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Getting home from London to Luton this evening (13/08) with the wires down?

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reduke

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Apologies if this is posted elsewhere, feel free to merge, I didn't want to drag the EMR refurb thread too far off topic.

What's the best advice for getting home this evening?

What's the best way to convince whomever I need to to order a taxi?

I am currently on LNWR to St Alban's Abbey via Watford junction because OpenTrainTimes showed something moving north of Elstree (no idea what it was...)


All help appreciated, thank you!
 
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DarloRich

DarloRich

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Train to mk. Cab or bus from there surely?

Are there any replacement buses running from mk to Bedford as often happens in times of disruption
 
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Mattplans

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It looks like there are 9Z VSTP services running between Luton and Bedford on the maps?

Edit - can't find anything in journey planners and no reliable service seems to be running.
 
Mcr Warrior

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Is the 321 bus from outside St Albans Abbey station to Luton a possibility? Departures at 2140, 2210, 2240 & 2340. Journey time to Luton station is around 40 minutes. Obviously, could be busy!
 
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sh24

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I've done Hitchin to Luton by cab when the ECML was down. Might also be an option?
 
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reduke

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I considered Hitchin but at this time of night the bus service is late sparse and few!

I know that there are many ways home, I was hoping to find out the quickest and best way that the TOC will pay for so that I don't have to fight them later...
 
bramling

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reduke said:
I considered Hitchin but at this time of night the bus service is late sparse and few!

I know that there are many ways home, I was hoping to find out the quickest and best way that the TOC will pay for so that I don't have to fight them later...
Click to expand...

There’s a plentiful supply of taxis at Hitchin, though I’d imagine a taxi to Luton wouldn’t be cheap. However the GN service to Hitchin isn’t great this evening, and those taxis will likely be in high demand. I didn’t see any evidence of buses being provided, but this doesn’t mean there aren’t any.
 
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reduke

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Oh and I was just chatting to a staff member at Watford Junction and he'd been told the problems were due to a derailment...

Will be at St Alban's city in 50 mins so will reassess then.

Preemptive Double post prevention - anyone know what 9Z12 to 9Z17 are doing, or am I getting my hopes up thinking they are doing shuttle runs?
 
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Mcr Warrior

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@reduke. Thought you were on your way, on the 2045 local train already? Presume you're on the 2145 instead. The 321 bus from St. Albans Abbey station to Luton, mentioned upthread, will have called at Watford Junction station towards the start of its journey!
 
Haywain

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reduke said:
Oh and I was just chatting to a staff member at Watford Junction and he'd been told the problems were due to a derailment...

Will be at St Alban's city in 50 mins so will reassess then.
Click to expand...
I'd go for the 321 bus from St Albans Abbey (or somewhere up the hill). There are no trains at St Albans City - just some sort of shuttle between Harpenden and Bedford
 
Starmill

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You could always walk across to City station and enquire about replacement buses etc. If it were me I'd just get on the local bus and buy a ticket though.

bustimes.org can "see" them live https://bustimes.org/services/321-luton-to-watford#map

Don't forget to ask for a paper ticket if you would like to claim it back, although for the sake of £3...

Unless the 321 is included with the ticket acceptance arrangements...?
 
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Bletchleyite

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The level of "give up and go home" in this incident is absolutely shocking. There are lots of partial services that could operate for connections eg across St Albans to avoid stranding but they have just given up. There isn't even any acceptance noted on EMR's website.

Do not travel is no use if you're trying to get home in the evening having already travelled.

Edit: sorry, this has been moved to trip planning, will shift this post somewhere more appropriate shortly.
 
Starmill

Starmill

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Bletchleyite said:
The level of "give up and go home" in this incident is absolutely shocking. There are lots of partial services that could operate for connections eg across St Albans to avoid stranding but they have just given up. There isn't even any acceptance noted on EMR's website.

Do not travel is no use if you're trying to get home in the evening having already travelled.

Edit: sorry, this has been moved to trip planning, will shift this post somewhere more appropriate shortly.
Click to expand...
I can't see any ticket acceptance with the buses whatsoever beyond the London buses and trams, plus London Underground. So for anyone who had a rail ticket correctly paid for, if outside of Greater London, I would definitely say it's worth taking the local bus, getting a paper ticket and asking for Thameslink to cover the cost.

Obviously if your journey is delayed by a qualifying time that comes under the ordinary Delay Repay rules also.
 
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reduke

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Ok st Alban's is advising southbound passengers to take the bus to Hatfield, and putting on taxis for northbound to harpenden. Taxi is charging £40+ extra to go one extra stop to Luton direct...



Addendum: a couple of guys actually turned up at City having walked from Abbey because they didn't want to wait for up to an hour for a southbound train... I told them to go back again but they listened to the guy in the high Vis who said take a bus...
 
westcoaster

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If you were at Watford earlier the 321 direct to Luton would have been the better option, either walk back to St Peter's street for the 321 or get it from Harpenden.
 
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reduke

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Hopefully final update for anyone else still stuck: shuttles appear to have paused, next one has been due to leave Bedford for ages.

Harpenden is now putting on taxis northbound.
 
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reduke

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Train to Watford Junction, train to St Albans Abbey, Walk to St Albans City, TL paid for taxi to Harpenden, then paid for another to Luton when they realised the shuttles weren't leaving Bedford anymore, then finally I paid for the last taxi leg home from the station to get more time in bed!

Not the best journey but I won't complain now I've read about what happened in Lewes! :/
 
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