miklcct
Established Member
For most of train journeys with connections, if there is a disruption happening early in the journey, I can find a way to minimise the delay experienced, to the extent that I can still arrive my destination roughly according to the schedule's expectation. For example, during a major disruption when train companies expect trains running about 15-20 minutes late, I can usually get to my destination less than 15 minutes late.
This evening, the Brighton main line had a severe disruption, combined with the closure of the fast lines through Gatwick Airport, a large number of trains are cancelled with the remainder running very late, with widespread ticket acceptance in place. However, I managed to arrive my destination 3 minutes earlier than if trains ran to the schedule.
I went to Brighton as there was good beach weather today. When I was ready to go home, I checked the train times in the app to see if I needed to chase for a train, and saw 12 minutes until a Cambridge train, and 20 minutes until a Victoria train. My destination was West Hampstead and I had a bike, so I couldn't use the deep level tube to get across London. It was unlikely for me to make the Cambridge train cycling from the beach, but it would be plenty of time for the Victoria train, so my plan was to take that train to the airport (it wasn't scheduled to stop at East Croydon) and change where necessary.
When I arrived the station, it was already past the departure time of the Cambridge train and it had been taken off the board, but surprisingly the train was still there, not yet ready for boarding, and the Victoria train was due in a few minutes yet there was no sign of it physically. The Cambridge train soon unlocked its doors so everyone on the platform, including me, boarded the train.
Under normal circumstances, the Cambridge train connects to the St Albans train in the core with 3 minutes in between, however, as the Cambridge train was delayed, the connection was missed. I watched my apps and looked at the departure board as the train pulled into Blackfriars, and the next train was a Kentish Town train (useless), 3 minutes away, than the next two trains were cancelled, and 23 minutes for the 3rd train (i.e. a 20-minute gap) in the core.
As my ticket had a Maltese Cross, I bailed out at Farringdon and switched to the Metropolitan line, and finally arrived West Hampstead (Jubilee line) at 20:26.
According to the official National Rail timetable, my next scheduled service at the time I arrived Brighton was the 18:58 train, arriving 20:29 at West Hampstead Thameslink. It turned out that the 18:58 train was cancelled, so if I travel according to the published timetable, I would be delayed by 15 minutes by taking the next Cambridge train and changing at Farringdon. In reality, I got there 3 minutes earlier than usual, hence avoided a Delay Repay liability for Thameslink.
I want to read more about the experiences of others avoiding Delay Repay liability, especially if you recovered more than 30 minutes during your delayed journey by taking the matter into your own hand, hence reduced the Delay Repay liability by two levels or more.
This evening, the Brighton main line had a severe disruption, combined with the closure of the fast lines through Gatwick Airport, a large number of trains are cancelled with the remainder running very late, with widespread ticket acceptance in place. However, I managed to arrive my destination 3 minutes earlier than if trains ran to the schedule.
I went to Brighton as there was good beach weather today. When I was ready to go home, I checked the train times in the app to see if I needed to chase for a train, and saw 12 minutes until a Cambridge train, and 20 minutes until a Victoria train. My destination was West Hampstead and I had a bike, so I couldn't use the deep level tube to get across London. It was unlikely for me to make the Cambridge train cycling from the beach, but it would be plenty of time for the Victoria train, so my plan was to take that train to the airport (it wasn't scheduled to stop at East Croydon) and change where necessary.
When I arrived the station, it was already past the departure time of the Cambridge train and it had been taken off the board, but surprisingly the train was still there, not yet ready for boarding, and the Victoria train was due in a few minutes yet there was no sign of it physically. The Cambridge train soon unlocked its doors so everyone on the platform, including me, boarded the train.
Under normal circumstances, the Cambridge train connects to the St Albans train in the core with 3 minutes in between, however, as the Cambridge train was delayed, the connection was missed. I watched my apps and looked at the departure board as the train pulled into Blackfriars, and the next train was a Kentish Town train (useless), 3 minutes away, than the next two trains were cancelled, and 23 minutes for the 3rd train (i.e. a 20-minute gap) in the core.
As my ticket had a Maltese Cross, I bailed out at Farringdon and switched to the Metropolitan line, and finally arrived West Hampstead (Jubilee line) at 20:26.
According to the official National Rail timetable, my next scheduled service at the time I arrived Brighton was the 18:58 train, arriving 20:29 at West Hampstead Thameslink. It turned out that the 18:58 train was cancelled, so if I travel according to the published timetable, I would be delayed by 15 minutes by taking the next Cambridge train and changing at Farringdon. In reality, I got there 3 minutes earlier than usual, hence avoided a Delay Repay liability for Thameslink.
I want to read more about the experiences of others avoiding Delay Repay liability, especially if you recovered more than 30 minutes during your delayed journey by taking the matter into your own hand, hence reduced the Delay Repay liability by two levels or more.
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