A commuter’s marathon 3: Unease grows ahead of London 2012

So how are things going with the new Greater Anglia rail franchise? Writing as a commuter who spends far too much time passing through Liverpool Street, I confess to some qualms.

This morning saw cancellations to Cambridge “due to the late arrival of inbound services”.

Last night there were problems for the Stansted Express, with some cancellations as well as terminations at Bishop Stortford – with bus replacements. How many missed flights there, I wonder.

Yesterday morning a “broken rail” made life difficult at Stratford. You would think everything there should be gold standard ahead of the Olympics, wouldn’t you? (And has anyone thought of cancelling freight services through there during London 2012?)

OK, I’m not giving Greater Anglia much of a chance to deal with legacy issues. But I’m jaundiced after trying to get away early last Thursday and becoming snared in another bout of cancellations. Problems between Stratford (again!) and Forest Gate, apparently.

To be fair it’s obvious that many issues remain with the line operator and not the train one.

But can’t we improve the consistency and quality of the train announcements? Some drivers say nowt, some say rubbish (as in “Our delay is due to slow running”) and some show their frustration (as in “If I find out the cause I’ll let you know”).

Take a leaf from the clear-voiced Circle Line driver on Monday evening. She told everyone who get on at every stop about the signalling issues. Even though half-term schoolchildren were soon joining in, one mother remarked: “How refreshing. We never used to have such reassurance.”

The rail lines that many commuters view more as a bottleneck PA

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• ayurvedic_massage

  The workshop is a long-distance managing occurrence with an formal range of 42.195 kilometer (26 kilometers and 385 yards), that is usually run as a street competition. 

• IndyOnline

  See Chambers dictionary:

  definition includes:
  any lengthy and difficult task… requiring or displaying great powers of endurance or stamina

  defines cross-London commuting for me

  martin king