Just thought i’d point you in the direction of the new May to September Northern Line timetable:
 
http://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/pdf/Northern Line from 23 May to 11 December 2010.pdf
 
Where the “News Update” on page 2 contains this little gem…..
 
“The section of Northern Line between Hunts Cross and Liverpool Central will be closed for essential engineering work from Saturday 24 July until Friday 27 August 2010.

All trains between Southport and Hunts Cross will start and finish at Liverpool Central, with buses replacing trains between Liverpool city centre and Hunts Cross stations.

Keep a look out for posters at your local station for full details. We’ll produce a temporary timetable containing details of trains and buses nearer the time.”

To say that i am pissed off about this would be an understatement; how much engineering work can this small stretch of railway require?!?! It’s constantly closed, I might as well move house!

Peter

Oh Dear, another happy traveller on the Liverpool network.

In the interests of fairness, I should publicly say that I finally got my refund from The Trainline.com, on behalf of Virgin Trains. I also got a reply to my original complaint to Virgin Trains themselves.

Someone from The Trainline saw my posts on here about the ‘issue’ (I know from my visitor monitoring software) and what do you know, I got an email from their ‘Customer Service’ department offering to assist. They duly (and very quickly, too!) refunded the money I was owed, plus a small extra sum for my inconvenience.

Virgin then replied to my original complaint, and enclosed a £20 rail voucher valid for twelve months, as an apology for the delay in sorting out my problem. So not a bad result in the end, but one does have to wonder just how long it might have taken if I hadn’t been in the fortunate position of being able to make my complaint more public than many people could.

So, I’ve started work on a list of those Train Operating Companies (TOC’s) that do and do not use The Trainline.com for their booking agent. I tried to find this information myself earlier today, but couldn’t, so I figured I’d go ahead and work it out for myself.

It doesn’t claim to be a particularly scholarly piece of research; I went to each operating company’s website and tried to buy a ticket, then searched the source of the page to see what system they use. To be honest, once you’ve seen a few, it’s pretty obvious.

Here begins my semi-definitive list of where to book a train ticket without having to go anywhere near The Trainline.com. I can’t guarantee that the others are any better, but they surely couldn’t be any worse …

So, do they or don’t they?

• Anglia Railways – RailEasy
• Arriva Trains Wales – They use TheTrainline
• c2c – They use TheTrainline
• Chiltern Railways – ATOS Origin
• Cross Country – They use TheTrainline
• DirectRail.com - RailEasy
• East Coast Trains  - ATOS Origin
• East Midland Trains – wasn’t working when I tried to use their system
• Eurostar – No, but you can only book Eurostar tickets
• First Capital Connect – They use TheTrainline
• First Great Western – They use TheTrainline
• First Hull Trains - They use TheTrainline
• First Trans Penine Express – They use TheTrainline
• Gatwick Express – No, but you can only book a Gatwick Express ticket
• Grand Central – They use TheTrainline
• Island Line (South West Trains) – They use TheTrainline
• London Midland – ATOS Origin
• Merseyrail -  RailEasy
• MyTrainTicket - Assertis
• National Express – They use TheTrainline
• National Express (East Anglia) – They use TheTrainline
• National Rail Enquiries – connects you to the relevant TOC website
• Northern Rail - RailEasy 
• QJump – They use TheTrainline
• RailEasy.co.uk - RailEasy
• Rail Saver - RailEasy
• (First) Scotrail – They use TheTrainline
• Southern Railways - ATOS Origin
• South West Trains - They use TheTrainline
• Virgin Trains – They use TheTrainline

There are two alternative booking systems to The Trainline in common use (thanks to the commenter below for allowing me to update this post) – RailEasy and ATOS Origin.

The list is nearly complete , but as I’m not totally obsessed and I do have other things to do I’ll finish it off over the course of the week. I could extend the research too, it occurs to me, by spending time working out who is cheapest for an identical journey. Hmmm, this could be time-consuming … but useful.

It’s a grisly subject, but the way this has been filmed and edited is quite amazing, and shockingly effective. Be warned, it might not be suitable for those of a weak constitution. I’m still trying to get hold of a copy of the complete film, but this clip is probably enough for most people. It should certainly make you think about your driving, and the possible consequences.

