Whilst being f*cked up by NXEA tonight some questions about it crossed my mind. As a result, I have just sent the following to them. I'll post their reply when I finally receive it:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I refer to the cancellation of the 1800 Liverpool Street to Braintree service tonight, Monday 21 Feb 2011.
I have some questions regarding this cancellation:
1) Was the individual responsible for the cancellation rostered to drive the Braintree service?
2) If the answer to 1) is "no" which service were they rostered for?
3) If the answer to 1) is "no" why was the Braintree service cancelled in preference to the original service?
4) Was any regard given to the level of overcrowding on subsequent services the cancellation of the Braintree service would have? And
5) Could you please confirm what, if any, disciplinary action will be taken against the individual whose actions were responsible for this cancellation?
I look forward to your prompt reply.
Yours Faithfully
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Monday 21 February 2011
FUBAR Again (Updated)
Tonights 1800 Liverpool St to Braintree was cancelled after a member of the crew went sick.
What isn't clear is which train the driver who went sick was supposed to be driving; were they scheduled to drive to Braintree? Or were they due to take out a different service and the driver rostered for Braintree was then told to drive their train? My guess is the Braintree service was once again deemed to be the one unimportant enough to be sacrificed.
Whatever, it resulted in 2 full trainloads of passengers being forced to share one resulting in yet another miserable f*cked-up journey for not one, but 2 trainloads of people.
In another triumph for the useless incompetent toerags running NXEA, travellers to Braintree were greeted at Witham with an announcement that buses would be arriving shortly. Can you believe it? Bloody buses again.
I wasn't able to record the times for tonights trains. It's not really relevant given the resulting shambles.
Update: On Tuesday I learned the reason for last night's cancellation wasn't idleness but sickness so I've concluded it wouldn't be reasonable to keep the gratuitous abuse of the driver in this post so I've now removed it.
Sunday 20 February 2011
Valentines day - and all's still crap
Averagely shite again this week:
Monday
Didn't travel
Tuesday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0812 (0812)
Arr: Stratford 0909 (0907) Ah late again for a change...
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1821 (1820) Almost on time for a change.
Arr: Witham 1900 (1858) And here....
Dep: Witham 1902 (1901) And here.
Arr: Braintree 1918 (1919) And early even.
Wednesday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0822 (0812) Ah! this is more like it...
Arr: Stratford 0911 (0907) Rubbish again.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1822 (1820) Only 8 coaches tonight, the train was absolutely rammed, no space to sit, stood all the way to Witham. Most unpleasant and...
Arr: Witham 1900 (1858) Late
Dep: Witham 1901 (1901) On-time
Arr: Braintree 1920 (1919) Late for some unknown reason.
Thursday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0812 (0812) Good start.
Arr: Stratford 0913 (0907) Oh dear.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1830 (1820) Good God.
Arr: Witham 1907 (1858) Piss-poor
Dep: Witham 1908 (1901) So was this one...
Arr: Braintree 1925 (1919) Crap all the way tonight.
Friday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0727 (0727) This looks promising...
Arr: Witham 0742 (0743) Oohh early! In the morning? I can't ever remember this happening!
Dep: Witham 0755 (0755) Still on time, looking good until...
Arr: Stratford 0832 (0829) And back to normal.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1717 (1716) Clacton train characteristically late
Arr: Chelmsford 1740 (1740) It managed to arrive on time though
Dep: Chelmsford 1758 (1757) Connection was a bit late...
Arr: Braintree 1825 (1828) Managed to arrive early at Braintree though
Why can't NXEA ever manage to run trains on time 2 days running, or even run trains to time for one day.?
Monday
Didn't travel
Tuesday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0812 (0812)
Arr: Stratford 0909 (0907) Ah late again for a change...
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1821 (1820) Almost on time for a change.
Arr: Witham 1900 (1858) And here....
Dep: Witham 1902 (1901) And here.
Arr: Braintree 1918 (1919) And early even.
Wednesday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0822 (0812) Ah! this is more like it...
Arr: Stratford 0911 (0907) Rubbish again.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1822 (1820) Only 8 coaches tonight, the train was absolutely rammed, no space to sit, stood all the way to Witham. Most unpleasant and...
Arr: Witham 1900 (1858) Late
Dep: Witham 1901 (1901) On-time
Arr: Braintree 1920 (1919) Late for some unknown reason.
Thursday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0812 (0812) Good start.
Arr: Stratford 0913 (0907) Oh dear.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1830 (1820) Good God.
Arr: Witham 1907 (1858) Piss-poor
Dep: Witham 1908 (1901) So was this one...
Arr: Braintree 1925 (1919) Crap all the way tonight.
Friday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0727 (0727) This looks promising...
