West Midland Trains - options are:
1, provide all my personal details (full name, postcode??, email address) to use WiFi, or
2, rely on mobile signal (which is pretty poor in Shropshire hills).
Why do you need all this information??? I've paid for a ticket, why can't I just connect??
I have now been travelling for over 3hrs to end up somewhere less than 45 miles from my home (with who knows how long until I reach Birmingham...)
No coffee or toilet at Gobowen so choice between waiting here in the cold for an hour and hoping the 1601 actually makes it to Birmingham, or jumping on next train to Shrewsbury and hoping I can pick a connection up there... this whole journey completely sucks!
Despite conductor having seen my ticket, no nudge to check i knew what was going on. So, back to Gobowen where I will have over an hours wait to get back on a train to Birmingham. Getting in around 5.30pm. Complete waste of time. Is train travel always like this in UK???
Train I am on that was a straight through from Wrexham to Birmingham got to Shrewsbury where, for some inexplicable reason, it is now going BACK to Holyhead. There may have been an announcement but, like most people these days, I had airpods in. No notification over any app... (cont)
This was one of the worst Marburg outbreaks in history but it could have been so much worse without excellent health protection and epidemiology work in Rwanda. Great news for Christmas!
www.afro.who.int/countries/rw...
Working plug socket, table to myself, and seat facing direction of travel. Living the dream!
But toilets locked...
Phew - other train late so time to get a coffee top-up at least!
Train running 3 mins late 3 stops into our 55min journey. I've got 11mins to change trains in Wrexham (now 8 mins). I've never been to the station before so no idea where I need to go. Going to spend next 25mins being anxious about making next train now to avoid a 1hr wait for next one...
By the way, wheelchair access is a joke. Looks like a 40 degree angle, uneven, and not wide enough.
WiFi on train doesn't work so rinsing my 5G (when i have signal). No coffee vendor but did bring own coffee thankfully after having previously been stuck on a TfW 4hr service without a service trolley. Still, it's clean-ish, on time, and got a seat. Think that's about the best I can wish for!
If I have a seizure here, I'm screwed. Back to waiting on the road where no shelter but at least feels (marginally) safer?
Upton train station. One of the least used stations in UK. I can see why. No office or ticket machine, completely isolated, no visibility of platform from road. CCTV apparently but I can't see any cameras. Feels very unsafe. Sole other passenger waiting which feels worse than being completely alone.
It is also freezing as every window open and feels damp due to everyone getting on wet from rain.
Bus packed. No seats or space for prams - 2 already on here. God knows what happens if someone in a wheelchair needs to get on). Someone talking to their sister on Facetime (via speakerphone), someone else watching TikTok via loud speaker. Don't people know about headphones???
Should get freedom bus pass for free travel BUT needs prescription cert which I'm still waiting for... (but that's another story)
And we are off. Raining. Will have to get bus to station. Bus late. No space to wait on pavement (overgrown hedge), no shelter, £2 for 5 min journey (as all journeys are £2 which is great if travelling from Southport to West Kirby but ridiculous if going a mile...)
4, how do I book a ticket? Is the app I've downloaded legit?? No machines or office at local station apparently so just have to risk it.
5, "engineering works" alert on my route. No idea what this actually means. No meangingful info on National Rail, TfW, or Train line. FFS.
3, TfW are generally OK-ish. I will go with them rather than via Liverpool as station nearby. Change in Wrexham. Or change in Shotton, Stafford, and various other. Basically, all going back on myself. Wrexham it is.
1, why will this take 4.5hrs when it is <2hrs in a car???
2, it costs how much?? Off peak, in advance?
As a newly disabled person (diagnosis of epilepsy after 17 years seizure free), I've had to give up my car recently. Fair enough. So, I'm travelling to see friend in Birmingham on train from Merseyside for first time in years.
Thought on initial research via Google:
Remember basic infection control advice folks: Catch it, bin it, kill it. And even more importantly, if you or your child is unwell, please be considerate and stay away from others!
Sunday morning pre-EPRR exercise #Lego treat!