Sunday 15 November 2009

Crazy UK train system

Went to Birmingham from Norwich on a Wednesday and back on a Thursday having few problems but when you step outside commuter times things get weird.
To get to Twickenham and then Andover

1. The Norwich to London line was not operational so the ticket said to go to Ely and change (Norwich to Ely)
2. In Ely the train I was supposed to catch was in Cambridge. On the timetable next to the train was a small c which said "This train stops in Cambridge". Someone will have to tell me why it is on the Ely timetable when it stops in Cambridge. (Ely to Cambridge, Cambridge to Kings Cross)
3. Kings Cross to Vauxhall
4. Vauxhall to Twickenham
5. Twickenham to Clapham Junction
6. Clapham Junction to Andover.

on the way back it got a bit more weird
1. Andover to Waterloo train left early and only a sprint through the underpass and an understanding guard meant that I made it.
2. Waterloo to Leicester Square (at Leicester Square I found that the Piccadilly line was not running so had to get back on the Nor then Line)
3. Leicester Square to Euston
4. Euston to Kings Cross
5. Kings Cross to Cambridge
6. Cambridge to Ely
7. Ely to Norwich

So to go from Norwich to Andover via Twickenham took 13 different trains -and the longest wait was about 15 minutes (give or take the queue to get back into Twickenham station with 71000 other people)

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