HOGRIDER 96 : FEBRUARY 2004

SOUTH HAMPSHIRE RAIL USERS' GROUP NEWSLETTER

INDEX

SWT'S SERVICE CUTS FAIL TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

RESPONSES TO SWT'S 'EVERY SECOND COUNTS' LEAFLET

RAIL PASSENGERS COUNCIL MEETING: WESTMINSTER 10/12/03

RAIL USERS’ REPORTS

MODERATING THE LANGUAGE OF FAILURE - 3

NOTABLE MISCELLANEOUS FAILURES

ALDERSHOT FIASCO

NOTICE BOARD

PURE TOSH!

HOGRIDER PRESS RESEARCH

SWT'S SERVICE CUTS FAIL TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

SWT's performance figures have been pretty consistently poor, unlike their huge subsidies and profits. Slashing off-peak services from September 2003 was supposed to improve the performance of peak trains but that simply hasn't happened. The Charter Standard for peak period mainline trains running within 5 minutes of time is 89%, equal to one bad delay per week for a typical commuter. Only 65.9% of peak mainline services were within 5 minutes of time in the 4 weeks to 8/11/2003, 60.4% in the 4 weeks to 6/12/2003, and 77.9% in the 4 weeks to 3/1/2004. This last period was untypical because it was affected by the big peak service reductions around the Christmas holiday period, and only 65.1% was achieved in the 4 weeks to 31/1/2004.

SWT's website presents a wealth of statistical material, much of it gobbledygook, which links in with their "Every Second Counts' initiative. A typical entry:

"The Good News - A significant disruption occurred with the traction current at Waterloo platforms 1-4. The incident was well managed, and resulted in delays of less than 1000 minutes [Nearly 17 hours] despite having to reform trains in the morning peak. This is a significant achievement as problems of this nature have previously resulted in cumulative delays from 3000 minutes [More than 2 days]"

This of course is meaningless to the individual passenger. People are only interested in delays which they experience themselves and in the general reliability of the service. What would be meaningful is information on how many trains were delayed or cancelled; for up to how long; and over what period.

And asking passengers to remember, when boarding and alighting, that 'every second counts' is a joke against this background of massive cumulative delay.

RESPONSES TO SWT'S 'EVERY SECOND COUNTS' LEAFLET

SWT Marketing distributed an invitation to passengers to suggest how punctuality could be improved. Two work colleagues realised in conversation that they had both sent responses. When they compared these responses, they were interested to note their considerable degree of like-mindedness.

RESPONSE FROM A STAINES COMMUTER

You suggested, in a recent flyer, that passengers could contact you with ideas on delays.

Your flyer does not discuss whether there has been any research into or analysis of reasons for train delays. If such work has been done, I suspect the reasons for delay would be many and various, and would not in fact centre on passenger-caused delay. Presumably the delays due to staff shortages, poor time-keeping, lack of management control, poor track maintenance, poor condition of rolling-stock and the like can be quantified?

The 10 actions listed as being taken to help the trains run on time are indisputable, but fail to address safety / maintenance issues for example, and although it mentions "putting on as many carriages as possible" is so non-committal as to be useless. If you don't have the carriages, or the platform lengths in overcrowded areas are inadequate "as many as possible" could be none. I have noticed that shortages of rolling stock (8 carriages down to 4) seems to happen more frequently on a Friday. Why is this? Where are the missing carriages? Come to think of it, where are all the managers when things go wrong?

The truth is that 12 carriage trains are needed in the rush hour(s) and most platforms can only take 8. Given that people have to get off before others get on, delay in boarding in these circumstances is inevitable.

What kind of programme of work is being done to address platform length, acquisition of extra rolling stock?

What is being done to prevent cutting down numbers of carriages in the rush-hours? Since that flyer was handed out, Staines to Waterloo trains have been later and more unreliable than ever. Here are a few things that SWT seem to feel are useful but are not - prolonged whistle-blowing (to hurry us up) before passengers have disembarked, insincere "apology" announcements in a BBC circa 1950's accent - (there is no such station as Clepham Junction), deafening or inaudible announcements on the train, heating off (except in summer), to mention but a few.

By targeting passengers SWT are missing the real problems of under-investment, poor maintenance etc.

RESPONSE FROM A TOTTON COMMUTER

Your leaflet asks for suggestions for improving performance on SWT.

Here are a few:

Give correct information about platform departures. Don't display the 13.57 for Totton as leaving from platform 4 at Southampton Central and then run it from platform 3 before passengers can cross the footbridge. This happened on 19 November.

Tell passengers when trains are to run in short formation, when the wrong stock is in use, and when units are running back to front. You often fail to do so, which means that passengers stand on the wrong places on the platform. One guard recently apologised to travellers in first class that she had asked for station announcements about a Wessex Electric running back to front but nobody had bothered to take any action.

Get guards to open doors from the rear of the leading unit when doors on the second unit are not to be released because of short platforms. This avoids wild scrambles by passengers who sometimes manage to hold doors open long enough to get off and at other times are carried beyond their destination.

Stop changing the schedule en route. There were big delays at Eastleigh on 24 November because the crews of Hedge End line trains and their passengers were told the trains were to be diverted via Southampton, but your Control had decided in the meantime not to bother and it would be easier to let hundreds of passengers cram into the 2-car Romsey-Totton service as best they could.

Tell passengers in advance when stops are to be omitted to mitigate performance failures; this avoids last minute panics and delays, and also allows passengers to ring local radio stations and people who are waiting at stations to meet them.

Keep trains in serviceable order. Cancellations and short formations lead to severe overcrowding which in turn lead to delays in boarding and alighting.

Train buffet stewards to avoid blocking gangways when trains are approaching station stops. When there is disruption at Waterloo, tell passengers which platform their next service will arrive at, and the order in which trains with common stops will depart. Also admit in advance when trains will be running half-length. All these measures allow passengers to get into position, avoid crushes on the concourse and facilitate smoother operation.

Let passengers use spare first class seats instead of blocking gangways and aisles in second class.

Introduce teamwork at stations. The lack of co-ordination is often staggering, like the day a railman helped a disabled woman on to a Poole train at Southampton Central and was carried off to Totton because the doors closed on him. A professional organisation, like GNER, should be able to provide training.

Introduce a new ethos which focuses on passengers rather than on greed ("Ethics are not irrelevant, but some are incompatible with what we have to do, because capitalism is based on greed" - Brian Souter). If guards invited passengers to contact them with any problems, instead of launching into threats of penalty fares, passenger confusion could be greatly reduced.

A general point, but given your continuing appalling performance record (65..9% of peak mainline trains within 5 minutes of time in the first statistical period after big off-peak cuts which were supposed to improve peak performance) it is obvious that SWT is not able to deliver the standard of service which taxpayers and customers have the right to expect. There is little point in trawling for passengers' ideas for improving performance against a backdrop of chronic crew shortages, and duff rolling stock, illustrated on your website day after day.

RAIL PASSENGERS COUNCIL MEETING: WESTMINSTER 10/12/03

Thanks to the Rail Passengers' Council (the national body of the RPC network) for inviting us to be represented.

Keynote speech by Alistair Darling

Mr Darling's speech appeared sincere and reassuring. He supported RPC policies of emphasis on punctuality, need for railway to evolve, keeping fares reasonable and bringing maintenance in-house. The RPC did useful work in getting public opinion. Their work could influence Government, the Strategic Rail Authority, Network Rail etc.

A lot of good things were happening despite the problems: over one billion passengers by the end of the year - most for 40 years; opening of first part of Channel Tunnel Rail Link - rail has half the London-Paris market; one third of old rolling stock being replaced over five years.

There were three problems: performance; better customer service; controlling cost. Performance not good enough but leaf-fall delays down by one quarter on last year. First Great Western has reduced station delays by 15 per cent by having service managers on key stations. Others can do the same. Performance of Virgin Cross Country has improved significantly since the new timetable. Network Rail is focusing on common operating rules across the system. It is setting up joint control centres with operators, starting at Waterloo. Maintenance is being brought in-house to help performance and reduce cost. £73m a week is going into improving the railway. West Anglia route modernisation completed on time and to budget. Cross Country route through the Midlands being modernised.

Still areas of bad performance. Also important to treat passengers as valued customers. People are now more discerning and demanding. Chiltern winning new customers; 50% rise in passengers since they took over. SWT customer information system on all stations. Problems need to be sorted out promptly. Silverlink and Virgin acted quickly over problems with stock. People accept problems, but must be informed what is happening. Anglia has a commuter club and automatic compensation with direct debit. Approachable and friendly staff.

Fare rises controversial. Public investment doubling over two years. Needs fair balance between taxpayers and farepayers. Rises must be matched by improvement in performance. Privatisation was botched and railway hasn't been properly supported in the past.

Questions to Mr Darling

Q. If you had Aladdin's lamp, what would you change next year?
A. Trains would run on time.
Q. Why are trains always late?
A. Infrastructure must be right, fleets must be reliable and trains dispatched on time. Management issue for operators. Management must pay attention to details.
Q. How to address door-to-door journey time?
A. New information system ("Transport Direct") next year to show door-to-door journey times. Transport for London has a similar system in the capital. Have different fares for different times of travel like the airlines.
Q. When will we see an integrated public transport network?
A. Local bus managers and railway need to co-operate. Chiltern found out who their customers were and where they came from.
Q. What about areas where co-operation between bus companies stopped?
A. Accept there are problems in some areas. Some operators could do better.
Q. Fares too dear?
A. Unlike most railways, we have not received past investment. People will say all kinds of fares are an imposition. Improvements are happening now, like new stock, but it takes time.
Q. Passengers don't think things will improve. Optimistic message not getting to them?
A. Passengers don't generally know about investment but do know about engineering disruption. Newspaper headlines about chaos and confusion. If we give up, railway will deteriorate and pressure on roads increase.
Q. Passengers who have experienced new trains are more optimistic. Industry only talks about track, signalling and trains, not passengers?
A. Like Health Service. Some people had good experience but read horror stories. Passengers not interested in behind the scenes. They want coffee and punctuality.

Question time panel debate

Panel included Richard Bowker (SRA Chairman and Chief Executive), Keith Ludeman (Chairman of Association of Train Operating Companies) and Ian McAllister (Chairman of Network Rail).

Network Rail involved in major rebuiding exercise. Degraded infrastructure. Track replacement reduced under Railtrack compared with BR. All types of accidents and incidents are down. Train Protection and Warning System almost complete. National template for costing. Asset register created. Possessions planning. Signalling in-sourced. National approach to maintenance. A little progress on performance. Operating costs to be reduced by 20% over three years. Reorganisation along functional lines to tie in with train operating companies; Brian Souter and Graham Eccles involved. Will deliver improvements passengers want. Reports of crisis meeting with Tom Winsor, the Rail Regulator, exaggerated. Looking to reduce delays at particular points; numbers of delays constant, but lengths of delays greater. Privatisation exposed BR's old-fashioned business. Taking control of assets and introducing better testing mechanisms at time of crisis. Tom Winsor's relentless drive to be applauded. 2004 is the year for the industry to show it can deliver.

Richard Bowker said last 12 months a period of sustained, effective change. Capacity policy published. Route by route strategy starting with Midland Mainline. West Coast strategy to follow. Changed model for franchising; Greater Anglia franchise will be first in new mould. Clarity, certainty and timescale critical. New fares policy "RPI minus 1%" unsustainable. 2004 will be year of focus on ruthless delivery.

Q. Companies don't care two hoots about connections?
A. Keith Ludeman said timetables do have allowances for connections. Won't hold back every train; this has knock-on effects. Richard Bowker agreed: harder to hold connections with intensive operations. 75% of delays are secondary.
Q. Secretary of State taking interest in minor issues like particular railcards and fares?
A. Public have come to expect more details in franchises. Can be managed. Politicians will always make comments about railways. Chris Austin's role on the community railway important. 134% rise in passengers on the Norwich-Sheringham line. Costs of these lines are not a problem; it's renewals and investments on the mainlines which are expensive. Keith Ludeman would like to see more investment transferred to major routes. Five additional four car units for Thameslink would make a big difference.
Q. Still a Government goal to get more people from private to public transport: National Rail Discount Card?
A. Richard Bowker said growth of passengers and freight traffic was consistent policy under the 10 year plan. Policy should focus on returns as well as on cost. A Discount card would be abstractive and increase expenditure by taxpayers. Recognised market for some kind of railcard. Would consult on what the product might be. Keith Ludeman said the operators wanted to see more people on trains. Longer trains needed in peak but scope off-peak for more passengers. There are a number of bargains and trains are pretty busy off-peak. Didn't agree with concessions in evening peak.
Q. Why no alternatives when train doesn't turn up?
A. Cancellations bad. Will never be a day when nobody stands. Only 1% of trains cancelled but people remember when it happens. Richard Bowker supported trying to keep services on time by terminating trains short of destination.. The RPC asked if they could have statistics on this. Richard Bowker was evasive, saying numbers were small, and he would look into it. [Plenty of cases have appeared on SWT's website!]
Q. Rail Private Partnerships stopped because no government funding?
A. Money targeted on routes where most people gain, but no second tier railway. Keith Ludeman mourned RPPs.
Q. Concerns about information. Staff don't think like passengers. Managers don't manage. 2004 would be year of three timetables?
A. Richard Bowker thought customer service generally better but still not good enough. Normal Summer timetable in 2004; September timetable for Virgin West Coast changes, and new December timetable in line with European practice. Customer Information System at most stations. National Rail Enquiry Service most popular number in the UK now that directory enquiries have split up. Signallers make 95% of control decisions; train crews are the last to know.

Interactive voting session

Q: Rating of railway?
29% thought good and 52% OK compared with 22% / 47% 12 months ago.
Q: Personal experience over last 6 months?
33% thought good and 40% OK compared with 27% / 37% 12 months ago.
Q: Will experience improve over next 2-3 years?
55% Yes; 22% No compared with 30% / 37% a year ago.
Q: Greatest improvement this year?
New trains (48%) and information (24%). Only 18% thought punctuality.

In the marketing awards, RPC had picked up a silver medal and two bronzes for raising profile. 200 rail users and non-rail users interviewed. Railway's No 1 achievement was improved information, and No 2 was new trains. 'Could do betters' were punctuality, fares and dirty trains. 50% thought the service wouldn't change in the next year; 30% thought it would get worse; 14% thought it would get better. Overall opinion over 3 years was a little more optimistic.

