£7 million Dartford station upgrade - providing new station building, improved ticket office and better facilities £6 million Denmark Hill station upgrade - providing a new booking hall, accessibility and improved information points for customers
I would rather that £13 million just went into reducing tickets by a few quid. Some of these stations look almost too nice. I don't want a station to jump out as being outstanding, I want it to be cheap in order to ensure we can get our tickets cheap.
Alternatively use that £13 million to put a few more bloody trains on so I can get a seat.
Am I alone in getting annoyed when I see huge projects that are almost entirely aesthetic rather than functional?
Back to the calculators SouthEastern... Maybe they could include commuters in the surveys (as have never seen the ability to complete one of these forms) rather than just the day trippers travelling at off-peak times meaning fewer delays etc...
And what the fuck are they doing with that new footbridge at New Eltham station? The old one disappeared months ago and there's been two fellas digging holes ever since.
Southern are just as bad. Their service is even worse than SouthEastern, yet they spent tens of millions on a new footbridge at East Croydon. This new footbridge:
* Cost 20 million quid * Replaced the subway, rather than adding to it, which meant there's no difference in the capacity when switching between platforms * Isn't fully covered, so that when it rains (a reasonably regular occurence in Britain, even doscounting the current monsoon season) everyone gets soaked and the floor becomes slippery & dangerous * Has destination indicators, but only the small ones - which are, admittedly, handy if you happen to be travelling directly to the final station (listed) but not much fucking use if you're trying to get to any of the thirty stops in between
And what the fuck are they doing with that new footbridge at New Eltham station? The old one disappeared months ago and there's been two fellas digging holes ever since.
There was a pile of photocopied notices telling us of "unforseen circumstances" and work not being finished until May as it didn't mention a year your guess is as good as mine.
And what the fuck are they doing with that new footbridge at New Eltham station? The old one disappeared months ago and there's been two fellas digging holes ever since.
The site was crawling with activity on Friday...ok, just a lot of people standing about doing nothing, but there was at least 10 people in hi-vis jackets.
They are building a lift for disabled people at Bexleyheath station. I just dont get why? The station is already accessible on both sides. Plus, 2 stops down... Falconwood isn't!! What muppet makes these decisions?? They spunk money worse than Dowie!
They are building a lift for disabled people at Bexleyheath station.
They're what?! A lift from where? It's a single fucking storey building on one side and IIRC nothing other than a shelter on the other! That is just absolute madness.
Southern are just as bad. Their service is even worse than SouthEastern, yet they spent tens of millions on a new footbridge at East Croydon. This new footbridge:
* Cost 20 million quid * Replaced the subway, rather than adding to it, which meant there's no difference in the capacity when switching between platforms * Isn't fully covered, so that when it rains (a reasonably regular occurence in Britain, even doscounting the current monsoon season) everyone gets soaked and the floor becomes slippery & dangerous * Has destination indicators, but only the small ones - which are, admittedly, handy if you happen to be travelling directly to the final station (listed) but not much fucking use if you're trying to get to any of the thirty stops in between
Having patronised East Croydon frequently for the last couple of years, I can say that Southern aren't even in the same universe of incompetence as Southeastern. On two occasions at least two occasions this year, Southern have run trains when Southeastern haven't.
And what the fuck are they doing with that new footbridge at New Eltham station? The old one disappeared months ago and there's been two fellas digging holes ever since.
The site was crawling with activity on Friday...ok, just a lot of people standing about doing nothing, but there was at least 10 people in hi-vis jackets.
Stolen by the faires! I think they put the new one up over Borough Market, you know the one that seems to go nowhere. Probably a mixup in the plans.
And what the fuck are they doing with that new footbridge at New Eltham station? The old one disappeared months ago and there's been two fellas digging holes ever since.
The site was crawling with activity on Friday...ok, just a lot of people standing about doing nothing, but there was at least 10 people in hi-vis jackets.
Stolen by the faires! I think they put the new one up over Borough Market, you know the one that seems to go nowhere. Probably a mixup in the plans.
