As I parked in my half price car park this morning I could see the 06.15 waiting on the platform. Alas when I got to the platform I found out that it was no longer the 06.15,(that was cancelled) it was going to sit on platform 2 for 25 mins and become the 06.40. The "real" 06.40 was delayed until 06.57. So It appears that in the cranky falling apart world of GNER it is better to cancel a train and make those passengers 25mins late rather than make the next trains passengers wait 17 mins. I guess it makes sense to who ever "cooks the books".
In utter disgust at the treatment dished out once again to the commuters I got the 06.23 FCC and arrived in KX at 07.25.

I won't be travelling much again this week as I'm staying in London for the next few days. Perhaps if GNER were a little more reliable, I wouldn't have to but as they already have my money, I doubt they care very much about that.

For a number of reasons I didn't catch the 07.20 this morning and went for the 09.49 instead. Surprise, surprise, I got to the station to find it was running 28 mins late apparently because of signal failure and a broken door which needed fixing at an earlier stop.
Looks like GNER are starting this week where they finished last.

On the customer services front I've now received another e-mail from GNER customer care appologising for the lack of response and aprarently blaming a change in personel and the new person taking some time to get to know the system (presuming they have one).
Unfortuantely they have yet to answer my query.

My next journey with GNER won't be until Wednesday evening. Here's hoping things have got better by then.

Following GNERs unbelievable 82% increase in parking charges at Peterborough, I have now renewed my annual parking ticket in the Queensgate car park, Its just as close to the station and it is undercover (no winter de-icing!!)The cost was £590.00 compared to GNERs £1080.00. Why would anyone renew with GNER??

So well done GNER, after 18 consecutive years of paying you to park, from now on you get NOTHING from me...maybe there is a lesson to be learnt...IT DOES NOT PAY TO BE GREEDY!!!!!

I am sure may of you will be interested in this.The link is www.queensgate-shopping.co.uk

Seesm to be the order of the week for the evening GNER services. I don't think an evening has passed this week wher one or more service has been cancelled for whatever reason. Last night was no differant.

My last meeting overran so I missed my usual 17.20 and got to KX a knats knocker past 17.50. Given their performance this week I was therefore hoping to catch the 17.50 but as I entered the sation, there was no sign of it so I presume it was either cancelled or left on time. No problem though becasue the 18.03 was showing on the board as 'on time' but no platform had been announced. As I looked around I noticed there were only 2 GNER trains in the station on platforms 2 & 3. The concourse was chock full of pissed off people though this did ease when they announced the 18.00 was ready for boarding on platform 2.

As the only other GNER train in the station was sitting on the adjacent platform 3, I decided with reasonable certainty that this was probably going to be the 18.03 to Skipton so I joined the hoards boarding the 18.00 to take a look see. Sure enough as I passed the 2nd coach there was a window board which confirmed that the train on P3 was indeed going to be the 18.03 so I carried on walking up to coach C and stood on the platform and hoped no jobs worth sent me back to the main concourse.

The 18.00 pulled out on time which left me and one or two other like minded people waiting for them to announce the boarding of the 18.03. As we waited we could hear the tannoy requesting passengers crowding the gate to P3 to move back becasue they were causing a health and safety problem. What tosh. How can they blame passenegers for creating a H&S issue when it's GNER who cancelled or delayed services which caused passenegers to crowd the gates in the first place. The logical solution would have been to allow passengers onto the platform but close the train doors so they can't board. But as we know, GNER aren't logical at the best of times.

As I boarded at 18.05 I heard the tannoy appologies for the late boarding and announce that the next Newcastle train had been cancelled (but didn't catch why) and would passenegrs traveling to NC please catch the next service due at whatever time the train was due to depart.

I got into coach C becasue I fancied a beer and knew it wouldn't take long for the trolly to clear coach B so I'd get maximum time to enjoy a nice GNER warm pint of Kieth Della. As I sat down I asked another early boarder why we were late. He wasn't sure but thought it was due to lack of staff and rolling stock to which I had to laugh. A train company with few staff and fewer trains is not exactly encouraging.

