Shouldering the blame
February 2nd 2007 17:31
I reckon I must be getting softer as I get older or something. Over the past couple of weeks First ScotRail have been bending over backwards to apologise for the sub-standard service commuters from Fife to Edinburgh have apparently been experiencing. Apparently this is due to weather damage and suchlike, coupled with the ongoing revamp of Edinburgh Waverley station.
A couple of weeks ago an apology notice appeared on the monitors that usually show platform departures. And yesterday I saw some photocopied notices on train seats offering further apologies!
But I haven’t noticed any of this disruption. Fair enough, I have it easy compared with other commuters at the moment as I never have to catch a train at peak time. It might all be a very different story at 7:30am.
My only train nightmare recently was the time I had to come into university on a Sunday only to discover that there were no trains coming from Kirkcaldy and that I had to wait for one of the delightful replacement bus services. The journey in took two and a half hours in total. But that was all my fault for not reading all of the signs that warned about the disruption (I don’t usually travel on Sundays).
I complained about them a lot at first, but I think First ScotRail have really improved over the past year or so. I think they get some harsh treatment. If there’s ever a problem on the railways, First ScotRail has to shoulder the blame, even if it wasn’t their fault. As some people commenting on The Scotsman’s website are beginning to note, blaming everything on First ScotRail is the fashionable thing to do.
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#1 Sarah
February 2nd 2007 18:19
I meant to thank you for that entry whenre you mentioned the Sunday disruption actually - I was about to go home for the day last week when I suddenly remembered you’d said there were buses and so checked to see if that was sorted (it wasn’t, still buses). Normally I’d just have turned up at Waverly, so you saved me a big waste of time through your suffering; I appreciate it!
#2 doctorvee
February 2nd 2007 20:25
Oh wow, that’s cool! I’m glad to know this blog is useful for something.
#3 Angry Steve
February 2nd 2007 22:46
The donkey raping shit eaters have failed to get almost every 8:45 service from Waverley to Fife-shire out on time for the past month. Furthermore, my evening trains have frequently been cancelled randomly.
None of which compares to my boss being left standing around like a fuckwit in Fife, early in the morning, because the train had randomly been cancelled (surely they knew it hadn’t ever left Edinburgh) and the next one at that ungodly time of the morning wasn’t for another hour.
On a lighter note, I emailed them and moaned, and they sent me £5 of vouchers for me to use on an other of their lack of services.
#4 doctorvee
February 2nd 2007 23:17
Ah well, that explains it then.
#5 duncan2
February 3rd 2007 22:37
strangely I found a live bullet on the stairs beside the new platform 1 in Waverley, on Friday night. Looking very much like one of these:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:NATO_7.62×51.jpg
I hadn’t considered the idea that maybe it was a thinly disguised threat from a disgruntled fife circle passenger?
#6 Steve Hill
February 6th 2007 14:54
7.62 mm Full Metal Jacket…
I’d just like to say that it wasn’t mine, at this stage in the game. Well, not that you can prove anyway.