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Rail firm’s only train breaks down
8:42am Friday 21st December 2007
Comments (16)PASSENGERS were left stranded after new York rail operator Grand Central's only train broke down.
The company only began operating its Sunderland to London service - which calls in at York - on Tuesday.
But yesterday, its 6.46am service, which arrives in York at 8.18am and Kings Cross at 10.32am, was cancelled after a "technical defect" was discovered at the depot in Newcastle.
Seven passengers had bought their £64 return tickets in advance, but it is not known how many others were waiting on the platform at Sunderland, York and the other stations in the North to catch the train.
However, if they needed to reach the capital yesterday and wanted to travel at peak time, they faced paying an extra £121 for a return to travel on the National Express East Coast service from York.
Tom Clift, the operational managing director for Grand Central Railway Company Ltd, said the breakdown was "frustrating" and apologised to anyone who may have hoped to catch the service.
He said: "We're sorry for the inconvenience that has been caused and we are immensely frustrated as obviously we've only just got up and running. As we get more and more vehicles delivered from the firm that has been refurbishing them we will be less likely to be in a similar situation."
Mr Clift said all passengers who had bought their tickets in advance could be traced as the company had their contact details. He said they would be able to choose between a full refund or travelling on a different date.
He said that those who chose to transfer their tickets would be upgraded to first class.
The fault on the train was discovered as the driver started it up at the depot at Newcastle.
Mr Clift said the breakdown was due to an intermittent electrical fault.
He said he hoped the train would be running as scheduled today.
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Peachy4, york says...
8:59am Fri 21 Dec 07
!!!!!!
piaggio, holgate says...
9:35am Fri 21 Dec 07
Captain Jack Sparrow, Strensall says...
9:44am Fri 21 Dec 07
Flash, York says...
10:23am Fri 21 Dec 07
Who is allowing them to operate without adequate resources !!
Nimby, York says...
10:28am Fri 21 Dec 07
I bet the directors get paid out just the same.
Captain Jack Sparrow, Strensall says...
10:45am Fri 21 Dec 07
Flash wrote:The whole railway is overpriced and falling to bits. Has anybody noticed?
Bring back GNER, at least they had spare trains. What a bunch of incompetent people. Who is allowing them to operate without adequate resources !!
In the past 20 years, there's been something like 17 crashes on the rail network involving loss of life - Paddington, Clapham, Potters Bar etc.
Could you imagine if there had been the equivalent in plane crashes? People would be up in arms. The miniscule fines that the train companies receive are a joke.
The railways should not have been privatised.
If that idiot Beeching in the fifties hadn't been on the payroll of the Ford Motor Company, we might of had a railway to be proud off that people preferred to use instead of their cars.
Private investment can't even open railway stations in Haxby and Strensall - which badly need a station each - so what hope left for the rest of the network?
Yo-ho-ho. Bah humbug!
Reg, Acomb says...
10:54am Fri 21 Dec 07
Imagine if a French tourist, used to whizzing around the country on the TGV was to attempt to travel to London from York on this service? He would assume he was in some kind of time-warp.
The problem is that this company has bulled itself up with claims of "brand new" trains (which are actually 30 year old stock that everyone else has finished with, refurbished to last a couple more years) and "non-stop" York to London services, which take longer than N.E's stopping services.
At the end of the day, the truth is that this is a CHEAP service, using CHEAP rolling stock, and as a result the serive is going to be slower and less reliable than one charging twice the price. Netto don't claim to be Marks & Spencer, and this firm should probably have a re-think about the way they market themselves.
Having said that, I have a sneaky admiration for them, because they are trying to compete with huge corporations backed with billions of pounds, and they are doing it on a shoestring! Shame I'll never be brave enough to actually use one of their trains.
Peachy4, york says...
10:55am Fri 21 Dec 07
Captain Jack Sparrow wrote:Very very good and valid points!!!
Flash wrote: Bring back GNER, at least they had spare trains. What a bunch of incompetent people. Who is allowing them to operate without adequate resources !!The whole railway is overpriced and falling to bits. Has anybody noticed? In the past 20 years, there's been something like 17 crashes on the rail network involving loss of life - Paddington, Clapham, Potters Bar etc. Could you imagine if there had been the equivalent in plane crashes? People would be up in arms. The miniscule fines that the train companies receive are a joke. The railways should not have been privatised. If that idiot Beeching in the fifties hadn't been on the payroll of the Ford Motor Company, we might of had a railway to be proud off that people preferred to use instead of their cars. Private investment can't even open railway stations in Haxby and Strensall - which badly need a station each - so what hope left for the rest of the network? Yo-ho-ho. Bah humbug!
peter k, york says...
10:57am Fri 21 Dec 07
Bet they wont get a refund for the extra cost they will have had to pay.
brummie-ian, south bank says...
11:10am Fri 21 Dec 07
Lou, York says...
11:10am Fri 21 Dec 07
Hieronymous, York says...
3:41pm Fri 21 Dec 07
viper, says...
5:20pm Fri 21 Dec 07
the Butler, Cowichan Bay B.C Canada says...
6:49pm Fri 21 Dec 07
This demonstration first runn was laughable.
A user, Selby says...
9:42pm Fri 21 Dec 07
quoteSeven passengers had bought their £64 return tickets in advance, but it is not known how many others were waiting on the platform at Sunderland, York and the other stations in the North to catch the train.
quote
Not financially viable to operate more like!
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SilverSurfer, Surfing says...
8:49am Fri 21 Dec 07