London to Coventry = EPIC
yesterday i left London for Coventry by train via Euston. because over the weekend they were doing engineering work on the railway to and out of Coventry, i was supposed to take a train to Rugby and board the rail replacement bus to Coventry. the trains ran every 20mins past the hour and i wasnt going to be able to make the 2.20pm one so i boarded the 3.20pm one instead. and what a melodramatic journey it was!
we had just pulled out of Watford Junction and travelled for about 20mins before we stopped in the middle of nowhere. and the train manager came onto the PA to announce that we could not move forward as some guy had climbed onto the overhead steel structures near Bletchley and the power had to be switched off while the police came to apprehend him. it turns out the guy had climbed up with the intention of committing suicide. we stood there for an hour before the train manager came to announce that they were going to move forward to the nearest junction for us to change direction and go backwards towards Watford Junction because the police were not able to apprehend the guy as quickly as they had hoped. so when we got back to Watford there would be some form of alternate transport onwards, probably buses. and the moment we started moving backwards, the train manager came on to say the police had managed to do so but then we still had to go to Watford Junction to turn around again. and then when we finally changed direction and started to pull out of the station, we jerked to a stop again. this time it was because we had lost the ability to tilt which meant a further delay because the Virgin Pendolino trains are able to tilt so that they can go faster. so there was another 15mins added to make it a total of 1h 45min delay. by the time i got to Rugby it was 6.20pm and had missed the connecting bus so it was a further 20min wait till the 6.40pm bus came to take me to Coventry. what was initially a 2 hour journey became a 4 hour one.
the train manager came around to hand out free bottles of water and claim forms for refunds of the train fare. he also announced that the shop on board the train was giving out free coffee and tea but after a while the shop announced that no more hot drinks would be served on the train. probably they ran out of hot water? :)
some people were really affected by the delay - one family was supposed to get to Birmingham International airport via the rail replacement bus from Rugby and after waiting for 10mins for the bus they took a cab. suspect they were on the verge of missing a flight. and train manager announced that for all those who missed their last connection to the small towns in Wales, the station staff at Wolverhampton would put them onto the next train to Shrewsbury and then arrange for bus or taxi to their final destination stations.
going to mail off my claim form tomorrow but wondering how much money i will be able to get back. considering that even though i paid £22.20 for the return tickets, the return portion is only worth £1 because the outward-bound bit costs £21.20. :(
we had just pulled out of Watford Junction and travelled for about 20mins before we stopped in the middle of nowhere. and the train manager came onto the PA to announce that we could not move forward as some guy had climbed onto the overhead steel structures near Bletchley and the power had to be switched off while the police came to apprehend him. it turns out the guy had climbed up with the intention of committing suicide. we stood there for an hour before the train manager came to announce that they were going to move forward to the nearest junction for us to change direction and go backwards towards Watford Junction because the police were not able to apprehend the guy as quickly as they had hoped. so when we got back to Watford there would be some form of alternate transport onwards, probably buses. and the moment we started moving backwards, the train manager came on to say the police had managed to do so but then we still had to go to Watford Junction to turn around again. and then when we finally changed direction and started to pull out of the station, we jerked to a stop again. this time it was because we had lost the ability to tilt which meant a further delay because the Virgin Pendolino trains are able to tilt so that they can go faster. so there was another 15mins added to make it a total of 1h 45min delay. by the time i got to Rugby it was 6.20pm and had missed the connecting bus so it was a further 20min wait till the 6.40pm bus came to take me to Coventry. what was initially a 2 hour journey became a 4 hour one.
the train manager came around to hand out free bottles of water and claim forms for refunds of the train fare. he also announced that the shop on board the train was giving out free coffee and tea but after a while the shop announced that no more hot drinks would be served on the train. probably they ran out of hot water? :)
some people were really affected by the delay - one family was supposed to get to Birmingham International airport via the rail replacement bus from Rugby and after waiting for 10mins for the bus they took a cab. suspect they were on the verge of missing a flight. and train manager announced that for all those who missed their last connection to the small towns in Wales, the station staff at Wolverhampton would put them onto the next train to Shrewsbury and then arrange for bus or taxi to their final destination stations.
going to mail off my claim form tomorrow but wondering how much money i will be able to get back. considering that even though i paid £22.20 for the return tickets, the return portion is only worth £1 because the outward-bound bit costs £21.20. :(
posted by ade at
2:09 pm
2 Comments:
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