Trains cancellations - latest

[Lowlander]

Is there an end in sight for this madness? A zone 2 station with one train an hour in the peaks?

[wroed]

BrandNewGuy Wrote:

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> Elphinstone's Army Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > BrandNewGuy Wrote:

> >

> --------------------------------------------------

>

> > -----

> > > There's no problem getting on the 8.30 at the

> > > moment. A seat or two free in most carriages

> > and

> > > plenty of standing room.

> >

> >

> > Were you on the 8.30 train this morning? I was

> in

> > the front carriage with a million other

> standing

> > commuters, luckily all showered and clean

> clothes

> > - a few alighted at Peckham Rye, but more took

> > their places. It was packed tightly - the

> notion

> > that there are seats available at that time on

> a

> > busy commuter line seems fanciful.

>

> Yes I was. Four carriages back. Don't get on the

> first carriage!

Thanks for the feedback, I'll give it a go on Monday and will be avoiding the first carriage thanks!

In terms of alternative routes during the overtime ban I've been avoiding using the rail service altogether during the evening. The removal of the 17.50pm train means I'd be hanging around a stressed out London Bridge for about half an hour. Then often just as the 18.08 train is due it suddenly changes to "Delayed" and you have no idea how long to wait.

Weather permitting I've been walking it which takes exactly an hour at a power-walk. Otherwise I get the no.40, though I'm lucky it's second stop is near where I work so I can actually get on it. It's not much quicker than walking though!

[benfaulkner]

Lowlander Wrote:

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> Is there an end in sight for this madness? A zone

> 2 station with one train an hour in the peaks?

Have to say I can't agree more.

I've been riding (motorbike) to work for the last few weeks as the weather has been great, but tomorrow I need to take the train for work reasons. Just looked online and one train an hour?! Absolutely farcical.

[KidKruger]

The joke is that there's nowhere to go with this complaint.

Nowhere that will make any difference.

How self-entitled are we to expect a regular and reliable train service in exchange for our season ticket ?!

[Wimpole]

Best advice:

- Get the 0655 or 0730 and start your day earlier if you can.

- Always avoid the front carriage.the further back you go the more seats there are.

- if you start earlier try to arrange to leave earlier and get the 1711 from LB home. ALWAYS seats on this service.

Unless your on shifts or in retail many bosses are happy to flex these days.

[DulwichLondoner]

Unless you have young kids, that is.

Btw, Southern has just been fined ?13.4 MM. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40591938 Sounds like a slap on the wrist, if you ask me.

I honestly believe the only solution is to move somewhere that is either not served by SouthernFail, or served by very frequent Southern trains (e.g. commuting from Clapham Junction to Victoria has always been fine). But this cannot be said here on the EDF, because it would mean betraying Dulwich yadda yadda ya...

[KidKruger]

"Btw, Southern has just been fined ?13.4M"

So in reality it's just money-shiffling isn't it ?

Didn't Southern get ?20M last year from Govt (despite posting profits ) ?

So Southern is still quids up.

I think DL's suggested solution is one of the most viable.

[rendelharris]

DulwichLondoner Wrote:

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> I honestly believe the only solution is to move

> somewhere that is either not served by

> SouthernFail, or served by very frequent Southern

> trains (e.g. commuting from Clapham Junction to

> Victoria has always been fine).

Why not Overground from PR or DH via Clapham then - Waterloo or Victoria in 30-40 minutes?

[Penguin68]

There are both Overground and Southwestern services (West Dulwich)- both more reliable. Dulwich, even East Dulwich, isn't made or broken by Southern alone.

[DulwichLondoner]

What I found works best for me when (luckily not too often) I have to travel by public transport towards Victoria, Mayfair, Marylebone is a Southeastern train from Denmark Hill to Victoria, and then a bus. I am lucky enough that I can walk to DH in 10-12 minutes; if I lived, say, near the cinema or the butcher on Lordhsip Lane it would take much longer, because most buses to DH are so packed they don't even stop.

Still, this doesn't sweeten the pill that much. The situation remains unacceptable. I am not aware of anything even remotely similar dragging on for such a prolonged period of time anywhere in the developed world. It has a huge impact on quality of life; there are times when, if I miss a train from Victoria, I have to wait 30 minutes for the next one, and my door to door commute can easily be more than 1 hour. Not acceptable. I am now seriously considering moving elsewhere. I am lucky enough that my child has not started school yet, otherwise I'd feel trapped. If I had been renting I'd have moved long ago.

What beggars belief is how come house prices have not been affected. 5 years ago areas of SW London like Balham Clapham etc, with much better connections, cost substantially more - and understandably so. The price gap seems to have now reduced substantially. One more reason to get the hell out of Dulwichshire and go somewhere with decent public transport; I mean, if I really wanted my commute to be > 1 hour, I'd move outside the M25...

[DulwichLondoner]

Penguin68 Wrote:

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> There are both Overground and Southwestern

> services (West Dulwich)- both more reliable.

> Dulwich, even East Dulwich, isn't made or broken

> by Southern alone.

This very much depends on your commute. I had a colleague who moved to West Dulwich about a year ago, and he kept sending emails to the team: "in late, trains cancelled"; "working from home, no trains till 11" etc.

