In The Dark

Coming second in favour of a train in Robbie's affections wasn't such a big surprise, but last night I found that I came second to Network Rail - now that was a surprise! He'd promised to be home by 8pm but there was no sign of Robbie, just a text to say he wouldn't be too late; it's a good thing that the cat is good company or I would start to feel neglected! I lost track of time and when I looked at the clock it was well past 11pm, so I expect him to ring fairly soon asking for a lift from the station. Some time later the phone rang, it was Robbie, but he was totally incoherent, I couldn't make sense of anything he was saying. When I had calmed him down and reminded him of the need to take a breath it became clear that he was lost. He had set out to walk to Birmingham International Station, but the route he knew was locked and in the course of searching for another way into the station he had got lost. I gave him some practical things to do and when he rang me back he had got to the station but by then he had missed his last train. There was one last train to Coventry due soon after midnight, so we agreed that he would get that and then get a taxi from Coventry to Rugby.

While the intrepid traveller was tackling the next stage of his journey, I set out for Rugby in the car. It was a very strange journey, familiar routes seem so different in the dark. I got to Rugby just before 1am and I didn't have to wait too long for Robbie to turn up. He seemed very subdued, maybe he expected me to be angry, but it seemed pointless to be cross, after all he didn't do it on purpose. We saw two foxes on the way back as well as other assorted wildlife, but the only thing I was interested in seeing was my bed. It was almost 2am when we finally got home, Robbie made me a cup of tea, but I was so tired that I was asleep before the tea arrived.

When the alarm clock went off at 5am I was so sleepy that I really didn't want to get up, but Robbie was determined not to be late for his meeting - with Network Rail. After last night I think they must be extending their sphere of influence, I have become accustomed to their various strategies to delay trains and inconvenience passengers, but they managed to delay Robbie before he even got to the train!

The dead fridge freezer was taken away for a post mortem today. Bosch want to work out what caused the plug to burst into flames. I already have a written report from the tradesman who came out on Christmas Day, it was a wiring fault in the plug so it will be interesting to see how they try to put a positive spin on that. I have sent the plug back as requested, but as you can see from the photo there is not much left for them to examine. A new fridge freezer has been delivered to replace the one that spontaneously cremated itself. I insisted on a different model but I am still struggling to overcome the urge to turn off the electricity every time I go out, it has really frightened me.





Robbie was finally able to travel to Birmingham from Northampton today. The handover was not problem free, Robbie rang me with updates on delays and diversions but it is far too boring to detail here. I feel really sorry for Virgin, they must be wondering if things will ever get back to normal. I went to visit some relatives today and they enquired about the train problems and the impact they were having on Robbie. My sister in law said she had seen a rather charismatic man from Virgin being interviewed on TV. I don't know who it was, but I would hazard a guess that it was probably Chris Gibb. You certainly have to give them full marks for managing the media. When it comes to spin Virgin make the Labour party look like amateurs. Beware 'the Dark Side' are taking over the world!!

This article makes interesting reading. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/money/2008/01/04/cnvirgin104.xml

Essentials 04.01.08

I'm fed up with this 5am performance. This morning found us trundling off to Kettering again, even the birds don't get up that early. Poor old Robbie is finding the long journey time exhausting, he didn't get back to Kettering until 8pm and by the time we got home it was almost 9pm, it isn't a bundle of laughs for me either. Allegedly everything will be back to normal tomorrow, but I won't be holding my breath. If Network Rail have done the work at Rugby it is a pretty safe bet that something will go wrong when the line is back in use, but I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't done the new overhead work, they have probably had to put it back as it was just to get the line back in use and bring an end to the torrent of bad publicity. Who would have thought that they could upset so many people in so little time; perhaps they are aiming for some sort of record!

Anyway after a long and frustrating day at work you would expect Robbie to want to talk about ordinary family stuff on the way home, but that would be a bit too normal for Robbie. He gave me a detailed account of his new system for packing his briefcase! Apparently he only carries essential items with him now. Rather foolishly I asked what he included in the list of essential items and he reeled off a list that took him about ten minutes to recount. First on his list were his complete collection of quail (railway) maps, then his Platform 5 complete guide to all locomotives and coaching stock - absolutely essential obviously! He has a selection of diagrams to work on during his journeys, his ipod, spare batteries in assorted sizes, a selection of pens, pencils, erasers and a pack of spare leads, imagine being stranded with no lead in your pencil! He also takes his flask, his mobile phone, the latest issue of NME, a selection of railway magazines, a couple of notebooks, a massive selection of train keys, his laptop, the charger and assorted sundries. Thank goodness he only carries essentials, most people take less than that when they go away for a week!

Network Fail - Again! 03.01.08

This morning was a bit of a shock to the system, Robbie's contorted travel plans involved me being woken at 5am and kick started with a nice hot cup of tea. Very reluctantly I dragged myself out of a warm and comfortable bed to take Robbie to Kettering at 6am. It is worse for Robbie because he had to make a long, cold, time wasting rail journey, but as I drove home again I was thinking evil thoughts about Network Rail - but I suspect I wasn't the only one!! Before we even set out for the station they had a spokesman for Virgin Trains talking about the problems caused by Network Rail failing to manage the engineering works effectively. I think the Virgin spokesman was called Arthur something or other, I think he must have been the night shift, but he got his message across fairly well. Chris Gibb was on Radio 4 at a slightly more civilised hour, he was clear and down to earth and his words were measured and reasonable. He used the word 'staggered' several times to describe the mismanagement of the work at Rugby by Network Rail. Perhaps it was a good thing that he was on Radio rather than TV because I suspect that his expression may have betrayed his thoughts!