That bridge that goes nowhere will be for the new thameslink platforms at London bridge. You know thameslink, there trains never run on time and put every other train company to shame
Southern are just as bad. Their service is even worse than SouthEastern, yet they spent tens of millions on a new footbridge at East Croydon. This new footbridge:
* Cost 20 million quid * Replaced the subway, rather than adding to it, which meant there's no difference in the capacity when switching between platforms * Isn't fully covered, so that when it rains (a reasonably regular occurence in Britain, even doscounting the current monsoon season) everyone gets soaked and the floor becomes slippery & dangerous * Has destination indicators, but only the small ones - which are, admittedly, handy if you happen to be travelling directly to the final station (listed) but not much fucking use if you're trying to get to any of the thirty stops in between
Having patronised East Croydon frequently for the last couple of years, I can say that Southern aren't even in the same universe of incompetence as Southeastern. On two occasions at least two occasions this year, Southern have run trains when Southeastern haven't.
SouthEastern are no worse than Connex were. I lived in Deptford for twenty five years - trust me, depending on where you live (Reigate for me over the past two years), Southern are worse. East Croydon service is very rarely going to be atrocious - it's a mainline station and there are always trains to and from it unless the whole network is shut. Further down the lines, services get sacrificed for the Gatwick Express, Brighton and Horsham services every day.
Southern are just as bad. Their service is even worse than SouthEastern, yet they spent tens of millions on a new footbridge at East Croydon. This new footbridge:
* Cost 20 million quid * Replaced the subway, rather than adding to it, which meant there's no difference in the capacity when switching between platforms * Isn't fully covered, so that when it rains (a reasonably regular occurence in Britain, even doscounting the current monsoon season) everyone gets soaked and the floor becomes slippery & dangerous * Has destination indicators, but only the small ones - which are, admittedly, handy if you happen to be travelling directly to the final station (listed) but not much fucking use if you're trying to get to any of the thirty stops in between
Having patronised East Croydon frequently for the last couple of years, I can say that Southern aren't even in the same universe of incompetence as Southeastern. On two occasions at least two occasions this year, Southern have run trains when Southeastern haven't.
SouthEastern are no worse than Connex were. I lived in Deptford for twenty five years - trust me, depending on where you live (Reigate for me over the past two years), Southern are worse. East Croydon service is very rarely going to be atrocious - it's a mainline station and there are always trains to and from it unless the whole network is shut. Further down the lines, services get sacrificed for the Gatwick Express, Brighton and Horsham services every day.
Sorry mate, but I'm afraid I can't let you claim that you have a sh!tter service than South Eastern. Even on the days when things are supposedly not subject to any disruption, I am still approximately ten minutes late every morning "due to congestion in the London Bridge area". They prioritise the Bedford to Brighton services, and the mainline services from Sevenoaks and beyond ahead of the metro services, so it now takes me longer to get to work travelling from Hither Green than it did when I travelled in from my parents gaff in Sevenoaks. So these c*%ts make me late literally every day even when there supposedly running a good service.
Signallers control movement of trains. So they decide who gets priority not south eastern. London bridge is a bottle neck. Hence the forthcoming changes.
Southern are just as bad. Their service is even worse than SouthEastern, yet they spent tens of millions on a new footbridge at East Croydon. This new footbridge:
* Cost 20 million quid * Replaced the subway, rather than adding to it, which meant there's no difference in the capacity when switching between platforms * Isn't fully covered, so that when it rains (a reasonably regular occurence in Britain, even doscounting the current monsoon season) everyone gets soaked and the floor becomes slippery & dangerous * Has destination indicators, but only the small ones - which are, admittedly, handy if you happen to be travelling directly to the final station (listed) but not much fucking use if you're trying to get to any of the thirty stops in between
I think Southern and Southeastern are owned by the same company
Southern are just as bad. Their service is even worse than SouthEastern, yet they spent tens of millions on a new footbridge at East Croydon. This new footbridge:
* Cost 20 million quid * Replaced the subway, rather than adding to it, which meant there's no difference in the capacity when switching between platforms * Isn't fully covered, so that when it rains (a reasonably regular occurence in Britain, even doscounting the current monsoon season) everyone gets soaked and the floor becomes slippery & dangerous * Has destination indicators, but only the small ones - which are, admittedly, handy if you happen to be travelling directly to the final station (listed) but not much fucking use if you're trying to get to any of the thirty stops in between
Having patronised East Croydon frequently for the last couple of years, I can say that Southern aren't even in the same universe of incompetence as Southeastern. On two occasions at least two occasions this year, Southern have run trains when Southeastern haven't.
SouthEastern are no worse than Connex were. I lived in Deptford for twenty five years - trust me, depending on where you live (Reigate for me over the past two years), Southern are worse. East Croydon service is very rarely going to be atrocious - it's a mainline station and there are always trains to and from it unless the whole network is shut. Further down the lines, services get sacrificed for the Gatwick Express, Brighton and Horsham services every day.
