grumpyf1

#NorthernFail It isn’t hard to imagine a conversation taking place at beleaguered train operator Northern, sometime in the depths of winter, that went something like this: “Passengers want more trains!” “Fine – give them more trains.” “What, really? Won’t we need loads more staff to operate them?” “We can worry about that nearer the go-live date.” “But, surely we’ll need time to employ them, train th....” “Shhsh! Stop worrying. It’s cold in here. Chuck something else on the fire.” “How about this large box of customer complaints?” “Perfect – we’ve got loads of those we need to get rid of!” OK, that’s made up, but there is more than enough anger and frustration amongst let-down passengers that it wouldn’t have surprised many of them if it were a true story. Northern have removed 165 services every day until nearly the end of July, as they struggle to cope with an expanded timetable. Some of these are the Lakes Line, running to and from Preston, Lancaster, Oxenhol...

It was a lovely day out.  We caught the train to Edinburgh, and rather than just wander round shops looking at stuff we didn’t need, we spontaneously strolled around the town, on a chilly day of exploration and a spectacular Turkish lunch. In the evening we headed to the station for the journey home. Tired, happy and foot-sore, we were looking forward to relaxing and arriving back at Oxenholme for the short hop back home by car. That was when the nightmare began. Whilst monitoring the departure board, our train came up as late by 10 minutes. Then 20. Then just ‘delayed’. Followed by the announcement that strikes fear into the heart of even the hardiest commuter. Due to a ‘person being struck by a train’, the line was closed and we would have to make our onward journey by a (imagine the next few words being read out in a distorted, slowed-down and overly loud voice) Replacement - Bus – Service. Someone was definitely having a far worse evening than us, and my sympathies to...