Rail delays due to overhead wires.

[Richard1960]

Hi on tuesday i needed to get to Sheringham Norfolk to visit a relative that come over from abroad from Harlow Essex ,the power lines were down at Roydon Essex not AGAs fault.

But AGA told me there was a shuttle service between Cambridge and Bishops Stortford so i got a cab there,and was told a train would be 15 mins 10 mis later i was told no more trains for 4-hours.

Abellio then sent me by cab to Hertford North i was told by confused staff there why did they send you here instead of the cab taking you to Cambridge there are no direct trains here, the cab driver even said to me the fare would have been about the same,and i needed to get to cambridge for a train to Norwich,,anyhow they sent me to finsbury park,and another bemused member of Great Northern said your well off your route.

I arrived at Sheringham at around 5pm, due to various problems i could not come back that day (mainly due to the delays i was 4-5 hours late arriving at Sheringham) ,and instead of letting me use my flexi 4 out of 7 rover ticket on an earlier train next day,as i had to get to work early they re-charged me, i thought due to the disruption the previous day they could have shown some leniency an Norwich,but no they made me pay another £36 to get back.

I wonder what the situation is with this ? i am rather annoyed and Abellio are meeting me at 6pm at Norwich monday,the lady on platform customer service was quite harsh and said i am the highest person on the platform,so far Abellio have launched an investigation into the Finsbury park fiasco and the re-charged ticket and her attitude.

As ever it was not the main problem that caused me hassle but Abellios handling of it.

They have asked me to keep all my tickets.
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Anybody care to take a stab.

 

[Hadders]

Oh dear, this does sound like a bit of a nightmare. I assume Abellio operate Delay Repay in which case you should be able to claim a full refund on the cost of your ticket due to the delay of more than 2 hours. I don't know exactly what ticket you were using for your journey.

It is really difficult when disruption occurs and personally I find having good knowledge of the rail network and a decent geographic skills helps. Staff generally try their best but often they don't know what's happening any more than passengers do and things can and do change with little notice. Many staff (and passengers) rely too much on technology and don't have a good knowledge of the network or how to get from one place to another.

If I were in your situation, given that wires were down at Roydon I'd have considered:

- Going to Stansted airport where Cross Country diesel trains should have been running to Cambridge.
- Going to St Margarets, Rye House or Cheshunt and taking a train to Liverpool Street and getting a Norwich train from there or gone to Kings Cross (via Victoria Line from Seven Sisters/Tottenham Hale) and getting a Cambridge Cruiser service.
- Going to Chelmsford and taken a Norwich train from there.

I wouldn't have gone to either Hertford North (no direct Cambridge trains) or Finsbury Park (only semi fast and slow Cambridge stoppers).

I find it helpful to use the National Rail app on my phone and Real Time Trains for information on what's actually running during disruption and checking the situation before setting out on a diversion.

Some of the options above might involve an excess fare or an additional ticket although tickets will often be passed for reasonable routes during disruption. You might also be able to claim some delay repay.

 

[Richard1960]

Oh dear, this does sound like a bit of a nightmare. I assume Abellio operate Delay Repay in which case you should be able to claim a full refund on the cost of your ticket due to the delay of more than 2 hours. I don't know exactly what ticket you were using for your journey.

It is really difficult when disruption occurs and personally I find having good knowledge of the rail network and a decent geographic skills helps. Staff generally try their best but often they don't know what's happening any more than passengers do and things can and do change with little notice. Many staff (and passengers) rely too much on technology and don't have a good knowledge of the network or how to get from one place to another.

If I were in your situation, given that wires were down at Roydon I'd have considered:

- Going to Stansted airport where Cross Country diesel trains should have been running to Cambridge.
- Going to St Margarets, Rye House or Cheshunt and taking a train to Liverpool Street and getting a Norwich train from there or gone to Kings Cross (via Victoria Line from Seven Sisters/Tottenham Hale) and getting a Cambridge Cruiser service.
- Going to Chelmsford and taken a Norwich train from there.

I wouldn't have gone to either Hertford North (no direct Cambridge trains) or Finsbury Park (only semi fast and slow Cambridge stoppers).

I find it helpful to use the National Rail app on my phone and Real Time Trains for information on what's actually running during disruption and checking the situation before setting out on a diversion.

Some of the options above might involve an excess fare or an additional ticket although tickets will often be passed for reasonable routes during disruption. You might also be able to claim some delay repay.

I only went to Hertford North as Abellio Greater Anglia sent me there via a taxi (which they ordered and paid for) I would have been quite happy to go to Stanstead Airport by cab,or any other station it was Abellios decision to send me to Hertford North even the cab driver could not believe it.!

