snow + British transport = FAIL

[burntcopper]

Well, that was a mistake...

Get to train station (trudging through unmarked snow is a tad odd - just me and the paperboy's cycle tracks), train turns up at 8, which isn't bad, so I decide to chance it. Get to Reading, take a look at the board and decide that staying on the stopper is less risky.

STUPID.

Get to Slough without a problem, then after Slough, we move about ten yards every 20 mins. On that train for two hours. No heating. whilst the fast trains speed past us. Everyone sighing about 'Dammit, Canadian trains run in all weathers!'

And of course, central london is utterly buggered (I have no idea why - the buses out here are running, I got passed by a Wallingford bus on the way to Tilehurst at 7:20). So we all turn round and get on the 10:23 out of Paddington. Get home at 12:10 mins ago and log on.

I'll admit the snow is rather nice when you're walking through it on your own speed. Just not stuck on a train with no heating going nowhere.

Comments

[mrslant]

Despite the Met Office giving out severe weather warnings for the last three days, it doesn't seem to have occurred to any of the councils in London to grit the roads. Hence no buses.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

did you hear the bloke from the Highways Agency? He was sitting there going 'we've gritted all the main roads in the rest of the country. it's not like we can do more.'

Which is actually true. the reports I heard about all the M roads were 'clear, gritted, easy'. our council even came round at 3:30 to re-fill our road's grit bucket.

I did pass one bus depot that's Old oak common/Ealing Broadway area. It was just one giant pile of snow. I think London Transport for some reason didn't believe it was necessary to clear out the bus depots to actually allow access.

[mrslant]

I do a lot of work for the Highways Agency. They seem sensible enough, which is evidently more than can be said for their local counterparts.