Does anyone know if the LB to West Croydon peak time trains withdrawn a few weeks ago are now back running, for example the 1738?

They are now appearing on the national rail enquiries website but didn't run the other day, network rail staff in the station didn't know, and there's no notice up in the stations...

As far as I know they remain withdrawn with no plans to reintroduce them in the near future.

I tweeted Southern about this very point the other day but didn't get a response.

My suspicion is that they intend to permanently remove these services and are doing so by stealth and hoping we will all just forget they ever existed.

Southern have just tweeted me that the 1736 and 1806 from LB to West Croydon will be running tonight.... we'll see.

mrwandle,
That's great news.

I am not a commuter on this route into London Bridge but going through these posts and daily news items about problems at London Bridge - why has there been no offer of compensation to commuters suffering reduced and disrupted services. You all are having to put up with appalling service levels, maybe direct pressure on Secretary of State for Transport ? Start an e petition for this matter of compensation to be discussed in Parliament - we are very close to elections, worth a shot ?

One solution would be to run a 176 express service (like other similar services on buses) that stops at Sydenham, Forest Hill, then is non stop to Waterloo, reducing the journey time by cutting out 20 or so stops.

Hello, this is my first post.

Sorry it has to be about trains. I have been commuting from Honor Oak Park for over 16 years. The trains have not been so bad since Connex handed over to Southern in 2001 (I think). I now use the HOP to Clapham Junction 'service'. Since Jan 2nd I have complained by email (you have to love smartphones) nearly everyday as I have adopted a zero tolerance policy to Southern. It's just been diabolical nearly everyday. I have had responses to less than a 5th contrary to their policy. I have appealed each response I have had in accordance with their policy just to cost them money. I even did a subject access request for CCTV after an impatient driver on a half length train trapped alighting passengers including a baby in a buggy in the doors. They failed to respond which the Information Commissioner will be hearing about. All of this is going to the Secretary of State and MP.

They are obviously worried as they now respond with a special "VIP" email address.

It's strangely SR_VIP@postroom.com and I have had some response from it recently.

Hit them where it hurts. Complain, ask for CCTV etc etc

Once you peel away the vast transfer pricing scams (cross charging for brands and rolling stock we paid for) they are making vast sums.

In response to the question about compensation, Southern always fall back on the pay for delay policy. What this means I think is that if your train is more than 30mins late you are entitled to a refund. Of course if you live in SE London where your journey to LB should only take 15mins then it's unlikely your train will ever be >30mins late (it is more likely they will just cancel it).

The other effect of this policy is that it means Southern can treat London commuters like second class citizens in favour of people commuting from outside London. This is why you often will see a late running service due to stop at Sydenham/FH/HO etc be run fast from either Norwood Junction, Croydon etc. They claim it is to minimise disruption but what they are doing is saving themselves from delay claims and saving themselves from bad "on time" statistics by cancelling our services at short notice and running fast to make up the time.

It's ridiculous.

They don't just save money, they make money. Network Rail will have been compensating Southern Railway, but almost none of this money is paid to commuters, almost as if Southern has been inconvenienced more than their passengers. It is a completely unfair system which has no relationship to running a reliable railway service.

From 2012:

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9570700/...elays.html

Michael is right about how Southern are quick to get money from Network rail all the time.

Overall they are measured on the % of trains arriving "ontime" defined as within 5 minutes of scheduled time.

The first trick is extending the official arrival times to give wriggle room. HOP trains used to take 11 minutes to LB, now its 17.

If your train is running 5 minutes late, they have failed to get it over the line for statistics for that train, and its then in their interests to, for example, hold you at a signal before a junction (e.g.between Crystal Palace and Sydenham)to make sure other trains arrive within the 5 minute time, knowing they have another 25 minutes to play with you before they have to compensate the few passengers who actually manage to negotiate the repay bureaucracy. I have been proactively offered £25 in total for over 6 months of nearly everyday poor service. I declined as I want a good train, not small amounts of cash.

Or there is the old run fast trick to "recover the service" i.e. avoid fines the other end. Its certainly not for passenger convenience and why would it be when legally they are obliged to maximise profits for their often State owned shareholders.

I am sometimes convinced that Southern has an army of accountants in a bunker somewhere in Sussex with a mind boggling supercomputer model deciding the exact timings of each train according to the likely fines.

As stated above, with an election coming, this might be the only time to apply pressure.

The only thing we can rely on with Southern in the meantime is the annual fare rise.

At least I am getting some responses although with a heavy dose of corporate propaganda from the following e-mail when I complain.

sr_vip@postroom.com

VIP Complaints team

Southern & Gatwick Express

The government may well be reading this site and have recognised that the compensation schemes for passengers is unsatisfactory.
Let's see what they propose to do about it in this election year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-31749063

Stop the press! This morning 9:12 to LB arrived at........wait for it........9:12!🎉

This post was last modified: 06-03-2015 10:25 AM by Londondrz.

Any sign of the 17:36 and 18:06 running beyond that single day (if they even did then). I checked the timetables last night and there are no signs of these trains either in the future or the past.

And arrived at 9.33, this despite being held outside New Cross Gate for a couple of minutes.

Not a surprise that Friday's relatively ok experience (shocking that expectations are so low that ONLY 5 mins late each way seems like an ok performance these days) was an aberration. Back to normal today. It's taken me one hour to get from Honor Oak to Crystal Palace to wait even longer for a heavily delayed connection.

Serviice back to normal. 9-12 delayed then cancelled. No excuse or reason given.

Went on Southern site: ironically the problem is caused by a broken down engineering train. I'd normally put a smiley, but I won't, as it appears it may screw the service for the rest of day / evening peak.
"
London Bridge - Due to a broken down engineers train in the New Cross Gate area, services to and from London Bridge are subject to disruption this morning.

Important Information
The problem with the broken down train at London Bridge may continue to have an effect throughout the day and into this evening's peak. We may have to make significant alterations to services into and out of London Bridge as a result. We will keep you updated."

This is just terrible service. Our journey on the Overground as a result of the cancelled 9:12 was very overcrowded to the point where I almost got off and went home.

To hear this will be repeated makes me want to pack up and go home now even though it has taken me an hour and a half to get to work.

Grrr

National Rail site now stating that disruption will last "until the end of service". Plan an alternative route, folks, lest you want to be crushed again!

The 176/185 buses become more viable by the day.