Raises question of whether those at the meeting too optimistic or those interviewed too pessimistic. Perception of non-users is very poor. This was mainly due to previous experience and media reporting.

RPC successes included pressure for passenger information and investment in new trains.

Cause for optimism. GNER and National Express report big growth. Unprecedented investment in infrastructure.

RPC will not take foot off pedal, eg on performance, fares, overcrowding, state of stations. Positive messages don't always get out. Passengers should be told that track possessions will improve their lives. Passengers are not a homogeneous group. Mr and Mrs Average travel 506 kms a year and average journey time is 77 minutes. Knocks dead myth that only 6% of journeys are by rail. Rail is for serious journeys, not going to local shop.

The 'To dos' include focus on stations, top 50 to start with. Often quoted that Waterloo has more passengers than Heathrow. Epsom has more than East Midlands Airport; needs airport standards.

Rail should be made use of. Need to demonstrate its value and importance. RPC Rail 2030 vision. Government's big conversation should include transport.. Needs reform by radical evolution.

RAIL USERS’ REPORTS

Note: These details are snapshots. The Group does not have the resources to provide a full picture of the performance shortcomings which passengers suffer. Trains often become increasingly late during the course of their journeys, and the "minutes late" figures may not represent the position at the end of a journey.

So bad has service delivery now become, that SWT has introduced posters at Waterloo giving daily bulletins of half-length trains. This is generally attributed to 'unit maintenance', the SWT euphemism for shortage of rolling stock or defective trains. In addition, trains are frequently cancelled due to driver shortage. SWT has stated publicly that this is due to drivers being taken for training on the new Desiro units. Such excuses are totally unreasonable on massively subsidised SWT where overcrowding has created a stressful environment for commuters even when trains operate normally.

6/12/03 10.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 10.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 12.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke started from Woking due to train failure. 13.38 Waterloo-Portsmouth 14 minutes late. 13.54 / 14.47 / 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo cancelled. 14.00 Waterloo-Poole 16 minutes late. 14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 10 minutes late. 14.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled. 14.33 Waterloo-Exeter 18 minutes late. 14.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court and 15.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo cancelled. 15.07 Shepperton-Waterloo axed between Shepperton and Fulwell. 14.45 / 15.45 Waterloo-Dorking, and 15.49 / 16.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled. 15.28 Waterloo-Windsor and 16.27 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 17.33 Chessington-Waterloo and 17..33 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled. 18.22 Exeter-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 21..24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 22.16 Farnham-Waterloo cancelled due to cancellation of preceding train. 22.30 Southampton-Waterloo cancelled due to no crew.

7/12/03 13.10 Brighton-Reading 34 minutes late. 17.32 Waterloo-Reading started over 15 minutes late. 19.10 Brighton-Reading cancelled.

8/12/03 06.34 Southampton-Romsey 10 minutes late. 15.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 20 minutes late; 15.54 10 minutes late. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 16.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 16.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 16.45 Woking-Waterloo omitted all stops between Woking and Surbiton. 16.48 Waterloo-Dorking omitted all stops before Epsom. 17.22 Waterloo-Guildford and 17.33 Waterloo-Shepperton reduced to 4 coaches. 18.21 Waterloo-Basingstoke, 18.23 Waterloo-Reading and 18.37 Waterloo-Alton all reduced to 8 coaches. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late. 20.10 Waterloo-Southampton 24 minutes late. 20.54 Reading-Waterloo 17 minutes late.

9/12/03 05.42 and 06.19 Poole-Waterloo about 10 minutes late. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo and 16.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo about 10 minutes late. 16.42 Waterloo-Guildford and 18.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court reduced to 4 coaches. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 10 minutes late at Southampton; London-bound trains noted to be in a queue at St Denys. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole 15 minutes late. 19.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 31 minutes late; 19.32 13 minutes late. 19.21 Weybridge-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 19.50 Waterloo-Poole and 20..30 Waterloo-Weymouth 27 minutes late.

10/12/03 07.20 Wareham-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo and 17.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 18.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth 11 minutes late; 19.00 18 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 12 minutes late. 19.14 Romsey-Totton 15 minutes late. 19.32 Alton-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.37 Shepperton-Waterloo 24 minutes late.

11/12/03 12.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth 17 minutes late. 11.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 11.40 Waterloo-Basingstoke 17 minutes late. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 15.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo terminated at Basingstoke due to duff stock. 17.36 Waterloo-Basingstoke reduced to 4 coaches. 17.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 25 minutes late. 18.40 Waterloo-Fratton 18 minutes late. 18.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 18.54 Salisbury-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 36 minutes late; 19.20 13 minutes late; 19.40 24 minutes late; 20.00 26 minutes late; 20.20 12 minutes late. 19.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 28 minutes late. 19.05 Waterloo-Salisbury 16 minutes late. 19.05 Alton-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 21 minutes late. 19.16 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 19.17 Guildford-Waterloo 30 minutes late; 19.57 10 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 21 minutes late. 19.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Shepperton 25 minutes late. 19.33 Chessington-Waterloo 31 minutes late. 19.37 Shepperton-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 19.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 26 minutes late. 19.42 Waterloo-Woking 19 minutes late. 19.45 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 19.45 Woking-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 19.49 Dorking-Waterloo 32 minutes late and omitted all stops after Epsom. 19.50 Waterloo-Poole 31 minutes late. 19.52 Waterloo-Chessington 27 minutes late. 19.54 Waterloo-Guildford 19 minutes late. 20.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 28 minutes late. 20.02 Waterloo-Kingston 19 minutes late. 20.03 Chessington-Waterloo 28 minutes late. 20.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 20.10 Waterloo-Southampton 28 minutes late. 20.12 Waterloo-Windsor 25 minutes late. 20.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth 12 minutes late. 20.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 16 minutes late. 20.31 Alton-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 20.33 Waterloo-Alton and 20.40 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Woking. 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford 16 minutes late. 20.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo omitted all intermediate stops after Surbiton. 20.45 Waterloo-Guildford and 21.57 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 20.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 30 minutes late. 20.53 Alton-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 20.57 Guildford-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 21.08 Chessington-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 21.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 21.11 Windsor-Waterloo axed between Windsor and Staines. 21.15 Woking-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 21.17 Twickenham-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 21.17 Guildford-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 21.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 21.49 Kingston-Waterloo cancelled.

12/12/03 Fatality at Hinton Admiral involving the 06.53 Poole-Waterloo which was delayed by 90 minutes; 05.35 Waterloo-Weymouth terminated at Bournemouth; 07.07 Weymouth-Eastleigh 30 minutes late; 07.20 Wareham-Waterloo axed between Wareham and Brockenhurst. 08.08 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 13.30 Plymouth-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 14.33 Waterloo-Plymouth axed west of Exeter. 16.00 Waterloo-Poole 6 minutes late by Totton with considerable overcrowding from Southampton. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo 51 minutes late. 16.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.33 Portsmouth-Poole over 15 minutes late at Totton. 16.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 33 minutes late. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 17.34 Woking-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.42 Poole-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 18.00 Brighton-Basingstoke 15 minutes late due to duff train in front. 18.54 Salisbury-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 19.14 Romsey-Totton 17 minutes late. 19.50 Plymouth-Salisbury axed between Plymouth and Exeter. 19.50 Waterloo-Poole 35 minutes late. 20.35 Waterloo-Exeter 20 minutes late.

13/12/03 Engineering work with substitute buses between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth. 07.48 from Poole 27 minutes late due to no crew.. 07.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth 20 minutes late. 09.00 Brockenhurst-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 09.23 Waterloo-Haslemere started from Woking due to duff stock. 09.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 10.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled. 10.48 Waterloo-Alton cancelled due to no crew. 12.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled due to previous train cancelled. 16.23 Waterloo-Haslemere cancelled due to no crew. 16.33 Waterloo-Exeter 17 minutes late. 17.00 Waterloo-Brockenhurst had no connecting transport on to Poole. 17.23 Basingstoke-Brighton 18 minutes late. 17.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth 19 minutes late. 17.26 Brockenhurst-Waterloo 37 minutes late and had no connecting transport from Poole. 18.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth cancelled. 19.00 Brockenhurst-Waterloo started from Southampton, with no connecting transport from Weymouth. 19.05 Reading-Brighton 17 minutes late. 19.24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled due to previous train cancelled. 19.30 Waterloo-Brockenhurst 23 minutes late, with no connecting transport on to Weymouth. 19.48 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled. 19.49 Southampton-Portsmouth terminated at Fratton. 20.54 Portsmouth-Winchester cancelled. 20.57 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 21.03 Waterloo-Shepperton and 22.07 Shepperton-Waterloo cancelled. 21.12 Waterloo-Windsor and 22.13 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 21.12 Waterloo-Guildford and 22.50 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 21.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo terminated at Woking. 21.26 Waterloo-Hampton Court and 22.26 Hampton Court-Waterloo cancelled. 20.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke and 21.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 22.40 Portsmouth-Southampton cancelled.

14/12/03 08.59 Brockenhurst-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 09.03 Waterloo-Plymouth 25 minutes late due to engineering works. 10.03 Waterloo-Exeter 37 minutes late due to duff stock. 10.07 Shepperton-Waterloo cancelled. 10.25 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 11.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo terminated at Haslemere due to track repairs. 15.40 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 15.56 Reading-Brighton axed between Reading and Basingstoke. 16.10 Brighton-Reading axed between Brighton and Cosham. 16.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 17.03 Waterloo-Paignton reduced to 3 carriages. 18.28 Weybridge-Waterloo and 18.30 Reading-Waterloo both over 10 minutes late. 19.32 Waterloo-Reading about 15 minutes late.

15/12/03 Engineering works between Poole and Brockenhurst overran. No trains from Poole until 07.45. Southern Daily Echo reported passengers' criticisms that SWT failed to provide an alternative bus service. 05.35 Brockenhurst-Waterloo 28 minutes late by Totton; 05.55 21 minutes late. 06.24 and 07.08 Brockenhurst-Waterloo cancelled. 06.49 Brockenhurst-Waterloo reduced to 8 coaches of ancient slam-door stock, and 31 minutes late; horrible overcrowding. Evening service collapsed due to duff train blocking Bournemouth depot: 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo cancelled. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo over 15 minutes late. 16.30, 17.15 and 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth all reduced to 5 coaches; 18.05 Waterloo-Poole departed at 18.16 due to incoming train 33 minutes late; 21.30 Waterloo-Poole terminated at Basingstoke due to no crew; 21.55 Waterloo-Poole 10 minutes late; 22.30 Waterloo-Bournemouth cancelled due to no crew. Other failures: 16.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled. 16.32 Waterloo-Basingstoke, and 17.28 / 18.32 Waterloo-Portsmouth all reduced to 4 coaches. 18.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth, 18.40 Waterloo-Fratton and 18.00 Waterloo-Guildford all reduced to 8 coaches. 16.47 Guildford-Waterloo omitted 6 stops. 17.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo omitted all intermediate stops from Surbiton. 17.19 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled. 17.54 Waterloo-Haslemere and 19.15 Haslemere-Guildford cancelled. 17.52 Waterloo-Chessington and 18.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 21.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled due to no crew. 20.07 Alton-Waterloo 52 minutes late; 20.31 Alton-Waterloo 33 minutes late; 20.53 Alton-Waterloo 15 minutes late.

16/12/03 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 17 minutes late; 06.19 10 minutes late. 15.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth 17 minutes late due to duff stock. 16..01 Portsmouth-Waterloo 23 minutes late due to duff stock; omitted intermediate stations after Guildford. 16.33 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled. 16.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled. 17.43 Waterloo-Windsor reduced to 4 coaches. 18.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 19 minutes late due to no crew. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 22.55 Waterloo-Poole terminated at Branksome due to duff stock.

17/12/03 Railway closed between Eastleigh and Fareham for much of day due to defective power supply. 06.10 Portsmouth-Waterloo 25 minutes late due to duff stock. 06.25 Weybridge-Waterloo axed between Weybridge and Virginia Water. 07.51 Portsmouth-Waterloo started from Fareham due to duff stock. 07.53 Epsom-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 08.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth over 20 minutes late. 12.40 Paignton-Waterloo started from Exeter due to duff stock. Emergency track repairs in the Branksome area: 13.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 28 minutes late; 13.48 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Bournemouth. 13.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo 25 minutes late. 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 26 minutes late due to duff stock. 14.55 Southampton-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 15.08 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Woking. 15.14 Romsey-Totton 15 minutes late. 15.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 12 minutes late. 15.55 Southampton-Waterloo cancelled. 16.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 16.42 and 18.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late; 17.42 20 minutes late. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 26 minutes late, due to no crew. 17.23 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled. 17.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 18.24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 18.33 Chessington-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 19.02 Aldershot-Guildford cancelled. 19.25 Guildford-Ascot and 20.23 Ascot-Guildford cancelled due to no crew. 20.07 Weymouth-Waterloo 28 minutes late due to no crew. 20.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke and 20..30 Waterloo-Weymouth about 10 minutes late. 21.06 Woking-Staines, 21.12 Waterloo-Guildford and 21.17 Waterloo-Twickenham cancelled.

18/12/03 Reduced to 4 coaches: 16.42 Waterloo-Guildford; 17.12 Waterloo-Windsor; 17.47 Guildford-Waterloo; 18.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court; 19.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo. Cancelled: 16.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo; 18.40 Waterloo-Fratton. Late: 14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth axed between Waterloo and Woking and 16 minutes late, due to duff stock. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late.

