I thought #TrainPain only applied to commuters fed up with minor regular delays, but then I boarded the 08:26 from Surbiton to London Waterloo last week…
This is a guest post by Grace Kindred. All views expressed are Grace’s own and not necessarily shared by Which?.
I travel from zone six to zone one to get to work and I enjoy my commute. I can live with a few minutes delay now and then – more time to read a book or catch up on Netflix. I like the ‘me’ time.
But that all changed last week when I hopped on my usual train at Surbiton, expecting to reach London Waterloo in 20 minutes or so… how wrong I was.
Little did I know I was about to be caught up in an ordeal that one passenger would dub the South Western Hunger Games.
Held at a red signal
We were near the end of the journey when we heard the dreaded ‘red signal’ announcement. You never know how long one of these will last, and it wasn’t until 20 minutes later we got our first announcement from the driver; there was ‘a problem’ that would be resolved ‘quickly’ and we’d be back on the move ‘shortly’.
He was right to be ambiguous – the train completely lost power not long after that. No more tannoy announcements, no air conditioning, no ventilation. Not even the ability to flush the toilets.
As the time rolled by people began to sit on the dirty floor, desperate to get off their feet. The lack of ventilation was causing some to feel light-headed – there was a pregnant woman looking ever more flustered.
Many people had now started running their phone batteries into the ground trying to find answers, while some even phoned South Western’s customer services.
Should we pull the emergency lever?
Hours into the delay, and people were now craving any form of ventilation. A discussion broke out about whether or not we should open the doors via the emergency lever. But we were right in the middle of the tracks – it clearly wouldn’t be safe.
Not only that, but one passenger said they worked for Network Rail, and that even though we’d been stuck for more than two hours, opening the doors would result in an £80 fine.
The situation was becoming more tense, and a group of passengers formed to locate the guard, who it turned out knew as little as we did.
Twitter speculation
By now, the toilet had actually started to overflow. People were becoming increasingly more desperate and, with no information, had no idea how long this would carry on for.
With some passengers reading tweets out loud to update everyone, there was perhaps some light at the end of the tunnel:
⚠️ *UPDATE 12/02* We have been advised that the specialist should complete their tasks in the next 15-20 mins. Once they are clear of the line the power will be recharged. The current estimation for the line to be charged is by 11:40. Any further updates will be provided here.
— SWR Help (@SW_Help) February 12, 2019
Was the end in sight? When the power finally came back on, the entire carriage cheered. The train then made an impromptu stop to allow people off who just couldn’t stand it any longer.
I was fortunate to be one of the first off the train at Waterloo, where we were greeted with staff handing out delay repay forms and water. It was quite obvious there wouldn’t be enough for everyone, but at least it was something.
I just wanted the whole thing to be over, but now the onus is on me to get compensation by filling out the delay form – yet more of my time consumed.
This was my first experience of major ‘train pain’ – I’ll never take a standard journey for granted again. There was nothing anyone could do to help, seemingly no contingency plans and no refreshments onboard.
In the end I was more than three hours late for work. I accept that sometimes delays can happen, but I think commuters deserve a better managed experience when they do.
This is a guest post by Grace Kindred. All views expressed are Grace’s own and not necessarily shared by Which?.
Which? is demanding a better rail service, with automatic compensation when things go wrong one of our key campaign calls.
We contacted South Western Railway for its comments on Grace’s story – check the comments to see their response.
How do you feel train companies manage situations like Grace’s? Are drivers and other members of staff being kept up to date well enough? Let us know your experiences below.