Before anything else, I'm sure every rail user and employee feels something for everyone involved in last weeks crash. If your're anything like me, the feelings are mixed and confused. On the one hand I feel grateful that it wasn't me, whilst on the other, events like this make you think that it most easily could have been and could be me one day. Then rational kicks in and your head dismisses that thought as it tells you that Rail travel is still one of the safest forms of transport there is and you shouldn't be worrying about something you have no control over. Another natural feeling is one of pity. One lady never made it home and several who won't see home for some time to come whilst everyone else has to learn to live with what they saw and experienced.

Whoever you are and whatever you feel, feel free to use this entry to add you thoughts on the comments section.

Naturally events like last week have a knock on affect. One of these now affect GNER who are accepting Virgin tickets whilst the tracks are cleared and repaired on the WCML. Naturally that means the trains are liekly to be busier for the next week or so. Take my advice - If you haven't already, book a seat. (presuming the freaking printers working). I haven't seen any evidence of this so far but I only travelled Monday & Tuesdy and haven't been in today.

It's been announced that 4 companies have so far made the shortlist for the ECML franchise but GNER are not yet one of them. In fact GNER have yet to publically anounce their intentions. The 4 shortlist companies are as follows: -

Virgin/Stagecoach joint venture.
First
National Express
Arriva

The new franchise will run for 7 years 5 months though the final 17 months will be dependant on the successful TOC acheiving performance targets.

So we have about 18 months of GNER left unless they submit a revised bid and win.

Following last Fridays debacle, I've inadvertantly come across a real nugget full of information concerning not only what happened but more importantly what was done about it and when. Please note that I've only taken the most relevant extracts. Take from it what you will!

The story goes like this: -

14.03 - Train reports they have hit an insulator.
14.17 - Confirmed that 3 lines are down at Wood Walton between Huntingdon & P'boro.
14.20 - National Express requested to send 20 busses.
14.54 - 13.22 Northbound service reports they have no power at St Neots. Advised that power has been cut up to Barford as a precaution.
15.05 - Implementation of Bus plan between St Neots and P'boro begins.
15.20 - The 13.22 arrives into St Neots station.
15.21 - Revenue and Customer services staff deployed to St Neots.
15.40 - Electricity restored between Kings Cross and Huntingdon.
Network Rial identified exactly where lines are down.
15.48 - GNER Sth bound services terminating at P'boro.
15.53 - Network Rail Overhead Line Engineers plan to start work at
16.20.
16.40 - 1st buss arrives at St Neots.
16.49 - Bus company contacted to arrange more buses.
17.13 - Bus company confirms they are unable to supply more busses.
17.35 - 2 more busses arrive at St Neots.
17.47 - Bus plan implemented - 1 service from St Neots to Huntingdon and P'boro, 1 service from St Neots to Huntingdon only.
19.39 - Lines opened.

Quite frankly I'm appaulled at this information. Network Rail, GNER & FCC know what to expect when the lines are down so where were their contingency plans? Why did it take over 2 hrs to get a solitary bus to St Neots? Why did it take Network Rail engineers 2 hours to start work? Why did it take over 5 hours to get the lines up again? Where were the Revenue protection and customer service people at St Neots? Why weren't there more busses? It 's not as if First and Nat Express are the only bus companies in the area! I could go on and on and on etc but I'm interested on what other people think of this info.

I opened Thursday morning entry with the words 'I've not blogged this week becasue there's been no news relevant to GNER, no incidents to report or delays or anything really'. Talk about tempting fate.

For the first time this week I managed to leave the office on time to catch the 17.20. I was gutted when I reached KX to find all GNER services had been cancelled and barriers around the entry to Platforms 1 to 6. It wasn't long before the lady on the tannoy told us that the lines were down between P'bor and Huntingdon. FCC were running a limited number of trains to St Neots where busses would take people on to Huntingdon and good old Tindsel Town.

I have to say despite being a Friday night, on the whole all I saw we people being quite calm about the whole situation and station staff who seemed to know what was going on, why and what they had to do to help passengers.

