Friday 8 June 2007

Rail Regulators reap benefit of our misery?!

OK it's been a while since I posted here admittedly - but I've just read something that makes me just a little bit cross so I thought I would share it here.

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth-and-southsea?articleid=2930549

Read this article about how Network rail might get fined by the rail regulator for the months of delays in the South Hampshire region.

Hang on a minute ?

The train service is disrupted and causes hassle to thousands of passengers for months and months, and then the city bods sitting in their plush London offices reap the rewards by sticking a fine in their inbox?

Now this is not what I call a fair fine.

Rail regulator should enforce the rail providers to pay compensation to the people who have actually suffered from all the engineering works early 2007 - for the people who spent their hard earned pennies paying for a service to get to work which didn't always run efficiency?

What will the rail regulator do with this hefty fine? ! I'm sure they won't be paying any of it back to the passengers... I have no idea..

So that makes me cross!!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well think about this. I think it was in 2005 I recieved some data which showed that £21 Million Pounds in the ORR's budget wasn't spent. The yearly budget doesn't get carried over. Guess where it went.

Anonymous said...

How's about this for SWT madness...I got off at Andover yesterday and realised when I got home that I'd left my suit bag on the train (having said to myself when putting it between the seats, don't forget it). Called SWT immediately, spoke to some unhelpful robot and asked if they could call the train and remove the bag at Salisbury so I could go and get it. Of course this would be too helpful and sensible - I'd have to wait for the train to terminate in Exeter and hope it was still there. Of course my bag never arrived in Exeter, so either some kind soul has already handed it in or some less kind soul has nicked it. And all because they won't give out numbers to stations and won't call the guard. Thanks a lot SWT.

Anonymous said...

It is actually much worse - the fine will ultimately be paid BY passengers and taxpayers (and as passengers are also taxpayers they will pay twice over) as Network Rail gets its funds from govt, ie the taxpayer's pocket, and the rail operators, the latter of which get their funds from ticket sales.