Points failure at Chelmsford. The 07h49 wasn’t going anywhere, so of course they had no choice but to turf us all off. A 12-coach train, full, with 70-odd seats in each coach. That’s 800 commuters plus.
Queues on the stairs from the platform. Queues in the tunnel beneath the lines. We had to let the next six trains go without us due to short formations and overcrowding, many of which were running late. We eventually took the 08h29, running five minutes late, and departed 48 minutes after our arrival.
How curious that the staff policing the ticket barriers had disappeared when we first came down from the platform. Coincidence? Who knows. It does seem to often coincide with delays or disruption, though.
The most infuriating thing was’t the poor service but the announcements. There’s a perfectly good, reliable automated system that tells you what’s coming, what’s late and what’s cancelled, and even which trains are departing from unusual platforms (there are only two, but even so). It’s timely, just the right volume and spoken in a pleasant female voice.
The guy in the office, though, interrupted her every time with ear-splitting repeats of what she was trying to say. It’s at its most frustrating when she starts to say something and then he jumps in with exactly the same thing. And then repeats it. And then repeats it. And then repeats it.
I know people want information, and it’s great that we’re getting it, but please – leave it up to the recorded professional, and TURN DOWN THE BLOODY SPEAKERS.
Arrived in London to find a dusting of snow had crippled public transport into the city. Great Portland Street tube closed due to flooding (it was yesterday, too, but they didn’t announce that on my train until it had already sailed straight through it), and team members arriving late.
