About Me

I ramble about a number of things - but travel experiences, movies and music feature prominently. See my label cloud for a better idea. All comnments and opinions on this blog are my own, and do not in any way reflect the opinions/position of my employer (past/current/future).

13 October 2012

For the Lack of a Conductor

The Heathrow connect from London made a surprising, last minute cancelation and stopped the station before the airport. At this point there were three options, take the next train, take the bus or take a taxi. The latter two options wouldn't be supported by the train company; and the last minute change was very perplexing.

It was particularly perplexing that the options were not communicated by the train drivers or the station; but rather by a young apprentice of the train company who had just got off and similarly inconvenienced. Apparently, the cause of the delay - the lack of a conductor to check tickets; apparently a requirement for all Heathrow trains. And even more alarming - this is not an irregular occurrence; but something that is quite frequent (the missing conductor and thus the cancelation of a train). Apparently, this is most frequent on early morning trains to and from Heathrow.

So, if you don't have 30 minutes to spare waiting for the next train (and are willing to pay double); get the express. The affliction of missing conductors apparently does not affect the express.

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