Knowing that GNER trains occupied all but platforms 7,8,9,10 & 11 I decided to walk down the western side of the building to where the FCC trains were. Glad I did as there on platform 8 was an 8 coach FCC train due to leave within the next 10 mins for St Neots. The locked doors were surrounded by a throng of people though on board most seats were already occupied. God knows how they got on or why they locked the doors. Anyway I opted to walk to the front and try my luck there. Just as I reached the quietest doors they opened and I jumped on with everyone else.

I manged to find a bit of space by the toilet along with another, well dressed fella. After what seemed like a good 15 mins we set off only to stop for an unscheduled stop at Finsbury Park. I subsequently got chatting to a few people round about me. The well dressed fella was on his way to pick his car up in Newark to drive to Lincoln for a 7.30pm meeting. 'Do you think I'll make it?' he asked me. 'Sorry mate, Not a chance' I replied. Next was a young fella on his way to York for the weekend. Oddly he lived in Stevenage, the next station we stopped at and he opted to stay on board and try for all he was worth to get to York that night. I just asked if he thought he might be a nutter and would it be safer to stand at the other end of the coach. There were also 2 ladies, one early twenties the other arround 40 i'd sya. They were going to Nottingham but didn't have a clue how to get there in all the mess. I told them to get off at Sandy and walk but they knew I was joking and I did put them straight.

I've no idea what time we arrived at St Neots but it was bedlam when we did. FCC should be ashamed of themselves for the way they left passengers to fend for themselves in that madness. At first site it looked quite organised. There was some women trying to make an announcment on the tannoy but it was so quiet and the sheer number of people made it impossible to hear unless you were stood directly underneath the speaker. There were also 3 or so FCC staff on the platform directing pasengers across the bridge towards the station exit. They didn't know if there were any buses there or where we could find them but they did know some were on the way if not.

As I was at the front of the train I was thereofre at the back of the que to cross the bridge. Once the platform was nearly empty ONE OF the FCC staff sparked a fag and they all stood on the platform by the train for a chat. From the top of the bridge we could see one or two busses arriving but 2 wasn't going to shift 500 people.

By the time I got out of the station the 2 busses had been filled and left already. There were no FCC people telling us where to go, there were no signs there was nothing. The only fcC people in site were guarding the train we've just emptied. Along with the well dresed fella I walked to the road thinking how ironic it was that this was the 2nd time I'd been stuck at St neots since oct/nov time. When we got there we found a hole throng of people trying to get on 3 or 4 buses.

The posh bloke and I didn't manage to get on one so we stood with the others and waited for the next few to come along. We waited and waited and 2 double deckers eventually graced us. We borded one which then went into the station car park to fill the empty seats and eventually left a good 15 mins later.

Becasue there were no Huntingdon passengers on board we were able to go straight to P'boro. After a stop for fule at Brampton services we eventually got back to p'boro station at about 9 ish or to put it another way, 4 hours after I left the office.

There are a few things that gauls me about yesterdays delay. Most passengers accepted the situation and just got on with it. Both GNER & FCC staff seemed to be coping at KX and knew what to do but the state of affairs at St Neots was appauling. FCC should hold their heads in shame for how they treated those poor people. No organisation, leadship or sign of any plans what so ever. Fracking useless is the only desription. The only staff that I saw kept well away from the caos thats for sure.

Most gauling of all is that this is the second time in as many weeks I've been delayed for 4 hours or more. None I might add has been GNER of FCC's fault. However thats 8 hours of my life I've lost. Had I been a regular ticket holder I would have been entitled to compo. As an annual season ticket holder I have to wait until it expires to see if GNER have hit their targets to see if I get any compo when I renew. It's a lottery. 8 hours (thats 1 working day) in 2 weeks plus another 5 last Oct/Nov and how many other 30 mins here, 1 hr there have there been and will there be before I renew. I estimate I'll loose about a day an a half of my life this year due to trains.

