Yesterday was another day spent working from home. The fourth this year caused by problems on the trains. This time around it was a mile of overhead cabling coming down one station down the line from Chelmsford, which meant not getting home until gone 11 on Monday night.
Today, two days later, they’re still trying to fix it, and will no doubt have been slowed by news that some of the engineers were injured after their equipment ‘failed’ and were taken to hospital. The line was closed mid-afternoon, just after the accident, and further repairs have been halted until investigators have found out exactly what went wrong.
So, predictions that it would be finished by eight tonight now look hopelessly optimistic. The latest estimate I’ve seen is early tomorrow morning, by which point it will be into its fourth day of disruption.
This wouldn’t be so galling had the penalties for these disasters not been so weak. Network Rail, which maintains the infrastructure, was fined £14m when overrunning engineering works meant a late return to work after Christmas for many commuters, but still managed to pay out £55m in bonuses to its staff last week, with the chief exec bagging a £500,000 salary, £305,581 performance-related bonus and additional £205,000 ‘incentive’. Clearly the £14m wasn’t enough if it can still afford such lavish rewards.
Meanwhile I’m off, with some trepidation, to see what state the trains are in tonight. If I get home before ten, I’ll be surprised.
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