Robbie got to work just after 9am, but his journey had been much more comfortable than the coach that he would have been forced to use if he had travelled from Northampton. He hates getting to work late, but even when he settled down in front of his computer he had to wade through a flood of spam email that had accumulated over Christmas. Apparently he was inundated with invitations to enlarge his manhood and advertisements for viagra, Robbie had no need of either, but after some of the limp excuses this morning maybe he should have forwarded the email to Network Rail!

The failings of Network Rail dominated the news bulletins all day and Virgin Trains had mobilised their SWAT team to ensure that even the most dense listener understood that they were the innocent victims rather than the perpetrator of the chaos. James Kennedy an area manager for Virgin Trains informed us that they had lost faith in information coming from Network Rail. Tony Collins Virgin Trains CEO told us that Network Rail got it wrong and they were guilty of unrealistic planning. He went on to explain that the reason for the engineering delay was a shortage of overhead electrification line men (I will forgive him for being sexist on this occasion as he was probably not having a good day). Nigel Harris editor of Rail magazine agreed that the root of the problem was poor management at Network Rail. As usual Gwyneth Dunwoody Chair of the Commons Transport Committee said that this was the result of breaking up the rail network into private companies. British Rail was pretty diabolical when it came to delays and they were hopeless at providing passengers with adequate information, but she has conveniently forgotten that. Theresa Villiers the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport accused Network rail of mismanagement and said that we should also blame the government (who created Network Rail) because Network Rail was not accountable enough to customers and passengers. She said the regulator should have greater sanctions available to them. Finally Network Rail offered a spokesperson. Robin Gisby who rejoices in the title of Director of Operations and Customer Service at Network Rail sounded as if was standing in front of a firing squad. I can only describe his incoherent ramblings as total claptrap, but I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him - customer services? Network Rail? he's never likely to achieve his performance targets is he!!

A slightly less measured Chris Gibb was on the radio again at tea time. He blamed Network Rail for bad planning and bad communication, he said the delay and the disruption to customers was not understandable and it was not acceptable. When asked about the promise from Network Rail to hand over the line at 5am on Friday, he was adamant that his contingency arrangements would remain in place. When asked if he didn't believe them he said "I haven't had a promise delivered by them in the past week". The art of understatement! he would probably make a good spy because he seem extremely cool when under pressure.

To conclude my ramblings, the most remarkable aspect of the day is not the media coup by Virgin Trains but the fact that is the first time I can recall that there has been a railway related news story and nobody has wheeled out Christian Wolmar - how refreshing!

Back to Work (perhaps!) 01.01.08

The air was filled with expletives this evening when Robbie found out that Network Rail's work at Rugby will not be completed in time and they will retain possession of the line for yet another day meaning that all the people returning to work tomorrow will spend most of their day getting nowhere - very slowly! It looks as if Thursday promises more of the same, so it certainly won't be a happy new year for passengers using that line! Robbie has planned a ridiculously early start in the morning and he intends to drive to Kettering station and make his way to Birmingham on East Midlands Trains service via Leicester. A bit of a contorted route, but Robbie has always had a bit of the Baldrick about him - cunning plans and all that stuff!

There is one thing that bothers me about Robbie returning to work. He has become very attached to his new PJ's and he seems very reluctant to wear anything else. I am not sure if he prefers the navy ones or the dark green ones, but given half a chance I'm sure he would wear them to work! On the subject of work wear Robbie has ordered a new suit and I persuaded him to choose charcoal grey this time, he always chooses black and it makes people think that he only has one suit!

Miracles will happen.......... 20.06.07

it was another late night again, but not due to me missing my train (yes I do occasionally miss a train...lol..), but due to OHLE problems between Long Buckby - Rugby with CT starting/terminating at Rugby, which only meant one thing... BUS REPLACEMENT! Its daunting enough catching a CT train let alone a CT replacement bus service as you never know what to expect! So as we as we arrived into Platform 6 at Rugby (the Up Bay Platform....also a new platform for me that I hadn't scratched before...LOL..) we all eagerly headed off towards the front of the station. To my surprise there was two coaches and one minibus, the minibus was for Long Buckby and the two coaches were for Northampton ONLY. Well to put it mildly I was AMAZED! CT do have a habit of doing things on the cheap so to have three different coaches was a miracle to sat the least! So at 18.31 we departed for Northampton and 40 minutes later... we arrived at Northampton.......it must have been fastest replacment coach I've ever been on!!!!

Time Traveller 15.05.07

Well, I have more evidence that Robbie is losing touch with reality. At the weekend when I was feeling unwell he was very attentive, making sure tat I had frequent cups of tea, etc. He could see that I needed cheering up so he brought me his latest treasure to look at - a 1966 Rugby to Euston timetable. I suppose if I ever work out how to travel back in time I will at least know when to expect the next train!

This evening, having promised me his undivided attention he was busy chatting online to one of his colleagues about Volume 3 of LMS Coaching Stock - scintillating!

.................08.05.07

what a strange day today.....you know I must have been through Long Buckby Railway Station 100's of times now, but I only just realised this morning that there is no disabled access anywhere from the ground to the platforms. I know some people would say oh well, its only a small station between Rugby and Northampton but that's not the point. Why is it that the DFT enforced the modifications to CIS displays on ALL class 458 units just because they where 3 mm short of the DDA rules, but they have not enforced Silverlink to make modifications to the station to ensure the station is DDA compliant?? Its just another indication of how perverse this country is getting ....on the note I will leave you all in peace...