South Eastern Trains Questionnaire

Today I was asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding the service on my train.

Most of the questions where about silly issues - how well was the guard turned out, what was the refreshment situation like etc.

Here's my response:



I have just filled in a questionnaire regarding your service.

I would like to state that 90% of the questions were insignificant and irrelevant to the average commuter.

A more cynical person than myself might even suggest that they were there to dilute the criticism from the truly relevant questions.

The things that matter to me, (and I assume my fellow passengers):

1. a journey of approximately 50 miles takes approximately 1:30 hours. (I have calculated that this is roughly 44m/hour), this is shameful,

2. the journey has deliberately got slower and stops at more stations in order to make the HS train service seem (artificially) more attractive, this is duplicitous,

3. yesterday I had to sit on the floor again on my home ward journey as all the seats of standard class were taken (I went through the whole train), whilst I had to listen to threats against anyone who sat in first class. This is just wrong.

4. I have to pay £400 a month for a slow, antiquated service, for which I often don't even get a seat.

How well the guard was preened pales into insignificance in comparison.

The only way you get away with such poor service is because you have a monopoly.

Regards,


Gavin.

MPs, Men of the People!‏

A few weeks back a train was delayed at Faversham so it could be overtaken by one *because an MP was on it*.

I emailed all the local MPs to ask if it was them (I didn't tell them that I'd copied in all the local and national press, Private Eye, Order-Order.com). Below is the email - interestingly only Hugh Robertson and Roger Gale bothered to reply. I never got to the bottom of who the guilty MP was.


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To: galerj@parliament.uk; suzy@galemail.com; hugh4fmk@tiscali.co.uk; officeofgwynprossermp@yahoo.co.uk; howardm@parliament.uk; stephenladymanmp@souththanetlabour.org.uk; allent871@hotmail.co.uk; greend@parliment.uk


Guys,

Today, waiting at the station for the 7:16 Faversham to London Victoria train, the would be passengers were informed that their train would be delayed. This was apparently so that the 7:24 to London Cannon Street could over take. The Cannon Street train isn't normally afforded such deference, but - "THERE WAS AN MP ON THE TRAIN WHO WANTED TO GET TO WORK ON TIME!".

I wonder if anyone would like to investigate the veracity of this? Who was the MP? Perhaps it was you? And if true perhaps someone could explain why the desire of this one person to get to the office on time was deemed more important than several hundred of other citizens struggling to do exactly the same thing, albeit, for the majority, in standard class and having to foot the bill for the ticket themselves.

Yours inquisitively,

Gavin.