We eventually left at about 18.13 which I guess means it was officially late. Just after we departed my hopes of a beer were dashed when they announced..... wait..... a bit more...... there was no trolly due to lack of staff. With this in mind I settled down to watch episode 3/season 3 of Battlestar Galactica all the way into Tinsel Town.

The last highlight of my journey came from the 3 girls with whom I shared the table. All were mid 20's and reasonably attractive (which was nice) but the downside was the girly chatter I had to endure over the top of Battlestar. Thankfully I'm a bloke so it was fairly easy to shut this out and concentrate on my BSG. As we approached TT and I was putting the laptop away I heard the girls wondering how long it would take to get to Grantham, Donny and LEEDs. Being an ECML regular I gave them the answers they were looking for and received 3 very nice smiles and thank you's in return. As I left they said goodbye and have a good time. I couldn't ignore the have a good time bit and told them they obviously hadn't been to P'boro before because if they had, they would have known that it's no easy to have a good time in Tinsel Town on a wet Wednesday night.

Got to go do some work now but before I sign off I'll just mention that this morninf 07.20 was bang on time.

Last nights 17.50 to leeds was cancelled so the 18.03 to Skipton via Leeds was going to be double loaded. Yet the Pratt sitting in front of me still decided he did not want anyone sitting next to him, he sat in the outside seat and put his bag and jacket on the inside seat, he then put the inside table down, on which he placed his mobile phone,and finally plugged his lap top in and draped the lead over the inside table. What a Pratt!! did he really think dozens of people would stand up instead of asking to use that seat? His elaborate ploy to deny someone a seat lasted less than 2 minutes, he was not at all happy but did move over to let the young lady sit down, much to my amusement. Why do people do this???

The 07.20 arrived into Tinsel Town and KX a full 17 mins late this morning which I presume means that the service will be officially classed as late/delayed/fracked/held up/off target/over time, call it what you will.

Had it not been for the fella sat next to me who held a rather loud conversation on his mobile from P'boro to St Ives, I'd have gone as far as say it was quite too.

Felt sorry for the trolly bloke this morning too. Big lad he was. Reminded me of Oliver Hardy. This led to a number of comments as he passed that perhaps he ought to be given duties other than the trolly service. I jumped to his defense as I felt that perhaps his size was a good indication of the quality of the food being served by GNER these days. Then again. Perhaps not!

Don't know what why last nights 17.20 was unusually rammed and Gratham had been added as an additional stop but I suspect an earlier service had been cancelled. My thanks go to the twat sat next to me, who for reason know only to him, failed to notice me put my jacket on, pull my bag off the parcel shelf, insert my laptop and try to make my exit. He finally exclaimed 'Oh, do you want to get off here' as the last person exited the coach. I then had to fight my way through the hoards trying to get on. Cheers fella.

Having not had a lot to say for a little over a week, I'm finding i've got too much to say today and really should get some work done instead of blogging. Still I'm going to blog some more anyway.

You may remember that I applied for my season ticket benefits on Spet 21st and was promised they'd be delivered within 2 weeks. On Oct 12th, 3 weeks after I applied nothing had arrived so I wrote to GNER to enquire where they were. The very next day my vouchers and ticket wallet arrived and I forgot all about my e-mail - Until now.

In response to my Oct 12th enquiry, I've litteraly just received the following communication from GNER: -

Thank you for your email. I have referred your e-mail to our Season Ticket Benefits team who will respond to you directly in due course. GNER Season Tickets
Tel: 08457 225 333
Email: season.tickets@gner.co.uk

Thank you for taking the time to write to us.

Kind regards

Anna
Customer Relations
*www/000/AL/1210/2410

Not only has it taken them another 12 days to reply, they haven't even bothered or attempted to answer my question. I wonder if it will take another 12 days for the season ticket people to reply.

Anybody looking for advice on how to Frack up a perfectly good business should be following GNER's lead. Having won the ECML franchise in 1996 the company prospered as it milked the line for all it was worth. Now, having got all their projections disasterously wrong, re-negotiated the franchise and overpaid for the privalidge, they've faultered to such an extent that they are now on the brink of collapse. I should also point out that they've done this at a time when their parent company, Sea Containers, are up shit creek without a paddle too so there's little or no chance of them bailing them out. Bailing out seems to be a more favourable option.

