 5% since 1996. But official Government figures show a rise of 17% above inflation. And this ignores the bans on cheap tickets at busier times. From January, a ticket from Birmingham to Bristol before 09.30 will be £75 – 130% higher in real terms than in 1997. ATOC claims that the real costs of motoring are up 25% since 1996. The Office for National Statistics says motoring costs have reduced by 8% in real terms between 1997 and 2007. ATOC also claims that fare increases pay for investment - like refurbishing carriages to cram in more passengers! And train firms are said to be spending “many millions of pounds on stations”, listing 3 new stations which will be opening soon. But the train operators are paying little or nothing towards the stations – they will be mainly funded by taxpayers. And the stations will bring the train operators more revenue. When did ASDA last raise prices to make existing customers pay for new stores?
Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon says he has asked firms to “bear in mind the difficult economic circumstances when setting their fares”. He clearly didn’t want the public to bear in mind that the Government is demanding an 80% increase in fare revenue over 2007-14, refuses to impose controls on unregulated fares, still allows new restrictions on “regulated” fares, and sticks with a privatisation model that bleeds cash in bureaucracy and profits. [Issue 1226]
* A highlight of 2009 for Kent commuters is the chance to pay a premium to use the high speed route to St Pancras. The premium will be on top of annual South-eastern season ticket increases of 3% above inflation to pay for the new trains. This means paying a premium on top of premium fares. Things are even worse for freight train operators, who will be required to pay almost 500% more than on ordinary routes. This torpedoes the idea of bringing continental wagons (too big for Britain’s Victorian railways) into London from countries beyond the Channel Tunnel. So it’s not a Government priority to cut emissions from streams of lorries passing through Kent and occasionally damaging the infrastructure by bursting into flames.
The Government seems bent on pleasing the air lobby. A consortium including the French government Air France and Paris Airports is developing terminals at Charles de Gaulle airport especially for freight trains to use Europe’s network of high-speed railways from 2012. One of the main planned routes is Paris to Barking. The consortium claims the cargoes’ footprint would be 17 times smaller on trains than on planes and trucks. A smaller terminal is on the cards at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
Once cargoes start racing around Europe in high speed trains, yet another hole will be blown in Labour’s plans for airport expansion. Heathrow, which handles well over a million tonnes of freight annually, would be particularly affected. Whilst this negativity may please the air lobby, it’s a case of Britain burying its head in the sand. American parcels firm FedEx is a founding member of the French consortium. It regards the rail-freight idea as “economically promising” and intends to fly cargo into Paris for distribution by train to London, Frankfurt, Basel and other cities. As oil becomes scarcer and dearer, the airports that can forward freight by electric train could become the favoured hubs for long-distance express cargo. [Issue 1227]
(FUEL CHARGES)
* Profits at companies exposed to competition are slumping, whilst Britain’s biggest bus companies are enjoying huge rises. This year they blamed 10 or 20 per cent fare increases on rising world oil prices, failing to mention their fixed-price fuel deals. First’s revenue rose by 7.1% in the 6 months to 30/09/08 whilst passengers increased by only 2%. Stagecoach’s bus revenue is up 9.2% in the 24 weeks to 24/10/08. Arriva’s buses delivered a 20% rise in profits in the 6 months to 30/06/08. Oil prices are now at their lowest for over a year, but that’s unlikely to prevent further fare rises next year. [Issue 1223]
[The London Paper of 18/12/08 reported Arriva’s prediction of a 85% increase in its fuel bill in 2009, despite having paid a fixed price for 85% of its year’s fuel requirements for the year.]