The main problem was it elongated my journey and could not come back that evening,and instead of letting me use the anglia plus flexi 3 in 7 day ticket i bought when i eventually got to cambridge the next day albeit early,as i needed to get to work.And the return ticket from cambridge to Harlow purchased the day before.

They made me pay again £36 to go back to harlow despite what i went through the day before.

Abellio i think should have used their discretion to avoid charging me again,as it is it looks like they will refund it next week involving lots of messing around for me and them.

 

[Hadders]

I assume you were using a combination of tickets for your journey between Harlow and Sheringham as an afaik an Anglia Plus Rover is not valid for travel for travel to/from Harlow.

I don't think you can really argue that you should have been allowed to use your Rover the following day before the time it is valid, unless there was a general relaxation put in place. What Abellio should do is pay you delay repay based on your journey from Harlow to Sheringham using (presumably) a Harlow-Cambridge ticket combined with a the Anglia Plus Rover and being delayed for over two hours.

Did you query Abellio's decision to send you to Hertford at the time, or just go along with it? I'd have checked myself to see what was running from nearby stations on other lines before going anywhere rather than just taking someone's word for it.

Hopefully the fact that you've got a meeting arranged with them will allow them to give them the discretion you're seeking.

 

[Richard1960]

I assume you were using a combination of tickets for your journey between Harlow and Sheringham as an afaik an Anglia Plus Rover is not valid for travel for travel to/from Harlow.

I don't think you can really argue that you should have been allowed to use your Rover the following day before the time it is valid, unless there was a general relaxation put in place. What Abellio should do is pay you delay repay based on your journey from Harlow to Sheringham using (presumably) a Harlow-Cambridge ticket combined with a the Anglia Plus Rover and being delayed for over two hours.

Did you query Abellio's decision to send you to Hertford at the time, or just go along with it? I'd have checked myself to see what was running from nearby stations on other lines before going anywhere rather than just taking someone's word for it.

Hopefully the fact that you've got a meeting arranged with them will allow them to give them the discretion you're seeking.

Thanks yes i did query it they advised as it was arranged via Norwich i could get a train from Hertford North to Cambridge,not knowing that line very well li took their word,thinking as they are a train operating company they must know,i have learnt now much to my cost they do not.!

Yes i was using a combination of tickets, incidentally the next day the ticket office at norwich said if my ticket had of been circled whatever that means, they would have allowed me to use it in view of the aggravation i had the day before,but early in the morning there was nobody high enough around to authorise it.

And yes in view of all the problems the day before,i do believe Abellio should have relaxed the ticket rules,from that area.

I am off the Norwich in a minute to visit a friend, that is why i bought a return from Harlow to Cambridge the other day,and a flexi 3 in 7 Rover as i needed to get to Sheringham Tuesday and Norwich today.

Abellio had me travelling around three counties Tuesday,hope its better today.

Hopefully something good will come out of mondays meeting i have with them. Its was bad enough a couple of months ago when nobody on Norwich station knew the coding on a weekly Anglia plus Season and i kept being harassed by guards on the Sheringham line now this.Grrrrr,the other problem my MP is dealing with,after passenger focus,he said lack of staff training appears to be a big problem with AGA..

 

[Hadders]

Unfortunately as in many areas of life these days staff, while often well meaning and trying their best, are not trained well enough and have insufficient knowledge when things go wrong.

Despite what companies claim (not just rail ones) staff often don't take the initiative and are afraid to think outside the box and make a decision when things go wrong.

I'd always spend a few minutes checking what they're proposing first to check what someone's proposing is in my best interests. Thankfully this is quite easy these days if you have a smart phone.

 

[Richard1960]

Unfortunately as in many areas of life these days staff, while often well meaning and trying their best, are not trained well enough and have insufficient knowledge when things go wrong.

Despite what companies claim (not just rail ones) staff often don't take the initiative and are afraid to think outside the box and make a decision when things go wrong.

I'd always spend a few minutes checking what they're proposing first to check what someone's proposing is in my best interests. Thankfully this is quite easy these days if you have a smart phone.

Thanks very much sound advice,the damm problem was also the mobile phone signal otherwise i probably would have checked.

Thanks for replying.
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Good news had a meeting with GA yesterday they gave me £60 worth of vouchers and said they should have accepted the ticket from the day before,as instructions had been given to,because of the trouble the day before.

 

[Hadders]

An excellent result, thanks for letting us know.

 

[Richard1960]

An excellent result, thanks for letting us know.

Actually When I counted again it was actually £80 they even refunded my original 4 in 7 flexi rover as well ! ??????