Email from NXEA

In my first post I alluded to problems with connections on 15 December, I was incensed enough to email NXEA to complain about their timetabled connections not being kept to.

I shouldn't have bothered,  I finally received a reply yesterday from a James Catchpole. I publish this reply together with my observations (in RED) below for posterity:

Dear Mr Xxxxxxxxxx,

Thank you for your recent email. I am sorry for the delay in responding to

your comments; we are currently working through a backlog of correspondence.

This one sentence alone should tell them something; if there's a "backlog of correspondence" then a lot of people want to tell NXEA something. Maybe it's how poor their service is - it's difficult to imagine anyone wanting to praise them! 

I was sorry to read that you were delayed on the 15th December when you

travelled from Stratford to Braintree, as a result of a missed connection

at Witham station. We aim to provide reliable interchange between services, [ Shame you can't isn't it? ] provided this is compatible with the needs of the majority of passengers.

What? It should be compatible with ALL of your passengers; in case you haven't noticed, we pay a lot of money to use your "service", we should ALL be accorded the same consideration, shamefully we aren't.

It is not therefore our policy to hold trains beyond their departure time

where this may result in a serious 'knock-on' effect and thereby delay a

greater number of passengers.

Well, obviously it depends, because I've twice caught trains which were then held for more than 15 minutes at Witham while awaiting mainline connections. On the evening I complained, the connecting train was no more than 15 minutes late.

In reality, it plainly depends on the destination of the connection; Clacton and Ipswich trains seem to be favourites for NXEA to make Braintree trains wait for. The connecting service I was on that evening was destined for Walton-on-the-Naze. Obviously not one of the favoured few destinations.

The decision whether or not to hold a train is based on:

* the numbers of passengers on the train being held

* the numbers requiring to connect into it and

* the length of time to the next available service.

All cobblers and debatebly dishonest. 

We also have to consider whether we can get the train, and its crew back on

schedule for later services. I hope that explanation of these factors

clarifies the need for punctual departures  [ It's just a shame you can't even manage this simple task isn't it? ] in the interests of all passengers, and explains why in most circumstances trains are not delayed

to await connections.

Nope, what it is is an insult to my intelligence.

Nevertheless, I am sorry that it was a missed

connection that led you to write to us.

Well thanks for nothing

Thank you for contacting National Express East Anglia.

You're welcome, I enjoy wasting my time on pointless correspondence. 

Yours sincerely,

James Catchpole

Customer Relations Advisor

National Express

www.nationalexpress.com

New Year Update

Not having worked since the 23rd of December, there are no personal catastrophes to report, however there was a overhead line problem around Shenfield (why is it always Shenfield?) on the 29th.

As usual, it caused major travel problems for anyone wanting to go north of Shenfield, i.e. just about everybody.

Abysmal.

Wednesday

Didn't travel - worked from home.

Tuesday

Didn't travel on Monday - not much point so I worked from home.

I did travel on Tuesday.  

Morning: No direct services between Braintree and Liverpool St. So I got the 0812 shuttle (late) to Witham.

First train out of Witham (late) didn't stop at Stratford so I was obliged to wait for the next one (late) which did. For once I can't actually complain, the train had seats available, and went pretty much to schedule. It was just the timing, after 0850, meant I was late to work.

Evening: No direct service from Stratford to Braintree, then again there aren't on a normal day. Caught the 1820 Clacton service (late), because the 1806 Ipswich train was chock full with no space, standing or sitting.

The Clacton train had seats available, but there was what the driver described as a "minor" fault on the rolling stock. This meant a 10 minute delay at Stratford while he tried to resolve it. Then after setting off, the train was forced to stop again at Seven Kings for another 20 minutes while an engineer tried unsuccessfully to fix it.

All of this meant the connecting service and the one following it at Witham came and went well before we arrived. As it happened the Braintree shuttle arrived at the same time so I was able to board immediately. However, yet again, we were forced to wait more than 10 minutes for a connecting service to arrive (late).

Oddly, the one time the connecting service I was on last week was late, the connection at Witham was allowed to go and I had a cold 40-odd minutes to wait for the next train.

Friday's Travel Update

As I said in my first post, I'll keep a log of my journeys. So on Friday:

Morning: As usual I travelled on 0725 from Braintree (late) and change onto what is now the 0755 from Witham (late and overcrowded) to Stratford.
Evening: Left early, caught the Clacton train (late) and changed onto the Braintree train (late) at Witham.

One thing that stands out about the new timetable is how many trains are now overcrowded, something the new timetable was explicitly introduced to fix. NXEA have failed there, furthermore, it's also plain the majority of trains have run late. Though to be fair the weather may have been a factor. However, I will be monitoring this closely.

All in all a poor start for NXEA. We'll see what happens in week two.

A New "Improved" Timetable? Hell No!

For months now National Express East Anglia have been touting their new "improved" timetable. They've been promising new trains, more seating, you name it.

However as ever with this useless bunch if incompetents, nothing is what they claim.

In the 4 days since the timetable was introduced I have yet to travel on one of their trains and arrive on time; every single train I've travelled on, from Braintree to Stratford and the return has either been late, delayed, or missed it's connection.

So far:

Monday

Morning: The 0812 from Braintree - late.
Evening:  Delays, I managed to catch the 1806 Ipswich service from Stratford - at 1815! And was able to make the connection to the 1800 Liverpool Street to Braintree at Witham - this service doesn't currently stop at Stratford though we're promised it will when platform 10A has been lengthened.

Tuesday

Didn't travel.

Wednesday

Morning: 0812 from Braintree cancelled.  0900 was over half-an-hour late (2 claims).
Evening:  1820 late, overcrowded and slow-running meaning the connection with the 1800 Braintree service   at Witham was missed. (Another claim)

Thursday

Morning: God be praised! The 0812 ran - late.
Evening: The Jubilee Line had signal problems (claimed for) so I couldn't make the 1820. Instead, I caught the Walton-on-the-Naze train (late) and changed at Witham.

And let's not forget the only compensation available from NXEA is a voucher that can only be used to purchase tickets from themselves.

I'll now use this blog to maintain a log of the services as they are now constituted.