It's been a poor week commuting into London!
Midland Mainline apparently have two depots - one at Derby and One near Leeds.
Due to the severe flooding in Sheffield they stopped running trains further north than Derby sometime on Monday afternoon! That was all fine and dandy on Monday when travelling home I had the freedom of the carriage to get a seat.
The rest of the week has been a nightmare. I usually catch either the 0552 or the 0728 from Kettering to London. On Tuesday I caught the 0728 - So did everyone who normally catches the 0722, which is always packed at Kettering and hence why I get the later train. I was glad I didn't get the 0552 as those who went for that had to wait till the 0702 departure for a train! The following train at 0739 was also cancelled, so some early arrivals for that were able to sneak onto the 0728. The train manager had the good sense to remove all of the seat reservations and I just managed to get a seat, but by the time the train left Bedford it was as packed as a tube train in rush hour!! The irony of it was the train which formed the service had the name "City of Sheffield" emblazoned on the side of it!!!!!
On the way home the 1755 was cancelled so we all crammed onto the 1800 - As I was there promptly I managed to get a seat but again the train was crammed.
Wednesday I managed to find an empty luggage rack to purch myself on, however I paid for that as my hamstrings were sore for 24 hours after. Going home was worse than the evening before. Both the 1730 and 1745 were cancelled, so three trains worth of punters squeezed onto the 1800.
Fortunately the flooding has subsided, the trains released from their Leeds depot and today was a pleasure to travel once more!
Midland Mainline don't get it wrong that often and their staff are fantastic generally, so I was sad to hear that they have lost the franchise to Stagecoach from November 2007. At least under the new franchise there is a requirement to run trains starting and terminating at Kettering and going into London - Guaranteeing a seat for us Kettering and area dwellers!!
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Monday night was fun as well, they canceled the 22:25 and ran a four car 23:15.
At least on Tuesday they ran a 9 car Meridian as the 22:00 and the 22:25 were both canceled.
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