Bertie – A Road Safety Film (Excerpt) from Euan Preston on Vimeo.

Euan has some good work out there … I originally found this because I was emailed a link to another piece of work by the same chap. This is far less traumatic, and shows what a creative mind can do with some fairly simple equipment … and a bloody good idea!

Hong Kong Time Lords from Euan Preston on Vimeo.

If you’re looking for information on the effect that the upcoming RMT strike (6th April to 9th April inclusive) will have on Merseyrail services, you should look here – RMT Strike Info.

There is an interesting discussion about the strike, putting both sides of the argument (commuters and rail-workers) on The Mess Room website.

Update - 01/04/2010:

Train services should be operating normally next week – the planned strike by RMT and TSSA staff has been called off, following a legal challenge by Network Rail – read the story here and also here.

Update - 31/03/2010:

It looks like Merseyrail are planning to run a half-hourly service during the strike action. You can find a temporary timetable for the duration of the industrial action on the Merseyrail website, here – Merseyrail – RMT Strike Temporary Timetable

I’ve added a link to the document and not the document itself, so anyone downloading it should get the latest version, should they need to revise it. Please let me know if this link goes out of date.

Update - 30/03/2010:

A half-hourly service will run on the Merseyrail network between approximately 08:00 and 19:00, with the following exceptions:

• No service between Hooton & Chester
• No service between Hooton & Ellesmere Port
• No service between Liverpool Central & Hunts Cross
• No trains between Liverpool Central & Kirkby after 17:00 on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 April.

Congestion is expected at Aintree on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 April, the first two days of the Grand National race meeting. Race-goers are advised to use alternative ways of travelling to and from the racecourse.

The last call to Virgin (or TheTrainline, who runs it for them) was on Friday12th March (just before my brief visit to Mumbai), when I was categorically assured that I would have my refund. Nope, it didn’t happen.

So I’ve taken the advice of PFAS who took the time to comment, and asked the HSBC to refund the money back to my credit card. This will involve a bit of form-filling apparently, but all in a good cause

I did try calling the ‘Customer Service’ department of Virgin here in the UK, to see if they could help, but on all three occasions I tried once I’d stepped through the menus, when I got to the “speak to a person” bit, the line went to an engaged tone. Very helpful. I did fill out one of their complaint forms – you can get one here if you need it – and send it off. I doubt I’ll hear anything though.

A quick search on the Internet reveals that there are legions of people having (or having had) much the same problem. Sadly, avoiding this bunch of crooks seems almost impossible, as they run 16 out of 20 of the UK Train Operators online booking systems – (source article). Thanks too are due to Jonathan who suggested writing to them, but as I’ve started down this route now, I’ll wait and see how I get on.

I wonder if anyone has spoken to Trading Standards about this kind of thing?

I bought a return ticket for a journey from Liverpool to London, but the meeting I was travelling to was cancelled at the last minute. I called Virgin, and was told I could cancel the original tickets for a refund, and book new ones for two days later, which I did. I then sent the unused tickets to Virgin Trains to claim the refund to my credit card.

Virgin (or their agent, I presume) have refunded the cost of one leg of the journey, but not the other. After three weeks and three calls to their call centre, I still haven’t been able to get the other half of my money back. They are now claiming that they didn’t recieve the tickets – a ludicrous assertion as they have already granted a partial refund for one of them (both tickets were sent in the same envelope).

Has anyone else had problems with a refund from Virgin Trains? Also, is their online ticketing run by ‘The Trainline.com’? I intentionally didn’t use The Trainline because of stories I’ve heard and read about their customer service since they were bought out a couple of years ago.

I’m just wondering whether this problem is an isolated case of a cock-up in the system, or whether it’s indicative of the problems I’ve read about.

I wouldn’t mind quite so much, but the ‘manager’ I eventually got to speak to this morning sounded like he really couldn’t have cared less.

Update: it’s now March 27th, and despite two further calls to Virgin Trains and assusances that I will have my refund “within 4 days”, I still haven’t had a penny. Frankly, I don’t believe them anymore.

On Monday I’m going to try and speak to someone at Virgin in the UK, and also to Trading Standards, if they’re interested.

