Vocal Voices

Tom's gone to see a band in Birmingham tonight with a load of friends. They were planning on getting the 11.18pm train back here which takes half an hour, stopping at every station. John was going to pick him up from the station when he got back, they'd arranged to meet on the station car park at 11.50pm, and he's sitting here fighting sleep. He just asked me to double check what time it gets in so I went onto the website and put the details in.

It's not running due to engineering works and has been replaced by a bus which takes, get this, 1 hr 42 minutes It's only around 15 miles - is the driver having a tea break at every station he stops at??

John said he'd have gone over and picked him up from the city centre but there're 9 of them and it's not fair to bring Tom +3 and leave the rest stuck on the bus

Twice over the Summer Tom and myself got the train into Birmingham on Sundays but could only get half way home due to these ongoing works and I looked into going the other Sunday to do some shopping but the trains weren't running then. Didn't think that they'd take the late train on a Saturday off though - it's always standing room only and so many people rely on it

Next Saturday night I'm taking Joe to see a band and although there's nothing on the planned engineering list at the moment, you can bet that something will be added during the week.

Jo the trains are a nightmare at weekends around here as well, you can never rely on them running
For two years (!) they were working on a bridge at Southampton every weekend, buses replacing.
Every weekend it seems they have engineering works that create huge problems. It costs a fortune - £60+ to get to London - no wonder people have no option but to drive instead.

Mind you, my parents would (no, might) have said, how are you getting home, and it would have been up to me, to work it out or not go D'you think it's too late to report them to childline?

They're doing bridge works around here too Di but it's the roads that are affected by that. One A road has been closed for several weeks and still has 3 weeks to go, we came past there today and no one was working - maybe if they'd put some shifts on at weekends then the road wouldn't need to be closed for quite so long.

You could always give it a try

Tom's usually pretty self-sufficient when it comes to getting around and even if a lift is offered he'll refuse, he'll always say that he'll walk home. That's fine during the day but he's the only one who lives this far away from the station, none of his friends live in this direction, it's over 2 miles home and he'd firstly have to walk through the town centre which is full of drunks on a Saturday night and then on the way up here there's a dodgy estate to walk past where gangs hang around at all hours

Oh believe me I'd be going to collect him too Jo, it just didn't used to be like that.
There was still danger but no-one thought about it.

I don't think you're oblivious to danger when you're younger

I know if I get the train now at night I get John to meet me on the platform as there's a dark and narrow alley with several dark corners which lead from the platform to the street and I hate it, it makes me feel very jumpy

That is so frustrating.

Hope he got home ok.

Me too, what a nuisance it all must be Jo

Tell you what Jo, it might have been cheaper to have hired a mini bus and John driven and them pay him their train fare. You and Tom could've gone too and had a meal while they were at the concert, or for only 15 miles driven home again. Might be worth thinking about next time

hope hegot home ok
iv been watching a series on channel 5 about rail network london/cornwall
london swansea
mainly
its been really good
but the track matinance at a weekend is huge with no other time to do it
except at night

and i wouldent be a train guard on the late night trains if they paid me in gold coins

It was about 1.10am when he called and said the bus was just getting near to the local station!

Saundra, you don't see a guard on the trains at that time! Not around here anyway!