In SOME cases, yes, it is broken by Southern alone. But of course many Dulwich residents cannot acknowledge it, because it would mean acknowledging that they chose to live in a far-from-perfect location, right?

[Cardelia]

DulwichLondoner Wrote:

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> What I found works best for me when (luckily not

> too often) I have to travel by public transport

> towards Victoria, Mayfair, Marylebone is a

> Southeastern train from Denmark Hill to Victoria,

> and then a bus. I am lucky enough that I can walk

> to DH in 10-12 minutes; if I lived, say, near the

> cinema or the butcher on Lordhsip Lane it would

> take much longer, because most buses to DH are so

> packed they don't even stop.

I live very close to the cinema and I work in South Ken hence I take the Victoria trains from Denmark Hill every day. It is possible to walk to Denmark Hill in 20 minutes but most mornings I just hop on the first bus which comes along. The 40 is always empty and there is almost always room on the 176/185, albeit sometimes you have to stand. I know they fill up quickly and often skip stops from Goose Green onwards but I rarely see them skipping the cinema.

[Penguin68]

because it would mean acknowledging that they chose to live in a far-from-perfect location, right?

Almost all locations can be determined to be less than ideal on one criterion or another. SE London has always had transport issues (lack of a tube, for a start) - at the moment these are exacerbated by the failures of management, and the intransigence of unions (and possibly the malign hand of government) as regards the Govia-Thameslink Franchise. It is unlikely that the particular problems will actually be never-ending, despite appearances.

Other areas have other problems. You must decide when a problem becomes so important to you that (outwith an area's benefits) it is game changing for you. Which doesn't mean it is game changing for others, who may have different priorities or solutions to the problem.

Cognitive dissonance demands that others will share your priorities (which helps validate them). But even if you are the only one thinking something, that doesn't mean that for you it isn't right.

[DulwichLondoner]

Penguin68 Wrote:

>It is unlikely that

> the particular problems will actually be

> never-ending, despite appearances.

People have been saying that since problems started at London Bridge, around December 2015. Will it all end in two months? In two more years? No one really knows. After all, two months ago, lots of people were quite sure that the Southern situation had improved. Then the overtime ban kicked in. And, bham, we're back to 1 train per hour during rush hour, like last summer. Yeah!

> Other areas have other problems. You must decide

> when a problem becomes so important to you that

> (outwith an area's benefits) it is game changing

> for you. Which doesn't mean it is game changing

> for others, who may have different priorities or

> solutions to the problem.

Of course, that's quite self-evident. I am well aware that not everyone is affected the same way. I never said everyone should flee Dulwich, after all.

It's just that the vitriol in my other thread, where I dared ask if any one else was considering leaving Dulwich, because of the poor transport links, shocked me. I fully appreciate that not everyone is as affected as I am by SouthernFail; it is however beyond me why some people fail to accept that I can be more affected than them.

My theory is that it all goes back to the fact that certain people need to convince themselves and others that wherever they live is the best place on Earth. I cannot explain otherwise the rather ridiculous statements I keep hearing, like "Peckham is better than South Ken", "Bromley is only 10 minutes away from central London", etc.

[Penguin68]

It's just that the vitriol in my other thread, where I dared ask if any one else was considering leaving Dulwich, because of the poor transport links, shocked me.

Cognitive dissonance again - if one's views (or decisions) are called into question one takes this as an overall attack on oneself (obviously it's actually just a disagreement about one aspect of 'you'). If I decide to stay in Dulwich (despite the transport links) then you challenging this decision undermines my faith in me. And I can't be doing with that!

[Calsug]

Currently a very senior looking member of Southern doing a TV interview outside London Bridge station if you fancy heckling him - I was very tempted having just been at the ticket office to renew my season ticket...

[The Urbanite]

Depends on where you stand. From observation, a lot of people at East Dulwich prefer to wait religiously at the London end of the platform, squeezing onto packed carriages or even missing the train for a lack of space, whilst the rear few carriages are quieter, some even with plenty of seats.

Might take up to 3 minutes extra to get out of London Bridge from the back of the train, but surely worth it if you can actually get on and sit down.

Elphinstone's Army Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> BrandNewGuy Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > There's no problem getting on the 8.30 at the

> > moment. A seat or two free in most carriages

> and

> > plenty of standing room.

>

>

> Were you on the 8.30 train this morning? I was in

> the front carriage with a million other standing

> commuters, luckily all showered and clean clothes

> - a few alighted at Peckham Rye, but more took

> their places. It was packed tightly - the notion

> that there are seats available at that time on a

> busy commuter line seems fanciful.

[Bic Basher]

The normal Southern timetable is back from Monday after ASLEF decided to suspend the overtime ban. RMT strikes are also off.

[KrackersMaracas]

HURRAH!!!

[magnificentstan]

Bic Basher Wrote:

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> The normal Southern timetable is back from Monday

> after ASLEF decided to suspend the overtime ban.

> RMT strikes are also off.

Amazing news. Hopefully this is all resolved really soon because it's been a totally s**t commute without normal service from EDW the past couple of weeks.