Let the train take the strain?

I’m going to sound like some old git now but the weather we have had this week is nothing like that of the February 1963. Our primary school did not close. OK the bus could not get down Hall Lane as snow was piled 14 feet high. Great fun for us at the time. Why walk on cleared snow when we could walk above hedge height!

Looking at Greater Anglia’s disruptions today I’m glad I got out of London on Wednesday evening. That was disrupted enough and I have to admit I have never seen snow in the vestibules before but virtually every heavy loco like this one has been cancelled tonight.

Locomotive with snow on buffers

I’ve been working up in town for the past two weeks having to travel on a Sunday with a mismatch of diddycoy trains, buses and tubes replacing a proper service because of Cross Rail but still charged at full rate and now people who have been encouraged to uses rail services are being denied a service on account of some snow. Cross Rail is an apt name for East Anglian travellers.

I know we don’t normally suffer adverse conditions other than wet leaves, frozen points, overhead lines brought down etc. but it does seem strange that these essential services funded disproportionately by people who have to travel to work in the capitalĀ  and other regional centres are left high and dry at the first flurry of white stuff.

At least being stuck in one of these sets is quite comfortable. I’m not so sure the new generation trains promised for us will have sprung seats or indeed legroom for such trials. Ah, but I’m forgetting they will have wifi…

These may be old stock but better than most new chuffers I’ve been on.

 

 

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