How to deal with a transport crisis
Credit where credit is due - the staff at Liskeard and Plymouth railway stations did a great job of dealing with weather related problems last Friday.
I had tickets from Liskeard to Andover with return tickets from Exeter to Liskeard as part of my travel plan to start in and return home from the 2014 Exeter Trial.
But it wasn't to be.
Lightning strikes knocked out the signalling in Cornwall during the morning so nothing was moving in Cornwall at all. At Liskeard, Jo and Sonya organised buses for us and as I was travelling beyond Plymouth I was on the first minibus.
But at Plymouth it became apparent that further lightning strikes in Devon and flooding beyond Exeter meant that plans to stop services at Plymouth and redirect them eastwards wouldn't work.
After a while, the station staff at Plymouth broke it to the passengers that we weren't going anywhere soon and that further weather was on its way. they advised us to go home or to visitors to let their rellies know not to strip the beds. Actually, they weren't that flippant, they were very professional and kept us all informed as soon as they had something to tell us.
I arrived back in Liskeard in time to set out by car for Honiton which was the most westerly station in action that afternoon on the South West Trains network.
Thanks to the prompt action and good communication of the station staff, I was able to make the start of the Exeter Trial despite the weather.
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| This is not a scene of uproar and crowds at Plymouth railway station - it is one of quiet efficiency with passengers already on the replacement coaches laid on in lieu of the cancelled trains due to weather. |
I had tickets from Liskeard to Andover with return tickets from Exeter to Liskeard as part of my travel plan to start in and return home from the 2014 Exeter Trial.
But it wasn't to be.
Lightning strikes knocked out the signalling in Cornwall during the morning so nothing was moving in Cornwall at all. At Liskeard, Jo and Sonya organised buses for us and as I was travelling beyond Plymouth I was on the first minibus.
But at Plymouth it became apparent that further lightning strikes in Devon and flooding beyond Exeter meant that plans to stop services at Plymouth and redirect them eastwards wouldn't work.
After a while, the station staff at Plymouth broke it to the passengers that we weren't going anywhere soon and that further weather was on its way. they advised us to go home or to visitors to let their rellies know not to strip the beds. Actually, they weren't that flippant, they were very professional and kept us all informed as soon as they had something to tell us.
I arrived back in Liskeard in time to set out by car for Honiton which was the most westerly station in action that afternoon on the South West Trains network.
Thanks to the prompt action and good communication of the station staff, I was able to make the start of the Exeter Trial despite the weather.
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