"We're sorry that the 14:48 service to Stratford has been delayed by approximately 47 minutes..."
That's great, it's very big of them to apologise, however it's currently 15:55 and I was hoping to catch the 15:33... goodness alone knows what's happened to that. Or the 15:18 come to think of it. Oh, wait, what's that coming over the tannoy? Ah, it's an apology for the delay of the 14:18 train. It's now 16:00 - be honest Ms. Service Announcement lady, the last five trains aren't delayed, they've been cancelled.
It's not that I don't believe trains can be an hour late - because I know that they often are. However, that's usually national trains, not this sodding metro service that's supposed to be taking me, and I kid you not, about 3.5 miles down the road.
I walk at a good healthy rate, and I can easily do a 15 minute mile - and if I'd had any idea the train service was going to be this bad then I'd have just walked it. But no, the timetable says one every 15 minutes off peak, so that's four trains per hour. I figured I'd easily get to my meeting on time - boy is presumption the mother of all cock-ups.
I'm late for my meeting, even if I go and catch the two buses (which, walking aside, are the alternative route), I'm still going to be late.
So, how about some honesty from Silverlink Metro in future? Why not just say that the previous 5 trains have disappeared off the face of the planet, and that you actually have no idea when a train will next grace the platform with its presence? If, instead of apologising for the delay and asking travellers to "wait for the next announcement", you were to just say "no trains until further notice" I (and, no doubt, most of the other stranded passengers on this platform) could have found an alternative route from the outset.
“We’re sorry to announce that the 14:48 train to Stratford has been cancelled. The next train to arrive at the eastbound platform will be the 15:33 service to Stratford…”
It’s 16:15, I’m going to have to take a cab…
18/04/2005 ©
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