I recently needed to spend a couple of separate working days in London.
I chose Tuesday, October 28, for the first one and on Monday bought my ticket in the foolish belief that you could believe the First Great Western timetable.
I arrived at Malvern Link station to catch the 07.34 train on Tuesday morning and was told it had been cancelled.
There was no useful information as to when, or even how, one might get to London on that day. I decided not to travel at all, completed and handed in a refund form and returned home and spent the rest of the day ringing round my appointments in London to apologise and postpone.
I have since discovered that my monthly credit card bill has been charged for the ticket but the refund has not been credited!
On Tuesday, November 4, I tried again. This time the train was over half an hour late at Malvern Link and an hour and a quarter late getting into Paddington, wrecking my tightly arranged schedule in London before I even got there. My carriage was alive with the sound of passengers making excuses and rearranging meetings on their mobile phones. The train home in the evening was a mere quarter of an hour late arriving at Malvern Link.
I had still only carried out half of the visits and work which I wanted to do in London, so on Tuesday, November 11, it was back to Malvern Link station for the 07.34.
This time it was only a quarter of an hour late arriving at Malvern Link and little more than that getting into Paddington. The return journey started what First Great Western describes as 'on time'- a mere ten minutes' late leaving. It was over half an hour late when we finally limped into Malvern Link after eight o'clock in the evening.
Every journey by train is an ordeal, only to be undertaken by the fit, robust and those of an extremely patient disposition. The 'day out in London' has become a trial of strength and fortitude which only the brave should attempt.
Friends all have their horror stories of missed appointments disrupted lives and chaos imposed on their best-laid plans. What, for instance, happened to the man behind me in the queue at Malvern Link booking office on Tuesday, October 28, who was catching the train to go to Heathrow for a transatlantic flight? There must be hundreds of equally grim tales out there. It is up to the Malvern Gazette to find and publish them!
Scotford Lawrence, Cradley.
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