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froome
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« on: August 28, 2024, 10:42:24 » |
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I had meant to post this a week ago, but have been ill so just doing so now.
On Sunday 18 August I went from Bath Spa to Paddington and back.
The outward journey was on the 07.58 and was a very enjoyable journey. This was partly because it was not overcrowded (the previous Sunday I had done a similar journey on the next train, which was completely packed and pretty horrendous). However, it was mainly due to having a train manager who actually had good customer skills and kept us amused. When the train slowed down soon after Bath he kept us informed on what appeared to be happening and in the end we arrived in Chippenham just 3 minutes late. He then proceeded to keep us informed on progress in trying to catch up time, which included, which I particularly liked, a pit stop start at Didcot Parkway, where we had arrived just one minute late and managed to arrive at Reading early. So my compliments to whoever the manager of that train was, who I think did an excellent job.
The return journey was on the 18.03 from Paddington. On this our carriage had something I've never seen on a journey before. After Reading I went to go to the toilet and walking up the aisle found that there was a passenger lying prostrate across all 4 seats, with his head up against one window wall and his feet reaching the other, and lying level straight across the aisle. He was face down and appeared to be asleep. I managed to get over him, though it wasn't easy and on the way back had to do the same. I assumed that the train manager would try to wake him up (and perhaps he had), but he was still lying there when we approaching Chippenham, though I don't think he was there when I got off at Bath. I did see various other passengers also make their own ways, in various ways, over him, and did see the train manager arrive and just lift himself very athletically over him, without attempting to disturb him. I have no idea what happened to him.
Also, I noted that time train (the 18.03) is shown as running non-stop from Temple Meads to Plymouth. I wasn't aware there was any service that did that, and searching the website this service doesn't some up as running (but that is today, it maybe a Sunday only service). But anyway, en route it was announced as terminating at Temple Meads without any attempt to tell passengers how else to get to Plymouth. So I wondered whether it actually ever runs to Plymouth, or whether it always actually terminates at Temple Meads (there didn't seem to be any passengers noticeably travelling to Plymouth).
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