As a resident of Hove, who has commuted to London for the past 17 years, I’m staggered by the continued inability of First Capital Connect to run a reliable service.
The recent industrial dispute, which led to the cancellation of around half their peak-time services, was well covered by The Argus and you also reported when the action was called off.
But what I haven’t seen in your paper is coverage of the fact that on Monday, December 14, First Capital Connect introduced what they call their “reduced service weekday timetable” until further notice.
This means many of those trains that were cancelled during the industrial action have not been reinstated, because the company STILL does not have enough drivers.
Even the trains they do operate invariably don’t run to time. I had the misfortune to endure a journey back to Brighton when the heating failed completely at London Bridge.
While Southern Railway are not perfect – and I’ve had two refunds from them recently – at least they manage to get it right most of the time.
Fortunately, in my case I can choose not to use First Capital Connect in future. But there are some poor devils who don’t have that option.
For their sake, could a spokesman for the company please let commuters know when FCC will be able to offer a full, reliable service.
David Legge St Helen’s Drive Hove
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