Martin Harbottle's Appreciation of Time by Utton Dominic

Author:Utton, Dominic [Utton, Dominic]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: British Transport, Train delays, Panorama, News of the World, First Great Western, Commuting, Network Rail
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Published: 2014-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Re: 19.20 Premier Westward Railways train from London Paddington to Oxford, November 1.

Dear Dan

Many thanks again for your continuing correspondence. Your train was delayed on the morning of the 20 October due to overnight vandalism. Such mindless defacing of Premier Westward carriages is unfortunately an ongoing problem for us, and one to which I confess there would not appear to be a solution. Why anyone would choose to write such things on a train is quite beyond me; and I must say that even their seeming inability to spell the profanities they’re writing makes the whole business even more disheartening.

On the evening of the 27th your service was held up at Reading when a passenger was temporarily locked in the ‘quiet zone’ toilets and on the evening of November 1 you were late leaving Paddington when a pregnant lady refused to leave her seat in first class, despite only possessing a standard-class ticket. (She was eventually allowed to stay and let off with a warning, given that she was the only passenger in the first-class carriage and the conductor could not find a free seat in any of the standard cars.)

I must confess, however, that I have no record of any delay on the 25 October. Could you please check your records again?

Finally – some good news! As you may know, we at Premier Westward pride ourselves on the punctuality and reliability of the service we provide, and as such periodically carry out ‘spot checks’ on the performance of trains used by season-ticket holders. After performing one such spot check on your season ticket (you must believe me when I say that yours was chosen at random and is in no way related to our correspondence) I am happy to confirm that you are entitled to some compensation from us for your delays.

Premier Westward Railways are delighted to offer you a pair of Standard-Class Off-Peak Super-Advance Tickets from your home station (Oxford) to Torquay, to be redeemed at any time between now and December 31. The usual restrictions apply, of course, and you will need to specify exactly which services you intend to take. Once specified the tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable.

Congratulations, Dan! I hope you feel this shows just how seriously we do take passenger satisfaction, and on a personal note, perhaps it means you can take Beth and Sylvie on that holiday at long last! I hear Torquay is best visited during the winter months, before the ‘holiday hordes’ descend!

Many thanks

Martin

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