Southern Rail passengers faced more chaos on Thursday 16 February. Delays and cancellations that hit south London’s rail network left them stranded. But the rail operator’s excuse is one of the most unbelievable yet.
We gotta install a microwave oven…
Trains via South Croydon faced severe disruption after a microwave oven blocked a track. The Evening Standard reported that Southern’s website said:
Owing to a microwave oven on the track, the line through… South Croydon is blocked. This also means that no trains can run between Sanderstead and East Croydon.
Network Rail tweeted:
#SouthCroydon Staff are on site with BTP. Apologies if you are affected. More to follow. @nationalrailenq
— Network Rail (@networkrail) February 16, 2017
We got to move these colour TVs…?
The alleged microwave disrupted services for several hours. But it left passengers baffled:
https://twitter.com/xsara_1892/status/832339749436272641
https://twitter.com/rtwdreamer/status/832368644973805577
That ain’t working. That’s not the way you do it
Just hours before the mysterious microwave incident, the government revealed Southern’s punctuality record is the worst in the UK. More than 25% of Southern’s parent operator Govia Thameslink’s services didn’t arrive on time.
And also on Thursday, ASLEF rejected an offer to end its dispute with Southern Rail. It related to the ongoing dispute between Southern and the union over Driver-Only Operated (DOO) trains. The union says DOO trains are a safety hazard. But Southern Rail disagrees.
Money for nothing…
The public already subsidises Southern by £40m each year. Meanwhile, Southern pays its overall boss £2.16m. And last year, Southern Rail’s co-owner Go-Ahead saw a 26.8% rise in pre-tax profits to £99.8m. But commuters are fighting back, taking the government to court over the Southern Rail chaos.
So with more strikes on Southern to come, and even kitchen appliances getting the better of the rail company, passengers may be left wondering what the cost of their tickets actually pays for.
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Featured image via The ABC
