Snow-covered commuters anger at Surbiton station overcrowding (From Surrey Comet)
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Snow-covered commuters anger at Surbiton station overcrowding
3:40pm Friday 18th January 2013 in News By Hana Hausmeister, Reporter
Pic credit: Callum Stott
Passengers have hit out at South West Trains because of overcrowding at Surbiton station.
The heavy snowfall prompted a flurry of angry tweets as SW Trains began running their special snow timetable on services from London Waterloo to Woking, including Surbiton.
Joseph Saddington tweeted: "200+ on surbiton platform trying to get to work. Do we not pay enough?!?!"
Callum Stott, 24, from Long Ditton, said: “I was waiting between 30-40 minutes. It is a busy station anyway, but all the trains coming in were already full.
“It took me five attempts before I got on the train.”
Chelsey Byrne tweeted: "how many ppl can u fit in a train? Lots of ppl tryin 2 get on @ Surbiton then we stop extra stops - some ppl will get hurt !"
A spokesman from South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance said: "We are continuing to run the majority of our services although not as many as on a normal day.
"As a result, it is likely that some trains and stations may be busier than normal."
Mr Stott added: “With train companies constantly increasing train prices, you would expect more for your money.”
Comments(3)
321200
says...
8:53pm Fri 18 Jan 13
Damned if they do, damned if they don't!
This special service meant trains could run well in the circumstances.
It's ironic because this article would be about people moaning how delayed trains were, how they were stranded for hours in the middle of nowhere, IF the normal timetable had run.
Fact is, snow and third rail train systems do not work well!
I think SWT did an amazing job today, they were the first to announce the special timetable yesterday morning which allowed timetables to be posted up online so people could plan their journeys in advance!
Ill say it again, they are damned if they do, damned if they don't!
DB
says...
8:35am Mon 21 Jan 13
321200 wrote:I agree with what you are saying, but the service provided was TOO cut back. Surbiton was only served by about 4 fast trains and they were all full before they arrived.
This is ridiculous!
Damned if they do, damned if they don't!
This special service meant trains could run well in the circumstances.
It's ironic because this article would be about people moaning how delayed trains were, how they were stranded for hours in the middle of nowhere, IF the normal timetable had run.
Fact is, snow and third rail train systems do not work well!
I think SWT did an amazing job today, they were the first to announce the special timetable yesterday morning which allowed timetables to be posted up online so people could plan their journeys in advance!
Ill say it again, they are damned if they do, damned if they don't!
It is definitely good that SWT committed in advance to running a service that they knew they could easily manage, but this level of service should effectively come with a message saying that people should not attempt to travel unless absolutely necessary.
It mustn't be forgotten that the volume of services leaving Surbiton on a normal day is woefully inadequate to service the demand, so cutting that back will never be acceptable unless they strongly warn people not to travel.
AlexKingston says...
4:14pm Fri 18 Jan 13