Arr: Witham 0742 (0743) Oohh early! In the morning? I can't ever remember this happening!
Dep: Witham 0755 (0755) Still on time, looking good until...
Arr: Stratford 0832 (0829) And back to normal.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1717 (1716) Clacton train characteristically late
Arr: Chelmsford 1740 (1740) It managed to arrive on time though
Dep: Chelmsford 1758 (1757) Connection was a bit late...
Arr: Braintree 1825 (1828) Managed to arrive early at Braintree though
Why can't NXEA ever manage to run trains on time 2 days running, or even run trains to time for one day.?
Another email reply from NXEA
I wrote an email to NXEA on 19 Jan asking why I now had to endure the daily overcrowding on the 1820 Clacton service from Stratford. And why, where before, 3 trains which departed Stratford between 1810 and 1820 all of which stopped at Chelmsford there was now just one. This is the reply I received on the 10th of Feb (my comments added in RED):
Dear Mr Xxxxxxxxxxx,
Thank you for your Comments Form received 19 January about the overcrowding you have experienced while travelling from Stratford to Braintree. I am sorry for the delay in this response, which is due to a backlog of correspondence. [Still dealing with that pesky backlog eh? Judging by how long you took to reply to me, it's getting longer. Must all thoseunhappy "customers" of yours.]
When we plan a timetable, it is an absolute priority that the new service will meet the needs of the majority of our customers overall. [Well it hasn't has it? I think I've heard more complaints about this new "improved" timetable than I ever heard about the old one. In reality, it appears to have been designed to finally stop the complaints coming from travellers to and from Colchester but without the added inconvenience and more importantly expense of bringing in more rolling stock so the existing services could continue while the Colchester ones were improved. Instead existing rolling stock has simply been re-deployed from services where passengers weren't complaining to services where they were.] On this occasion, the December 2010 changes also incorporated our commitment to significantly increase the seating capacity on many routes. [But the Liverpool St/Stratford route wasn't one of them was it? It's where you got the extra capacity from! By the way, I note you seem not to have "improved" the Southend route by removing trains from their timetable like you did for Chelmsford and Braintree. Why is that?]
However, I am sorry if you have seen changes which have inconvenienced you [not nearly as sorry as me and the rest of the poor sods who've had their trains yanked from the timetable sunshine. Why should I now have to stand all the way to Witham just so someone else travelling to Colchester or Ipswich can now travel sitting down? It's robbing Peter to pay Paul and it's unacceptable.] in respect of your particular travelling needs between Stratford and Braintree. [So what do you intend doing to fix it then? And, for your information, it's not just me, there are hundreds of very pissed off people daily forced to use your newly reduced services.] We will continue to monitor the performance of our new timetable and any further minor alterations can be made when we next have the opportunity later in 2011. [Minor alterations? You will NEVER fix this in a million years with a few minor tweaks. The entire timetable is a massive cluster-f*ck! While you may have "improved" some routes, a major part of your network has been trashed and is no longer fit for purpose.]
We endeavoured to keep customers informed about the timetable development through our website, station posters and latterly via face to face customer surgeries at our key stations while this was taking place. [You made sure you didn't spell out just how massive a shambles it would be though did you? Not a bloody peep about removing trains from the timetable so you could make some trains to Ipswich and Colchester longer. The reality is, NXEA have increased the length and seating on some trains at the expense of other travellers going to places like Braintree (who NXEA appear to regard as expendable in any case) by completely withdrawing trains from those destinations. Not by importing additional rolling stock available like they should have. Although I suspect another reason for this cock-up is that there is no-one at NXEA with the experience and intelligence to be able to plan a timetable change as radical as this one and still be able to see how big a balls-up it would turn into.]
Nevertheless, I am sorry that you are frustrated with the changes made. [This is his patronising way of saying "tough sh*t".]
Customer feedback is an important source of information so once again, thank you for [wasting] taking the time to contact us.
Yours sincerely,
John Nelson
Customer Relations Advisor
National Express
Dear Mr Xxxxxxxxxxx,
Thank you for your Comments Form received 19 January about the overcrowding you have experienced while travelling from Stratford to Braintree. I am sorry for the delay in this response, which is due to a backlog of correspondence. [Still dealing with that pesky backlog eh? Judging by how long you took to reply to me, it's getting longer. Must all those
When we plan a timetable, it is an absolute priority that the new service will meet the needs of the majority of our customers overall. [Well it hasn't has it? I think I've heard more complaints about this new "improved" timetable than I ever heard about the old one. In reality, it appears to have been designed to finally stop the complaints coming from travellers to and from Colchester but without the added inconvenience and more importantly expense of bringing in more rolling stock so the existing services could continue while the Colchester ones were improved. Instead existing rolling stock has simply been re-deployed from services where passengers weren't complaining to services where they were.] On this occasion, the December 2010 changes also incorporated our commitment to significantly increase the seating capacity on many routes. [But the Liverpool St/Stratford route wasn't one of them was it? It's where you got the extra capacity from! By the way, I note you seem not to have "improved" the Southend route by removing trains from their timetable like you did for Chelmsford and Braintree. Why is that?]
