Last weekend I reported on broken bridges, closed main lines and industrial action.
Yesterday we saw continued consequences of the infrastructure fail between Woking and Basingstoke, the closure of GWR and SWT lines west of London and yet another failure on the Elizabeth Line.
This at a time when it is cold ,wet, dark and when many of the passengers have had one too many at the Christmas party.
Paddington travel chaos: Rush hour chaos – Elizabeth Line trains suspended due to ‘overhead wire damage’ – Evening Standardhttps://t.co/bkTD35IjGv
— Erica Garcia (@EricaGarci92026) December 8, 2023
For all the hype , taking the Elizabeth Line is taking life into your own hands, especially if you have a weak bladder, it has no toilets and it’s prone to break down leaving passengers between stations for hours on end. It was last night the only option to get West of London to Southall, Slough and Reading.
This report from the “toilet queue”..
My friend @madrisimo77 has been stuck on the Elizabeth Line for almost 3 hours. People are using train tracks as toilets, with some even using their seats. And he just became a British citizen after immigrating from Bangladesh. Welcome to England, mate. @TfL pic.twitter.com/ZXiJXw3fKv
— Paul Chowdhry (@paulchowdhry) December 7, 2023
I was on one of the last Elizabeth line trains to head through Hanwell before the “incident” occurred. I count myself very lucky.
Two people are hurt in Elizabeth Line power cut pandemonium: Celebs are among thousands trapped for HOURS on freezing trains with some people SMASHING their way out and walking down freezing tracks in pitch darkness – and then face huge taxi queueshttps://t.co/ZgAkgU5wdH
— Naijamerit (@NaijameritNG) December 8, 2023
My journey ended in a two mile walk in the rain because there were no connecting trains from Slough, a journey halved by some helpful tourists who stopped to pick me up in their taxi.
Anyone who chose the Elizabeth line to get a plane from Heathrow and got stuck , is now facing a morning of re-arrangement and expense.
These are the scenes facing those who pay high fares for a service that only opened recently after years of delays which we were told were to make sure this kind of thing wouldn’t happen.
This, dear readers , is what happens to a nation when it neglects to invest properly in its infrastructure ,when it fails to manage its human resource and when the basic requirements that human beings have – are ignored.