We should however remember that the line is still profitable despite the payments GNER are due to make to UK Gov PLC.

I've just read this article with a warning that the government are still refusing to re-negotiate and are ready step in should GNER decide to give up the ghost.

http://www.leedstoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=39&ArticleID=1838648

I haven't had too much to say about GNER these last few days. Until this morning all the trains I've caught have run pretty much on time and there's been nothing else worth mentioning. This morning was differant though.

The first bit of excitement came when the 07.20 arrived into Tinsel Town 5 mins late. This was apparently due to a freight train on the line between York and Donny though it still escapes me what the hell a freight train is doing on the fast line.

The next bit of entertainment occured when a young lady came out of the coach D toilet and had a word with the bloke running the trolly. It was obvious what was wrong because we could clearly hear the sound of running water hitting the toilet floor. Yep. It was flooding. The trolly man called the guard and the guard did what guards do in these circumstances - Turn the water supply off, lock the toilet door and pretend it's not happening. By the time we arrived into KX the carpet outside the toilet door and about 6 feet into coach D looked like an elephant had just emptied it's bladder. (There's no way the lady who reported the problem would have had a big enough bladder to leave that lot).

Next incident happened when we slowed as we passed through Welling. No explanation as to why and no apparent reason though I suspect it was yet another case of a slower train in front holding us up.

As we drew near KX we came to a complete stop just north of Finsbury Park for about 3 mins. This time we were told we had to stop to allow a train to pull out of the station. Once again, the question has to be asked why it had been routed onto the fast line when there was a fast train approaching and all other platforms apparently clear.

Finally we arrived into KX. As we approached I walked into the vestibule end to see the guard checking his watch and then announce that we were 9 minutes late. He then turned to a fellow passenger and for all to hear admitted that was OK because the train wasn't officially late. We've heard it before but for those who don't yet know, in order to be officially late a train has to be delayed by 10 mins or more. Add this to the extra time GNER build into their timetable (the 07.20 can be up to 10 mins early) and you'll find that, for the 07.20 at least, they actually have at least 20 minutes to spare before a train can be classed as late.

Below is a link to the Sunday Times artical that speculates it will be all over by May. I find myself with very mixed emotions over this, a year ago I supported their bid and was obviously please with the out come. Then they started to show their real colours and increased our parking charges by 82%, this single act really turned me against them, they deliberatly targeted their loyal customers (us season ticket holders) and I found that disgusting. I wonder what increases they have in mind for our train tickets this year??

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2095-2415363.html

As is usual on a Monday the 06.15 arrived 9 minutes "early".

All the news on GNER this week has been focused on their parent company, Sea Containers, bankrupcy application following their failure to repay a £62million bond. So far reports indicate that GNER will remain unaffected but personally I find this hard to believe. Some reports have already suggested that Sea Containers may instruct GNER to cut staff by 10% in an effort to save money.

The UK Gov has also reitterated that they are not prepared to re-negotiate the ECML franchise and that they expect GNER to live up to their 10 year, £1.3 billion committment.

Glad I'm not the man who has to sort this little lot out. Then again I suspect I will be one of the many who has to, in some small way, pay for it.

I was in barcelona while this happened but have picked up on the story thanks to Stamford Gooners comment on my Tales from far away entry.

Apparently on Wednesday morning this week (Oct 18th) the 07.20 made an unscheduled stop at Stevenage to let a passenger off the train. The usual Guard, Sean promised to let passengers know why but for whatever reason, chose not too.

I now know the reason why they made the extra stop at Stevenage. The story goes that a passengers mother or father had died suddenly while they were on the train. The person told Sean who arranged for both the 07.20 and the nothbound service to stop at Stevenage so the person concerned could jump trains and go straight back to where ever it was they came from.

That, for once, is what I can only describe as excelptional customer service from GNER though I wonder if they would have gone to such lengths had Sean not been the guard on that service.

