Up to the big city on the 8.29 from Stowmarket this morning, and I arrived at the station only to discover that it was running ten minutes late. Not a great start but I'm a stoical soul and waited patiently for it to arrive.
Eventually, it arrived and I took my seat. It was, I noticed, a bit chilly in coach F, and I was wondering why when the guard turned up to check my ticket and advised that the heating had failed. I could, he suggested, move to another carriage. Unfortunately, as NXEA had failed to put out the reservation tickets, it was impossible to tell which seats would subsequently be occupied, so I stayed put.
I have already noted NXEA's apparent desire to make the travelling experience as depressing as possible, and on a morning when the temperature is sub-zero, sitting in a cold carriage for one-and-a-half hours is not fun. At least I hadn't paid for a first class ticket, as one of those carriages had no heating either.
Normally, I would accuse them of wanting to sell more hot drinks at £1.75 a throw. However, the announcement that they were unable to sell hot drinks and food at the cafe bar indicated that they aren't competent to do that either. If it hadn't been for the fact that the urn on the trolley service was working, I might have frozen to death. At least Lorain, who works the trolley, was friendly and efficient. I wonder if she might run our service instead - she couldn't possibly do a worse job.
Oh, and I nearly forgot, we arrived a mere eighteen minutes late. Not late enough to apply for a partial refund though...
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