Is it any wonder people don't want to take the trains? - Page 2

Burble · 10-12-2009, 11:04

Yesterday I had to go down to London to do some maintenance on a server in Docklands then meet the CEO of the new company for dinner and a chat. I decided I'd take the train down because it's quick and easy, or so we are told.

So I was sitting at home yesterday morning and at about 10am I looked online to see what the train times were. At that time the departure board at my local train station read:

10:04 to London St.Pancras, Undefined delay
10:32 to London St.Pancras, Cancelled
11:04 to London St.Pancras, Cancelled
11:32 to London St.Pancras, Cancelled
12:04 to London St.Pancras, Cancelled

Oh fantastic! Anyway, the trains got sorted and I decided to get the 12:32 so I turned up at the station, paid £8 (!) to park the car and went to buy a ticket. I went to a ticket machine and asked it for a peak return (I didn't know what time I'd be coming back but wanted to keep my options open) to St. Pancras. It asked me for £101. Eh? I thought I'd made a mistake and asked to purchase the train rather than just borrow a seat for 45 minutes. I started the process again, still £101.

I went to the ticket office and was again told it was £101 then was sheepishly told that was excluding Tube/DLR travel. What the hell? £101? I'm not paying the bill but even so, that seems excessive.

Now admittedly I hadn't prebooked a ticket but I do think £101 for a standard return is really taking the piss.

10-12-2009, 11:04	#1
Burble Rocket Fuel Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 7,826	Is it any wonder people don't want to take the trains? Yesterday I had to go down to London to do some maintenance on a server in Docklands then meet the CEO of the new company for dinner and a chat. I decided I'd take the train down because it's quick and easy, or so we are told. So I was sitting at home yesterday morning and at about 10am I looked online to see what the train times were. At that time the departure board at my local train station read: 10:04 to London St.Pancras, Undefined delay 10:32 to London St.Pancras, Cancelled 11:04 to London St.Pancras, Cancelled 11:32 to London St.Pancras, Cancelled 12:04 to London St.Pancras, Cancelled Oh fantastic! Anyway, the trains got sorted and I decided to get the 12:32 so I turned up at the station, paid £8 (!) to park the car and went to buy a ticket. I went to a ticket machine and asked it for a peak return (I didn't know what time I'd be coming back but wanted to keep my options open) to St. Pancras. It asked me for £101. Eh? I thought I'd made a mistake and asked to purchase the train rather than just borrow a seat for 45 minutes. I started the process again, still £101. I went to the ticket office and was again told it was £101 then was sheepishly told that was excluding Tube/DLR travel. What the hell? £101? I'm not paying the bill but even so, that seems excessive. Now admittedly I hadn't prebooked a ticket but I do think £101 for a standard return is really taking the piss.