We're finally into the home straight

There are now less than 7 days of the shambolic f*cked NXEA franchise left to run.

Next Sunday cannot come nearly fast enough as far as I'm concerned.

I can truly say I will not miss one single aspect of the bone-headed incompetence and stupidity that were the hallmarks of this bunch of clowns.

Truly, NXEAs time running the Greater Anglia franchise is a testament to the lunacy of selling off what used to be British Rail to rubbish operators like National Express.

Never has the lie that fare increases are only to pay for "infrastructure improvements and new trains" been more exposed than by this crowd of f*ckwits.

We've seen no obvious "improvements". The infrastructure is more shit than ever; we still have to endure endless signal, points and overhead cable problems. The "new" trains are still the same filthy, clapped out, unreliable and uncomfortable class 321s that NXEA started with. The only new trains NXEA brought into service were on the Stansted Express route. Any additional trains which were introduced were just recycled from other franchises and just as dirty and clapped-out as every other train NXEA were running.

At the end of 2010, we were told NXEA would be adding umpteen thousands of "additional peak time seats".

How did that turn out then?  Well I started this blog for one thing and as for NXEA, well they decided to remove all of the peak-time direct Stratford to Braintree trains from the timetable. Now, if you wanted to get from Stratford to Braintree during the rush, you were going to have to change at either Chelmsford or Witham. Having you need to travel in 2 trains doubled the chances of a cancellation screwing your journey and that's precisely what happened on several occasions before Platform 10A at Stratford was repaired and brought back into use. Direct services were finally re-instated in the new May 2011 timetable.

Even then, the platform infrastructure wasn't complete, it still isn't today! It took them until August for them to connect the tannoy speakers on Platform 10A. Even then they'd put in a load of advertising screens first.

I could go on, I've been recording this lunacy for the last 14 months or so and by rights the things we've had to put up with should have caused riots. But as ever we just sat there and took all the shit these useless toerags threw at us.

At the moment, I'm optimistic that the new operator will be just what we need, at least they have experience, they are the Dutch National Railway after all. And they are one of the best operators in the world plus they already hae a well-run franchise in Northern Rail. Though quite what they'll make of the antiquated infrastructure they're inheriting from NXEA Heaven only knows.

At least they're committing to clean the stations and trains properly and to providing a proper flow of information to the people who pay for the tickets. They couldn't do any worse.

Going out on a low.

The latest Passenger Focus Survey results were published today, The company with the worst rating should come as a surprise to absolutely no one. National Express East Anglia. Again.

Nine days and counting.

On the bright side they totally failed to f*ck up my journey home to night, aside from running the 1716 to Clacton late. Again.

I notice...

The so-called "Customer Service" Reps who can normally be found hanging around on all the platforms have magically melted away now the shit's hit the fan.

They've  also now edited the words "National Express" out of the automated apologies for late trains.

These announcements are now gibberish.

Update: 26 Jan.

The words "National Express" reappeared in the automated apology and other announcements at Stratford tonight.

Another shambles...

Tonight. Overhead line problems is the excuse de jour.

Got to Stratford to see the 1809 Braintree train being shown on the dot-matrix displays as leaving from platform 8. Unusual, but not unheard of.

Typically, there were no tannoy announcements being made to inform anyone where the f*cking thing was actually going to be stopping.

As a result, I just about managed to struggle onto platform 8 to find it jammed with metro passengers. Not a good sign.

Then, before I knew it the bloody 1809 had departed, on time, from platform 10A. Un-f*cking-believable. If only because normally it's never, ever, on time!!

To compound this shit, the later Clacton train which has gone from platform 10 every night since Pontius was a Pilate also left from platform 10A. I know, because when it went I was on platform 10 where the dot-matrices were telling all and sundry it would be going from, waiting for it like a f*cking lemon.

At the time, there was a bloody through train for Colchester stopped on platform 10. 

All the time this madness was going on not one worthwhile tannoy message was made by the clowns running the station. And the ones that were  being made were the "f*ck off and use a different method of travel" ones that are now standard whenever the system implodes, together with announcements about the f*cking Metro services using platform 8.

Not one announcement informing Mainline passengers what the f*ck was going on was made, not one. We could go get f*cked as far as the tossers at Stratford were concerned. Which is quite incredible really, given the usual verbal diarrhoea of the wankers on the tannoy.

F*cking ridiculous.

Only 10 more days of these useless bastards to get through.

Oh Dear...

