Stupid bloody, bloody trains

2004-03-18

I'm at Swindon station, where I've been cordially told that there is no scheduled train from here to the next station along (ten minutes away) for two hours. The man at the ticket desk kindly informed me that there was no demand for the service - ironic, I thought, as I was demanding it - and even more bizarre based on what he said counted as research, namely the number of people entering and leaving the station.

Now, given the fact there is no service to come in for, how could they possibly know - or is there something I'm missing here? Equally ironic is the reason why I went to Kemble rather than Swindon in the first place, that the car park is always too full by the time I get to the station to make use of it. The car park at Kemble itself was heaving, 300 cars I was told, busier and busier by the day, but still, no call for any more than a minimal service between the two stations. It just doesn't stack up.

Integrated transport system. Pshaw.