NORTHERN FAIL'S EPIC, APPALLING, EMERGENCY-TIMETABLE FAILURE, PART 2

Now, obviously after yesterday's shambolic events I did not think that I would be writing a new story of how today unfolded.  

I thought that things would improve and we would all be getting along fabulously after learning from mistakes ...Right?

After all, we have been told for decades that Private Sector management are so much smarter than the Public Sector with geniuses at companies like Long-Term Capital Management, Enron, Arthur Anderson, Lehman Brothers, Royal Bank of Scotland, Marlins, Woolworths, Toys R Us, Carillion, BHS, MFI, HBOS, Northern Rock, etc etc etc, forever... 

However, here we are and here I am again about to report on a route that the press and the MP's and other bigwigs don't seem to give a monkey's about because it doesn't feature Liverpool or Manchester (the only places that actually exist in the North of England)  This tale again features the almost Adrian-Mole-Esque adventure from Accrington to Bamber Bridge (just before Preston)  On the train at rush hour it would take 30 minutes usually but as Northern Rail have decided (smartly) to take trains off the tracks when customer's need them this is what I had to endure today...

Afternoon:  Check the website because if the trains Northern have declared on their emergency timetable are running there is a train route home (joy!)  It's a rag-tag one and requires 3 trains being on time but it would get me at the Bamber Bridge station for approximately 18:09.

I look for the 17:20 to Preston that was declared on the emergency timetable yesterday ...Now it isn't even on the timetable as "Cancelled".  It has been completely removed.  Coach is now the only option...

16:30  Leave Work

16:34  Arrive at the waiting point at the station for the coach at 17.01

16:35  Coach already there (Yay!)  I ask the driver which way he's going to Colne or to Preston ..."Colne" he replies.  (Balls!)

16:40  Check the board for the Accrington train to Blackburn.  It is relatively on time.  I could have a look at Blackburn if the mysterious 17.20 to Preston is running still, that is if the coach is not on time.

17:01  The coach is not on time

17:04  The coach is still not here

17:05  I get on the train to Blackburn (worst case scenario I can catch the late coach from there)

17:15  Arrive at Blackburn.  The 17.20 to Preston, undeclared on the timetable, is cancelled.

17.18  Arrive at the coach stop for the 17:27 to Bamber Bridge (this is the 17.01 from Accrington.  My hopes are not high for this turning up).

17.27  No coach

17.30  Me and my fellow passengers waiting - still no coach

17.37  Yep, all still here, no coach.

17.42  Still no coach

17.44  For all these people during rush hour a mini-bus shows up.

17.46  We all get on and it is revealed he is a replacement bus service for the replacement bus service after the other replacement bus service was (supposedly) involved in some sort of collision, what with all this extra traffic being on the roads because of the lack of trains no doubt.

17:47  Are we moving?  Are we balls, he needs approval from Control to set-off, and neither he nor the station manager can get through to Northern Rail to get approval to go.

18:00  Driver reveals that he is expected to wait to pick up the next coach driver's rush-hour passengers and transport them home on this mini-bus ...THIS FULL MINI-BUS!

I am going to say it. Control are a bunch of dildo-shaped, fuckwits!

18:13  After nearly half an hour waiting for dithery Northern Rail managers decide what they want to do (they can't blame Network Rail for this, this exposes how awful and clueless and inept they are) we now set-off

19:09  The journey that according to the timetable should take 40 minutes take 56 and I finally arrive in Brig, pissed-off, another night destroyed by stupid managers who are looking at squeezing every penny rather than getting passengers home.  Tonight they deliberately delayed the coach in order to save on paying two coach drivers to do the same route and had the same effect as the previous night when they provided zero service.

Also just as a side note, the 17:20 Blackburn to Preston (as we know) cancelled

18.20 Blackburn to Preston - Cancelled

18.54 Blackburn to Preston - 14 minutes late.

Last week I heard a rail announcement saying the train was late due to Congestion

CONGESTION?  

WHAT CONGESTION?  

There's 2000 services you've cancelled!  How can there be congestion without trains????

Tomorrow I am back slightly later and will have to endure God only knows what.

I don't know what time I can expect to make it back after 2 days of nearly 3 hour delays.