Abellio have just announced the Board of Directors who will be responsible for the Greater Anglia franchise when they take over from NXEA in just over 10 days time.

It seems they will be keeping on the current NXEA Customer Services Director.

Given the notoriously piss-poor Customer Service NXEA provided it'll be interesting to see whether there is any improvement in them beginning on Sunday week.

The ignorance...

Of the tossers who travel to Chelmsford on the 1809 from Stratford never ceases to amaze and disgust me.

We had another example tonight;  I went to sit down in one of the few available seats which unfortunately happened to be next to some fat twat, who at the time was trying to hog 2 seats. As I at down, this cretinous slimeball quote deliberately took his Blackberry out of his pocket and began f*cking about with it using the arm I was being forced to sit up against.

This wanker kept up this obnoxious routine all the way to Shenfield, where I was finally  able to move into an empty seat with some proper elbow room.

Needless to say, as soon as I'd moved, fatty promptly put his phone away again.

Bastard.

Another day...

Another perfect storm of f*ck-ups.

More piss-poor maintenance from NXEA allowing another train to break down, that's 3 this week, and incompetence from TfL allowing  over running engineering work on the Jubilee Line to shut it down has ensured another day of travel misery.

Half an hour late so far and still haven't got to work.

Once again...

NXEA'S piss-poor maintenance has f*cked up another nights journey.

A f*cked-up train spent now than half an hour blocking the only platform Braintree trains cam use while the clowns tried to fix it.

All the while we were left sitting outside Chelmsford watching at least seven trains go past us.

So annoying.

Looks like we'll arrive a good 25 minutes late. Not enough to claim for thanks to NXEA'S customer charter.

Typical.

Inevitably...

We had to have a f*ck-up sometime, and NXEA and/or National Rail never fail to disappoint.

After sitting outside Chelmsford for over 20 minutes, we've only just arrived at Witham, almost 30 minutes late.

Amazingly, they haven't cancelled it, and we are still going on to Braintree.

Here we go...

The rats are all abandoning the train at Chelmsford.

Train's empty again now.

I'm willing to bet...

The tweedy cow in the corner seat, idly flicking through her travel book, with her sales bags spread across two-thirds of the available gangway doesn't have a ticket valid for this train.

She almost certainly only has a cheap day-return which are banned from using peak time trains leaving Liverpool St. between half-four and half-six.

These arseholes should be stopped before they get anywhere near the train, But they never are.

They then just fill up the seats that should be left available for the poor sods who have to use this service day in and day out. Not some waste of space who fancies a day up the sales.

Another week...

Another journey home f*cked up by a train packed out with Chelmsford arseholes.

I f*cking despise every single one of'em.

Up until...

Christmas, the 1809 from Stratford would arrive with plenty of spare seating available.

For the past two nights however, it's been infested with Chelmsford arseholes.

Not one spare seat till all of  these bastards f*ck off.

May as well get the endlessly rammed Clacton train.

Sickening

Looks like...

Everything is late again this evening.

The 1809 is chock full of Chelmsford arseholes. Not one spare seat.

Just to compound the crap tonight, we still haven't left yet.

Shite shite shite

It never....

Ceases to fascinate me that NXEA are utterly beyond being able to run any train on time.

The 1803 Southend train has only just left Stratford. There's no sign of the 1809.

32 days left...

It takes...

A special kind of incompetence to cancel two trains while they're en route.

But that's precisely what has just happened.

The 0812 from Braintree was terminated at Shenfield, and now the train we caught there was terminated at Stratford.

I didn't have a problem with that, I get off there anyway. But there are now two trainloads of very pissed off passengers on a rainy windswept station trying to get into Liverpool Street with the cretins on the tannoy directing them all to the Central Line.

God only knows what that's like. I wouldn't want to use it.

Stunned to see...

The train we were ejected from at Shenfield just overtake us at speed, apparently heading for Liverpool Street.

What the f*ck is going on?

Slung off...

The 0812 at Shenfield.

Now being forced to stand on a packed out later running train.

Don't quite know how to claim for this one.

We should...

Have arrived at Stratford by now.

We still haven't got to Ingatestone yet.

In another piece of mind boggling stupidity, I've received a email from NXEA telling me the train won't be stopping at Stratford.

F*ck 'em, no-one on the train has said anything. So I'm staying on.

First day back...

And there are already delays of "up to an hour" because Network Rail STILL haven't fixed variously, the overhead wires or the signals that were f*cked for a fortnight before Christmas.

Just speechless....