19/12/03 Emergency engineering work at Branksome. 04.58 Poole-Waterloo cancelled. 05.34 Bournemouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late by Totton.. 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 38 minutes late by Southampton - Interesting insight into how SWT's 'Every Second Counts' initiative works in practice; waiting commuters were spread along platform 1 at Southampton Central, which had been blocked for some time by the 07.14 to Portsmouth which seemed to be receiving a lot of attention but clearly wasn't going anywhere; two minutes before the London train arrived, SWT announced that it would now run from platform 3; wild scramble across the footbridge; passengers then discover that the front unit is in reverse formation - holders of first class tickets sprint halfway along platform 3; passengers at further stops also not informed; train about 50 minutes late at Waterloo where it was still to form the 08.30 to Weymouth which - by that time, should almost have reached Woking. 06.19 Poole-Waterloo cancelled. 08.55 Waterloo-Poole cancelled. Reduced to 4 coaches: 16.48 Waterloo-Hounslow; 16.52 Waterloo-Chessington; 18.15 Waterloo-Strawberry Hill; 18.19 Waterloo-Shepperton; 18.24 Waterloo-Guildford. 17..39 Waterloo-Farnham reduced to 8 coaches. 18.05 Wessex Electric service to Poole advertised as 5 coaches only; was actually a 12 coach set of ancient Mark I stock with some carriages unheated, many windows which wouldn't close tight due to grime and lack of maintenance, and a duff buffet trolley which couldn't provide hot drinks. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole 22 minutes late. 17.48 Weymouth-Waterloo, 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth, 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton and 19.24 Reading-Waterloo all about 12 minutes late. 20.33 Waterloo-Alton cancelled. 21.52 Alton-Waterloo axed between Alton and Farnham. Brockenhurst-Lymington service suspended from early afternoon due to a bridge bash at Ampress.

20/12/03 Cancellations: 10.52/21.52 Waterloo-Chessington; 11.33/22.38 Chessington-Waterloo; 11.40/14.40/16.40 Waterloo-Basingstoke; 10.14/13.14/15.14 21.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo; 13.24/ 14.54/15.24/15.54/16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo; 07.32/13.32/13.48/14.48 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo; 09.52/13.52/17.22/21.56 Waterloo-Reading; 11.42/13.42/15.42/18.12/19.12 /21.24/21.54 Reading-Waterloo; 14.15/15.45 Waterloo-Dorking; 15.19/15.49/16.49 Dorking-Waterloo; 15.30/16.00/20.45/21.45 Waterloo-Guildford; 10.04/13.47/14.17/17.04/17.34/21.17/23.00 Guildford-Waterloo; 15.33/22.33 Waterloo-Shepperton; 08.37/16.37 Shepperton-Waterloo; 15.58/21.42 Waterloo-Windsor; 16.55/22.45 Windsor-Waterloo; 16.07 Waterloo-Weybridge; 16.48 Weymouth-Waterloo (passengers thrown off at Bournemouth); 21.55 Waterloo-Poole; 19.23/21.23/22.23 Ascot-Guildford; 20.27/21.27/22.27 /23.27 Guildford-Ascot; 20..45 Waterloo-Southampton; 21.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo; 21.26 Waterloo-Hampton Court; 22.19 Hampton Court-Waterloo; 23.23/00.31 Ascot-Farnham; 22.32 Waterloo-Kingston; 23.19 Kingston-Waterloo; 23.20 Reading-Wokingham. Reduced to 4 coaches: 08.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke (due to duff stock and ran 19 minutes late); 14.40/17.40 Haslemere-Waterloo; 15.53/19.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth; 17.55 Portsmouth-Waterloo. Late: 06.55 Southampton-Waterloo 43 minutes late; 08.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth 32 minutes late; 09.08 30 minutes late. 09.54 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 13.48 Poole-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 21.19 Kingston-Waterloo 10 minutes late. Brockenhurst-Lymington service suspended all day due to a bridge bash at Ampress.

21/12/03 09.30 Waterloo-Bournemouth 10 minutes late at Southampton. 10.13 Portsmouth-Eastleigh 18 minutes late. 10.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 10.58 Southampton-Salisbury cancelled due to previous train cancelled. 11.00 Salisbury-Paignton 40 minutes late due to track repairs. 12.18 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 12.28 Waterloo-Hampton Court 15 minutes late due to no crew. 16.40 Portsmouth-Waterloo 12 minutes late. Brockenhurst-Lymington service suspended all day due to a bridge bash at Ampress.

22/12/03 With far fewer people than normal travelling at the beginning of Christmas week, SWT did a passenger count at Staines station in the morning peak. 06.06 Brockenhurst-Winchester cancelled. 15.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo nearly 15 minutes late. 17.34 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 15 minutes late. 18.35 Waterloo-Exeter 15 minutes late due to duff stock. 18.37 Southampton-Portsmouth 12 minutes late. 21.37 Shepperton-Waterloo 27 minutes late. 21.55 Waterloo-Poole departed late due to duff stock.

23/12/03 05.42 Poole-Waterloo about 10 minutes late. 06.40 Waterloo-Weymouth delayed at Brockenhurst due to no crew. 07.04 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 07.10 Waterloo-Paignton 17 minutes late. 07.28 Eastleigh-Waterloo 18 minutes late; passengers for stations from Hook to Farnborough thrown off for operational convenience. 07.50 Aldershot-Waterloo cancelled. 08.20 Guildford-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 08.27 Woking-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 09.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo omitted all stops before Richmond. 16.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo 12 minutes late; stops at Witley, Milford, Godalming, Farncombe, Worplesdon and Clapham Junction omitted for operational convenience. 16.57 Portsmouth-Waterloo 21 minutes late; 17.25 18 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 19.54 Portsmouth-Winchester 20 minutes late due to awaiting carriages to form train.

24/12/03 07.11, 13.05 and 16.05 Reading-Brighton axed between Reading and Basingstoke. 07.20 Basingstoke-Yeovil axed between Basingstoke and Salisbury. 07.41 West Byfleet-Waterloo reduced to 8 coaches. 09.08 Weymouth-Waterloo axed between Weymouth and Bournemouth. 10.00 Brighton-Reading axed between Basingstoke and Reading. 10.30 Alton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 10.48 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Bournemouth due to duff stock. 11.07 Waterloo-Weybridge 16 minutes late due to no crew. 11.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo still advertised as delayed at Portsmouth 30 minutes after its scheduled departure time. Alleged vandalism in the Southampton Central area caused afternoon chaos; no explanation of the nature of the problem and, at 16.30, no record on the National Rail website's section on current / cleared incidents. 13.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 51 minutes late. 13.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 32 minutes late. 14.25 Totton-Romsey 16 minutes late. 14.55 Southampton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 13.48 Poole-Waterloo - a 4-coach train of ancient Mark I stock - about 10 minutes late. 13.45 Paignton-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 14.38 Waterloo-Portsmouth 25 minutes late. 15.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 15.12 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 15.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth cancelled due to no driver. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Bournemouth. 16.00 Brighton-Reading 24 minutes late. Broken down train caused afternoon chaos in the Portsmouth area. 15.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 60 minutes late; passengers thrown off at Woking; 15.54 47 minutes late; 16.01 62 minutes late; 16.17 40 minutes late due to duff stock; 16.57 31 minutes late. 16.33 Portsmouth-Poole 40 minutes late; passengers thrown off at Southampton. 16.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late; stops at Petersfield and Haslemere omitted for operational convenience. 16.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo axed between Portsmouth and Fareham. 16.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 17.26 Windsor-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.29 Waterloo-Hampton Court 33 minutes late. 17.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 17.52 Waterloo-Reading cancelled due to no driver. 18.32 Waterloo-Portsmouth cancelled.

27/12/03 08.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth 11 minutes late. 08.48 Weymouth-Waterloo reduced to 5 coaches. 08.48 Poole-Waterloo 33 minutes late due to duff stock. 09.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 09.45 Waterloo-Dorking and 10.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled. 12.00 Waterloo-Poole reduced to 5 coaches. 20.33 Waterloo-Yeovil 25 minutes late. 21.00 Weymouth-Waterloo axed between Bournemouth and Waterloo. 21.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late. 21.30 Waterloo-Poole and 21.38 Waterloo-Portsmouth cancelled. 21.40 Brighton-Salisbury 20 minutes late. 22.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke, 22.42 Waterloo-Windsor, 23.03 Epsom-Waterloo, 23.17 Waterloo-Dorking and 23.33 Portsmouth-Guildford cancelled.

28/12/03 08.32 Waterloo-Reading 15 minutes late due to duff stock. 11.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 22 minutes late due to waiting for carriages to form the train. 11.25 Windsor-Waterloo via Richmond diverted via Hounslow due to a signalling problem; 10 scheduled stops omitted, 6 of which the train would have passed despite the diversion. 10.57 Waterloo to Weybridge via Hounslow diverted via Richmond due to a signalling problem; all 22 booked stops omitted, but an additional stop scheduled at Richmond. 10.00 Reading-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 15.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late. Romsey-Totton service collapsed from early afternoon and no remedial action for rest of the day. 14.55/16.55/22.05 Totton-Romsey cancelled; 19.55 axed between Southampton Central and Romsey. 14.00/15.53/18.00/21.00 Romsey-Totton cancelled. 23.02 Romsey-Southampton cancelled. 17.40 Weymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late.

29/12/03 Rain brought the usual flooding at Sway and withdrawal of all train services between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth from early afternoon. 14.26 Brockenhurst-Waterloo 33 minutes late; 15.00 one hour late; 15.26 29 minutes late; 16.26 63 minutes late; 17.00 38 minutes late; 17.24 23 minutes late; 18.00 22 minutes late; 20.26 30 minutes late. 18.30 and 19.50 Waterloo-Brockenhurst cancelled due to no crew. Many Waterloo-Brockenhurst trains formed of slam-door outer-suburban stock including the 17.00 to Poole. 17.22 Waterloo-Reading reduced to 4 coaches; 18.52 delayed due to no crew. 17.12 Reading-Waterloo 40 minutes late; 20.24 cancelled due to duff stock. 14.45 Salisbury-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo 19 minutes late.

30/12/03 Peak services so reduced during the holiday period that the 05.41 Poole-Waterloo had many standing passengers. 11.33 Waterloo-Plymouth and 16.50 Plymouth-Waterloo operated only between Waterloo and Totnes. 13.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 27 minutes late due to no crew. 15.39 Waterloo-Guildford, 16.50 Guildford-Waterloo, 17.59 Waterloo-Hampton Court, 18.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo, 19.22 Waterloo-Chessington and 20.03 Chessington-Waterloo all reduced to 4 coaches. 19.33 Waterloo-Shepperton, 20.37 Shepperton-Waterloo, 19.45 Waterloo-Southampton, 22.30 Southampton-Waterloo, 20.56 / 22.26 Waterloo-Reading, 22.24 Reading-Waterloo and 20.03 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 19.07 Shepperton-Waterloo 21 minutes late.

31/12/03 06.13 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 4 coaches due to duff stock. 12.48 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 16.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 17.02 and 18.15 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo reduced to 4 coaches; 19.18 21 minutes late.

2/1/04 12.00 Waterloo-Poole and 12.30 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 5 coaches. 15.53 Gillingham-Waterloo, 16.55 Windsor-Waterloo and 19.45 Waterloo-Southampton all about 15 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Shepperton, 19.49 Dorking-Waterloo, 20.37 Shepperton-Waterloo, 20.45 Waterloo-Guildford, 21.26 Waterloo-Reading and 22.42 Waterloo-Windsor cancelled due to no crew. 23.20 Reading-Wokingham cancelled due to cancellation of previous train. From around 21.00, services to and from Waterloo which had not already been cancelled were delayed for up to an hour due to a person, believed to be attempting suicide, on a bridge in the Surbiton area.

3/1/04 07.10 Waterloo-Exeter 42 minutes late. 08.00 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late due to delay on previous journey. 08.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 22 minutes late due to awaiting carriages. 10.00 Waterloo-Poole 15 minutes late. 10.33 Waterloo-Paignton 19 minutes late. 11.44 Axminster-Exeter axed between Axminster and Honiton. 14.33 Waterloo-Exeter 15 minutes late. 17.33 Waterloo-Yeovil 36 minutes late due to no crew. 19.05 Reading-Brighton axed between Reading and Basingstoke and 55 minutes late, due to cancellation of previous train. 20.56 Waterloo-Reading cancelled due to no crew. 21.45 Woking-Waterloo cancelled. 22.27 Guildford-Ascot cancelled. 23.23 Ascot-Farnham cancelled. 23.32 Bournemouth-Waterloo cancelled due to no driver.

4/1/04 Day started with railway closed in the Fratton area for emergency track repairs. 08.50 Waterloo-Bournemouth advertised as 31 minutes late due to awaiting carriages and then as 57 minutes late at Woking due to engineering work. 09.28 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled. 09.00 Romsey-Totton 11 minutes late. 18.00 Reading-Waterloo axed between Reading and Ascot. With people returning from Christmas leave, Waterloo was advertised as shut for a time in the early evening, following an engineers' crane toppling on to the fast tracks at Clapham and causing serious damage: 15.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 98 minutes late; 16.30 cancelled. 17.30 17 minutes late and terminated Bournemouth; 18.30 15 minutes late. 15.50 Waterloo-Bournemouth 74 minutes late; 16.50 39 minutes late. 18.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 30 minutes late. 19.00 Reading-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 19.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 20.09 Waterloo-Guildford axed between Waterloo and Wimbledon.

5/1/04 With commuting returning to full volumes, emergency timetable introduced due to the crane damage. West of England trains axed between Basingstoke and Waterloo. Guildford-Leatherhead-Waterloo services withdrawn. Portsmouth-Eastleigh-Waterloo services axed between Winchester and Waterloo. Chessington-Waterloo services withdrawn. Hampton Court-Waterloo services axed between Surbiton and Waterloo. Alton/Farnham-Waterloo services replaced by an Alton-Guildford service. 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 35 minutes late; additional stops at Micheldever, Basingstoke and Woking, with inhuman overcrowding. 16.00 Brighton-Reading axed between Brighton and Worthing. 17.45 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late with such catastrophic overcrowding that many passengers left behind; 18.30 18 minutes late; 19.30 38 minutes late. 17.56 Waterloo-Portsmouth 18 minutes late; 18.32 56 minutes late; 19.00 44 minutes late; 19.20 27 minutes late; 19.40 21 minutes late; 20.00 10 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 30 minutes late; 18.50 44 minutes late; 19.50 19 minutes late. 18.37 Waterloo-Reading 58 minutes late. 18.40 Waterloo-Havant 46 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 39 minutes late; 20.10 12 minutes late. 19.54 Reading-Waterloo axed between Reading and Ascot. 19..56 Waterloo-Reading and 21.24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 20.03 Waterloo-Shepperton 23 minutes late due to no crew. 20.23 Ascot-Guildford cancelled due to no crew. 20.24 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled.

