There’s no doubt it doesn’t reflect well but what can you do? If a train or trains brings down the wiring and closes the majority of lines there isn’t much you can do in the immediate short term.
In the immediate short term, I would agree. In the medium and long term, the question has be be asked as to whether the system needs improvement to lessen the changes of disruption and cancellation.
Even for an industry which is no stranger to shockingly poor service, this must absolutely be the bottom of the barrel.
A national embarrassment.
..............and people still have to get home of course, despite disruption continuing until "the end of the day"
Indeed - but yet if it were a very occasional situation it would be far less of an embarrassment.
I've looked back at the last seven days on the TransWilts - maximum 8 trains each way per day - for the last 7 days:
13th - 3 cancelled, 1 later restored, broken train
16th - 1 cancelled, later restored, train fault. Also 1 delayed
18th - 2 cancelled, crew delayed
19th - 5 cancelled (so far), to clear line for trains diverted off other line
and the timetable ran on the other three of seven days. And this is not unusual.