Chronex South Eastern (Connex)

Member Name: scotia1949

Product:	Connex
Date:	21/05/01 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fares held

Disadvantages: reliability, insufficient rolling stock, filthy rolling stock

22 JUNE UPDATE AT END

I have the grave misfortune to live in an area which is "served" by Connex South Eastern. This is a railway in name only. When it works it is OK to passable, they are trying to get there. They are bringing new trains, all that stuff, but boy their reliability!

I know they all had their problems with the safety checks etc last winter and I sympathise with that, but they still have too many cancellations, too short trains for the number of passengers they do have to carry.

I used one recently for the first time in months, from Whitstable station at about 08.45. It was announced that my train was running 20 minutes late and that the 08.05 was due in, running over half an hour late. That is the train which scores of kids who commute to QE grammar school in Faversham have to catch, late again kids! I wonder how often that has happened to them this academic year, how much has their education been affected?

The only good thing I will say in their favour is that they have not had the brass neck to keep hiking up their prices like some of the others. In fact they have gone the opposite way and brought fares down, quite spectacularly in some cases, to attract customers. Other train operators take note.

22 JUNE UPDATE

Since I wrote this op I have had to use Connex three times in one week and my opinion of them has not improved. On two days out of three trains have either been late ariiving or starting off. The other thing which I failed to mention in my op was the state of the rolling stock. Most of the carriages look as if they get washed on the outside about once every other month. There is normally what looks like large trails of vomit down nearly every carriage window. Internally seat headrests are insecure, or missing, seats are torn or sunk down with springs missing, need I go on. On board catering is a joke as far as prices go, two cups of coffee and a pack of jammy dodgers, £2.9
0. Oh bring back British Rail, with those little lights above your seats, blinds on the windows and trains that were long enough and ran on time.

Summary: