On 21 Jan 2013 at 7:17am Commuter wrote:
Whoever it was who authorised Rail Improvement work to take place yesterday instead of keeping the line open should be sacked. Wasn't it obvious that the tracks would be iced up this morning. Norman Baker, I will be contacting you later.
On 21 Jan 2013 at 7:50am Lazy Len wrote:
Spend the morning in bed then, like me.
On 21 Jan 2013 at 8:17am FFS wrote:
What the same Norman Baker who was on the TV the other day extolling the need for above inflation fare rises due to record investment?
I think you'll find he is more concerned about keeping his bike clean in the snow.
On 21 Jan 2013 at 8:33am Frustrated wrote:
Walked down to Lewes Station to get the 6:05 â?? to be told that the internet was wrong â?? no trains going north. Option was to go to Brighton, then get a bus from there to Haywards Heath, but the busses wouldnâ??t start until about 07:30.
After some further deliberation, we walked home, dug around in the huge pile of snow on the drive, found the car, de-iced it and have driven to Croydon. Brilliant.
On 21 Jan 2013 at 9:19am S wrote:
Commuter, these engineering closures are planned months in advance.
TThink of all the overtime the rail workers and the "replacement" bus drivers would have lost if common sense had prevailed and the planned maintenance postponed.
On 21 Jan 2013 at 9:54am biggles wrote:
S. A good case made then for re-opening the line via Uckfield - an alternative route, no weekend closures, no replacement bus service.
On 21 Jan 2013 at 10:32am boggles wrote:
no. a good case for criticising MP's who waste time prioritising dreams instead of doing something more meaningful about the reality of what we do have.
On 21 Jan 2013 at 11:47am Commuter wrote:
S, Someone somewhere made a concsious decision to undertake the engineering works in full knowledge of the weather forecast. Ask any railway operator, it is imperative to keep trains running to prevent snow and ice building up. Where lines were open, "ghost trains" and de-icers ran to keep lines clear. The route between Lewes, Three Bridges and Brighton is a key strategic route. Whoever made the decision to go ahead with the Engineering Work was planning to fail.
On 21 Jan 2013 at 12:46pm grafter wrote:
Like the post office in the high st. None of the heroic workers could struggle in to work it seems. Oh well,another customer goes to use couriers instead.
On 22 Jan 2013 at 10:19am the old mayor wrote:
A nation of whimps !!
On 22 Jan 2013 at 6:03pm Jane wrote:
It's all about money, it would cost them too much to cancel the planned engineering works. That's privatisation for you, everyone working against each other not for the good of the public but for their share holders, like the gas today it stinks.
On 22 Jan 2013 at 7:52pm Commuter wrote:
Sorry Jane, you are wrong. Privatisation has nothing to do with the non cancellation of the engineering work. Even in BR days, there was tension between operating departments(those who run the trains) and the engineers when it came to planning and executing engineering works.
The current Railway operates on a line of route system with the equivalent of a general manager in charge. He or she would have had the ability to stop the engineering work. In fact Southern's own website makes reference to cancelling engineering work in severe weather in order to enable the railway to be kept open. This was a very poor decision.
On 22 Jan 2013 at 10:48pm brixtonbelle wrote:
It was a nightmare on Monday morning and I hear a train didn't leave Lewes for Ldn until 1.30 in the afternoon. I was sent on a massive detour via Brighton, Littlehampton and Hove to get to London and ended up at work 3 hours late after 4 hours travelling, having started my journey at 6am.
The driver of my train this morning apologised profuselt calling the service 'aboslutely terrible' "awful' and a 'mess'. At least someone was being honest. They made a huge cock-up with the decision not to run trains overnight/ de-icers.