I've not blogged this week becasue there's been no news relevant to GNER, no incidents to report or delays or anything really. Rather than leave the blog empty for nigh on a week, I thought I'd offer you another qestion:-

Last week I wanted to know about the nutters we've all encountered on the train. This week I thought I go to the other extreem and ask you about the nicest staranger you've met on a train.

Mine was a very very attractive young lady I met sometime last year on a seriously delayed 17.20 KX to Hull service. I didn't get to know her name but I do know she was a Beauty Therapist, lived somewhere near Donney and had been working overseas and was on her way home for a well earned break.

Apart from keeping me company for the 3 hours or so it took to get the train moving again, this young lady was an absolute delight. There were 2 old ladies who had limited mobility sat near us. She noticed this and overheard one say how she really needed a drink but didn't have any money to buy one and could get to the buffet if she did. With this my lady friend jumped up, told the ladies not to worry and despatched herself to the buffet. She returned with a cuppa, pack of Sandwiches and biscuits for each of them. She went on to help a young disabled man retrieve his bag from the luggage racks, entertain a couple of young kids while mum went to the toilet, help another couple with direction to some place in Donney and finally chat, swap jokes and tales with me.

By the time we arrived into P'boro I was wishing I was 15 years younger, single and attractive. To say I was smitten is an understatement. And in the real world .........

I left work later than normal last night and caught the 18.30, this is a service that I used on a regular basis a few years ago, and the only way I could cope with that was by reserving a seat. I was reminded last night why this was neccesary, this train is always full because it has a first stop at Stevenage. Once past Stevenage its empties out a bit.

Now I have nothing against the people of Stevenage, but do they get this fast service as bonus to their normal travel options or do they pay extra? In all my years of using that train I never saw anyone checking tickets between KX and Stevenage (this may be simply because I was seated in the middle of the train). If Stevenage passengers are allowed to use GNER services on their FCC tickets then why do the citizens of Peterborough have to pay a premium of £1000 a year?. Stevenage is afterall about half way to Peterborough!! The 18.30 still has cheap ticket restrictions yet the cheapest ticket of all is probably an FCC annual season ticket to Stevenage, yet that seems to be accepted. Any GNER ticket boys out there that can shed any light on this?

I turned up at Tinsel Town station at 07.13 this morning expecting to catch the 07.20. As I arrived the motorbike parking area was unusually empty even for a Friday morning but I didn't think much about it at the time.

Now I normally walk straight onto the platform but this morning I walked down to the main entrance for a butchers at the departure board and a cup of tea. For the first time for as long as I've been commuting the 06.40 hadn't even arrived, neither had the 07.00, the 07.20 was running 20 mins late and the 07.40 10.

Glancing out onto the platform it was fairly quiet so I decided to hop on the next GNER arrival and stand if no seats were available. The 06.40 arrived at 07.18 and I jumped on. Thankfully it was quiet and seats were in abundance. We arrived into KX at pretty much the same time I would have expected the 07.20 to arrive had it not been delay.

Finaly I'll just mention that whilst the crew of the 06.40 appologised for the delay, they didn't explain the reasons.

15 minutes late yesterday morning, on time getting home last night and then the 06.15 got in 9 minutes "EARLY" this morning. The trains seem to be running better in the snow than they did earlier in the week, or prehaps I have just been lucky. Good effort chaps......

I followed my head this morning and decided to work from home. As I haven't travelled I've no idea how GNER are coping with the weather or what happened with this mornings commuter services.

If you've travelled on any GNER or FCC services today, please feel free to add a few comments to this entry and let us all know what it's like out there in ECMLand. If nothing else it will prolong that smug feeling i've got right now.

Thanks inadvance to anyone who bothers.

I haven't travelled today due to yet another bout of sickness. Anyway I'm feeling a lot better this evening so I decided i'd look for something to blog and found this little nuggett.

