Southern Rail Support Group

[RoseValleyRambles]

Does anyone else need this? I certainly do! Somewhere to vent, grumble, and at least feel someone is listening over the next month of what promises to be hideous travel.

Today I left home before usual time, took a bus because my train was cancelled, say in traffic for 40 minutes, and am now standing on another platform desperately hoping the train in planning on getting isn't totally packed. 1 hour commute is easily going to be two hours. And I get to do it all again at the end of the day...

Apparently Victoria is already heaving and service disrupted. Good luck to those trying to get home tonight and those waiting for them. Sounds like it could be a very long week.

Comments are appearing on local Facebook page. Delayed four carriage train arrived at packed platform, people in tears or throwing punches as they can't get on.
I don't understand why they run a four carriage train, they only need one driver, however many carriages, or do they need stars ( macdonalds style) to drive a longer train?

That's to say they ran that particular service but still managing to piss over commuters.

I'm reading this stuck at Victoria. Everything to my area is delayed or cancelled. I'm wondering how much overtime I will be paying my nanny today and how little time I will get to see my daughter for tonight. I'm working from home for the next two days. My husband has to be in court so is staying in a hotel. It's a fucking disgrace.

It's an absolute disgrace, service has abysmal all year but this is just crazy I'm very fortunate that I can work from home but have massive sympathies for those who can't or don't have that option. I'm also nearly 5 months pregnant and can't risk getting stuck standing on a packed train or platform as have been suffering from fainting spells.

It's not even a strike day today but am seeing on twitter how it might as well be as loads of cancellations and diversions....

digit that sounds awful. :(

Made it home. 35 mins late. 3 trains instead of 1. And I think I've got off lightly.
Grrr.

I'm on my second train of 3, left work an hour early and been travelling for nearly 2 hours so far.... DH is trapped at Victoria. He normally gets home about now.

London Bridge currently, poor bastards

Good luck today everyone. Hope the scum making people's lives a misery feel good about themselves.

I'm not affected myself but have friends who are
Interesting article mentioned up thread but without a link here www.londonreconnections.com/2016/railway-roulette/ does a good job of explaining why it's a lot more complex than tabloid headlines have been making out.

It's also alleged that southern have been cancelling more trains than they need to in order to exacerbate the situation.

So baby has just gone back to sleep. Waking him up to drive DH to Gatwick. Will southern fund earplugs?

It's a fucking nightmare.

We have one car that I need for work, dh relies on the train normally. Today we are lucky as I'm on a rare 9-5 so we are sharing the car. Tomorrow dh has had to take annual leave as he can't get to work. Friday I'm off so dh can have the car.

I am dreading the week long strike if it goes ahead. No idea how we will both get to and from work. Thankfully dh works flexible hours so doesn't have a set start time but the trains have been late or cancelled almost every day recently, strike or no strike.

Ds2 and I wanted to go to London to see the Christmas lights but can't fit it in because of all the strike days!

Hope everyone has a pain free journey today.

Have read the link. Some observations are well founded but it's a long litany of excuses that highly paid management should and could have put right ad the unions need to back down and think f the impact on ordinary working lives.

It's,horrendous luckily dh's work are understanding and can wfh but it's not ideal when he's only been there 8 months.

We have spent so much on taxis just to get back from a station which is vaguely near us.

It's ridiculous we are the world's 5th largest economy and people can't get to work to earn some money to pay some tax and keep the economy turning.

Maybe once the brexit shit really hits the fan and the economy is getting worse,they'll.want the 300,000 commuters working and contributing.

Thinking of everyone travelling today - I'm taking a days leave to avoid it but will be on the bus tomorrow (like empress, I could in theory get the Overground but the odds of my being able to get on are slim to none).

Was caught up last night en route back from London Bridge and DP had no trains en route back from Clapham, meaning he's missed his third paid for badmington session this term. I wouldn't mind but he leaves at 5.30, the sessions' at 8, and the journey should take 1h 15!

I'm just not bothering to make any commitments of an evening unless they are in town and I can walk or tube to them. Hats off to parents - I can't imagine the stress of being stuck at the station waiting to fed home to see kids or relieve childcare.

I too now don't give a shit about the reasons, I just want it sorted. Comparisons have been made in the press to the miner's strike - I'm too young to remember it but seems accurate. Only this time around we have a weak government who have - shall we say - other distractions? - so don't have the political interest to sort it.

I genuinely looked at buying us a car the other day, until I remembered London traffic....

Dh has just arrived at work using overground and bus. Took 2 hours door to door ( normally takes 1). He would have worked from home, but it's his office party

DH & I are so fed up we're actually staying in London. This is not ideal as apart from the cost we're flat-sharing with a friend which is not ideal when you're in your mid-30s and want to start TTC!

We are both WFH today. One tiny silver lining - the dog is overjoyed!

Roads were awful this morning, really heavy traffic.

I too have lost sympathy with the unions, it's the lack of negotiation and commitment to resolving it that's frustrating.

Is it really likely that Govia want to continue with the franchise? Wouldn't reaching a settlement to exit it be more attractive to them (in which case a poor service and irate commuters in Tory boroughs probably gives Govia leverage)?

It isn't as though Govia are being fined millions each month. If there's little financial pain for them until the contractual remedial plan has played out (years rather than months I expect), what incentive is there on them to try to reach a settlement with Unions or to spend their own money improving the service?

Maybe busy commuter routes are more trouble than their worth to private sector rail franchise companies.

Much sympathy for anyone having to travel today - my local bus stops had huge crowds around 8.30 and the main roads are still gridlocked heading into central London.

No-one wants to run this network for the amounts of money on offer. Until all the London Bridge work is complete it's a poisoned chalice and many problems will persist after that in 2018...

Has anyone tried the trams today? Thinking about trying to make it on tomorrow - wondering if thery'e totally jam packed or if I might make it onboard at around 8ish...