In message , Phil Clark
writes
[Snip Fun & Games at Waterloo]

I too ran into this same mess on Friday trying to get back to Ash Vale.
I'd been checking the SWT train running information at work, so decided
to go to the pub for a few hours to wait it out, but it was still in a
state of chaos at 20:00 when I got to Waterloo.
The departure boards were only showing 4 departures, one of which was a
slow to Woking. Given that the tannoy wasn't providing any useful info
(they still had it in Auto mode for some reason), I decided to follow
the old advice that "a train in the platform is better than two in the
timetable" and jumped on it.

There must have been some fast trains running as we were overtaken by a
couple of 444s enroute, but the guard didn't provide any useful
information at all other than informing us of the next station.

Arrived at Woking at about 2100 to find it in a state of chaos.
Departure screens were showing trains that should've left over 2 hours
ago. A 442 came and sat in platform 4 and was shown as not scheduled to
depart until 10 minutes later, thus blocking any other trains from using
the platform.
Eventually an Alton train is announced on P5 and passengers rush over
the bridge to find a 450 with Basingstoke showing on its PIS.
The manual station announcements initially said Alton and the staff on
the platform didn't have a clue. They initially told us it was for
Alton, so we all jumped on, and then they said it was for Basingstoke,
so everyone jumped off again.
Deciding to cut my losses at that point, I stayed on the train and
arranged for a friend to pick me up from Farnborough. In the end the
train did indeed head for Basingstoke.

I agree that the communication of information could have been a lot
better. Firstly the automated announcements and departure boards
should've been shut off if they were giving incorrect information, with
all information given manually. Also, it appeared the guard on the
Basingstoke train knew where it was supposed to be going, because he
announced it after the train had left Woking, so he could've at least
made announcements at Woking to clarify the situation for passengers who
were unsure whether to board or not.
--
Daniel (a.k.a Spyke)
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