Now I know many passengers feel like GNER continually shit on us from a great hight but the next time that thought enters your head, consider if you will, the poor unfortunate track side workers upon whom you, I and GNER are indeed litterally shitting on whenever you or I are using the on board toilet faciliteis, on a bend, at the exact same time we pass them.

Click the link to read the full story.
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=190402007

Whilst it did make me appreciate my nice cosy office job it also amused me. I couldn't help picturing myself finishing my business and flushing the lav of a GNER on board toilet at the exact same moment the train goes round a bend at which there just happens to be a dozen brick shithouse trackside workers. If I understand this correctly the idea is that because the train is leaning into the bend, the bottom of the opposite side to the direction of lean is aiming directly at the side of the track instead of at the floor. If the trackside workers are stood facing the train and a passenger flushes the toilet at the same time as it passes them, there's a good chance they get covered

You could not make up this mornings shambles, and although the weather played its part it was a total lack of organisation and coordination from GNER that exasperated the situation.

I arrived for the 06.15 as normal only to be advised that the train would not be arriving in from London until 06.31 due to overhead line problems. Knowing that it would then take 10mins to turn this train around, I and most other 06.15 users walked over to platform 3 to join the 06.23 fast FCC service which was already on the platform. However at the scheduled departure time we were told by the driver that due to overhead line problems all trains would be held at Peterborough until further notice. He repeated several times that it would be a substantial delay, so when a GNER train pulled in from London on plafrom 2 to form the 06.15 all of the GNER customers deserted the FCC and boarded the GNER....big mistake....

It was much busier than normal with 06.15 and 06.40 passengers boarding, it was as I sat down that I realised there was NO HEATING, it's -4 outside and there is no heating, then the guard asks if there are "any Bounds Green engineers on board". Oh dear, this does not sound good!! minutes later we all watch the FCC train leave from platfrom 3, oh well at least things are on the move. Then the announcment we did not want to hear.."this train has a mechanical fault and will not be departing for some considerable time please leave the train and wait for another service"... Bloody great.

Being in the middle of a carriage I was one of the last to leave, and by the time I got onto the platform the announcement had been made that the delayed 06.40 was arriving onto platform 3. Its nearly 7.00 by now so the 06.15, 06.40 and 07.00 passengers all surged over the bridge to try and squeeze onto it. Being at the back of this surge I just stood on platform 2 in a daze, listening to the GNER staff on the platform telling people that they had no more idea what was going on than the passengers. (well call someone and find out).

Then it happened. They announced, to a by now near empty, platform 2 that the 06.15 on platform 2 was about to depart. (can this be true? we were only turfed off of it 5 minutes ago). Anyway I and a few dozen more got back on and took our seats. The 06.40 was still standing on platform 3 and its was packed, there must have been over 100 people standing. Can you imagine their faces when BOTH trains pull out at the same time. One is dangerously full the other is virtually empty. Someone(signalman?)at least had the sense to let the packed 06.40 take the lead once outside of the station, with the 06.15 following close behind.

The only problem was we still had no heating, did anyone apologise or tell us why??? DID THEY F_CK

What a crap day I had yesterday. It started off all right or at least the alarm went off on time, my clthes were clean and the kettle worked so I was able to enjoy a cuppa before heading off toward the station. From there on in it just went down hill quicker a than the Austrian bob sleigh team.

Furst off it was fracking feezing on that Scooter of mine. Being a Monday morning, I hadn't considered putting any thermals on so by the time I arrived at the station I was frozen to the core. I trudged into the bar area to buy myself a Cup of tea to try and warm me up. On the way there I glanced up at the screen to see the 07.00 had not arrived and wasn't expected until 07.23 and the 07.20 was also late and expected at 07.29.

I got my tea and walked back out onto the platform. At 07.26 the 07.00 pulled in. Looking at the number of passengers trying to board and the number empty seats I was clear many would have to stand so I opted to wait for the 07.20 and my guaranteed reserved seat.

