RE: Delays on the Aylesbury -Marylebone line.
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to express my extreme disappointment and frustration at Chiltern Railways’ inability to maintain a reliable and punctual train service.
In my last two weeks of travelling to and from Stoke Mandeville, the service has been delayed every single time. When the drivers deign to explain what the latest fiasco is, they have included:
– Failed Signals (3 times)
– Defective train ahead (2 times)
– Defective signals (1 time)
– Train Failed (1 time)
What next? Leaves on the line? Icy track? Man overboard?
Inbound to London, it seems that the chances of a train not spending at least 15-20 minutes between Amersham and Harrow on the Hill are statistically zero. On the way back, my fellow commuters and I have spent many an unhappy 10-15 minutes on each trip, seemingly abandoned, south of Rickmansworth.
The best your service has managed is 8 minutes late, the worst -yesterday -a laughable 32 minutes late. I dare not schedule a meeting before 10am because of your inability to keep to a timetable.
I have tried many different trains but you’re incompetence treats the so-called – fast’(hah!) and slow trains just the same. Delay after delay, extra stop after extra stop, overcrowding, lack of information, the list goes on.
Call me old fashioned, but from a customer perspective, I don’t want glossy brochures telling me how well you are doing, I just want a reliable and safe train service. Your trains are definitely safe but that’s because they rarely move for long enough to get into a dangerous situation.
Now I appreciate that it’s probably difficult running a train service on our crowded railways, but frankly that’s your problem. My problem is that unless you can reassure me that the service will improve, I really can’t take the stress and frustration of being late every single day. Or should I switch to the more expensive and less convenient Birmingham line? I’ll gladly pay the extra if you can assure me it’ll run on time at least some of the time.
I look forward to receiving a positive response or at least some recognition that the service is at best poor and rubbish value for money and at worst awful. And that one day -hopefully soon -it will improve.
Yours sincerely
Alex Leigh
And as a postscript, I’m not interested in filling in multiple forms for compensation. I don’t want the money back, I just want Chiltern Railways to respect the timetable. Is that too much to ask?
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[if gte mso 9] … Bit ambitious there Mr Leigh.
Hmm. The blog had a bit of a hiccup last nigth and decided to self publish HTML code. I’ll go and give it a tap with the virtual hammer later!