The ‘Information Board’ was totally cocked-up, changing every minute or so with what appeared to be a random selection of train destinations and times. There was an announcement that the the Chester/Ellesmere Port trains were in a mess, but that was all. My Brother and I were left wondering (like a few others, I suspect) whether we had somehow missed the 5:36 to West Kirby perhaps.

But no, it was indeed late, as I found out when it finally arrived in Moorfields at about ten to six. The ‘Information Board’ said that there was another one immediately behind it, but bearing in mind that the board had been changing like a fruit machine display, I decided to board the first train that was hopefully going my way – along with anyone also going to Chester as well, as the announcement told them to do.

Imagine the looks on my fellow passengers faces when the cattle truck- like train pulled into Conway Park and the guard announced that because the train was late it was now cancelled, and we were all to get off and stand on the platform to await the next one !

It is absolutely no wonder that people don’t believe in the Merseyrail PPM figures – I overheard a chap next to me saying that he believed they cancelled the train to avoid it being counted as late, and it is hard to argue with him. Why the bloody hell else would you piss people off like that – passengers who have paid for a journey that is already late, the delay has not been explained to them, and then you turf them off the train “because it’s late”?

Until I see a categoric explanation of how the PPM figures are calculated – I’ve searched the internet and can’t find an authoritative answer to this – I’m inclined to the popular belief that they are rigged. From a passengers perspective, it’s an almost unavoidable conclusion. And I’m not the only one who shares it.

UPDATE:

In an effort to get to the bottom of the question about the PPM figures, I have written to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) as follows:

Good evening,

 

I am writing to ask if someone from your office can explain to me, in non-technical terms that a layman can understand, how the Public Performance Measure (PPM) figures for a rail operator are calculated.

 

My specific interest is in an explanation of under what circumstances (if indeed there are any) a train does not count toward the operators PPM calculation, or if there is a circumstance(s) for which an operator can claim an exclusion for a particular train journey.

 

I have tried to find the answer to this question myself, and can only find conflicting explanations.

 

Your help with this request would be greatly appreciated.

 

Best Regards

Tonight is the second night this week (and it’s still only Wednesday) that I’ve had my journey home ruined because one of Merseyrails 30 year-old piles of scrap wasn’t able to limp from one station to the next. Stuck at Birkenhead Borth on Monday night waiting for a train because the one I should have been travelling on had ”technical difficulties” and then stranded at James Street this evening because of the same sorry excuse. And it’s not like these are isolated incidents … anyone care to examine the Merseyrail Twitter feed to see just how often their trains are cancelled or severely delayed on the lines I have the blessing to have no need to travel upon?

Perhaps Jane is right – the reason they’ve apparently been spending so much on their stations recently is so we all have somewhere nice(ish) to sit while they try to find a train that still works.

And all this on the day that a Google Alert for “Merseyrail” threw up another of their sanctimonious press-releases about how sodding reliable they are. The internet is littered with these objectionable documents, normally a few every week. Either the figures are questionable, or we should have real worries about the state of the remainder of the countries rail services.

Interesting to note in this latest load of verbiage from Merseyrail Towers that they are also apparently claiming credit for keeping their trains running while there was a couple of inches of snow lying on the ground. Well, excuse me for sounding ungrateful, but isn’t that kind of what a modern transport operator should be capable of doing, without expecting to be congratulated for it? Just because all the buses stopped running – in itself  inexcusable – doesn’t mean that we ahould therefore judge Merseyrail as being some kind of great success. They did what they are paid to do.

Talking of paying, I found out last week a little ‘quirk’ of their fare system – you can’t buy a return ticket unless it’s for the same day. I had to travel to London last week, out one day, back the next. I had to buy two singles, so my return journey from home to Liverpool Lime Street to catch a proper train cost £5.50 instead of £3.65. Bloody cheek.

I also saw tonight, while I was sitting waiting at James Street that they have a train called “John Peel”. Personally, I would regard that as the ultimate degradation. If I ever end up with my name on the side of one of their trains after I’m gone, I’ll leave instructions for my estate to sue for defamation of character.

Unless of course the late Mr Peel was regarded as an unreliable sort of person …