Dear Sir, imagine my surprise

29th December 2007

Operations Director
First Capital Connect



Dear Sir or Madam,

First Capital Connect (ex-Thameslink) line – Sunday 23rd December 2007

It is unusual to find it necessary to take the step of writing in complaint about a train service – here in the United Kingdom, it is almost expected for there to be problems with them. In fact, my occasional use of the railway service offered by the First group has led me to expect problems: but I am sure you are aware of this.

I write specifically to complain about the service I received on the morning of Sunday 23rd December. By profession I am a musician, and on Sunday mornings I am contracted to play the organ for a large parish church with a fine music tradition. In order to get to the church on this particular Sunday, I needed to get from Highgate to Kilburn (where my car was parked) and drive on the M1 to the church. Here is the key point: I planned my journey beforehand to make sure it was possible – from National Rail Enquiries (both online and by phone) at several points during the day I made sure that there was a train from Kentish Town to West Hampstead at 0736. At several points there was. When I got up at 7am on 23rd December, I checked once more – there was very definitely a train at 0736 (note – I say ‘a train’ – this is important to remember as I use National Rail Enquiries regularly and I am aware of how it denotes busses.) I am also fully aware that First Capital Connect ‘cannot be held responsible for information given by National Rail Enquiries’, but conversely, you can be held responsible for the information given to National Rail Enquiries. I should, once again, point out that at 7am, the information was that a service would run between Kentish Town and West Hampstead (taking 4 minutes) at 0736.

Arriving at Kentish Town station at roughly 0725, I noted from the platform indicator as well as the list of trains that the first train of the day had been cancelled and that the 0736 had been delayed until 0742. There were people still standing on the platform from the first cancelled train. It was fine because it showed the train on the platform indicator on the platform. Gradually the train was getting later and later, so at 0743 I pressed the information point and after about two minutes of ringing, someone answered. I enquired as to whether the FCC train would be running (actually, I enquired as to whether the Thameslink train would be running – the person at the other end seemed to find the change in company more important than the information I was after). I was casually informed, as if it were obvious, that there were no trains that morning and there were replacement busses to Mill Hill. Of course, I pointed out to the gentleman that there was no indication on the platform nor on the station that this was the case – likewise I pointed out that there had been no such information on National Rail Enquiries that day or in fact the day before and asked him to check again (presumably replacement busses are not able to be arranged Harry Potter-style at the flick of a wand). The other people standing on the platform underlined the lack of information just by being there. Anyhow, it was already passed 0745 and the train was still showing on the indicator as being due at 0745 and the other people were still on the platform. I rushed up to the station entrance – the member of staff knew nothing about replacement busses nor was there any clear place for them to go from. It strikes me as ludicrous that you, as a company, can get away with replacing trains with busses at late notice, not inform ANYBODY, and even more than that not provide a member of staff at stations to direct people. It is symptomatic of the bad service I receive 7 out of 10 times I use a line managed by First group – nobody will take responsibility for anything.

Clearly I was late for my work that morning as I had to then take the tube into London and out again. It did involve me driving dangerously along the M1 in thick fog to get there, but I was the lucky one; there were people on that platform due to take planes from Luton and they certainly did not look like the people who had purchased flexible tickets: I certainly hope that if their planes were not grounded by the fog, that they have claimed full compensation from you for their then invalid plane tickets.

In writing this letter, I do not expect any sort of compensation or any sort of response. I wrote to First group once before with reams of evidence of misinformation and being passed from pillar to post, and all I received was a one paragraph ‘round-robin’-type letter that is just like the one a long-lost relative sends to everyone at Christmas and often goes straight in the bin for being so impersonal. I am well aware that trains sometimes cannot run and must be replaced by busses – but how it cannot matter to you if your customers know or not is just ridiculous.

There is just disbelief in my mind that this situation can be allowed to happen and that there are clearly no processes in place to follow if there is a replacement bus service – even as much as automatically changing the platform indicators. Perhaps the people who are in charge never actually take the train because they can afford cars in London and are thus out-of-touch with what service consumers should get.

I sincerely hope that I do not have to experience this situation again.

Yours faithfully




Jonathan Lee