The effect of the new summer timetable was felt instantly this morning (Monday 18 May) when the 7.29am Brighton to London Victoria train arrived on time.
Train operator Southern has taken a great deal of flack over the punctuality – or lack of punctuality – of the 7.29am.
The new timetable, which came into effect yesterday or – for commuters – from today, kept the same start time for the journey.
But the stop at Wivelsfield has been dropped and the arrival time at Victoria has been pushed back to 8.38am. It was 8.35am – although the train failed to hit the mark once last year.
Today it did – and the momentous occasion was celebrated on Twitter.
The 07:29 from here to Victoria has arrived two mins early. We apologise for annoyance to Daily Mail & Metro readers http://t.co/iCn61flWQk
— Brighton Station (@brightonstation) May 18, 2015
It’s official! The 07:29 Brighton Station to Victoria service which only arrived on time once previously, has done it yet again today wowow!
— Brighton Station Cat (@BrightonStnCat) May 18, 2015
@brightonstation Don’t you think that comments like that are tempting fate. Let’s see after a couple of weeks.
— Cliff (@bearclyff) May 18, 2015
Today Network Rail bosses are due at the arbitration and reconciliation service ACAS with union leaders to try to avert a national strike starting on Bank Holiday Monday (25 May).
Members of the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions are due to start 24 hours of industrial action at 5pm on Monday.
It follows a vote by Network Rail staff to reject a four-year pay deal which includes a pay freeze this year. Instead staff would receive a £500 bonus followed by inflation-linked pay rises until 2019.
Sixty per cent of the 16,000 staff working for Network Rail took part in a ballot, with 80 per cent of those who voted opting to strike.
So basically it was still bloody late, and there were less places you could get on or off it, but they’ve fiddled the timetable to make their punctuality stats look better for the regulator? Ah, MARKET FORCES looool
Exactly Feline1! Cancel trains and make others earlier but longer & so finally one gets there on time & it’s news worthy.