Sorry mate, but I'm afraid I can't let you claim that you have a sh!tter service than South Eastern. Even on the days when things are supposedly not subject to any disruption, I am still approximately ten minutes late every morning "due to congestion in the London Bridge area". They prioritise the Bedford to Brighton services, and the mainline services from Sevenoaks and beyond ahead of the metro services, so it now takes me longer to get to work travelling from Hither Green than it did when I travelled in from my parents gaff in Sevenoaks. So these c*%ts make me late literally every day even when there supposedly running a good service.
It's exactly the same situation for me every morning getting into London Bridge. With the added knock-on effect of having to get from Reigate to Redhill and change when the London Bridge direct service is cancelled (as happens regularly). If I go to Victoria, I have to change at Redhill anyway, and almost all the services from Reigate to Redhill are First Great Western services, which are ALWAYS late - meaning the arseholes at Redhill (who all work for Southern) have no vested interest in holding the train - leading me to (at least twice a week) jumping off the train and having to wait whilst the tosspots smugly wave the train off with the doors locked.
My current experience is Northern Rail. The trains are slow, smelly, noisy diesels that would have looked out-of-date in Beeching's time. Timetables have not adjusted for the fact that trains are too slow to continue to keep up with the timetable set decades ago, leading to the below issue:
Starting Station: Departs at 9am on time 1st stop: Due 0915, arrives 0920, departs 0925 due to door malfunction 2nd stop: Due 0930, arrives 0940, departs 0943 etc... Terminus: Due 1000, arrives 1015.
I don't mind the fact that they're slow, but if you board at a station in between the start and terminus, you're regularly left standing around for 5-10 minutes every day because the trains simply cannot keep up with the outdated timetable. I'd rather they adjusted the timetable as the train I get in the mornings is due 7am but regularly fails to depart until 5 to 10 minutes after this time. Considering it's the North, this means mostly having to stand in wind/rain waiting for a train due to poor timetabling. Of course, if I started arriving 5-10 minutes later myself, I'd often miss the train because once every so often a train is able to keep up with the timetable.
Station facilities are knackered as well. Only the major cities have ticket offices, working ticket machines and roofs. Most stations have no ticket machines, no office, no building and no shelters against wind/rain. Trains are always overcrowded and there's always several people who board rush hour trains with bikes/prams/pushchairs. I don't mind this, but there needs to be extra carriages as there's simply no room for the extra furniture. Most of the time, unless you board at the station the service commences from, you don't get a seat as by the time it gets to the 2nd station, there are already many passengers standing.
Season ticket prices are, to be fair, quite generous. Day tickets can be a complete con though, especially before 9.30.
There are no ticket barriers, instead only a single geezer individually inspecting each passenger's ticket as they enter/leave a major station, leading to crushes every morning and evening. I got stuck in a 20 minute queue to leave a station once because the fake train coppers had set up a barricade at rush hour to make sure everyone had paid, and then proceeded to check one ticket at a time.
Not enough services either. Rush hour means 2 services an hour on a line, otherwise you get 1 an hour.
Having lived with Southeastern for most of my younger life, I'd say Southeastern is definitely much better than Northern in most areas. The exceptions are that both handle rush hour poorly (can't get seat on either service between 7-9am) and Northern's pricing and reliability is much better - the only cancellation I've had in 2 years is because of a suicide on the tracks.
Southern are just as bad. Their service is even worse than SouthEastern, yet they spent tens of millions on a new footbridge at East Croydon. This new footbridge:
* Cost 20 million quid * Replaced the subway, rather than adding to it, which meant there's no difference in the capacity when switching between platforms * Isn't fully covered, so that when it rains (a reasonably regular occurence in Britain, even doscounting the current monsoon season) everyone gets soaked and the floor becomes slippery & dangerous * Has destination indicators, but only the small ones - which are, admittedly, handy if you happen to be travelling directly to the final station (listed) but not much fucking use if you're trying to get to any of the thirty stops in between
Having patronised East Croydon frequently for the last couple of years, I can say that Southern aren't even in the same universe of incompetence as Southeastern. On two occasions at least two occasions this year, Southern have run trains when Southeastern haven't.