6/1/04 Emergency timetable continued. Loud groans from passengers at Southampton Central when announcements gave three versions of the stopping pattern of the 05.42 Poole-Waterloo; at Basingstoke SWT thoughtfully suggested that the train's passengers might like to alight and go to Paddington; train was 45 minutes late into Waterloo. 15.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 37 minutes late; 16.30 42 minutes late; 17.15 18 minutes late; 19.30 31 minutes late. 17.05 Brockenhurst-Weymouth 26 minutes late. 17.12 Waterloo-Guildford 37 minutes late. 17.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth and 17.42 Waterloo-Guildford 18 minutes late. 17.48 Waterloo-Alton 23 minutes late. 17.54 Waterloo-Haslemere and 19.15 Haslemere-Guildford cancelled. 18.24 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled. 18.35 Waterloo-Exeter 27 minutes late. 18.37 Waterloo-Reading reduced to 4 coaches. 18.42 Poole-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 18.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole about 30 minutes late; 19.50 24 minutes late. 19.35 Waterloo-Honiton 24 minutes late. 19.40 Waterloo-Portsmouth 22 minutes late. 20.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 23 minutes late. 20.10 Waterloo-Southampton 22 minutes late. 20.15 Waterloo-Dorking 42 minutes late. 20.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 20.46 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 20.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled. 21.02 Waterloo-Kingston and 21.49 Kingston-Waterloo cancelled. 21.06 Woking-Staines cancelled. 21.37 Shepperton-Waterloo cancelled.

7/1/04 Emergency timetable continued. 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 30 minutes late; 06.19 25 minutes late. 06.13 Waterloo-Portsmouth 17 minutes late due to no crew. 06.42 Hilsea-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 06.49 Portsmouth-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 07.17 Basingstoke-Waterloo about 30 minutes late. 07.19 Aldershot-Waterloo and 09.23 Haslemere-Waterloo cancelled. 07.45 Waterloo-Southampton 15 minutes late. 08.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth 20 minutes late. 15.45 Salisbury-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo 29 minutes late. 16.45 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth about 29 minutes late; 17.45 50 minutes late and overtaken by the 18.30 at Southampton Central. 17.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.34 and 18.32 Waterloo-Portsmouth about 10 minutes late. 17.47 Guildford-Waterloo 17 minutes late; 18.47 13 minutes late. 18.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 10 minutes late. 18.26 Waterloo-Guildford and 18.47 Waterloo-Staines cancelled. 18.39 Waterloo-Woking 25 minutes late. 19.42 Waterloo-Windsor and 20.46 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 19.45 Woking-Waterloo 22 minutes late.

8/1/04 07.14 Southampton-Portsmouth announced as cancelled at 07.10. 13.30 Plymouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. Stray animals on the Portsmouth line. 15.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 45 minutes late; passengers thrown off at Woking. 15.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 35 minutes late and omitted all stops after Petersfield except Guildford. 17.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Guildford; 17.51 left at 18.05 with many standing passengers. 18.00 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole over 20 minutes late by Southampton due to door failures at Winchester and Eastleigh; the 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth overtook at Eastleigh, ensuring that passengers from Eastleigh, Totton and Ashurst lost their connections for a faster service to Bournemouth and stations to Weymouth. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 19.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late.

9/1/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 8 minutes late. Afternoon signalling problems in the recently-resignalled Bournemouth area. Only the through Weymouth services ran west of Bournemouth, so service at Poole reduced by about two thirds. 13.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 50 minutes late; 14.48 32 minutes late; 21.00 11 minutes late at Southampton. 15.02 Bournemouth-Waterloo 64 minutes late, partly due to duff train in front; 16.02 22 minutes late. 15.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 12 minutes late; 16.01 10 minutes late; 16.47 omitted all 4 stops from Havant to Guildford inclusive; 21.20 12 minutes late.. 15.45 Waterloo-Southampton 15 minutes late; 20.10 20 minutes late. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late; 17.45 30 minutes late; 18.30 61 minutes late; 19.30 31 minutes late; 20.30 16 minutes late. 16.40 Basingstoke-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 16.50 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 8 coaches; 19.20 44 minutes late; 19.40 31 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Bournemouth 19 minutes late; 18.50 60 minutes late; 20.50 20 minutes late. 19.03 Waterloo-Alton 44 minutes late; 19.33 20 minutes late. 19.05 Waterloo-Salisbury 26 minutes late. 19.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Shepperton 35 minutes late. 19.24 Reading-Waterloo 34 minutes late; 19.54 23 minutes late. 19.35 Waterloo-Honiton 20 minutes late. 19.56 Waterloo-Reading 30 minutes late due to duff stock; all stops before Staines omitted. 19.42 and 20.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke 16 minutes late. 20.45 Woking-Waterloo cancelled. 21.52 Alton-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 22.14 Romsey-Totton and 23.25 Totton-Romsey cancelled.

10/1/04 08.00 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late. 08.08 Waterloo-Portsmouth 32 minutes late; 08.15 14 minutes late; 11.08, 16.08 and 17.08 15 minutes late. 08.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late; 10.30 30 minutes late; 11.30 17 minutes late; 16.30 19 minutes late; 17.00 17 minutes late. 08.44 Basingstoke-Reading cancelled due to duff stock. 08.44 Reading-Waterloo cancelled due to duff train in front; 18.12 axed between Reading and Virginia Water. 10.15 Woking-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 11.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late; 14.48 16 minutes late. 16.22 Waterloo-Reading axed between Virginia Water and Reading. 16.24 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo omitted 6 stops. 18.29 Southampton-Poole 15 minutes late. 20.33 Waterloo-Shepperton and 21.37 Shepperton-Waterloo cancelled. 21.56 Waterloo-Reading cancelled.. 23.20 Reading-Wokingham cancelled.

11/1/04 07.05 Bournemouth-Waterloo 45 minutes late. 08.30 Waterloo-Bournemouth 10 minutes late at Southampton. Fatality at Putney and injury at St Margaret's - services collapsed. 14.55 Bournemouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 15.00 Waterloo-Bournemouth 67 minutes late; 15.30 68 minutes late; 16.00 42 minutes late; 16.30 25 minutes late; 17.00 16 minutes late; 17.30 28 minutes late; 18.00 11 minutes late. 15.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth 88 minutes late; 16.15 25 minutes late; 17.15 20 minutes late. 15.47 Waterloo-Windsor 65 minutes late; 16.47 17 minutes late. 16.28 Weybridge-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 16.47 Portsmouth-Southampton 22 minutes late. 18.00 Reading-Waterloo 28 minutes late. 18.23 Woking-Portsmouth 29 minutes late.

12/1/04 Eastleigh-Fareham line closed during afternoon due to flooding at Botley, and Brockenhurst-Bournemouth line closed most of day due to flooding at Sway - services collapsed. 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late - severely overcrowded with passengers standing from Southampton Airport. 16.21 Guildford-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 12 minutes late. Delayed 16.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court ran fast to Surbiton.. 17.00 Waterloo-Epsom, 17.52 Waterloo-Reading, 17.59 Waterloo-Hampton Court, 18.08 Waterloo-Haslemere and 18.26 Waterloo-Guildford all reduced to 4 coaches. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 30 minutes late. 17.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 20 minutes late by Winchester. 18.21 Waterloo-Basingstoke reduced to 8 coaches. 18.42 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Brockenhurst and 15 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 11 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 4 coaches and 20 minutes late. Although trains from Weymouth and Poole both arrive at Waterloo at 19.33, the 19.50 Waterloo-Poole was cancelled - this was presumably due to the SWT driver shortage therefore. 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled. 21.50 Guildford-Wimbledon cancelled.

13/1/04 Fatality at Clapham, duff train at Brentford and track defect at Redbridge caused evening chaos at Waterloo. 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late; front of train freezing cold. 13.30 Waterloo-Weymouth over an hour late; 14.00 Waterloo-Poole 50 minutes late. 14.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo over 50 minutes late. 15.45 Waterloo-Southampton 32 minutes late. 16.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 34 minutes late; 16.15 30 minutes late, omitting all stops after Twickenham; 17.15 30 minutes late. 16.07 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 16.15 Salisbury-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 16.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo cancelled. 16.20 Guildford-Waterloo 23 minutes late; 16.21 10 minutes late. 16.24 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 16.45 Woking-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 17.23 Waterloo-Basingstoke still awaiting a driver long after 18.00. 17.21 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled. 17.37 Waterloo-Aldershot axed between Waterloo and Clapham Junction. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole could have left punctually if someone had coupled the two units before departure time; 10 minutes late by Southampton despite 8 minute slack in schedule. 18.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth, 20.00 Guildford-Waterloo, 20.07 Shepperton-Waterloo, 20.20 Guildford-Waterloo, 20.26 Waterloo-Hampton Court, 20.33 Waterloo-Shepperton, 20.42 Waterloo-Windsor and 21.43 Windsor-Waterloo all cancelled. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 32 minutes late. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole 12 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 26 minutes late. 19.45 Woking-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 20.03 Chessington-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford 30 minutes late and missed stops at Vauxhall, Clapham Junction and Wimbledon. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 23 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 11 minutes late. 19.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 32 minutes late; 20.09 17 minutes late. 20.15 Woking-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford 30 minutes late.

14/1/04 06.13 Waterloo-Portsmouth 12 minutes late. 06.40 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late. 06.48 Guildford-Waterloo 19 minutes late; 07.04 12 minutes late. 07.10 Haslemere-Waterloo axed between Haslemere and Guildford. 07.11 Reading-Brighton cancelled. 07.21 Portsmouth-Waterloo, 07..41 West Byfleet-Waterloo and 08.05 Waterloo-Alton all reduced to 8 coaches.. 07.28 Portsmouth-Southampton 10 minutes late. 08.38 Yeovil Junction-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 08.55 Waterloo-Poole terminated at Bournemouth due to duff stock. 09.17 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 09.18 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 09.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo reduced to 4 coaches. 09.30 Waterloo-Guildford 15 minutes late. 10.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 13 minutes late; 11.25 25 minutes late. 10.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 11.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 11.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo terminated at Woking. 11.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 25 minutes late; stops at Godalming, Farncombe and Clapham Junction axed. 11.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 18 minutes late. 11.48 Poole-Waterloo started from Bournemouth due to duff stock. 13.05 Reading-Brighton axed between Reading and Basingstoke. 13.08 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Woking. 13.45 Waterloo-Southampton and 14.00 Waterloo-Poole 12 minutes late. 14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 16 minutes late. 15.10 Waterloo-Southampton axed between Waterloo and Woking, and 16 minutes late. 15.45 Waterloo-Southampton 11 minutes late. 15.54 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 16.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 16.33 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled due to no driver. 16.33 Chessington-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 16.52 Waterloo-Alton and 17.34 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 8 coaches. Duff unit on front of 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth, which had to be pushed by the rear unit - train was 20 minutes late; passengers for the stopping portion to Poole therefore had to change trains at Southampton and passengers for stations beyond Bournemouth had to move from the front to the rear portion: huge upheaval. 17.33/18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton and 18.22 Waterloo-Chessington reduced to 4 coaches. 17.45 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 18.08 Waterloo-Haslemere cancelled due to duff stock. Chaos due to failure of the 17.33 Waterloo-Shepperton outside Waterloo and enraged passengers jumping off and walking back to the platform. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.41 Wareham-Waterloo and 16.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 17.45 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 65 minutes late. 17.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 24 minutes late. 17.50 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.53 Salisbury-Waterloo 27 minutes late. 17.56 Waterloo-Portsmouth 23 minutes late; 18.15 25 minutes late; 19.00 23 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 26 minutes late. 18.34 Alton-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 18.34 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 30 minutes late. 18.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 40 minutes late. 18.49 Dorking-Waterloo 36 minutes late. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole about 40 minutes late. 19.03 Chessington-Waterloo 38 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 21 minutes late. 19.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.20 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 19.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth 22 minutes late; 19.40 19 minutes late. 19.50 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late. 19.54 Reading-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 20.00 Guildford-Waterloo 36 minutes late. 20.07 Alton-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 20.10 Waterloo-Southampton 16 minutes late. 20.16 Windsor-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 20.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 22 minutes late. 20.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 17 minutes late. 20.42 Waterloo-Guildford 38 minutes late.

15/1/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo about 7 minutes late. 17.28 Waterloo-Portsmouth 20 minutes late. Although the 18.05 Waterloo-Poole has one hour to get from Waterloo to Winchester, against the standard timing of 52 minutes, it still needed 67 minutes. 18.40 Waterloo-Havant 21 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 13 minutes late. 19.05 Waterloo-Salisbury 10 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton and 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 20.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 20.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 18 minutes late. 21.24 Alton-Waterloo 17 minutes late.

16/1/04 14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 14.33 Waterloo-Plymouth 21 minutes late. 15.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 16.17 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 15 minutes late due to duff stock. 16.22 Waterloo-Reading 15 minutes late due to duff stock. 16.42 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 17.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 8 coaches due to duff stock. 17.23 Waterloo-Basingstoke reduced to 4 coaches; stops at Woking, Brookwood, Winchfield and Hook omitted. Rear 5 coaches of 18.05 Waterloo-Poole severely overcrowded whilst front 5 coaches had large numbers of empty seats; this may have been due to the poster on Waterloo concourse saying that the train would be formed of 5 coaches only. 18.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court reduced to 4 coaches.

17/1/04 06.40 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late; 08.30 25 minutes late. 08.00 Waterloo-Poole cancelled due to late inward service. 08..08 Waterloo-Portsmouth 42 minutes late due to duff stock. 08.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo 24 minutes late. 10.38 Waterloo-Portsmouth 20 minutes late. 10.45 Haslemere-Guildford cancelled. 10.48 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Bournemouth. 12.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 15.24 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 16.33 Waterloo-Exeter axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 17.35 Waterloo-Portsmouth 12 minutes late. 17.38 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled.

18/1/04 06.50 Poole-Waterloo 27 minutes late. Delays to Waterloo-Portsmouth line services due to overrun of engineering works: a number of trains were diverted, and omitted all calls between Woking and Fratton; these included the 10.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth, and 10.20, 10.40 and 11.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo. 10.39 Waterloo-Alton 15 minutes late. 11.39 Waterloo-Guildford 20 minutes late. 12.40 Portsmouth Harbour-Waterloo ran from Portsmouth & Southsea to Woking only. 13.54 Guildford-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 15.40 Weymouth-Waterloo reduced to 5 coaches. 16.52 Guildford-Waterloo stopping service omitted all stops after Woking. By 20.30 most trains into Waterloo were very late (on top of programmed delays due to engineering work), for example: 17.40 Weymouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late; 18.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late; 18.55 Basingstoke-Waterloo 17 minutes late; 19.22 Guildford-Waterloo 20 minutes late; 19.28 Weybridge-Waterloo 16 minutes late..

