From
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...port-boss.html

Travelling by train is s**t where “Gestapo� staff target commuters and
“fine everyone�, the head of London’s transport system has said.

Sir Peter Hendy, Commissioner of Transport for London, said the public
“hates� suburban rail services and singled out South Eastern trains in a
startling attack.
He accused the company of running a service like “the Wild West� that was
“s**t and awful�.
Sir Peter also criticised South West trains and said Network Rail was
“under fire� over its redevelopment of one of London’s main stations.

In a direct attack on some commuter service operators, Sir Peter, who earns
£348,000 a year, said: “On Southeastern the trains are like the Wild West.
“They are s**t, awful. And then every now and then some people who look
like the Gestapo get on and fine everyone they can. It doesn't improve your
day, does it?�

In an interview with Management Today, he added: “People hate the suburban
rail service, they hate it.
“If you make a mistake on your Oyster Card (London’s travel card) on the
Tube, we'll refund it. On South West Trains, they'll fine you. That's a big
philosophical difference.�

He said that Network Rail also faced criticism over its handling of the
refurbishment of London Bridge – one of the capital’s busiest railway
stations – where long delays in the work has infuriated travellers and, at
times, led to the police having to be called.
Sir Peter continued: "I take no pleasure in saying this, but it's under
fire at the moment. The chief exec (Mark Carne) is a nice bloke and he has
this idea about the digital railway and getting the most out of the railway
in the next 30 years – but no one is listening because they can't fix
London Bridge."

A Southeastern spokesman said: "We are really proud of our front line teams
and the work they do every day, helping hundreds of thousands of
passengers. It is disappointing that Peter Hendy's comments do not reflect
their dedication and hard work."

Sir Peter, who describes himself as “London’s best paid bus driver�, was
criticised earlier this year after it emerged he had claimed for wines
costing up to £45 a bottle during meals on expenses.
But he shrugged off the criticism, saying: “Someone went through my
personal expenses. Apparently a £43 bottle of wine is considered very
expensive.�

He is also willing to face the wrath of customers by regularly travelling
around with his name badge on.
“You do get complaints and people do point at the name badge and say:
"Gosh, you're brave to walk about with that on," but we expect the staff to
do it so we should as well,� he said.

Michael Roberts, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group which
represents Network Rail and train operators, said: “People from Network
Rail, train operators and TfL work together daily to keep London moving,
upgrading the network by night and carrying ever more passengers during the
day.
"By investing in track, introducing new trains and improving ticketing, the
industry is committed to providing a better travelling experience for
millions of passengers in and around the capital.�

On Thu, Apr 23, 2015 at 03:57:52PM +0000, Recliner wrote:

Travelling by train is s**t where ???Gestapo??? staff target commuters and
???fine everyone???, the head of London???s transport system has said.

I've never had any problems with the Southeastern grippers. They ask
nicely to see my ticket, I show it or wave my Oyster card, they carry on.

That said, I've never been in the situation of having got on one of
their trains only to find that the Oyster reader had one of its
regular brainfarts and didn't bother to record my touch-in.

???If you make a mistake on your Oyster Card (London???s travel card) on the
Tube, we'll refund it. On South West Trains, they'll fine you. That's a big
philosophical difference.???

He's not quite telling the truth here. On TfL if either you or TfL make
a mistake, they automatically assume you made the mistake and fine you
without telling you. They'll refund you only if you know that they've
done it and then claim a refund.

--
David Cantrell | Reality Engineer, Ministry of Information

Just because it is possible to do this sort of thing
in the English language doesn't mean it should be done

Today's Metro had several letters about Hendy's outburst. A few suggested
that, instead of slagging of other transport providers, Hendy should put his
own house in order.

SouthEastern are actually OK, it's Southern that has deteriorated over the years.

His attack on South West Trains is odd too as I think they are brilliant, and certainly come across as trying to do the right thing.

ONscotland wrote:
SouthEastern are actually OK, it's Southern that has deteriorated over the years.