SouthEastern are no worse than Connex were. I lived in Deptford for twenty five years - trust me, depending on where you live (Reigate for me over the past two years), Southern are worse. East Croydon service is very rarely going to be atrocious - it's a mainline station and there are always trains to and from it unless the whole network is shut. Further down the lines, services get sacrificed for the Gatwick Express, Brighton and Horsham services every day.
Sorry mate, but I'm afraid I can't let you claim that you have a sh!tter service than South Eastern. Even on the days when things are supposedly not subject to any disruption, I am still approximately ten minutes late every morning "due to congestion in the London Bridge area". They prioritise the Bedford to Brighton services, and the mainline services from Sevenoaks and beyond ahead of the metro services, so it now takes me longer to get to work travelling from Hither Green than it did when I travelled in from my parents gaff in Sevenoaks. So these c*%ts make me late literally every day even when there supposedly running a good service.
Agreed I have no idea why they advertise my train getting in at Waterloo East when it does, as it is consistently 10 minutes late by the time it clears the cluster fuck that is London Bridge.
Comments
http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/news/latest-news/southeastern-equals-record-breaking-passenger-satisfaction-scores/
£6 million Denmark Hill station upgrade - providing a new booking hall, accessibility and improved information points for customers
I would rather that £13 million just went into reducing tickets by a few quid. Some of these stations look almost too nice. I don't want a station to jump out as being outstanding, I want it to be cheap in order to ensure we can get our tickets cheap.
Alternatively use that £13 million to put a few more bloody trains on so I can get a seat.
Am I alone in getting annoyed when I see huge projects that are almost entirely aesthetic rather than functional?
http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/news/latest-news/southeastern-equals-record-breaking-passenger-satisfaction-scores/
Back to the calculators SouthEastern... Maybe they could include commuters in the surveys (as have never seen the ability to complete one of these forms) rather than just the day trippers travelling at off-peak times meaning fewer delays etc...
* Cost 20 million quid
* Replaced the subway, rather than adding to it, which meant there's no difference in the capacity when switching between platforms
* Isn't fully covered, so that when it rains (a reasonably regular occurence in Britain, even doscounting the current monsoon season) everyone gets soaked and the floor becomes slippery & dangerous
* Has destination indicators, but only the small ones - which are, admittedly, handy if you happen to be travelling directly to the final station (listed) but not much fucking use if you're trying to get to any of the thirty stops in between
Last on value for money
About 16th for punctuality
One of the worst for dealing with delays
"Record breaking"
Starting Station: Departs at 9am on time
1st stop: Due 0915, arrives 0920, departs 0925 due to door malfunction
2nd stop: Due 0930, arrives 0940, departs 0943 etc...
Terminus: Due 1000, arrives 1015.
I don't mind the fact that they're slow, but if you board at a station in between the start and terminus, you're regularly left standing around for 5-10 minutes every day because the trains simply cannot keep up with the outdated timetable. I'd rather they adjusted the timetable as the train I get in the mornings is due 7am but regularly fails to depart until 5 to 10 minutes after this time. Considering it's the North, this means mostly having to stand in wind/rain waiting for a train due to poor timetabling. Of course, if I started arriving 5-10 minutes later myself, I'd often miss the train because once every so often a train is able to keep up with the timetable.
Station facilities are knackered as well. Only the major cities have ticket offices, working ticket machines and roofs. Most stations have no ticket machines, no office, no building and no shelters against wind/rain. Trains are always overcrowded and there's always several people who board rush hour trains with bikes/prams/pushchairs. I don't mind this, but there needs to be extra carriages as there's simply no room for the extra furniture. Most of the time, unless you board at the station the service commences from, you don't get a seat as by the time it gets to the 2nd station, there are already many passengers standing.
Season ticket prices are, to be fair, quite generous. Day tickets can be a complete con though, especially before 9.30.
There are no ticket barriers, instead only a single geezer individually inspecting each passenger's ticket as they enter/leave a major station, leading to crushes every morning and evening. I got stuck in a 20 minute queue to leave a station once because the fake train coppers had set up a barricade at rush hour to make sure everyone had paid, and then proceeded to check one ticket at a time.
Not enough services either. Rush hour means 2 services an hour on a line, otherwise you get 1 an hour.
Having lived with Southeastern for most of my younger life, I'd say Southeastern is definitely much better than Northern in most areas. The exceptions are that both handle rush hour poorly (can't get seat on either service between 7-9am) and Northern's pricing and reliability is much better - the only cancellation I've had in 2 years is because of a suicide on the tracks.