Backchat had a sneak preview of the article on page 20 last week in which Railtrack stalwarts decried the press for exaggerating the crisis in Britain's railways. He had plenty of time to read it – he was stuck on a train.
The thing was, this wasn't the first train he had been stuck on that day. The morning journey to work took Backchat by surprise when the train arrived on time – the first time since the Hatfield speed restrictions. Not only that, the train wasn't as crowded as it has been for the past few weeks and there were seats available.
But Backchat's joy didn't last long. Within minutes the train had ground to a halt for a 40- minute delay (on a 15-minute journey) due to problems with two trains ahead. Later in the day, a 40-minute tube ride (six stops, signalling problems) brought Backchat to Victoria station, shut for a security alert and further delays.
Getting the train back that afternoon, Backchat's hosts kindly logged on to the internet to check train times and ensured Backchat was at the station, with web print-out in his hand, for his scheduled train – which didn't exist.
Backchat began to wonder if the insurance industry had chosen public transport as its service standards role model.