(LIGHT RAIL VERSUS BUS)
* In 2006, First Group launched its new ftr (“future”) bendy buses in York. Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander declared, “I was impressed”, but passengers complained of delays and faulty ticket machines. First Group boss Moir Lockhead had boasted in 2005, “ftr is the perfect solution for local authorities in the battle against traffic congestion”, but there has been a 1.9% drop in bus usage in York between 2006-07 and 2007-08. The council expected ftr to help meets its 80% target for passenger satisfaction by 2009-10, from 71% in 2003-04. Only 68% were satisfied in 2007-08. Alistair Darling officially launched the ftr concept in March 2005 and then cancelled Leeds’ delayed Supertram project in favour of “rapid bus” technology. Leeds transport officials have confirmed that the rapid bus replacement is unlikely to start before 2015, 9 years after trams would have started had DfT not interfered. [Issue 1225]
(RAIL MAINTENANCE)
* In 2003, after years of accidents, close shaves and inefficiency, Network Rail took rail maintenance in house, but left track renewals in the hands of contractors such as Jarvis, although it had just launched an investigation into Jarvis’ work on the West Coast Main Line. On 25/11/08, Network Rail’s interim results showed a 33% saving on maintenance against a target of 34%. Savings on renewals, however, were predicted to be only 14%. Two days later, Jarvis chairman Steven Norris was delighted with interim results showing Jarvis had rocketed to a £4.3m profit from a £3.3m loss, thanks largely to doubling its income from Network Rail. Norris was a transport minister when the Conservatives created track-renewals contracts. How satisfying for him that such contracts still achieve their objective of shovelling public money into private pockets. {Issue 1225]
(ROLLING STOCK)
* Geoff Hoon has announced £1bn of transport spending, including new train carriages, “brought forward to help stimulate the economy”. But whose economy will benefit from building the trains? Britain now buys its trains from foreign companies; some are assembled here but most are imported complete. [Issue 1225]
(WEST COAST MAIN LINE)
* The West Coast Main Line “modernisation” will be completed in December, just a decade later than had the railways not been privatised, and only 4.5 times over budget, after cutbacks. Some trains in the modernised timetable won’t start until January or later. However, very few Virgin Trains’ services will call at Nuneaton, and London Midland’s replacement service will increase journey times to London by about half an hour. Commuter trains from Northampton to London will have their journey times increased by 30%, and the 300,000 residents of Stockport will lose 41% of their trains to Birmingham and 5 of their 6 daily trains to Bristol. Some trains from Mid-Cheshire will terminate at Stockport; commuters are advised to change to trams at Altrincham, but their season tickets won’t be valid. Virgin Trains will tout £8 London-Manchester tickets and £5 London-Birmingham tickets to fill a lot of extra seats on its high speed services whilst other stations, which can be important to local economies, lose out. [Issue 1224]
[In ‘RAIL’ Issue 607, a Motherwell resident notes that his town will see its West Coast Main Line trains slashed – by about 80% northbound – and journey times extended by more than 50 minutes. Passengers are expected to travel northwards via Glasgow to go south, the transfer involving 3 flights of steps [another case of damning disabled people?]. There is no connection into the first two southbound services or last northbound service. This is seen as taking the convenience of the majority too far, and will simply result in trains carrying more thin air.]
[West Coast Main Line services are of course operated by Virgin-Stagecoach, noted for their treatment of passengers – see our ‘ritual humiliation and abuse’ articles in previous editions of this newsletter.]
ABOUT THE SOUTH HAMPSHIRE RAIL USERS’ GROUP
The Group was founded over 15 years ago by a group of London commuters. It is open to everyone, without formal membership, and now operates principally as an e’mail network. Our vision is the ongoing improvement of rail services on the Hampshire network, within a context in which the interests of rail users are paramount and all passengers are treated with openness, courtesy and respect.
We have links to the Hampshire County Council and Campaign for Better Transport websites, are on the official list of rail user groups, and have enjoyed many positive exchanges of correspondence with MPs, local government officials, and others. During the competition for the latest SWT franchise, all the bidders except Stagecoach contacted us; we were represented at a number of stakeholder events, and National Express mounted an event specifically for our Group. A number of train operating companies continue to maintain friendly contacts with us.
We strongly supported a change of operator on SWT, but the Government decided otherwise, after Stagecoach had published a deceptive prospectus called ‘Building on Success’. An on-line poll conducted by SWT, following the re-franchising process, established that barely one third of respondents thought Stagecoach should have kept the franchise. This was concealed from passengers by the publication of a false figure of 61 per cent. That was before lower-quality rolling stock was imposed on Weymouth and Portsmouth line commuters, travel centres were destroyed, ticket office opening hours became honoured even less, permit to travel machines were ripped out, revenue protection was stepped up with the arrogant proclamation that genuine error would be punished, and news of SWT’s Passengers Panel in the operator’s e-motion magazine was steadily reduced to pro-Stagecoach monologues by director Sir Alan Greengross.
Memoranda by our Group were published in both of the House of Commons Transport Committee’s reports on passenger rail franchising. Our contribution to the Government’s Big Conversation pointed out that the SRA was handing huge sums of money to Stagecoach yet passengers were often treated abominably. The National Audit Office subsequently congratulated the Government on getting better value for money from franchises after abolishing the SRA.
We have had many letters and articles published in newspapers and magazines. Recently a letter published in RAIL described why the new SWT timetable between Southampton and Weymouth is not fit-for-purpose and does not reflect the Service Level Commitment (SLC). It also highlighted how the since-sacked rail minister Tom Harris was presenting chaos as order. This followed a meeting at which Department of Transport officials had stated that changes to the timetable would probably be up for discussion, but at which they falsely argued that the current service is compliant with the SLC.
An example of why the new timetable is so absurd is the removal of stops by semi-fast trains at Totton, the fourth largest intermediate town between Southampton and Weymouth, which we had successfully campaigned to have reinstated in the later days of BR. This change was withheld from passengers in DfT’s public consultation, presumably because it was unjustified – use of Totton’s station is already constrained by the huge reductions introduced by SWT from the service of 5 off-peak trains per hour in 2003. The removed trains do however manage to stop instead at places like the remote industrial halt of Holton Heath. Clearly huge numbers of passengers continue to face an uphill struggle in a hostile and stressful environment and it scarcely seems surprising that, as official statistics regularly confirm, such a small minority consider they get value for money from operators like SWT.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As always, thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to contact us, including MPS who have so many demands on their time. Without your support and input, this newsletter would not be possible.