19/1/04 16.00 Waterloo-Poole and 16.17 Guildford-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 16.57 Portsmouth-Waterloo cancelled. 18.40 Waterloo-Havant cancelled. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 20 minutes late. 16.45 Waterloo-Poole 10 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole reduced to 8 coaches of old Mark I stock, without the advertised buffet service, and departed at 18.11. 18.08 Waterloo-Haslemere cancelled due to duff stock. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 21 minutes late.19.05 Alton-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 19.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke 21 minutes late. 19.26 Waterloo-Reading 17 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Alton 32 minutes late. 19.40 Waterloo-Portsmouth cancelled. 19.47 Waterloo-Weybridge cancelled. Signalling failure at Woking: delays of 90 minutes and more reported. 16.50 Plymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 18.42 Poole-Waterloo 54 minutes late. 20.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo 69 minutes late. 20.30 Waterloo-Weymouth and 20.35 Waterloo-Exeter 50 minutes late. 20.31 Alton-Waterloo 26 minutes late. 20.45 Woking-Waterloo 30 minutes late. 21.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 38 minutes late.

20/1/04 Cancellations included: 15.23 Waterloo-Portsmouth; 16.26 Waterloo-Hampton Court; 17.09 Hampton-Court-Waterloo; 17.52 Waterloo-Reading; 17.56 Waterloo-Guildford; 17.56-Windsor-Waterloo; 20.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth; 21.30 Weybridge-Waterloo; 22.13 Windsor-Waterloo. Short formations included: 16.04 Waterloo-Shepperton; 17.09 Waterloo-Woking; 17.34 Waterloo-Portsmouth and 18.06 Waterloo-Epsom (4 coaches); 18.05 Waterloo-Poole (8 coaches of old Mark I stock for the second day in succession) and 18.40 Waterloo-Havant (8 coaches). 17.48 Waterloo-Alton 16 minutes late.

21/1/04 11.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 14.45 Waterloo-Southampton advertised as cancelled due to no conductor; it was then reinstated as a 2-coach diesel service; at Southampton it unusually used platform 2, which is the platform for the 16.52 to Totton; the latter sat outside the station for over 10 minutes, even though platforms 3 and 4 were available; at 17.04 the 16.52 was diverted into platform 3; the 16.55 to London was eventually cancelled due to no conductor, with dozens of passengers thrown off. 16.00 Brighton-Reading 15 minutes late; passengers thrown off when it terminated at Basingstoke. 16.25 Totton-Romsey 18 minutes late at Southampton. 18.00 Brighton-Basingstoke cancelled. 18.39 Reading-Brighton started from Basingstoke. 16.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 17.54 Waterloo-Weybridge reduced to 4 coaches. 19.00 Brighton-Reading started from Worthing. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 39 minutes late. 19.05 Alton-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 31 minutes late. 19.26 Waterloo-Reading 17 minutes late. 20.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo cancelled. 20.54 Reading-Waterloo 10 minutes late.

22/1/04 08.06 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled. 08.20 Waterloo-Alton axed between Waterloo and Woking. 17.13 Basingstoke-Waterloo stopping service ran non-stop for operational convenience. 17.26 Windsor-Waterloo terminated at Twickenham. 18.22 Waterloo-Reading and 18.39 Waterloo-Woking reduced to 4 coaches. 18.40 Waterloo-Havant reduced to 8 coaches. 19.21 Weybridge-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 19.47 Waterloo-Weybridge cancelled. 20.15 Waterloo-Dorking terminated at Vauxhall due to duff stock. 21.30 Weybridge-Waterloo cancelled. 21.39 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled. 21.43 Windsor-Waterloo diverted via Brentford. 22.50 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled.

23/1/04 Despite SWT's 'Every Second Counts' propaganda, passengers at Totton had to wait two minutes for the doors of the 05.42 Poole-Waterloo to be released. 13.30 Plymouth-Waterloo axed between Plymouth and Exeter. 16.27 Alton-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.37 Waterloo-Ascot cancelled. 17.33 Waterloo-Teddington and 18.51 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 17.52 Waterloo-Chessington cancelled. 18.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 19.00 Brighton-Reading 26 minutes late due to duff stock. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 15 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 20 minutes late. 20.33 Waterloo-Shepperton 10 minutes late. 22.39 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled.

24/1/04 Bournemouth station evacuated from 11.00 to 12.00: services collapsed. 09.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 75 minutes late; 10.48 53 minutes late; 11.48 27 minutes late and axed between Weymouth and Bournemouth; 12.48 axed between Weymouth and Bournemouth. 11.48 Poole-Waterloo 20 minutes late; 12.48 46 minutes late and all stops between Bournemouth and London, except Southampton Central, omitted for operational convenience. 16.00 Waterloo-Poole cancelled. 16.39 Shepperton-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 19.41 Poole-Waterloo 16 minutes late.

25/1/04 08.21 Eastleigh-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 15.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 54 minutes late. 15.40 Weymouth-Waterloo 42 minutes late. 16.55 Bournemouth-Waterloo 33 minutes late. 19.50 Waterloo-Bournemouth 12 minutes late.

26/1/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 07.04 Basingstoke-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 08.22 / 16.52 Waterloo-Reading, 16.26 / 16..56 Waterloo-Hampton Court, 17.03 Waterloo-Shepperton, 17.15 Waterloo-Strawberry Hill, 17.36 Waterloo-Basingstoke and 20.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth all reduced to 4 coaches. 16.00 Brighton-Reading and 16.54 Portsmouth-Waterloo terminated at Basingstoke. 16.27 Alton-Waterloo axed between Alton and Farnham and 14 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 10 minutes late at Southampton.. 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo, 17.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo, 17.45 Woking-Waterloo, 17.56 Waterloo-Guildford, 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton, 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton, 19.47 Waterloo-Weybridge, 19.56 Waterloo-Reading, 20.02 Waterloo-Kingston, 20.24 Reading-Waterloo, 20.33 Waterloo-Alton, 20.49 Kingston-Waterloo, 20.49 Dorking-Waterloo, 21.26 Waterloo-Reading, 21.30 Weybridge-Waterloo and 22.54 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 18.42 Poole-Waterloo axed between Poole and Bournemouth due to duff stock. 18.10 Waterloo-Yeovil 21 minutes late; passengers thrown off at Salisbury. 18.54 Salisbury-Waterloo and 19.32 Alton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.28 Waterloo-Portsmouth and 21.10 Waterloo-Southampton axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke.

27/1/04 06.49 Portsmouth-Waterloo, 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo, 16.52 Waterloo-Reading and 18.24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 14.48 Poole-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 15.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth, 16.04 Waterloo-Shepperton, 17.00 / 18.06 Waterloo-Epsom all reduced to 4 coaches. 16.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.03 Weybridge-Waterloo, 16.27 Windsor-Waterloo, and 16.27 Alton-Waterloo all 12 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole formed of old Mark I coaches; 10 minutes' delay at Vauxhall due to duff train in front. 18.26 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 8 coaches. 17..28 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 18.39 Reading-Brighton 16 minutes late. 19.00 Brighton-Reading 31 minutes late. 19.24 Reading-Waterloo 24 minutes late; 7 stops omitted with passengers thrown off / left waiting. 19.54 Portsmouth-Winchester 24 minutes late. 19.54 Reading-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 20.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo 34 minutes late; all intermediate stops omitted for operational convenience. 20.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 25 minutes late.

28/1/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo made an additional stop at platform 2 at Woking; nobody to board but large numbers standing on platform 1, which is also served by London trains. 06.10 Portsmouth-Waterloo 7 minutes late. 07.17 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 16.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled due to no crew. 16.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 51 minutes late. 17.03 Weybridge-Waterloo and 17.12 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 19 minutes late. 17.52 Waterloo-Chessington cancelled. 17.34 Waterloo-Portsmouth and 18..08 Waterloo-Haslemere reduced to 8 coaches. 17.42 Poole-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 17.45 Waterloo-Weymouth delayed behind duff train in Earlsfield area; 25 minutes late at Southampton where keenness to split the units led to the doors being closed on alighting passengers; Poole portion then lost a further 5 minutes due to uncoupling problems. 17.56 Waterloo-Portsmouth 22 minutes late. 18.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole reduced to 5 coaches and 26 minutes late. 18.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 60 minutes late. 18.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole 53 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 14 minutes late. 19.05 Waterloo-Salisbury 31 minutes late. 19.07 Waterloo-Reading 25 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 35 minutes late.. 19.15 Woking-Waterloo 51 minutes late. 19.17 Guildford-Waterloo 19 minutes late. 19.19 Dorking-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 31 minutes late. 19.35 Waterloo-Honiton 17 minutes late. 19.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 19.54 Portsmouth-Winchester 18 minutes late.

29/1/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 20 minutes late; mainly due to huge delay at Woking where guard eventually announced that this was an additional stop but nobody had told him so he had not unlocked the doors. Scores of passengers boarded, and the guard then announced that he was sorry for the delay and did not know why the extra stop had been arranged. Consequent anger among some Woking passengers. One Walton-on-Thames commuter who had been told to travel via Woking stated that passengers had been promised that two other trains would stop for them but both sailed past. 06.10 Portsmouth-Waterloo delayed behind and 20 minutes late. 06.19 Poole-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 07.10 Haslemere-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 15.48 Poole-Waterloo 15 minutes late; omitted all stations except Bournemouth and Southampton Central. 16.03 Waterloo-Shepperton 21 minutes late. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 5 coaches. 16.37 Waterloo-Basingstoke; 16.48 Waterloo-Hounslow and 18.19 Waterloo-Shepperton all reduced to 4 coaches. 16.45 Woking-Waterloo omitted all stops before Surbiton. 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo reduced to 4 coaches. 17.03 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 17.45 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 5 coaches and departed 20 minutes late; no explanation whatever of the delay; short formation blamed on an inward service failing at Southampton; inhuman overcrowding. 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton reduced to 4 coaches. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 16 minutes late. 18.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke and 19.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 8 coaches. 19.05 Alton-Waterloo 58 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 27 minutes late. 19.21 Weybridge-Waterloo 34 minutes late. 19.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo 15 minutes late; stops at Surbiton and Clapham Junction omitted for operational convenience. 20.07 Alton-Waterloo 37 minutes late. 20.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 20.24 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled due to no crew. 20.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 20.33 Waterloo-Alton cancelled due to no crew. 20.42 Waterloo-Guildford 15 minutes late.

30/1/04 06.38 Portsmouth-Waterloo reduced to 4 coaches. 07..12 Waterloo-Brighton cancelled due to no stock. 07.22 Farnham-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 07.25 Alton-Waterloo and 07.30 Woking-Waterloo reduced to 8 coaches. 08.05 Portsmouth-Reading axed between Portsmouth and Cosham. 13.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late due to no crew. 14.25 Totton-Romsey axed between Totton and Southampton and 18 minutes late, due to duff stock. 14.48 Waterloo-Alton cancelled due to duff stock. 15.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth terminated at Basingstoke. 15.16 Basingstoke-Brighton 21 minutes late. 15.44 Exeter-Waterloo cancelled. 15.54 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 15 minutes late. 16.57 Portsmouth-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 17.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 12 minutes late. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 18 minutes late. 17.17 Waterloo-Shepperton reduced to 4 coaches. 17.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late.17.54 Waterloo-Weybridge reduced to 4 coaches. 18.00 Brighton-Basingstoke terminated at Havant. 18.14 Windsor-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 18.21 Waterloo-Basingstoke reduced to 8 coaches. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 5 coaches. 20.07 Weymouth-Waterloo terminated at Bournemouth. 23.55 Waterloo-Bournemouth terminated at Southampton.

31/1/04 Chaos in Southampton area due to an early morning fatality at St Denys. 16.05 Reading-Brighton 17 minutes late. 17.00 Waterloo-Guildford 30 minutes late. 17.02 Exeter-Southampton 17 minutes late. 17.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke 30 minutes late. 17.22 Waterloo-Reading and 17.48 Poole-Waterloo cancelled due to no crew. 17.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 31 minutes late. 17.35 Waterloo-Portsmouth 17 minutes late. 18.00 Waterloo-Poole 31 minutes late. 18.07 Shepperton-Waterloo axed between Shepperton and Fulwell. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth and 18.33 Waterloo-Exeter 17 minutes late. 18.38 Waterloo-Portsmouth 18 minutes late. 19.18 Epsom-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Honiton 15 minutes late. 20.45 Woking-Waterloo omitted all intermediate stops after Surbiton. 20.56 Waterloo-Reading, 21.12 Waterloo-Windsor and 21.45 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled due to no crew.

1/2/04 09.55 Totton-Romsey axed between Totton and Southampton due to duff stock. 11.30 Exeter-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 15.03 Waterloo-Exeter reduced to 3 coaches. 15.10 St Austell-Chichester 27 minutes late.. 16.52 Guildford-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 17.02 Waterloo-Reading cancelled due to no conductor. 19.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 28 minutes late. 20.00 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 20.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth terminated at Fratton.. 20.30 Exeter-Waterloo reduced to 3 coaches.

2/2/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo held outside Northam depot for empty Desiro train to run ahead; then joined long queue of delayed trains in Vauxhall area caused by 'debris on the track', presumably from Network Rail's weekend engineering works; arrived at Waterloo, 23 minutes late, at 08.26 to form the 08.30 to Weymouth. The following 06.10 Portsmouth-Waterloo delayed by 20 minutes. Afternoon delays on the Windsor lines for about 3 hours due to a fatality at Barnes. 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 25 minutes late.. 15.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo and 16.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 16.00 Alton-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 16.21 Guildford-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 17.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 17.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo cancelled. 17.56 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 6 minutes late. Big evening delays due to a train failure. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 25 minutes late. 19.09 Waterloo-Guildford 26 minutes late due to duff stock. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 30 minutes late. 19.16 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 29 minutes late; omitted all stops between Richmond and Vauxhall. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 11 minutes late. 19.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.33 Waterloo-Alton 18 minutes late. 20.07 Shepperton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 20.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled. 20.15 Waterloo-Southampton 19 minutes late. 20.31 Alton-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 20.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 22 minutes late. 20.50 Guildford-Waterloo 13 minutes late; 21.00 19 minutes late.