Last night I once again had to queue up at Peterborough Ticket office to get a replacement for my annual season ticket because for the 5th time this year it stopped working at the underground barriers. Everytime this has happened it has been whilst I am trying to enter or exit the Piccadilly line at Kings cross, it has never happened at any other station. Now thats a big coincidence.
I mentioned this once again to the chap at Peterborough, he said they are aware of the problem and have spoken to London Underground about it but alas LU refuse to accept that there is a problem. Not only are these new barriers at KX causing problems with the tickets but they are also much slower at allowing passengers through. Its a shame because obviously a lot of money is being spent on the station, but the barriers are much worse than the old ones.

I flew back from Barcelona yesterday so thought I'd give you a run down of my travel itinary. See what you think....

All times quoted are GMT.

Taxi collected me from the Hotel at 3pm to take me to the airport to catch my 5pm flight to Gatwick.
We arrived 20 mins later and 21 Euros (£13.10) lighter.
Having already checked in on-line I only had to drop my bag off and collect my boarding card which I did without incident.
I entered the departure lounge at 3.40pm having decided to have a last smoke before my flight.
We boarded at 4.55pm and took off at 5.20pm.
We landed at Gatwick bang on 7.15pm and by 7.35pm I had my bags and was on my way to Gatwick rail station.
My filthy, ramshackle FCC train arrived bang on time at 8pm and atfer a bone shakingly slow journey we arrived into KX Thamslink station at 8.43pm.
A short walk across the road to KX mainline ensured I walked onto the concourse at 8.50pm in good time to catch the 9pm GNER tain to Tinsel Town.
Unfortunately they had not yet announced which platform the 9pm would be leaving from so I waited.
At 8.55pm they put the platform on the departure board and I joined the throng and boarded yet another tatty coach. (It was an old 125 train)
We left KX at 9.03pm and arrived back into Tinsel Town at 9.45pm.
I Got in a taxi which took me the last 4 miles home.
I opened my front door at exactly 10pm and paid the taxi, exactly £10.

Not a bad journey by anybodies standards though the UK side took twice as long as it should and cost tice as much as the Spanish equivalent.

There was a marked slip in performance on the 06.15 this morning. Not only did we arrive only 4 minutes "early" but to get a free fruit juice you had to buy a toasted bacon sandwich!!! What is the world coming to?? At this rate by Friday the train will have degenerated to "on Time" and we will have to buy our own drinks again!!

I'm writing this from my hotel room in sunny Barcelona and for once in my life, I wish I was actually back in good old blighty making my usual journey into KX. Why? I'm lonley on an evening with nothing but my music, Spanish TV and the odd DVD to keep me company. Thank god for the Raconteurs, Maximo Pak, Milburn and co or i'd be going out of my mind. Mary Joanna anybody?

Looks like i'm missing all the fun with GNER and their financial problems too. GNER's parent company have filed for bankrupcy, whilst GNER say it won't affect them. YET is my take on that one.
Ticket office staff could be going on strike as they seem to be the most vulnerable for redundancy and they still refuse to make the trains run on time. I say on time because they're either late or early. Anything but on time it seems but as we've already pointed out on this site, GNER build additional time into their schedule which helps them accomodate delays. Doesn't help me or other passengers though.

I'm going to use the Taxibus service this Friday morning as I'm off to see the Raconteurs Friday evening. Won't need them on the way home though as my misses will be driving.

Finally I'll just mention my last trip with GNER last Sunday.

I arrived at P'boro station to catch the 18.02 train only to find....
Wait for it....... it was late. When it finally arrived at 18.14 I found a mtrain jammed full of people standing in the vestibules. Being a seasoned traveller I waded through them to find an empty reserved seat in the hope that the true occupent didn't turn up. They didn't and I got a seat all the way into KX. Had they done I intended to wander, or should I say fight, my way down to 1st class and use one of my upgrade vouchers. Thankfully I didn't need to.

What really surprised my though was the sheer number of people on board. At the time I wondered if there was a maximum number of passengers allowed on any one train. Then I started thinking, if there was, how would/could GNER police it? My conclusion was that there wasn't and they couldn't hence the reason it was so busy. God forbid such a train ever crashes. Carnage would not be a fair description.