At 07.33 the 07.20 pulled in. Another busy service but for once, GNER had managed to get the ticket machine working on a Monday morning and the seat reservations were all there. I sat, got my book out and stored my bag by which time we moved off. It was then that I noticed the fella sat the other side of the isle with his 2 year old son who insited on showing us exactly what he can do with his vocal chords. I reassured myself that he'd be gone tomorrow and I only had to endure the noise for 45 mins.

10 minutes later (07.45) we stopped half way into Huntingdon station. Not only had we stopped but we weren't next to the platform, we were on the left hand fast lane, the lights went out and the emergency lights came on. As most regular travellers will know this is not a good sign. After a few minutes our train guard came on the tannoy - Sorry for the delay ladies and gentleman but we appear to have a problem with the power car and we have lost all power. Our driver is trying to establish exactly what the problem is and we will advise you just as soon as we have any information.'

A few minutes after this, the guard was back on the tannoy. I'm sorry to tell you ladies and gentlemen, but the overhead powerlines are down somewhere south of Huntingdon. On hearing this I knew we were in for the long haul and settle down with my book.

For the next 4 and a half hours we listen to the guards regular updates, we listened to the 2 year old screaming and crying, we even enjoyed a cup cake as this fella magically produced a whole box full and handed them round.

Eventually, a deisel loco caught up with us and dragged us back to tinsel town. We arrived back in Boro at 12.15 or to put it another way, 4 & 1/2 hours after we left.

I have to say the attitude of those standed was brilliant. The usual Blitz spirit was all too evident and those, like the 3 I was sat with, who weren't regular travellers, took advice from those of us who are. Even our guard noticed the difference as he thanked passenegrs this morning for their help and understanding the previous day.

Unfortunately my bad day wasn't over. Some pillock decided me and my scooter would look a lot better if we were spread over the tarmac and he did his best to make sure that's where we ended up. After I managed to avoid almost certain death with him, I was quite looking forward to getting home and doing some work. As I turned on the PC, I opened the post at the same time. The PC, Wizzed and fuzzed and did everthing but load. I got my lap top out and plugged that in. All fired up as normal but then proceed to shut down again due to lack of battery power. I looked for my power leads and realised they were in the desk draw in london.

With no PC, no broadband and not a lot else to do, I gave working up as a bad job at 2pm and took the dog for a walk. From there on in the day got better.

To whom am I reffering? I'll give you one guess. Yes it's Greedy, Nasty Expensive Railway.

On Monday I purchased a can of Stella from the buffet car. In my pocket was the exact change required, £2.60. At least I thought it was the exact change I required until Rob, (of the 'sorry you can't have a plastic cup fame') told me that it went up 10p on Sunday. OK 10p on a tin of beer is only a 3.8% increase and is just about in line with inflation.

This morning I ordered a cup of tea from the trolly and got my £1.30 out ready to pay. As I did so the lady looked at me an told me i'd need another 10p as the price was now £1.40. a 10p increase on a £1.30 purchase is just over a 7.5% increase. More than double the rate of inflation. In Spetember 2004 the price of a cuppa from the trolley was £1.10. That's a 27% increase in just under 2 and a half years. At this rate we'll be paying £1.80 a cup by Spet 09.

It's not even as if the tea is good. It isn't. It may be PG Tips but I can say with certainty, that it doesn't taste like it. Added to that I can buy a better quality cup, twice the size, for less money at any of the vendors at Kings Cross or the station bar at P'boro.

In light of this I've decided never to purchase food or a cuppa from the trolley again, and only purchase beer when I've been unable to get any on the way to KX. I hope and encourage others do the same becasue GNER are ripping you all off. Abstanance is one of the few methods us passengers have at our disposal to demonstrate to GNER that we're not happy with something. So lets do it together.

Finally I'd like to know what's going on with the 07.20. Until recently this service usually arrived into KX early. Every day this week it's arrived slightly late into P'boro and every day we've been stuck behind local services and every day we've arrived late into KX. We we're even plunged into darkness as we went through a tunnel just south of Stevenage this morning though I'm not so bothered about that.