3/2/04 14.33 Waterloo-Plymouth 19 minutes late. 14.45 Waterloo-Southampton 14 minutes late; huge delays because connection with the service for stations to Poole not honoured. 16.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 17.07 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 17.26 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 17.39 Waterloo-Farnham cancelled due to duff stock. 17.42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 19.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 19.50 Plymouth-Salisbury 18 minutes late due to duff stock. 19.54 Reading-Waterloo cancelled due to no crew. 20.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke 16 minutes late; 21.42 axed between Waterloo and Woking. 20.07 Alton-Waterloo 51 minutes late and passengers thrown off at Woking; 20.31 34 minutes late; 20.53 16 minutes late; 21.24 19 minutes late.

4/2/04 13.30 Plymouth-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 17.13 Basingstoke-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 17.18 Waterloo-Alton cancelled. 17.22 Waterloo-Chessington 34 minutes late. 17.23 Waterloo-Basingstoke 27 minutes late. 17.25 Waterloo-Guildford 15 minutes late. 17.26 Waterloo-Guildford reduced to 4 coaches. 17.34 Woking-Waterloo 28 minutes late and omitted all stations to Surbiton. 17.49 Dorking-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 18.07 Shepperton-Waterloo cancelled. 18.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 18.34 Alton-Waterloo cancelled. Stock for 18.50 to Poole arrived at Waterloo at 18.50 and departed at 19.00. 19.00 Brighton-Reading 25 minutes late; passengers thrown off at Basingstoke. 21.24 Reading-Southampton axed between Reading and Basingstoke.

5/2/04 05.53 Wimbledon-Portsmouth 28 minutes late. 07.19 Aldershot-Waterloo cancelled. 07.56 Alton-Waterloo started from Farnham; 07..53 Reading-Waterloo started from Wokingham. 16.21 Guildford-Waterloo 11 minutes late.16.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled. 17.12 Reading-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 17.39 Waterloo-Farnham 15 minutes late. 17.52 Waterloo-Chessington cancelled. 18.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 18..42 Poole-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 20.53 Alton-Waterloo started from Farnham.

6/2/04 15.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 16.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo cancelled due to no carriages. 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo, 16.48 Waterloo-Hounslow, 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton and 18.39 Waterloo-Woking all reduced to 4 coaches. 16.00 Alton-Waterloo 15 minutes late; 16.27 10 minutes late; 19.05 15 minutes late; 19.32 16 minutes late. 19.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth 17 minutes late; 20.00 18 minutes late; 21.20 10 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 44 minutes late; 20.30 25 minutes late. 20.35 Waterloo-Exeter axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke due to duff stock. 20.49 Kingston-Waterloo 14 minutes late.

7/2/04 Cancellations: 17.30 Southampton-Waterloo; 20.12, 20.42 (no crew) and 23.12 Waterloo-Windsor; 20.17 Waterloo-Staines; 19.26 (no crew), 19.56 (no crew), 20.56 and 22.56 Waterloo-Reading; 21.10 Waterloo-Basingstoke; 21.15 and 22.15 Waterloo-Epsom; 21.18 Waterloo-Guildford; 21.43 and 22.13 Windsor-Waterloo; 22.00 Guildford-Waterloo; 21.24 and 22.24 Reading-Waterloo; 22.30 Weybridge-Staines; 22.30 Waterloo-Bournemouth; 22.44 Basingstoke-Waterloo; 23.02 Waterloo-Kingston; 23.03 Epsom-Waterloo; 23.03 Waterloo-Shepperton; 23.25 Totton-Romsey; 23.30 Waterloo-Southampton; 23.48 Waterloo-Staines. 08.17 Portsmouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 15.00 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late due to no crew. 16.33 Portsmouth-Southampton 13 minutes late. 19.10 Romsey-Totton 12 minutes late. 20.07 Weymouth-Waterloo reduced to 5 coaches. 19.41 Poole-Waterloo (no crew) and 21.00 Weymouth-Waterloo terminated at Bournemouth. 22.14 Romsey-Totton terminated at Southampton..

8/2/04 01.45 Waterloo-Twickenham cancelled. 12.40 Weymouth-Waterloo 17 minutes late. 14.41 Clapham Junction-Reading cancelled. 15.00 Reading-Clapham Junction axed between Reading and Bracknell; 16.00 cancelled. 15.22 Guildford-Waterloo cancelled. 16.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 19 minutes late; 18.30 10 minutes late. 17.21 Clapham Junction-Windsor cancelled. 17.40 Portsmouth-Waterloo 31 minutes late due to duff stock. 18.03 Waterloo-Yeovil 18 minutes late. 18.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth 11 minutes late. 18.25 Windsor-Clapham Junction cancelled. 18.30 and 19.30 Reading-Waterloo cancelled. 18.47 Southampton-Portsmouth 22 minutes late. 19.05 Yeovil-Waterloo omitted all booked stops and ran non-stop to Wimbledon where it terminated, due to duff stock. 19.09 Hampton Court-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 19.26 Clapham Junction-Kingston-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 19.33 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 19.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 40 minutes late. 20.28, 21.28 and 22.28 Guildford-Ascot cancelled. 21.03 Waterloo-Exeter terminated at Honiton. 21.07 Shepperton-Waterloo 27 minutes late due to broken down train. 21.29 and 22.29 Ascot-Guildford cancelled. 21.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo cancelled. 21.40 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late and did not serve Portsmouth Harbour.

9/2/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo had difficulties accelerating and 5 minutes late at Eastleigh. 06.10 Portsmouth-Waterloo therefore lost its slot and 18 minutes late. Cancellations: 16.52 / 19.56 Waterloo-Reading; 17.07 Shepperton-Waterloo; 17.33 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo; 20.24 / 20.39 Waterloo-Guildford; 16.58 / 21.12 Waterloo-Windsor; 16.42 / 18.24 / 21.24 Reading-Waterloo; 16.27 / 17.56 / 22.13 Windsor-Waterloo. 16.04 Waterloo-Shepperton, 17.45 Waterloo-Strawberry Hill and 18.06 Waterloo-Epsom reduced to 4 coaches. 15.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 16 minutes late. 15.54 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo and 16.02 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 16.00 Alton-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 16.37 Waterloo-Basingstoke 18 minutes late. 16.45 Waterloo-Poole 15 minutes late. 17.15 Waterloo-Weymouth 30 minutes late. 17.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 10 minutes late. Stock for 17.52 Waterloo-Chessington not expected until 18.02. 18.54 Salisbury-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 19.24 Reading-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 10 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 14 minutes late. 19.16 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth axed between Waterloo and Bournemouth; 20.30 10 minutes late. 21.11 Windsor-Waterloo 16 minutes late.. 21.52 Alton-Waterloo axed between Alton and Farnham.

10/2/04 Cancelled: 17.17 Southampton-Eastleigh (no stock); 17.25 Waterloo-Guildford; 17.26 Windsor-Waterloo; 17.26 Reading-Waterloo; 19.17 Waterloo-Woking (no stock); 19.51 Weybridge-Waterloo; 19.52 Waterloo-Chessington; 20.38 Chessington-Waterloo; 21.40 Waterloo-Portsmouth. 17.34 Waterloo-Portsmouth started from Woking due to duff stock. 18.15 and 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 8 coaches. 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo; 16.48 Waterloo-Hounslow; 18.08 Waterloo-Haslemere; 18.09 Waterloo-Woking; 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton reduced to 4 coaches. 16.00 Alton-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.01 Portsmouth-Waterloo 11 minutes late. 19.16 Windsor-Waterloo 22 minutes Late due to duff stock. 20.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 40 minutes late; 20.20 12 minutes late. 20.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late and diverted via Eastleigh; 20.47 48 minutes late and diverted via Eastleigh. 21..20 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late.

11/2/04 Most main line arrivals at Waterloo 5-10 minutes late in the morning peak. 06.50 Alton-Waterloo 40 minutes late. Cancelled: 16.47 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo; 16.58 Waterloo-Windsor; 17.03 Weybridge-Waterloo; 17.13 Basingstoke-Waterloo; 17.25 Waterloo-Guildford; 17.33 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo; 17.56 Windsor-Waterloo; 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton; 18..36 Guildford-Waterloo; 18.42 Waterloo-Basingstoke; 19.56 Waterloo-Reading; 20.02 Waterloo-Kingston; 21.24 Reading-Waterloo.14.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 33 minutes late. 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo 37 minutes late. 14.48 Poole-Waterloo 52 minutes late. 15.55 Southampton-Waterloo 34 minutes late. 17.05 Waterloo-Basingstoke and 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton reduced to 4 coaches. 17.45 Waterloo-Weymouth 35 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 16 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 13 minutes late. 19.16 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo 13 minutes late. 19.32 Alton-Waterloo 21 minutes late. 20.10 Waterloo-Southampton 25 minutes late.

12/2/04 05.39 Yeovil-Waterloo, 05.42 Poole-Waterloo and 07..10 Haslemere-Waterloo all 10-15 minutes late. Cancelled: 16.48 Waterloo-Dorking; 17.08 Waterloo-Portsmouth (duff stock); 17.26 Reading-Waterloo (no stock); 17.49 Dorking-Waterloo; 19.26 Waterloo-Reading; 20.54 Reading-Waterloo. 19.00 Brighton-Reading 22 minutes late. Reduced to 4 coaches: 17.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth; 17.26 Waterloo-Guildford; 17.52 Waterloo-Reading; 17.54 Waterloo-Weybridge. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole formed of slam-door outer suburban stock - 7 minutes late by East5leigh and heating failed.

13/2/04 Cancellations: 06.34 Southampton-Romsey; 06.48 Southampton-Eastleigh; 14.54/15.24 Waterloo-Brentford-Waterloo; 15.37 Shepperton-Waterloo; 15.56 Waterloo-Hampton Court; 16.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo; 16..47 Portsmouth-Waterloo; 18.17 Waterloo-Shepperton; 19.32 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo. 08.07/18.22 Waterloo-Reading and 17.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo reduced to 4 coaches. 15.12 Reading-Waterloo 21 minutes late and passengers for intermediate stations between Staines and Waterloo thrown off as stops omitted for operational convenience. 18.40 Waterloo-Havant reduced to 8 coaches.. 18.50 Waterloo-Poole 24 minutes late. 19.10 Waterloo-Southampton 11 minutes late. 19.45 Woking-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 21.24 Reading-Waterloo 10 minutes late.

14/2/04 Cancellations: 08.38 / 11.08 / 18.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth; 12.45 / 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth; 15.28 Waterloo-Windsor; 15.49 / 19..49 / 21.49 Dorking-Waterloo; 16.27 / 16.55 / 19.27 / 22.45 Windsor-Waterloo; 17.07 / 18.07 Waterloo-Weybridge; 17.40 Haslemere-Waterloo; 18.00 Waterloo-Poole; 18.15 / 20.15 Waterloo-Dorking; 18.28 / 21.42 / 22.12 / 22.42 Waterloo-Windsor; 18.33 / 19.30 Weybridge-Waterloo; 18.52 / 19.56 / 20.56 / 21..26 Waterloo-Reading; 20.24 / 21.24 / 22.24 / 22.54 Reading-Waterloo; 20.45 Waterloo-Guildford; 21.02 Waterloo-Kingston; 21.20 Portsmouth-Waterloo; 21..30 Waterloo-Poole; 21.45 Waterloo-Bournemouth. 21.49 Kingston-Waterloo; 22..00 Guildford-Waterloo; 23.15 Windsor-Staines; 23.48 Waterloo-Staines. 08.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 14.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 34 minutes late. 16.48 Poole-Waterloo started from Bournemouth. 16.48 and 21.00 Weymouth-Waterloo terminated at Southampton Central. 18.00 Waterloo-Poole 18 minutes late. 22.55 Waterloo-Poole terminated at Southampton.

15/2/04 09.45 Waterloo-Portsmouth 11 minutes late. 10.03 Waterloo-Exeter 15 minutes late. 11.00 Salisbury-Brighton terminated at Southampton. 11.03 Waterloo-Plymouth terminated at Exeter. 11.52 Guildford-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 12.00 Romsey-Totton cancelled. 12.03 Waterloo-Salisbury 15 minutes late (no stock). 12.55 Totton-Romsey axed between Totton and Southampton. 13.10 Brighton-Reading terminated at Basingstoke. 13.55 Bournemouth-Waterloo 27 minutes late. 14.10 Brighton-Salisbury axed between Brighton and Southampton. 14.55 Totton-Romsey terminated at Southampton. 14.55 Epsom-Waterloo cancelled. 15.12 Waterloo-Windsor cancelled (no conductor). 15.53 Romsey-Totton started from Southampton. 15.56 Reading-Brighton started from Basingstoke. 17.39 Waterloo-Guildford cancelled (no conductor). 19.25 Windsor-Waterloo cancelled. 20.00 Reading-Waterloo axed between Reading and Bracknell. 20.25 Epsom-Waterloo cancelled. 20.29 Ascot-Guildford cancelled.

16/2/04 16.00 Alton-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.18 Waterloo-Hounslow; 16.52 Waterloo-Chessington; 17.29 Waterloo-Hampton court and 18.15 Waterloo-Teddington reduced to 4 coaches. 17.25 Portsmouth-Waterloo 14 minutes late. 17.49 Waterloo-Shepperton and 18.53 Waterloo-Chessington reduced to 8 coaches. 18.21 Weybridge-Waterloo 12 minutes late. 19.20 Guildford-Waterloo 15 minutes late.

17/2/04 14.33 Waterloo-Plymouth 12 minutes late due to duff stock. 15.30 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 4 coaches of old Mark I stock. 16.03 Weybridge-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo 23 minutes late. 18.52 Waterloo-Reading reduced to 4 coaches. 19.05 Alton-Waterloo 16 minutes late. 19.24 Reading-Waterloo cancelled; 19.54 12 minutes late. 20.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo axed between Portsmouth Harbour and Portsmouth & Southsea. 21.03 Waterloo-Alton cancelled due to duff stock.