His attack on South West Trains is odd too as I think they are brilliant,
and certainly come across as trying to do the right thing.

Does TfL covet any of SWT's suburban routes? If it does, that might
explain it.

Recliner wrote:

SouthEastern are actually OK, it's Southern that has deteriorated over
the years.

His attack on South West Trains is odd too as I think they are brilliant,
and certainly come across as trying to do the right thing.

Does TfL covet any of SWT's suburban routes? If it does, that might
explain it.

Crossrail 2 is currently eyeing up some.

--
My blog: http://adf.ly/4hi4c

"Tim Roll-Pickering" wrote:
Recliner wrote:

SouthEastern are actually OK, it's Southern that has deteriorated over
the years.

His attack on South West Trains is odd too as I think they are brilliant,
and certainly come across as trying to do the right thing.

Does TfL covet any of SWT's suburban routes? If it does, that might
explain it.

Crossrail 2 is currently eyeing up some.

That's probably too far in the future for Sir Peter -- he'll be long gone
before Crossrail 2 opens. He must have something more immediate in mind.

On Wed, 29 Apr 2015 13:36:59 +0100, Paul Corfield
wrote:

On Thu, 23 Apr 2015 15:57:52 +0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

From
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...port-boss.html

Travelling by train is s**t where “Gestapo” staff target commuters and
“fine everyone”, the head of London’s transport system has said.

Sir Peter Hendy, Commissioner of Transport for London, said the public
“hates” suburban rail services and singled out South Eastern trains in a
startling attack.
He accused the company of running a service like “the Wild West” that was
“s**t and awful”.
Sir Peter also criticised South West trains and said Network Rail was
“under fire” over its redevelopment of one of London’s main stations.


And today Mr Hendy has apologised to South Eastern about his remarks!

Yes, I saw that. He didn't exactly rush to do so, did he?

In article ,
(Recliner) wrote:

On Wed, 29 Apr 2015 13:36:59 +0100, Paul Corfield
wrote:

On Thu, 23 Apr 2015 15:57:52 +0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

From

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...t/11558430/Tra
velling-by-train-is-st-says-transport-boss.html

Travelling by train is s**t where “Gestapo” staff target commuters and
“fine everyone”, the head of London’s transport system has said.

Sir Peter Hendy, Commissioner of Transport for London, said the public
“hates” suburban rail services and singled out South Eastern trains in a
startling attack.
He accused the company of running a service like “the Wild West” that
was “s**t and awful”.
Sir Peter also criticised South West trains and said Network Rail was
“under fire” over its redevelopment of one of London’s main stations.


And today Mr Hendy has apologised to South Eastern about his remarks!

Yes, I saw that. He didn't exactly rush to do so, did he?

Somebody must have been working hard on him in the meantime. I can see a
case for apologising for the immoderate wording but on the substance?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Paul Corfield wrote:

TfL take over two chunks of NR with new operators
in a month's time and people may well be calling TfL "****" fairly
soon if those operations fall flat on their face in the early days.
Even though TfL have "soft pedalled" about the scale of change that is
possible in the early days that won't stop the public expectations
running ahead of reality and then being dashed when trains still conk
out, wires fall down and points and signals fail as they are wont to
do on both West Anglia and the Shenfield line.

On top of all that here on the Shenfield line passengers primarily want
timetable common sense in the peaks (Forest Gate has the problem that in the
busiest part of the morning peak there's a 36 minute period with only two
London trains, both heavily packed and if one goes down the other is
physically impossible to board) and a better interior layout on the rolling
stock that's more appropriate for a very busy metro service with stations as
little as two minutes apart. (The vestibles are often rampacked whilst some
seats are empty because many prioritise the chance to get off at their
station over a seat.)

I suspect that the rush to partially repaint the rolling stock in advance
will backfire as passengers come to expect more and dismiss this as
corporate vanity. The old stock colours would be more accepted as it would
show legacy.

--
My blog: http://adf.ly/4hi4c