I'm back in blighty on Thursday though I won't be on the 07.20 as I'm due a lie in.

GNER may be facing financial meltdown, but the service has not suffered, YET!! This morning the 06.15 arrived 10 minutes "early" and they were offering free orange juice at the cafe bar. Now that is a first, I have been offered the odd pack of biscuits in the past but never OJ. Are they trying to show us that everything is OK?? or do they just have too much OJ with a short sell by date?

Sea containers Ltd, owner of UK train operator GNER,has sought bankruptcy protection from creditors in the U.S after failing to repay $115mil of debt.

It's been 3 weeks and 1 day since I applied for my so called 'Season ticket Holder benefits' from GNER and they finally arrived yesterday.

Enclosed was a lovely letter on GNER headed paper to explain what these benefits I've register for are and how they work. Sadley, with the exception of the Vouchers, I fail to see how these benefits, benefit me.

Here's a run down of what you get to reward you for your £5000 loyalty and whay I feel so disgusted with GNER for calling these benefits: -

4 weekday upgrades to First class (one way only).
However the guard has the authority to refuse you entry to First class and it is at his discression whether to allow you in or not. Ok, I've never been refused enetry and don't expect that I will either but the posibility is always there. It's a shame they couldn't stretch themselves to give you the benefit of a return journey or give you 8 yearly upgrades. Afterall, what's the benefit of a first class seat over std anyway? It's a more comfortable seat with more leg room and a reclining back, you get free tea, coffee and buscuits and a free paper. Oh, and your at the the end of the train closest to the station exits. Im' unhappy with this because First class is hardly ever full so it's not like your taking a paying passengers seat, there's only so many cuppas you can fit into a 50 min journey and they get the papers free or vastly reduced so the actual cost to GNER is minimal.

Unlimited Season Duo Tickets.
This is an oppotunity for 2 people (1 has to be the season ticket holder) to make a 1st class Journey on GNER but they must include a saturday night stay and be booked at least 7 days in advance.
How many season ticket holders regularly go away for the weekend and travel by train? Not many I bet, so again the value of the benefit to the passenger is minimal as the oppotunity to use it is rare.

Unlimited 34% off Std Advance 4 single tickets.
This one speaks for itself. 34% off a single journey on GNER services. What good is that? I want to come home too fellas. so I've got to purchase another single with 34% off which from what I've seen can come to the same price as a full rate return ticket.

20 x £1 Go Eat vouchers.
Again speaks for itself really. £20 to spend in the buffet car, resturant or trolly. Defo worth having but consider this. I've been travelling with them for 2 years now and they've been giving £20 vouchers for at least that long. When I first started a cuppa was £1.10 and it's now £1.40. Prices have therefore risen by 27% yet the benefit has risen by 0% so each year we are actually getting less and less benefit.

Email new updates
Not so much as news updates, more glorified sales pitches.

Having said all that there's no reason for GNER to offer these benefits at all so good on ya for trying fellas but I wouldn't be crying if you took them away.

I watched what I could stomach of the England game last night and caught the 20:00 train home.

Whilst I was breaking the seal in one of the onboard toilets, I came across a used syringe in the sink.

It definitely wasn't one of mine...

I only use the 2ml barrels.

I must have been very bored on the way home last night because I found myself reading the "Terms and Conditions" on the reverse of my Go Eat £1.00 vouchers. I noticed that one of the terms is "The voucher must be used by expiry date OR the last day of GNERs franchise (whichever is earlier)". Now bearing in mind that Sea Containers are flirting with bankruptcy I would recommend we all spend our vouchers soon. I know its only £20.00 but it all helps.

What it's like to sit on a delayed train next to or near a passenger with his Ipod/CD player on full blast. The bloke I sat near this morning certainly didn't becasue as the journey progesses he slowly and steadily turn the volume up until it got so bad half the coach could hear every drum beat, cymbol clash and lyric. I eventually asked the fella to tun it down which he did without saying a word.

I'd also like you to consider how a freight train and a local service managed to delay the 07.20 this morning? There are 4 lines on the ECML. The 2 outside lines are the slow lines and the 2 inside the fast lines. The 07.20 was 5 mins late into Tinsel Town and we were told this was due to them following a freight train between Donny and York. If this were the case, what on earth was a freight train doing on the fast line?

