Letter to Boris Johnson & Joan Ruddock MP re: Trains

24th December 2009

Boris Johnson
Mayor of London
Greater London Authority
City Hall
The Queen's Walk
More London
London SE1 2AA

Dear Mr Johnson,

Why is it so difficult to get to work in London?

You would think that when our economy is still unwell that we would be encouraged and supported in getting to work. However, my experiences over the last week with two railway companies has been quite the opposite. First Capital Connect and Southeastern seem to have failed monumentally in providing train services, instead choosing to hide behind any excuse that they can use including blaming each other.

Let me take you through the journeys I have attempted to make this week to give you an understanding of how both these companies should not be running transport in this country.

Christmas Eve – 08:30 Trains from Crofton Park to St Pancras

Despite there being no snow and the tracks perfectly clear, for reasons no one has explained in any intelligent way, services from around 08:30 have all been cancelled. After coming back from the train station this morning, I logged onto the National Rail website and found that all my trains have been cancelled.

Therefore today, I am forced to work from home to maximise my working time; I am lucky I can do that, but many other people cannot and have either had to take the day off or lose pay.

December 23 – 17:48 Train from St Pancras to Crofton Park

I discovered with glee and excitement that there were some trains running last night, so I skipped and I hopped to St Pancras and waited for the 17:48 Sevenoaks train that would take me to Crofton Park. Little did I expect that a thirty-minute journey would take an hour. At about 18:05 we stopped between Farringdon and City Thameslink and waited in a tunnel. About six or seven minutes later the train driver announced that we were waiting behind a number of trains, as First Capital Connect were waiting for a relief driver for a train that was effectively parked at Blackfriars without a driver. About sixteen minutes after we stopped, the train began to move. Then between Denmark Hill and Peckham Rye, we stopped again just outside Peckham Rye station. We waited there, with many people standing in the carriages and were eventually told that we were waiting for a signal. We waited and waited and waited again. Finally we started to move and to our delight we arrived at Peckham Rye to cheers and a crowd filled welcome. Well not quite. Off we went again and the train finally arrived at Crofton Park one hour after I boarded it. I think on Virgin trains I could have travelled from London Euston to Birmingham in that time.

December 23 – 08:30 Trains from Crofton Park to St Pancras

Again no trains were running after 08:30 this morning. I questioned the one staff member at a Southeastern station and she blamed First Capital Connect and it was nothing to do with Southeastern. Now that was news to me as they are sharing services, though we do board 19th Century First Capital Connect carriages…they remind me of the good old days when British Rail was in existence. Oh wait, they are British Rail carriages! Anyhow, so this news filled me with such a warm glow, I had to get the bus and ended up being one hour late for work and had to spend £2 on a journey I had already paid for in my season ticket.

December 22 – 17:30 from St Pancras to Crofton Park

Oh what a journey did I hence enjoy. The sturdy British travelling public did rejoice at a train and hence piled on to magnificent and extremely uncomfortable proportions, as First Capital Connect and Southeastern had conspired to run very few services. This train journey, late and without regard for health and safety did eventually get me home, but reminded me of train journeys in India. You know the ones with people hanging off the train and stepping over others to get off.

December 22 – 08:30 from Crofton Park to St Pancras

No direct services on this morning. Oh no! To travel from Crofton Park into St Pancras involved going south to Bromley via a stopover in Catford before boarding the train to London Victoria then catching a tube to St Pancras. Delightful. The bus again at more cost to me, eventhough I had purchased a ticket from Southeastern.

December 21 – All day

Well you be forgiven in thinking that we had entered a new ice age, or at least Kent. I stayed at home and did not use my ticket – no trains at all.


So why am I writing this to you. Well the answer is simple, I want my money back and despite my attempts at contacting Southeastern, all have failed. I am sure in due course when the pigeon reaches their headquarters deep in the massive profit jungle that I will get a response, but I would like you to do the following, if you are so inclined:

1. Write to the Department of Transport and pose the question why is it so difficult to get to work in this country? Furthermore, why are franchises given to these two companies when they are quite clearly incompetent? Finally, we pay very high fares, subsidise the fat cat bonuses of these train executives and shareholders and they cannot even try to run a train service.

2. Write to the Chief Executive of both companies and explain that people need to get to work and their excuses will not be tolerated.

3. Help me get my ticket refunded and if there is any decency in these people, maybe compensation, as financial penalty is the only language they understand.

Now before any one claims we have had severe weather conditions, in the time I have used this service from May 2009, they offer many excuses as to why they cannot run a service and the weather is the latest one. My favourites at all times of the year and not just now are:

1. The train has been cancelled due to driver displacement;
2. The train is delayed / cancelled due to an earlier operating incident;
3. The train is cancelled due to no member of train crew available for this service;
4. The train has been cancelled due to a technical incident.

They are ripping off taxpayers and the travelling public. Urgent action is needed. Surely it is the job of the London government to make sure that people can get to work, or the economy will not recover anytime soon.

Yours sincerely,



Paul Bell