However, I am sorry if you have seen changes which have inconvenienced you [not nearly as sorry as me and the rest of the poor sods who've had their trains yanked from the timetable sunshine. Why should I now have to stand all the way to Witham just so someone else travelling to Colchester or Ipswich can now travel sitting down? It's robbing Peter to pay Paul and it's unacceptable.] in respect of your particular travelling needs between Stratford and Braintree. [So what do you intend doing to fix it then? And, for your information, it's not just me, there are hundreds of very pissed off people daily forced to use your newly reduced services.] We will continue to monitor the performance of our new timetable and any further minor alterations can be made when we next have the opportunity later in 2011. [Minor alterations? You will NEVER fix this in a million years with a few minor tweaks. The entire timetable is a massive cluster-f*ck! While you may have "improved" some routes, a major part of your network has been trashed and is no longer fit for purpose.]
We endeavoured to keep customers informed about the timetable development through our website, station posters and latterly via face to face customer surgeries at our key stations while this was taking place. [You made sure you didn't spell out just how massive a shambles it would be though did you? Not a bloody peep about removing trains from the timetable so you could make some trains to Ipswich and Colchester longer. The reality is, NXEA have increased the length and seating on some trains at the expense of other travellers going to places like Braintree (who NXEA appear to regard as expendable in any case) by completely withdrawing trains from those destinations. Not by importing additional rolling stock available like they should have. Although I suspect another reason for this cock-up is that there is no-one at NXEA with the experience and intelligence to be able to plan a timetable change as radical as this one and still be able to see how big a balls-up it would turn into.]
Nevertheless, I am sorry that you are frustrated with the changes made. [This is his patronising way of saying "tough sh*t".]
Customer feedback is an important source of information so once again, thank you for [
Yours sincerely,
John Nelson
Customer Relations Advisor
National Express
Sunday 13 February 2011
Bad start to the week, a bit ropey in the middle and a dismal end.
Monday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0814 (0812) Outstanding start to the new week...not!
Arr: Stratford 0909 (0907) Late start, late finish to this journey. Only a couple of minutes though.
Arr: Stratford 0909 (0907) Late start, late finish to this journey. Only a couple of minutes though.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1821 (1806) Ipswich train that was 15 minutes late, as was every thing tonight. Tonight the excuse was lineside equipment failure. The kit in question having only been installed by Network Rail (NR) over the weekend. Hopeless.
Arr: Witham 1903 (1841) Later and later.
Arr: Witham 1903 (1841) Later and later.
Dep: Witham 1922 (1901) Jesus wept!
Arr: Braintree 1939 (1919) Things can only get better...
Tuesday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0819 (0812) Or can they?
Arr: Stratford 0914 (0907) Nope.
Arr: Stratford 0914 (0907) Nope.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1826 (1820) Still losing time over that initial 8 minute leg to Stratford, What is wrong with these people?
Arr: Witham 1907 (1858) Words fail me.
Arr: Witham 1907 (1858) Words fail me.
Dep: Witham 1913 (1901) Utter rubbish.
Arr: Braintree 1934 (1919)
Arr: Braintree 1934 (1919)
Wednesday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0812 (0812) On time for a change
Arr: Stratford 0908 (0907) Oooooh getting close!
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1817 (1806) Another delayed Ipswich train.
Arr: Witham 1858 (1841) Got to Witham and then had to wait for the previous service to emerge from the Braintree branch line before the next train could even arrive at Witham.
Dep: Witham 1911 (1901) And didn't we have to wait? A passing loop at Cressing would prevent this kind of crap.
Arr: Braintree 1927 (1919)
Arr: Braintree 1927 (1919)
Thursday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0813 (0812)
Arr: Stratford 0910 (0907)
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1823 (1820) Closest they got to running this train on time all week.
Arr: Witham 1903 (1858) Still can't get it to arrive on time though
Arr: Witham 1903 (1858) Still can't get it to arrive on time though
Dep: Witham 1903 (1901) Didn't have a lot of time to change tonight.
Arr: Braintree 1918 (1919) Early again! Still, I suppose it's quite difficult to run a service late if it's the only train on the track.
Arr: Braintree 1918 (1919) Early again! Still, I suppose it's quite difficult to run a service late if it's the only train on the track.
And finally,
Friday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0730 (0727) Typical.