Wish me luck.

Mr Chatable.

Oh and check out my previous entry yesterday where Network Rail lie about booking replacement coaches and laugh at customer's plight enjoy.

https://mike-lambert.blogspot.com/2018/06/northern-fail-sink-to-new-low-with.html

oh and this is from Google re the blog.   Thanks.
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NORTHERN FAIL SINK TO NEW LOW WITH DISASTROUS TEMPORARY TIMETABLE

So much has been made on Northern Rail creating a temporary timetable with only 165 services per day cancelled (only?)  With this in mind I was sure that there would be the minimum disruption to my daily commute from Bamber Bridge to Accrington, after all, the last thing that the senior, well-paid, executives at Northern Rail would want to do is look like utter idiots in the way that G4S did at the Olympics.

This was my journey...

6:25 am -  Get up check I have a train at 7.07 from Bamber Bridge to Accrington.  I do and it's on time.

6:50 am - leave house

7:04 am - arrive at train stop

7:05 am - train late by 15 minutes

7:49 am - arrive approx 15 mins late.

Check throughout the day for the train times.  There's a coach at 17.01pm that will arrive in Bamber Bridge 50 mins later than my train would have, but hey, at least Northern are doing their best and putting replacement coaches on, and that's the main thing.

16:35 pm - leave work

16:42 pm - arrive at train station and wait for coach.

17.01 pm - no coach.

17:10 pm - still no coach

17:12 pm - coach going to Colne comes and goes in opposite direction but our coach to Bamber Bridge ...No sign. 

17:15 pm - passengers look puzzled at their phones as the coach is nowhere to be seen 

17:17 pm - angry customer rings Northern for details of where the coach is.  She is advised that the good news is that the 17.41pm is on time.  She says she isn't ringing about the 17.41pm she is ringing about the 17.01pm.

17:20 pm - Still no coach, still no answers on the phone

17:30 pm - Still no coach and no sign of the angry customer on the phone getting to speak to the relevant person.  Hope fades for the 17.01 but hey, at least the  17.41 will be on time, right?  After all they said on the phone to the angry customer that it WAS on time ...right?

17:41 pm - No coach.  No 17.01 and no 17.41.

17:42 pm - angry customer still on hold

17:50 pm - angry customer finally speaking to Northern Rail Customer Service and explains how bad things are and how she's feeling.

17:51 pm "DON'T YOU LAUGH AT ME!"  Yes, Northern Rail customer service are now laughing at customers who are explaining how utterly angry and desperate and fed-up they are.  Each day when we reach a new low they limbo right underneath it.

17:52 pm - "What do you mean it's delayed?  I know it's delayed, how long will it be?"

17:53 pm - "What do you mean you're having trouble getting the coaches here?  We've already seen them going to Colne".

17:54 pm - "Just tell me straight, have you bothered putting coaches on?"

17:55 pm - "No, that's not what I asked just tell me straight, have you bothered putting coaches on from Accrington to Preston?"

17:56 pm - "You haven't put coaches on.  Okay".

19:22pm - eventually arrive back home two hours later than the usual train service.

Yes, Northern Rail let people coming home from work wait over an hour for a service that was never ever going to turn up and this, they cannot blame on Network Rail.  For all the talk that the exec did in interviews about the unacceptability of the service what today has revealed is that they really don't care.  This is a company with a culture of incompetence and apathy (from hearing the other side of the customer's conversation).

Clearly there are (at least) a couple of areas that need to be looked at.

1)  Customer Service - The staff need retraining to a)  Not lie to customers and b) not laugh at distressed customers.

2)  Control - clearly management at Northern Rail lack even the basic knowledge of how routes work and how to actually book a coach.  Perhaps a training session is required here as well.

In fact the only people who have given straight answers and have been exemplary are the customer facing staff, the guards, you know, the very people Northern Fail are looking at getting rid of.

Today shows every single customer of Northern Rail how valued they are and how understanding to the plight customer services are and sadly the answer is, not very.

I've still been Mr Chatable.

oh and this is from Google re the blog.   Thanks.
European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used and data collected on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. 

As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies, and other data collected by Google.

(picture not necessarily taken on today's journey - disclaimer)