We were then further delayed between Huntingdon and Stevenage. This time we were told we were following a local service from P'boro to Stevenage. Again, why wasn't this train on the slow line?

Finally I'd like you to consider what it's like to arrive at the station to find your train has been cancelled. I can tell you it's fucking annoying to say the least, particularly if your in a rush. I got lucky yesterday and caught the 15.35 back to Tinsel Town. I learnt this morning that my usual 17.20 was cancelled for no aparent reason. I'm sure there was a reason it's just that either the people I spoke to this morning didn't hear one or GNER didn't tell them what it was.

The train ran on time this morning, but that didn't stop me from having an awful journey into Londinium.

The heavens opened with a vengeance just as I walked out of the Queensgate carpark. And I didn't have an umbrella. Despite sprinting the distance to the safety of the station in a Carl Lewis time, I was drenched. Completely and utterly drenched.

The warm and humid air of the train coupled with my rain sodden clothes left me smelling like a tramp for the rest of day.

Cannot wait to go to the States.

It was chucking it down in Tinsel Town this morning and as I expected, the number of push and motorbikes parked at the station was significantly lower than normal. I guess that's one of the few plus sides to the approaching winter.

I haven't gopt my PC at home fixed yet as MESH computers don't know their arse from their elbow. Posts will be a lot lower this week as a result and next week I'm working in Barcelona for half the week so probably won't post then either.

On the train front I went out to Colchester yesterday on a one service from Liverpool St. Trains ran on time both ways though the train on the way back was a 225 like GNER's but boy was it dirty. No comparison with GNER's 225 fleet.

I eventually got back into Londinium at about 16.15 and dashed over to KX to catch the 16.35. I got there at 16.32 but there was no sign of the 16.35 at all which I presumed had already left. I therefore had no choice but to wait for the 17.03 which is what I did. At 16.45 they announced the 17.00 was boarding at platform x but boarding of the 17.03 would be delyed as the train wasn't ready. We were advised that an announcement would be made when the train was ready and requested to que behind the usual sign etc and keep the concourse clear (which most commuters ignored).

For no aparrant reason, at 17.50 there was an instantanious mad rush towrads platform 5 which I followed. Experience told me that this was becasue platform staff had pre-empted the departure board and tannoy announcements and allowed passengers to board the 17.03. I walked straight to the back though as I walked I got jostled once again by people needlessly running to get 'A good seat'. When are people going to learn that running on a platform full of people is only going to lead to an accident. 2 minuters later I arrived at coach C but they still hadn't announced that the 17.03 was boarding.

I seemed to take an age to get everyone on board and I think we pulled out a few minutes late as a result. Just before we left the guard announced that the train would also be making an unscheduled stop at Retford. A quick glance at my timetable told me the 16.35 was due to stop at Retford and I quickly put 2 and 2 together and came up with the reason I missed the 16.35. It was cancelled. Seats were therefore at a premium and a few unfortunates who'd parked in a reserved seat were asked to move by their rightful occupents. Happily no fisticuffs ensued and we arrived into Boro on time.

No problems with 07.20 this morning although there was no trolly service and our chinese friend and his was back on the tannoy confusing everyone with his accent.

I arrived at KX at 17.35 last night to catch the 17.50 yet despite there being 5 GNER trains in platforms the announcer was saying "join QD because the 17.50 has not yet arriving into Kings Cross". What..why can't one of these other trains go to Leeds??
Anyway, it soon arrived and we were allowed to board at about 17.55, it was much busier than normal with a lot of 18.03 users joining it because that had not been annouced..Yet. What we did not know was within a few minutes of everyone getting on the 17.50 the 18.03 had been announced. We then sat there and watched it pull out next to us virtually empty at around 18.05 despite the fact that we were full and had been told by the guard we were ready to leave. The 17.50 eventually left around 18.08.
It seems to me that once a train is late GNER don't really care how late it becomes because it has already "missed" its target. However if they can get the next one off on time they will do that rather than provide the best possible service.
Target first..service second...How very New labour.......