18/2/04 14.33 Waterloo-Plymouth 16 minutes late due to duff stock. 15.53 Waterloo-Portsmouth reduced to 4 coaches. Elderly woman mown down on an official crossing at Wool; afternoon service west of Wool collapsed. At 17.30, SWT's website showed the 14.48 Weymouth-Waterloo expected on time at 17.33; this train forms the 18.05 Waterloo-Poole, but at 17.50 there was still no indication at Waterloo as to what had happened to it. Another half term from hell evolved; huge numbers of commuters and families with children crowded on to the 17.56 Waterloo-Portsmouth via Eastleigh; some families had cardboard trays of hot drinks, but could scarcely find standing room, let alone a seat. Dreadful conditions. At Eastleigh, passengers at last learned that the 18.05 from Waterloo was cancelled, due to late running of previous service (the service shown on SWT's website as running on time). 15.48 Weymouth-Waterloo started from Wool; 17.48 17 minutes late; 18.48 cancelled. 18.00 Brighton-Basingstoke 12 minutes late. 18.08 Waterloo-Haslemere reduced to 4 coaches. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 12 minutes late. 18.54 Portsmouth-Winchester 14 minutes late. 19.20 Waterloo-Portsmouth 29 minutes late and axed between Waterloo and Woking; 19.40 cancelled; 20.00 36 minutes late. 19.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 13 minutes late. 19.50 Waterloo-Poole cancelled.

19/2/04 05.42 Poole-Waterloo 8 minutes late. 13.30 Plymouth-Waterloo axed between Plymouth and Exeter. 16.03 Waterloo-Salisbury axed between Waterloo and Basingstoke. 16.20 Exeter-Waterloo 24 minutes late. 16..30 Waterloo-Weymouth reduced to 5 coaches. 17.03 Waterloo-Yeovil reduced to 3 coaches. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole reduced to 8 coaches and formed of old Mark I stock. 18.15 Waterloo-Portsmouth 21 minutes late; 18.32 12 minutes late.

20/2/04 14.48 Waterloo-Alton 19 minutes late. 15.40 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled. 16.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 28 minutes late; 16.57 11 minutes late. 17.38 Basingstoke-Waterloo cancelled. 18.00 Waterloo-Guildford 17 minutes late. 18.05 Waterloo-Poole 20 minutes late. 18.10 Waterloo-Yeovil 15 minutes late. 18.18 Waterloo-Alton 16 minutes late. 18.30 Waterloo-Weymouth 16 minutes late. 18.34 Waterloo-Kingston-Waterloo axed between Waterloo and Twickenham. 19.00 Waterloo-Portsmouth 22 minutes late. 19.12 Waterloo-Basingstoke cancelled. 19.14 Basingstoke-Waterloo 15 minutes late. 20.38 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled. 20.47 Portsmouth-Waterloo 20 minutes late. 20.50 Guildford-Waterloo 10 minutes late. 20.54 Portsmouth-Winchester 24 minutes late. 21.00 Weymouth-Waterloo started 17 minutes late. 21.02 Waterloo-Kingston 22 minutes late. 21.09 Waterloo-Guildford failed at Clapham Junction. 22.20 Guildford-Wimbledon cancelled.

21/2/04 06.40 Waterloo-Weymouth 35 minutes late; 08.30 35 minutes late; 13.30 12 minutes late - connection for Totton left Southampton, two minutes before its arrival, with only two passengers on board; 17.30 18 minutes late. 09.03 Chessington-Waterloo cancelled due to duff stock. 09.25 Totton-Romsey cancelled due to no guard. 10.14 Romsey-Totton axed between Romsey and Southampton due to no guard. 11.14 Romsey-Totton terminated at Southampton due to no guard. 12.25 Totton-Romsey cancelled due to no guard. 16.33 Waterloo-Exeter 19 minutes late. 18.48 Weymouth-Waterloo terminated at Bournemouth. 19.00 Brighton-Reading 16 minutes late. 19.56 Waterloo-Reading terminated at Putney due to duff stock. 20.05 Waterloo-Windsor started from Staines due to duff stock. 20.26 Waterloo-Reading 22 minutes late due to no crew and terminated at Staines. 21.15 Southampton-Waterloo cancelled. 21.55 Waterloo-Bournemouth cancelled. 21.33 and 22.33 Waterloo-Bournemouth cancelled. 23.33 Waterloo-Southampton cancelled.

22/2/04 Cancellations: 09.47 Waterloo-Windsor; 11.02 Windsor-Waterloo; 10.57 Waterloo-Weybridge; 12.28 Weybridge-Waterloo; 10.19 / 12.58 / 19.28 Waterloo-Hampton Court; 11.32 / 14.09 / 20.39 Hampton Court-Waterloo; 16.40 Weymouth-Waterloo; 21.03 Waterloo-Weymouth; 21.22 Guildford-Waterloo; 21.30 Waterloo-Poole. (Delays not reported on website)

MODERATING THE LANGUAGE OF FAILURE - 3

On 17 December, SWT's website showed the 19.02 Aldershot-Guildford and 19.25 Guildford- Ascot as cancelled. The reason: "This is due to waiting for a train crew member." Nice image but a misleading one, since the entries were made on the website a few seconds on either side of 18.41! The 20.23 Ascot-Guildford was also cancelled. Reason: "This is due to a train crew being delayed". Entry made on website at 18.42.

On 20 December, the 06.55 Southampton-Waterloo started 21 minutes late (43 minutes late by Waterloo). SWT's ever-reassuring website stated: "This is due to waiting for carriages to form the train". In other words, the related inward working was late also. The same excuse is in general use on SWT.

Like Hogrider No 95, Private Eye reported that - on November 24 - SWT's website showed the 21.00 Weymouth-Waterloo as being diverted via Havant and omitting all 41 intermediate stations. We can confirm that National Rail website entries for the intermediate stations simply showed the train as cancelled. This had the potential to cause immense inconvenience for passengers, especially given that the train was the last London service of the day. SWT told Private Eye that the information was incorrect and this was due to "simple human error"!

NOTABLE MISCELLANEOUS FAILURES

(1) With the closure of the Lymington line during January, an unrealistic alternative bus service was introduced, allowing 10 minutes between Brockenhurst and Lymington Town, and 6 minutes between Lymington Town and Lymington Pier. On 6 January Radio Solent reported that the journey was taking between 20 and 30 minutes overall. The bus driver said the schedule was too tight. Radio Solent could not contact anyone in SWT for comment.

(2) 'Rail' No 478 reported anger among Wool residents that their station waiting room had been closed for six months following vandalism. No repairs had been carried out.

(3) The Rail Passengers Committee for Southern England is concerned that the majority of Guildford-Ascot trains have been replaced by buses for months because SWT doesn't employ enough drivers to cover for crew training on the Desiro units. (The Desiro units are reportedly only half as reliable as the stock which they are replacing, despite Andrew Haines' past statement to the Southern Daily Echo that the specification was for them to be 10 times as reliable. Unreliability, in conjunction with the 26% reduction in promised new rolling stock (Hogrider No 95), and seats being ripped out of suburban units, clearly provides miserable future prospects for SWT commuters.)

ALDERSHOT FIASCO

(From the Web: Interesting that taxi drivers normally make lots of money from SWT delays!)

Taxi drivers claim South West Trains' free coaches to replace some train services from Aldershot railway station to Guildford and Ascot are affecting their health and livelihood.

The drivers, who pay South West Trains up to £250 a year to use the taxi rank outside the station, say people who otherwise would opt for a taxi are now jumping on the coaches.

To add insult to injury they say they have to sit behind the waiting coaches and breathe in their exhaust fumes, and one driver even claims a coach reversed into the back of a taxi when there was more than one coach outside the station and space was limited.

Mickey Parsons, a taxi driver in Rushmoor for 18 months. said: "The coach drivers park up in front of the taxi rank and disappear off into the station for 15 to 20 minutes and leave the engine running. The diesel fumes can be pretty disgusting and some of the other cabbies have gone up to the coaches and turned off the engine."

One taxi driver said he saw another being sick after sitting at the front of the rank behind a coach for 20 minutes.

All the drivers who spoke to the Mail said fares from the station were a "significant part" of their income, and claimed the coaches, which have been running for five weeks, have affected their livelihood. Mr Parsons said: "There has been quite a drop in trade because people can just get on the coaches for free. It's mostly the £15 fares that we are losing. Where maybe before when the train was late people asked us to take them to Camberley (on the line to Ascot), that doesn't happen now. But then the other day the trains weren't working and we had to ferry passengers to and from Alton at £20 a time, so it does work in our favour sometimes."

Mr Parsons estimated he had lost a quarter of his trade but taxi driver Roger Watkins claimed it was more like half and said South West Trains should consider giving those who use the rank a rebate.

"They have said this is temporary but they haven't told us when services will go back to normal and in the meantime it is us who are suffering for it. I tried to speak to the station manager to find out how long this will go on but she just turned her back on me and walked off."

He said he had told the police about coaches parking in front of the rank for 20 minutes with engines running but they said they could only issue fixed penalty notices if drivers were caught in the act.

A South West Trains spokeswoman said: "Our priority and concerns are with our passengers and making sure they get from A to B. With regard to these issues, they were brought to the attention of the station manager at Aldershot a couple of days ago by a taxi driver and are being dealt with accordingly."

South West Trains said that from Monday all replacement coaches will depart from bays eight and nine at the Stagecoach bus station opposite Aldershot train station.

NOTICE BOARD

Should you discover something wrong with the railway infrastructure, or if you think your train may be damaging the track because of rough riding which appears to be due to poor suspension or a flat (= wheel which needs re-profiling), you can report the matter to Network Rail on 08457 711 4141.

The Rail Passengers Committee for Southern England's public meetings in 2004 are scheduled for 30 March (Bournemouth), 20 July (South Central area) and 26 October (South Eastern area). The Committee can be contacted at Centric House, 390/391 Strand, London, WC2R 0LT. Tel 020 7240 5308. Fax 020 7240 8923. They now have an email address: info.southern@railpassengers.org.uk, and website: www.railpassengers.org.uk/Southern.

Railfuture, the former Railway Development Society, campaigns for better rail services throughout Great Britain, and has 17 local groups affiliated to thousands of people in rail user groups. Produces a quarterly magazine 'Railwatch'.

The organisation's philosophy is that there are many positive economic, social and environmental reasons to travel by rail: roads cause 134 times more pollution than rail, travel by rail is at least 18 times safer than by car, and one train can replace more than 100 lorries.

The latest information they have given us is that membership is £17.50 for one year for an individual; £17.50 for a family (+ £2 per extra person); £8.50 for an OAP/student/unwaged person; and £35 for a local authority or company (information correct at April 2003).

Address is 207 Colourworks, 2 Abbot Street, London E8 3DP. Website: www.railfuture.org.uk Tel: 020 7249 5533. Fax: 020 7254 6777. E'mail (To Marketing Director Kate Tudor-Pole) kate@railfuture.org.uk

PURE TOSH!

The Evening Standard does a good job in highlighting the problems of public transport users. However, Simon Jenkins' article of 5 February was remarkably ill-informed.

He wrote of the "toffee-nosed" Bournemouth line whose "plutocratic customers have been endlessly indulged by successive rail companies while the plebs of the South Eastern division took its cast-offs".

Hampshire and Dorset people certainly aren't toffee-nosed, and is Totton really more plutocratic than Henley or Marlow?

The Bournemouth line was the last main line in Britain to be worked by steam. In 1967 the route was electrified and old steam-hauled carriages were fitted with driving cabs and motors for electric operation. By 1988, these were life-expired so were replaced by a small fleet of Wessex Electric trains, which still use their predecessors' 1967 motors - about the oldest main line traction in Britain. Many of these trains were transferred to the Waterloo-Portsmouth route after Bournemouth commuters had suffered phased 30% real terms fares increases to pay for them. The replacement stock on the Bournemouth route was 1950s/1960s Mark I from the South Eastern division. On Waterloo-Weymouth services these ancient cast-offs travel a much longer distance than they ever did in Kent. Meanwhile, the Wessex Electrics are the only units in Britain in such a poor state that they need to carry hazard warning tape on the corridor connections.

Mr Jenkins is welcome to his views of what constitutes endless indulgence, but he should pay some heed to the facts!

HOGRIDER PRESS RESEARCH

(Cuttings archived by SHRUG)

Rail chief: Delays tally still too high (Evening Standard 2/12/03)
SRA Chairman and Chief Executive, Richard Bowker, launched an astonishing attack on Network Rail, blaming it for delays, about half of which are attributable to the train operators.

Railman's dull train of thought (Evening Standard 8/12/03)
Richard Bowker, has been stung by renewed criticism that the SRA has failed in its strategy, failed to improve the railways, and carries no authority. Bowker, described as a 'shameless self-publicist' in the author's view, has produced an almost daily list of 80 achievements, including such gems as "16 January: further steps to improve performance on rail network".

'Eye-watering' rises for rail passengers (Guardian 9/12/03)
Announcement of huge fare rises caused outrage among passenger groups. Stewart Francis, Chairman of the Rail Passengers Council, said the increases were unjustified when 20% of trains were running late and performance had not improved. [Note: At the time, double that percentage of peak trains had been running late on SWT]

Plan to make train travel more convenient for Totton residents (Southern Daily Echo 10/12/03)
Hampshire County Council is investigating the possibility of replacing Totton's Victorian station with a more modern station nearer the town centre.

South Helps to keep Stagecoach on track (Southern Daily Echo 11/12/03)
Rail passengers in the South helped boost the annual profits of Stagecoach to just under £77m. Tim Nicholson, Chairman of the Rail Passengers Committee for Southern England, pointed out that much of the money which keeps the train operators in business comes from taxpayers and the profit should be reinvested in better services.

Darling: Treat rail travellers with respect (Metro 11/12/03)
Transport Secretary says the rail industry must treat people as valued customers. Rail companies must make major changes to improve their service to passengers. More improvements were needed, including reliable, comfortable trains.

Late trains (Evening Standard 11/12/03)
A devastating picture of the daily misery inflicted on commuters revealed by latest statistics, just as huge fare increases announced. Worst incident was the 9 hour journey from Southampton to Waterloo on SWT in sweltering conditions.

Seaside shuttle (Guardian 11/12/03)
Stagecoach has won a new 3 year franchise to run the Ryde-Shanklin line. Annually subsidy increased from £2.5m to £3m to run just eight route miles.