Arr: Witham 0746 (0743) Still being late isn't a problem any more, not since they added the extra ten minute wait for the Stratford train in their whizzo new timetable.
Dep: Witham 0756 (0755)
Dep: Witham 0756 (0755)
Arr: Stratford 0832 (0829) At least the train is comfy. And I finished the Metro Sudoku before we got to Stratford.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1727 (1720) Dear oh dear...
Arr: Chelmsford 1752 (1744) Oh good only a 5 minute wait for the Braintree connection. Oh no it wasn't...
Dep: Chelmsford 1803 (1757) One day, this connection will actually be on time, but not tonight.
Arr: Braintree 1832 (1828)
Arr: Chelmsford 1752 (1744) Oh good only a 5 minute wait for the Braintree connection. Oh no it wasn't...
Dep: Chelmsford 1803 (1757) One day, this connection will actually be on time, but not tonight.
Arr: Braintree 1832 (1828)
Wednesday 9 February 2011
NXEAs latest slap in the face for the long suffering commuter
In their typical "screw the bill-payer" fashion, NXEA have begun touting the brand new trains they'll be bringing into service on the Stansted Express in May and later in the summer in the Liverpool St - Cambridge line.
A quick Google reveals they'll be using this class of rolling stock.
Nice for some. Shame the rest of us still have to use the clapped out sh*t-boxes NXEA continue to foist on the rest of us.
A quick Google reveals they'll be using this class of rolling stock.
Nice for some. Shame the rest of us still have to use the clapped out sh*t-boxes NXEA continue to foist on the rest of us.
Sunday 6 February 2011
And still they can't do something as basic as running the trains on time
No better for the rest of last week;
Dep: Braintree 0818 (0812) Late departing...
Evening
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0817 (0812) They really don't give a sh*t do they?
Arr: Stratford 0914 (0907) Lost even more time again.
Evening
Thursday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0812 (0812) On time
Arr: Stratford 0910 (0907) Closest to being on time at Stratford all week.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1823 (1820) Bloody Inter-City again.
Arr: Witham 1910 (1858) Bloody useless....
Dep: Witham 1910 (1901) Ten bloody minutes late tonight.
Arr: Braintree 1926 (1919) You can always rely on NXEA to screw it up at least once a week.
Didn't travel on Friday.
Yet another miserable experience on this piss-poor excuse for a franchise.
And we've not had a lineside fire (a favourite excuse for a f*cked-up evenings travel), cable theft (another favourite) or catastrophic signal failure recently. Must be due for one or another soon.
Tuesday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0818 (0812) Late departing...
Arr: Stratford 0924 (0907) Even later arriving. Big surprise there!
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1822 (1820) I think I've finally worked out why NXEA always manage to run this train late; every night one of their "untouchable" Inter-City trains goes through Stratford just before the Clacton train is due. I reckon the Inter-Sh*tty is leaving late, which means bumping the 1820 off the main line to let it past. Screw everyone else.
Arr: Witham 1901 (1858)
Dep: Witham 1902 (1901) Nothing to write home about.
Arr: Braintree 1916 (1919) Early!
Arr: Witham 1901 (1858)
Dep: Witham 1902 (1901) Nothing to write home about.
Arr: Braintree 1916 (1919) Early!
Wednesday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0817 (0812) They really don't give a sh*t do they?
Arr: Stratford 0914 (0907) Lost even more time again.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1842 (1838) The Jubilee Line was all to cock tonight, which meant I missed the 1820. I caught the later Walton-on-the-Naze train which was the next train that stopped at Witham; can you believe that? Not one train between Stratford and Witham for more than 20 minutes!
Arr: Witham 1922 (1917) More time lost...
Dep: Witham 1949 (1949) Whoo-hoo! On time.
Arr: Braintree 2003 (2005) Early again. We should have this driver stuffed!
Arr: Witham 1922 (1917) More time lost...
Dep: Witham 1949 (1949) Whoo-hoo! On time.
Arr: Braintree 2003 (2005) Early again. We should have this driver stuffed!
Thursday
Morning
Dep: Braintree 0812 (0812) On time
Arr: Stratford 0910 (0907) Closest to being on time at Stratford all week.
Evening
Dep: Stratford 1823 (1820) Bloody Inter-City again.
Arr: Witham 1910 (1858) Bloody useless....
Dep: Witham 1910 (1901) Ten bloody minutes late tonight.
Arr: Braintree 1926 (1919) You can always rely on NXEA to screw it up at least once a week.
Didn't travel on Friday.
Yet another miserable experience on this piss-poor excuse for a franchise.
And we've not had a lineside fire (a favourite excuse for a f*cked-up evenings travel), cable theft (another favourite) or catastrophic signal failure recently. Must be due for one or another soon.
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