British Rail Incompetance

[hedman2003]

Did anybody else try to catch a train this morning to Preston?

I arrived at the station prior to 10.00am in order to catch the 10.05am express from York. Several custmers were waiting for the train by 10.15 the train had not arrived so I popped over the bridge to the ticket office to be met by a note on the counter to say the next train to Preston would be at 11.29am

On further examination there are othee typed notices to say that due to essential mainrtenance work a bus service will operate between Hebden Bridge and Blackburn and that a bus will depart at various specified times from the Imperial Hotel on Blackburn Road. However as Middlesbrough are playing Rovers this alternative bus service might be very busy and you are advised not to use it!!!

I ask the Ticket Office guy whats happened to the 10.20 from Colne who informs me the train never left Preston because a passenger had suffered a heart attack

My gripe is there were no posters,or any notification regarduing the preplanned maintenance on the Preston bound platform and when I asked why there had been no speaker announcement the responsewas they didn't come from his office (and clearly from his office he had no intention of contacting anybody and asking for one)

So he has no intention of notifying anybody on the other platform so I did his job for him. Clearly he felt he had done his job by putting up a note in the comfort of his office

Customer Care they don't know the meaning of the word

[WillowTheWhisp]

So there was no notice on the relevant platform? That was useful.

[hedman2003]

nothing at all, I can understand that the train from Colne had been cancelled due to an unforseen circumstance but why no explanation re the engineering work and the alternative bus service, it's not like everybody has to pass through the ticket office to get onto the platform

[Bonnyboy]

bit of a ****** that

[cashman]

Pathetic, but hardly surprising the railway has been going down the pan slowly since Dr Beeching.

[shillelagh]

Ok as you know spugs down this weekend and i found out when we were checking the train timetables on national rail website about the buses from Blackburn. I also had Radio Lancs on this morning and they mentioned the buses from blackburn to Hebden Bridge on the transport bulletins. I rang spug when he was on the train to find out which way he was going - catching the normal bus from the bus station or the train bus... he was still on the train - they told him that the train was stopping at accrington and he landed about ten past 10 this morning. He was coming from Preston though not going the other way.