Taxpayers handed £22bn railway bill (Evening Standard 12/12/03)
Massive bail out for Network Rail to keep trains running. This may still not be enough to support some major projects.

Letter (Evening Standard 12/12/03)
Information at Wimbledon station poor. Station staff, managed by South West Trains, take great pleasure in not informing passengers of platform changes. [As at Southampton Central on occasions, like 19/11/2003 - see Hogrider No 95]

Bus depot (Southern Daily Echo 13/12/03)
Writer thinks it crazy that Southampton has no bus depot/station. [Readers of 'Stagecoach' by Christian Wolmar will know that that is because Stagecoach sold the former premises for more than they paid for the whole Hampshire Bus company, thus getting out of the red at the expense of the City's 200,000 citizens and regional commuters]

Wrong to divert train (Southern Daily Echo 13/12/03)
SWT should not have caused horrifying delays and inconvenience for passengers by diverting an evening Waterloo-Southampton along the secondary Cobham line which was known to have electrical problems. SWT does what is operationally convenient for them; on November 24 their website showed that the 21.00 train from Weymouth to Waterloo would omit all 41 booked stops, including Bournemouth and Southampton Central, because it had to be diverted between St Denys and Woking.

Rail chaos hits Forest Commuters (Southern Daily Echo 15/12/03)
Hundreds of passengers stranded when services through the New Forest were disrupted due to overrun of engineering works. No trains from Poole until 07..45. Passengers criticised SWT for failure to provide a bus service.

Rail drama (Guardian 15/12/03)
Tour of the stage drama "The Permanent Way" was marred by appalling rail journeys including delay of 3 hours, 17 minutes on the 11.30 from Waterloo to Dorchester.

Undersea rail tunnel to link Europe and Africa (Metro 15/12/03)
Spain and Morocco have agreed to build a 24-mile rail link beneath the Straits of Gibraltar. Planning could begin in 2004. [Any bets on whether trains will be running from Waterloo to Tangiers before SWT comes anywhere near meeting all its performance targets?]

New railway station (Southern Daily Echo 17/12/03)
New station for Totton would be a long way into the future; no funding currently available.

Taken for a ride (Southern Daily Echo 17/12/03)
Reader wonders why taxpayers subsidising SWT when they are making huge profit.

1991:Ascot-Waterloo 38 minutes / 2003: Ascot-Waterloo 56 minutes (Evening Standard 19/12/03)
Reader complains that SWT is now so slow that it would only take him 11 minutes longer on the train if he faced the 100 mile trip from his former home in Grantham.

Express grabs Anglia (Evening Standard 22/12/03)
National Express has been awarded the Greater Anglia franchise, to their own surprise. The Great Eastern operator, First, had bought GB Railways - who operate Anglia - in a gamble to win control of the new franchise. [First and GB won the award for joint operator of the year in 2000.]

Stagecoach signals end of line for ticket website (Evening Standard 23/12/03)
Stagecoach wants to back out of thetrainline.com - which joint venture partner, Sir Richard Branson, boasted would be the centre of his new empire in Cyberspace - because of mounting losses.

My daily ordeal on this rubbish service (Southern Daily Echo 29/12/03)
Reader complains of the 08.25 Wessex Trains service from Southampton to Romsey and 17.25 return service. Quotes a SWT ticket inspector as saying "Basically it's a rubbish service". [Bet the inspector doesn't say that about SWT?]

Bid go-ahead for GNER (Times 30/12/03)
GNER is to be allowed to compete against DSB of Denmark, First and South Eastern Trains for the Integrated Kent franchise (existing Kentish services plus domestic services over the Channel Tunnel Rail Link). [Stagecoach has been excluded]

One billion journeys signal rail renaissance (Evening Standard 30/12/03)
A billion rail journeys made in Britain this year, the highest number in more than 40 years. However, punctuality and overcrowding show no signs of improving.

Off the rails (Evening Standard 2/1/04)
Reader complains that just about every [SWT] train from Clapham Junction and Wandsworth Town is delayed. He would like to receive the service he pays for and considers the trains should be run by committed professionals and not like a story from Thomas the Tank Engine.

Tens of thosands hit by blocked commuter lines (Evening Standard 5/1/04)
80,000 Waterloo commuters faced huge delays because an engineers' train toppled on to the track near Clapham Junction. A footnote reports that the Government is ready to strip the SRA of some of its powers in an attempt to improve punctuality.

Two more days of Waterloo rail chaos (Evening Standard 6/1/04)
Tracks damaged by the crane fall to be closed for 3 days, just as SWT commuters suffer inflation-busting fare increases.

Rail chaos after crane falls on tracks (Guardian 6/1/04)
Railway crane involved was the biggest in Britain. [And Clapham Junction is Britain's busiest station!] Dozens of trains cancelled. The disruption coincided with reports that the transport secretary, Alistair Darling, wants to strip the SRA of its autonomy. Insiders say Mr Darling has become irritated with the SRA's Chairman, Richard Bowker, whom he regards as too demanding.

Running late (Evening Standard 6/1/04)
If train services in 2004 go the way they started, the author considers that Alistair Darling will be lucky to keep his post. The SRA, despite receiving billions of taxpayers' money, has failed to improve the performance of train operators. If the SRA cannot tackle the complexities of the system, Mr Darling should replace it with a leaner, tougher organisation which will. [So long as the SRA behaves like a Stagecoach Rescue Authority (see our submission to the Government's "Big Conversation"), nothing will improve. Mr Darling should stay. He is a competent politician and was impressively reasoned at his recent presentation to the Rail Passengers Council. Stephen Byers' gaffes were unfortunate, because he left just as he had focused on the failings of Stagecoach. If Secretaries of State don't have some measure of continuity, how will they ever get to grips with the problems?]

Needlessly locked out of railway station (Southern Daily Echo 7/1/04)
Booking office and waiting room at Hedge End closed on a bitterly cold morning. The regular booking clerk was on leave. He had taken the keys with him and there was no spare set.

Train delivery remains on time (Southern Daily Echo 13/1/04)
SWT insist planned introduction of Desiro trains on time despite its intention to dispose of 30 4-coach Juniper trains, and fact that the Desiros are only half as reliable as the slam-door stock which is being phased out. [No mention of promised Desiro fleet being slashed by 120 coaches - that would tend to speed up its full introduction!]

Stranded commuters walk on live tracks (Evening Standard 15/1/04)
About 100 furious commuters jumped off the 17.33 Waterloo-Chessington when it became the latest SWT failure immediately after pulling out of Waterloo.

Air pollution during heatwave killed 800 (Independent 16/1/04)
Research by the independent National Environmental Technology Centre suggests that increases in ozone levels were responsible for between 225 and 593 additional deaths in Britain during the first two weeks of August. The Government insists that the number of days of poor urban air quality is reducing.

Rewrite timetables , add five minutes, and trains will be on time (Evening Standard 16/1/04)
Network Rail suggests slowing trains even further to improve punctuality. Alistair Darling expected to be furious. [In reality, performance has got worse in tandem with the deceleration of train services. Remember when you could get from Southampton to Waterloo in 70 minutes, and from Waterloo to Southampton in 65 minutes?]

Huge transport project to bring Olympics to capital (Evening Standard 16/1/04)
Olympic Park at Stratford would be 6.5 minutes from Kings Cross with high-speed trains using the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Jubilee, Central and Northern lines to be upgraded, and Docklands Light Railway to be extended to London City Airport and Woolwich.

Government seeks more control in major review of entire rail network (Evening Standard 19/1/04)
Government has announced another review of the railways. Alistair Darling said to be furious that performance is so poor when billions of pounds of taxpayers' money expended. There will be huge changes at senior levels in those running the railways.

Rail regulator faces shakeup (Guardian 19/1/04)
Alistair Darling judges that the railways need to be restructured. Agrees with current Conservative view that it's the passengers that matter. Plans to remove Richard Bowker denied.

Minister: We got it wrong on railways (Evening Standard 20/1/04)
Kim Howells has admitted that Labour has failed to get to grips with the crisis-hit rail network.

Minister orders 'streamlining' study of railways (Guardian 20/1/04)
Mr Darling wants to streamline the 'fragmented, excessively complicated and dysfunctional' system. It is expected that the SRA's powers will be reduced.

Rail firm runs out of drivers: Dozens of commuter services to be axed for months ahead (Evening Standard 20/1/04)
SWT axing 64 trains a day for 3 months because it does not have enough drivers. SWT said drivers taken for training on the new Desiro units. A commuter said the trains had been withdrawn with no forewarning or consultation with passengers, and accused SWT of appalling mismanagement. The SRA approved the arrangements. [This shows that SWT hasn't changed since services collapsed in 1997 because they disposed of too many drivers, and once again exposes the SRA as a Stagecoach Rescue Authority, as in our submission to the Government's "Big Conversation".]

327 weeks of rail delays in three months and they call it improvement (Evening Standard 22/1/04)
Massive delays in the last 3 months of 2003. Network Rail's performance now accounts for less than half the delay time, whilst the train operators' share has shot up. [SWT has a lion's share to answer for - see elsewhere in this Hogrider and in No 95.]

GNER and First in eastern rail battle (Evening Standard 29/1/04)
Re-franchising exercise on the East Coast main line is to go ahead. First, stung by loss of the Greater Anglia franchise is to challenge GNER.

£500m Treasury windfall heralds 'new era' for rail (Evening Standard 30/1/04)
The Greater Anglia franchise is expected to make so much money that the Treasury will get back £500m from National Express by 2011. This is likely to help bail out loss makers such as Virgin Trains. [Given the comparability of the Greater Anglia and SWT operations, odd that the SRA is throwing £170m a year to SWT during the next 3 years? Does Brian Souter's belief in ethically-limited capitalism come into it?]

Catalogue of blunders shunts 300 new train carriages into sidings (Evening Standard 4/2/04)
National Audit Office report makes sweeping criticisms of the way more than 4,500 new carriages costing £4bn are being delivered. It found a lack of organisational coherence across the network. The train manufacturers were not given sufficient information about the network, making it difficult to build trains which are compatible with routes.

Letter (Evening Standard 6/2/04)
First class ticket holder thanks SWT for reducing seats on new trains so that he now has to stand in return for thousands of pounds. Also grateful to them for confirming his belief that they really do see their passengers as cattle.

Thetrainline, Qjump make connection (Evening Standard 9/2/04)
Virgin and Stagecoach who own thetrainline website are to take over National Express' Qjump. National Express will retain a residual 14% stake, and Stagecoach will take only 6.5%.

Your train is crowded, not overcrowded (Metro 9/2/04)
The Rail Safety and Standards Board has banned the word 'overcrowded', considering that confined, unventilated space may be uncomfortable but is not dangerous [Could cattle be legally carried without adequate ventilation, and what about the greater loss of life in the event of an accident? Or is the RSSB simply bowing to ethically-limited, greed-based (to use Brian Souter's view of capitalism) companies like Stagecoach?]

Darling calls for end to red tape excesses (Evening Standard 12/2/04)
Mr Darling has launched a scathing attack on bureaucracy in the rail industry. It takes 60 people to discuss changes to a branch line timetable.

Where is it today? (Evening Standard 13/2/04)
Confusing announcements by SWT at Putney station have people going back and forth between platforms. [So much for the Every Second Counts initiative!]

Britain tops asthma league (Guardian 17/2/04)
Asthma in Britain is diagnosed 5 times as often as 25 years ago. Pollution, urbanisation and more-sterile homes are suggested causes.

Crossrail 'used as bait' for Eurotunnel rescue (Evening Standard 20/2/04)
It is suggested that if the builder of the Channel Tunnel helps bail out loss-making Eurotunnel, it might help it to secure work if the Crossrail project goes ahead.

Villagers and unions launch attack on bid to axe crucial trains (Evening Standard 20/2/04)
The SRA has proposed huge service reductions for at least 12 stations in populous Kent in a move to force passengers on to faster domestic services using the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Huge outcry.

Private Eye No 1095
Closing four sections of main line between Christmas and the New Year, on the grounds of improving safety for rail workers, will expose thousands of travellers to greater risks on the roads. In continental Europe, safety issues are seen in perspective. Boardwalks across the tracks are the norm at secondary stations. Why have ramped bridges costing £500,000 on routes like the Central Wales line, which has 8 stopping trains a day? Footsteps and escalators have remained on much busier routes, and accounted for over 1,000 casualties in 2002.

Private Eye No 1096
SWT say their website entry on 24 November, showing all 41 stations omitted from the 21.00 Weymouth-Waterloo train was due to 'simple human error'. However, omission of stops is so common on SWT that passengers would not expect the information to be wrong. With SWT, it even happens on the Kingston circle, which is supposed to be an all-stations Overground Network line.

Private Eye No 1097
London Underground is following Railtrack in improving the cleanliness of stations whilst the infrastructure remains fault-ridden.

Private Eye No 1098
Severe criticism of Richard Bowker for bagging the role of Chief Executive as well as Chairman of the SRA. His only credentials were involvement in Virgin Trains' disastrous business plans which have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds. Virgin has achieved a 54% increase in subsidy, 8.8% increase in fares income and 1.7% decrease in passenger miles travelled. [Virgin policies can appear perverse. What possible reason can there be for throwing afternoon Oxford-bound passengers off trains which are going to Oxford, because they want fewer passengers on their trains south of the town than north of it, the trains calling at Oxford to pick up only?]

Private Eye No 1099
Article argues that Government is wrong to reject re-nationalisation. Private companies making huge sums out of taxpayers. What the Government really fears is not re-nationalisation but responsibility. The latest review will be based on what the private companies want, and turkeys don't vote for Christmas. Long-suffering passengers won't have a say. [At the very least, the Government needs to throw out operators - like Stagecoach - which are not committed to the highest ethical standards. Why should there not be common standards between services provided by the Government at public expense and services provided by private operators at public expense?]

Private Eye No 1100
The SRA has published a document stating that the private sector has brought clear benefits to the procurement, delivery and maintenance of rolling stock. This is exactly the opposite of the findings of the National Audit Office. In addition the SRA has given Virgin-Stagecoach £270m over the period 2003-04 to offsets costs incurred by the delayed introduction of new trains. A further £174m has been arranged for SWT for train introduction. The SRA meanwhile pledges its strategy of 'preserving the benefits of private risk taking'.