FCC Operates Teleporting Train

[The Box Photter]

Taken from the FCC live running information this evening....

"18:41 London Bridge to Brighton due 19:52
This train has been delayed at Harlington and is now 10 minutes late.This is due to poor weather conditions earlier.
(Message Received: 17:51:12 20/12/2009)"

How can a London Bridge to Brighton train be delayed at Harlington (which is in Bedfordshire)?

Fairly typical of the standard of customer information provided by FCC.

Most of us commuters on FCC wish we could ask Scotty to "Beam us up"!

Because of the tundra-like weather conditions in Bedfordshire yesterday, FCC cancelled three consecutive southbound services from Bedford. When I phoned their "helpline" I was told that this was not correct as I was "using the website wrong" and I shouldn't have been looking at the information for the whole line. I should have just been looking at trains leaving my local station (Flitwick). The numpty on the "helpline" was adamant that these trains would be running from Flitwick and could not understand how I could possible know they had been cancelled as his system was telling him otherwise.

Mrs Box Photter decided to walk to the station (narrowly avoiding marauding polar bears & wolves) to find out that the trains were NOT running.

Why operate a "helpline" if the people manning it have less information than the passengers?

Rant over.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Maybe waiting for a joining train from Harlington?

 

[yorkie]

How can a London Bridge to Brighton train be delayed at Harlington (which is in Bedfordshire)?

Because it originates at Bedford. This particular service is due to depart Bedford at 1722 (and calls at Harlington at 1736). Through services bring many benefits, however one downside is delays north of the Thames are imported south of the river, and (more frequently!) vice-versa.

 

[91101]

I believe that it might be to do with a simple misclick of a mouse, it should show correctly as the 17XX from Bedford to Brighton rather than 1840 from London Bridge.

 

[Wyvern]

I thought that there were no FCC trains from Bedford to Brighton on a weekend at the moment?

 

[thefab444]

They run through on some Sundays, and oddly, also yesterday (Saturday!).

 

[91101]

The system that those messages are sent out on asks for a headcode, lets say 2T21, but lets say there are some FCC trains on a week by week basis that vary, so 2T21 1952 arrival at Brigthon starts from London Bridge at 1841 last week, but this week starts from Bedford at 1700. Basically the operator selected the wrong 2T21 in the situation above.

Very, very sporadocally the core is open on some weekends.

 

[mackenzie_blu]

I thought that there were no FCC trains from Bedford to Brighton on a weekend at the moment?

Its actually shown as closed most weekend. The two weekends before xmas the Core was kept open. For some reason the engineering works are not happening on sundays lately causing general confusing with staff and passengers. This is the situation until Spring 2012.