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Roy Killey wrote: > My supervisor has suggested that I might include some cameos (his word, > not mine - travellers' tales I might have used) of horror stories when > attempting to travel by public transport. [snip] OK. Monday 10 Jan - bought first class return from Doncaster to Manchester. Train arrives and is a filthy Class 150 with opaque windows, no first class and _no_ tables anywhere, instead of the booked Class 158. Catering trolley has no sandwiches. Stock change at Sheffield where we stand on the platform in the cold before a 158 is found from the sidings. It has no first class (Metro set, not TransPennine). I cannot get any work done on the first train and can do very little on the second because my laptop battery fails - no power socket. Arrived 23 minutes late in Manchester. And I now have to write a letter to the TOC to reclaim the difference between first and standard fares. Today, Wednesday 12 Jan, I again (perhaps rashly!) buy a first class return from Don to Man and am typing this post to you from my comfortable seat around a table in the first class accommodation, with the power supply working properly, and a reasonably appealing cheese salad sandwich and cup of tea at my side. I can see the Peak District scenery passing by (in the drizzle) and we are running on time. Some days it's great, some days it's not so great. The big failing of the railways is they seem unable to deliver a _consistently_ good service. And some TOC's are not good at coping with problems. > Incidentally, in view of the government's proposed "one stop shop" for > public transport information, does anyone have any views on whether it > will work when the bus does not call at something which is called the > "rail station" but a street called Westborough (or whatever) which is > actually right alongside the station as the local are quite aware. > Whether regaional enquiry bureaux are or not is another matter. This should not be a problem provided that the bus stop in question is flagged up as being at or close to a rail station. Most PTE's and County Councils use the double arrow logo to achieve this in their timetables. -- Neil Worthington, Doncaster, UK =============================== Do something amazing today. Save a life. Give blood. <http://www.blooddonor.org.uk> or tel. 0345 711 711. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%