While not everyone has experienced cancellations this morning, many woke up to the news that their usual commutes would be more complicated than usual thanks to GTR choosing to streamline services by removing some of the stops.
Julia Day, director of marketing and content at Hotcourses Group, works in Putney but lives in Brighton and was shocked to discover that the Brighton line to Victoria will no longer stop at Clapham Junction between 5.30am and 10am. This means overnight, her two train commute will now be a three train journey as she will have to add an additional change at Haywards Heath.
She said:
They’ve just taken Clapham Junction off the timetable at peak commuting time, meaning my journey to Putney now involves three trains for a journey that I could do previously in 1hr 10mins.
My weekly ticket costs £100.50 so I’m fuming. The extra change also means I am likely to have to stand between Haywards Heath and Clapham Junction, which is a 40-minute journey.
There were lots of reminders in train announcements to check the new timetable in advance, she said, but she “didn’t imagine for one minute” that Clapham Junction would be one of the stops that was removed given it is such an important interchange.
She added:
The hassle of changing trains on a direct route and the spectre of having to stand when we pay so much for our tickets is really quite crushing.
It’s not all doom and gloom for everyone this morning. Guardian reader Peter O’Callaghan has got in touch as he is one of the commuters who has actually benefited from the timetable changes.
He said:
I’d like to add a positive note to some of these changes. My commute is Deptford in south-east London to Regent’s Park. The new Thameslink service to Luton that stops at Deptford has knocked at least 20 minutes off my journey. I’m very happy this morning.
Hundreds of people are experiencing disruption around Manchester, Leeds and Bolton this morning, thanks to major timetable changes.
Kristy Turner is travelling from Bromley Cross, which is a commuter village north of Bolton, and is trying to get to work at the University of Manchester where she is an academic in the school of chemistry.
Despite leaving early, she has experienced problems due to overcrowding and cancellations. Her first train was on time but consisted of only two carriages when it arrived and consequently was packed with commuters.
I note that there are no @northernassist staff around at all on the platforms at Bolton...I suspect because there will only be 2 train into Manchester in the next hour, all the others are cancelled & there is a platform full of people wanting to get on those 2 already full trains
Her connecting train at Bolton was then cancelled. The atmosphere was tense on the platform, she said, and no members of staff were around.
She said:
The platform was full of people. Some managed to cram in a Victoria train but there was no way I could get on. Tempers were fraying and three guys having a big row, which was a bit scary for onlookers.
I tweeted Northern, who said the Alderley Edge train was going through Piccadilly, and I have managed to get on. It is very uncomfortable. There is standing room only on the train and we’re all crammed on up against the windows. I’m surprised no-one has fainted to be honest.
James Charlesworth is trying to travel to Leeds from Mirfield this morning, which is his regular commute. He said it has been “a disaster” this morning.
New @northernassist timetable out today, absolute shambles! Why is the British rail system so bad?!? Late, overpriced, outdated, crowded trains!
The station was a lot more crowded and most people had frowns on their faces which is understandable. No one was giving out information but that’s just Northern all over. Luckily I work near Leeds train station otherwise there is no doubt I’d be late.
Govia Thameslink Railway, which is the UK’s busiest franchise, has apologised to customers for the delays and cancellations caused by the “biggest timetable change in a generation”.
Every train run by GTR, which operates Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern trains, was rescheduled from Sunday.
One reason for the disruption is that trains and drivers are having to be redeployed and that operating practices are being overhauled in the process, GTR said.
The spokesperson said:
We are implementing over the coming weeks the biggest timetable change in a generation to boost capacity and improve reliability, introducing 400 extra daily trains and space for 50,000 extra passengers in the peak.
Due to the scale and complexity of the task, these changes will be made incrementally. This involves redeploying drivers and trains and changing operating practices to achieve a large increase in the number of services, carriages and station stops.
Despite some cancellations, passengers will benefit from an overall increase in capacity with immediate effect.
We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused. Anyone delayed by 15 minutes or more can claim compensation through our websites.
If altered timetables or transport disruption has affected you this morning, we’d like to hear from you. Share your stories via our encrypted form in the link below and we’ll feature some of your responses as part of our coverage.
You can also share your stories, photos and videos with the Guardian via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056 or by emailing me on nicola.slawson@theguardian.com.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus, the passenger watchdog, told the Guardian that the situation on Monday was “not carnage, but not brilliant”.
Speaking at St Pancras station, he said the number of new services meant that trains were still coming in frequently and on time, although obviously a number had been cancelled.
He said:
Let’s hope these teething problems disappear. It’s essentially a timetable revolution. For most passengers it means more seats. It’s all happening for the right reasons, – in the middle of London it’s now like you’ve got an extra Tube service in running now with such frequent trains.
When you overlay on that the fact the Network Rail and train companies have had trouble with their timetables anyway, you’re going to get blips. But passengers rely on the timetable as published and they have a right to, so are very frustrated.
The RMT union has already started to brand this morning’s commute “Meltdown Monday”, claiming a lack of planning and shortage of crews was jeopardising the new timetable.
General secretary Mick Cash said:
The union is picking up reports from both Northern and GTR of a hopeless lack of planning, combined with a shortage of crew and fleet, which has reduced the Monday morning journey to a nightmare for many passengers. It is our members dealing with the anger at the sharp end not the well-paid top brass from Arriva and Govia who are responsible for this Meltdown Monday on our railways.
Both of these companies have sought to compromise safety and access by hacking back on critical staff and it is no surprise to RMT that they can’t be trusted with the massive logistical challenges of bringing in new timetables.
Frankly I wouldn’t trust the private train operators to run a bath let alone our vital rail routes. After Virgin/Stagecoach were kicked off the East Coast last week it’s time for the rest of these racketeers to be sent packing as well and for our railways to be run by the public sector as a public service.
As commuters vented their frustration on social media about the shakeup this morning, the train operators said the disruption was due to a “short-term planning amendment”.
@nationalrailenq day one of new train times and surprise surprise they are all cancelled!!! It’s absolutely disgraceful and to make matters worse Thursday there will be ANOTHER STRIKE. Will people ever be able to get to work because this is now 3 months of issues!
When one Twitter user asked what this meant, the Thameslink account replied: “With the new timetable being introduced we have a lot of staff and stock in the wrong places. Some services have been altered/cancelled as a result whilst Control work to get everything in the right place.”
Well #railplan20/20 you’ve fucked this one up. First commuter day of new timetable, 1 train cancelled before departure, 1 train cancelled mid-journey, absolute chaos and no one to help at St Albans city...do tell me how this is improving service?
The completely revised timetable being operated by Govia Thameslink railway is facing its first full test this morning, with every single one of its trains now running at a different time.
While the train company promises that it will mean more seats, routes and a better, more reliable service overall, it said disruption was likely in an interim period. A number of trains were cancelled on Sunday, the first official day, while at least 15 rush hour trains into the capital were cancelled on Monday morning.
It's complicated to explain but with the new timetable being introduced we have a lot of staff and stock in the wrong places. Some services have been altered/cancelled as a result whilst Control work to get everything in the right place. ^Nat
Some commuter stations were reported to be far more crowded than last week in the early morning, with irate passengers on social media reporting confusion and disruption as they attempted to travel to work on Thameslink routes.
Hundreds of thousands of rail commuters in the south-east could be back to work with a bump after the royal wedding weekend thanks to the biggest train timetable change in decades.
The changes began on Sunday and despite a huge publicity drive, passengers trying to get into and around London found few of the promised new services were actually running.
We’d love to hear from you if you have been affected by changes and cancellations this morning. You can get in touch to share how your commute is going by filling out the form in the article below.
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