For all the bad press it gets, I've found the British Rail system really good, despite massive disruptions caused by recent weather.
Although I have had a few damp days, I've avoided the massive rain falling just south, but it has affected some of my journeys. My train from Edinburgh to Berwick on Sunday was delayed because the train was stranded in floods near Darlington, south of Newcastle. A train finally arrived about 30 minutes later, but we had issues with which platform we should be on, and about 5 minutes of 'is it, isn't it'. I found the both the Station staff and fellow passengers really helpful though, and eventually we were on and travelling. The train conductor was also informative, friendly and helpful, trying to sort out connection issues for people affected by the delay.
On Tuesday morning, the train taking me from Berwick to York stopped at Newcastle: everyone off, overhead power lines down near Darlington. Finally we were directed to another train which we squeezed on to, booked seats were ignored, and we slowly crawled through the flooded area. Faint announcements about changes, delays etc couldn't be heard over the chatter of the people. The guy sitting next to me was supposed to be going from Newcastle to Birmingham to get home to Stratford upon Avon, but the trains weren't running from Doncaster to Birmingham. So he was going to have to go down to London, change stations there, and head back up, adding many hours to the journey. He was very philosophical though, no whingeing Poms on that train.
I finally arrived safely in York, where roads are also closed due to flooding. Amazing photos coming.
Although I have had a few damp days, I've avoided the massive rain falling just south, but it has affected some of my journeys. My train from Edinburgh to Berwick on Sunday was delayed because the train was stranded in floods near Darlington, south of Newcastle. A train finally arrived about 30 minutes later, but we had issues with which platform we should be on, and about 5 minutes of 'is it, isn't it'. I found the both the Station staff and fellow passengers really helpful though, and eventually we were on and travelling. The train conductor was also informative, friendly and helpful, trying to sort out connection issues for people affected by the delay.
On Tuesday morning, the train taking me from Berwick to York stopped at Newcastle: everyone off, overhead power lines down near Darlington. Finally we were directed to another train which we squeezed on to, booked seats were ignored, and we slowly crawled through the flooded area. Faint announcements about changes, delays etc couldn't be heard over the chatter of the people. The guy sitting next to me was supposed to be going from Newcastle to Birmingham to get home to Stratford upon Avon, but the trains weren't running from Doncaster to Birmingham. So he was going to have to go down to London, change stations there, and head back up, adding many hours to the journey. He was very philosophical though, no whingeing Poms on that train.
I finally arrived safely in York, where roads are also closed due to flooding. Amazing photos coming.
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