Thanks for that, bus it is then

It really really does my head in when they've arrived according to the screen but they're nowwhere to be seen.

It is seemingly at every station in my experience (in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)) but I believe they're allowed to be 10 minutes late and they're still on time in the railway's twilight zone world of statistics and punctuality. For the customer it is the equivalent of being told to hang on the line when ringing a call centre! "Your call is really valued."

Still interesting to know that the real reason is due to signalling and the customer info service displays are not there for performance measures. One would think with it being one of the main information points for the "customer service experience" they would have some form of performance indicator.

What would be better for me to get?

Travelling from Cardiff next Tuesday around 3pm (ish) and have to check in for my flight from Heathrow T4 at 18:30 (3 hour check-in cos its a long haul flight)

As I undertand it RailAir doesn't go to T4 but tickets are valid for the Heathrow Connect trains. Price (without adjustments for splitting tix etc) works out roughly the same.

I'm a bit worried about the traffic from Reading to Heathrow during rush hour.

If anyone knows of any other routes I'm all ears (but not National Express)
Cheers

Fair enough but lots of people are unaware that they need to travel until a couple of days/ hours prior to making a journey. Say for example if I went to the ticket office on the day and said I would like a ticket from x to y and the ticket office said there will be a considerable delay on your journey from x to y due to engineering works and you have no alternatives available, how is it fair that the operators still expect the customer to pay full whack?

Over a barrel.

One for all you "insiders"

I am trying to get a ticket for a train on Sunday (Reading to Cardiff) which is going to be over an hour more (at least) than usual due to engineering works. In any normal business a customer would expect some leeway in terms of cost if their product was in some way not available in advance as anticipated (eg restricted viewing at football matches or a concert)

However in the rail industry it seems that the customer is expected to pay the same for journeys that will take an extra hour and inconvenience people. Is this because the passenger will be occupying the seat longer as there can be no rhyme nor reason why on earth I should have to pay extra for a journey which will inconvenience me by at least an hour more than it will on the Monday.

When will the rail operators get their act together and offer discounted fares for journeys affected by planned engineering works?

So I'm getting a coach instead. As it will be cheaper and take less time. Amazing

^However safety is our number one priority...."

Um no it isn't, maximising profits for shareholders is. Why do privatised infrastructure monopolies insist on saying "safety is our number one priority" when it is patently untrue.

Disclaimer: i work in an industry that also uses this maxim

I have now. 35 pages is a bit much to wade through

I was looking for the thread but couldn't find it

We're human and we don't like change but I was very confused to discover my train to South Wales departed from Platform 7 this morning. Off I trundled to where I thought Platform 7 was but lo and behold its only Platform 4. But with a different number.

And then the 09:11 Manchester train departed from the same platform.

Confused? You will be.

Heres Tim O'Toole's First Group's CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer) renumeration package:

last year's salary: ^591,000
housing allowance: ^138,000
bonus: ^760,000

this company has a number of near monopolies in local markets, delivers a rubbish service for rip off prices, pays its staff at the bottom crap wages  and they still tell us that the private sector are the best people to run essential public services?

Nice work if you can get it.

Bile I've spewed? So as part of an integrated greener transport policy you think price rises on public transport well above the rate of inflation will encourage people to ditch their cars and let the train take the strain? Great forward thinking for an greener, safer planet.

Or knowing that you can get a flight to Scotland for approximately the same price as a train journey in peak hours encourages people to be more carbon efficient?

Apologies for my "bile." Heres some more bile why on earth can't they open up first class carriages to the general smelly chavs like me who congregate in the vestibules causing health and safety problems at peak hours?

Of course I'm no industry insider just someone fed up with being ripped off for a continually sh*t service that is rarely punctual, often cramped and has had no marked improvements in 5 years. Espeically when one uses public transport abroad.

Rip Off Britain

Disgraceful rise in prices yet again. I fully intend to make my feelings known by initiially refusing to pay the new walk-up fares. How can it be cheaper to get to mainland Europe than take a 200 mile journey in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)? How can you justify above inflation ticket price increases when many people didn't even get a 1% pay rise

Its a friggin' disgrace at a time when people are meant to abandon their cars to save the planet. FGW^▸ (First Great Western) and the rest of these cowboy monopolisers know they have your average commuter by the short and curlies. I'd love to pay an extra 5% on extortionate fares to stand cramped in a smelly carriage, much the same as everyone has done for the last 5 years

http://www.ccmb.co.uk/fudforum/index.php?t=msg&th=303343&prevloaded=1&rid=0&start=50

Quality stuff

Mooooooo! 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-16057602

I was t at Newport station last night and for some reason  trains about 21:00hrs going West were approx 20 mins or longer being delayed. No explanantion, no apology, no visible staff to ask.

Platforms 2 and 3 look like a building site. The toilet is the other end of the platform from where the trains stop.

Seemingly no staff after 21:00 around the ticket office or foyer to help with any possible queries

And to cap it all a train came though which wasn't announced on the board. Which I could have got on. But as it appeared on Platform 1 and I was in the toilet on Platform 2 I missed it. Despite my best efforts 
 

Does anyone know how to contact the Station Manager?