Take note British train users

[Julia9054]

Looking forward to a days work today on 5 hours sleep after an unscheduled 40 mile round trip to Leeds last night to pick up my husband after the Manchester to Leeds train was delayed and he missed the last train back home. Are Northern Rail going to pay my petrol? As the train was delayed for less than 30 minutes, it does not meet their criteria for compensation. I'm bloody livid

 

[summerdays]

Looking forward to a days work today on 5 hours sleep after an unscheduled 40 mile round trip to Leeds last night to pick up my husband after the Manchester to Leeds train was delayed and he missed the last train back home. Are Northern Rail going to pay my petrol? As the train was delayed for less than 30 minutes, it does not meet their criteria for compensation. I'm bloody livid

One of my children missed a connection due to a problem with the first and so they ended up putting her in a taxi for the 60 miles home. I must admit I was surprised but it was also a pain.

The taxi driver was apparently only allowed to deliver her to the original destination, and he presumably wanted to get home as quick as possible so he kept trying to phone us to discuss alternatives (I wasn't happy talking to him whilst he was driving so ended up having my daughter being the in between person to decide on a location to take her to that wasn't our house which he wasn't going to do but just on the A38). And other friends were taxi'd home to Reading from London after problems with their train. So it does happen but I'm not sure under what circumstances.

 

[User10119]

Looking forward to a days work today on 5 hours sleep after an unscheduled 40 mile round trip to Leeds last night to pick up my husband after the Manchester to Leeds train was delayed and he missed the last train back home. Are Northern Rail going to pay my petrol?
As the train was delayed for less than 30 minutes, it does not meet their criteria for compensation. I'm bloody livid

Too late to help on this occasion, but for future reference; although the delay repay scheme and compensation only kicks in if a service is 30 or more minutes late (with a higher amount of refund if that stretches to 60 or to 120 minutes) the TOC has an obligation to get passengers to the destination specified on their ticket so IF you have a ticket from Manchester to, for example, York and the journey is one that needs a change in Leeds where you'd get on the last York train AND the Manchester to Leeds train is delayed sufficiently that you miss this service the TOC still has an obligation to get you there - you present yourself to station staff, explain that you arrived in Leeds on a delayed service intending to catch (and with a ticket for) the connecting service to York, but that there are no further trains running to allow you to complete your journey. They then shove you in a taxi at their cost - theoretically (in this example) to York station but when it happened to me travelling back from Brum once the taxi driver was perfectly happy to drop me off at my front door - and planned to do likewise for my new taxi-share friends on arrival in Durham and Newcastle.

 

[summerdays]

[QUOTE 5044638, member: 10119"]They then shove you in a taxi at their cost - theoretically (in this example) to York station but when it happened to me travelling back from Brum once the taxi driver was perfectly happy to drop me off at my front door - and planned to do likewise for my new taxi-share friends on arrival in Durham and Newcastle.[/QUOTE]
I think we had an awkward driver... it would actually have been closer to have dropped her to our house than either the station or the actual drop off point we ended up using.

 

[Julia9054]

[QUOTE 5044638, member: 10119"]Too late to help on this occasion, but for future reference; although the delay repay scheme and compensation only kicks in if a service is 30 or more minutes late (with a higher amount of refund if that stretches to 60 or to 120 minutes) the TOC has an obligation to get passengers to the destination specified on their ticket so IF you have a ticket from Manchester to, for example, York and the journey is one that needs a change in Leeds where you'd get on the last York train AND the Manchester to Leeds train is delayed sufficiently that you miss this service the TOC still has an obligation to get you there - you present yourself to station staff, explain that you arrived in Leeds on a delayed service intending to catch (and with a ticket for) the connecting service to York, but that there are no further trains running to allow you to complete your journey. They then shove you in a taxi at their cost - theoretically (in this example) to York station but when it happened to me travelling back from Brum once the taxi driver was perfectly happy to drop me off at my front door - and planned to do likewise for my new taxi-share friends on arrival in Durham and Newcastle.[/QUOTE]
Thank you
Wish I'd known. I hope the poor young girl tweeting from the same train as my husband got home safely

 

[spen666]

Ah, you mean the operators of: Chiltern, Cross Country, Grand Central, London Overground, Northern, Tyne & Wear Metro and Welsh & Borders? Funnily enough, they don't seem to be held in such high esteem over here.

I think they had the Tyne & wear Metro taken back off them as they were so poor

 

[MontyVeda]

Yeah, I was thinking 15 minute estimates, that's all my trains ever manage. This is the 1815-1830 train to.. why do we bother with 1807 etc?!

I post brexit Britain, there'll bee none of that 24 hour clock millarky either... twelve hours, twice, like it' should be

 

[AndyRM]

I think they had the Tyne & wear Metro taken back off them as they were so poor

They did. Matters have not improved.

However, that's largely because of ancient trains, some of which are 40 years old. No operator is going to be able to do much with decrepit rolling stock, and the funding to replace them is slow in coming.

 

[mjr]

[QUOTE 5044638, member: 10119"]...so IF you have a ticket from Manchester to, for example, York and the journey is one that needs a change in Leeds where you'd get on the last York train AND the Manchester to Leeds train is delayed sufficiently that you miss this service the TOC still has an obligation to get you there - you present yourself to station staff, explain that you arrived in Leeds on a delayed service intending to catch (and with a ticket for) the connecting service to York, but that there are no further trains running to allow you to complete your journey. They then shove you in a taxi at their cost [...] [/QUOTE]
Completely theoretical in my experience. In practice, you arrive at Bristol Temple Meads on a Crosscountry and the GWR station staff say they're only there to close the station for the night and not authorised to hire taxis to take passengers onwards, directing you to the freezing taxi rank outside where there's no taxis anyway because they're over the other side of the city serving the lucrative pub and club trips. Calling a cab gets a silly estimate of a pick-up time, so it's quicker for a relative to drive up and collect you, then the TOC only pays the minimal compensation and nothing towards the collection.

But the theory's better than the USA, where it seems you get offered your onwards ticket price back and left to make your own travel arrangements... along with the hundreds of others intending to catch the cancelled train.