An Edinburgh train passenger was left fuming after he was sent a 1am text telling him his train was cancelled.
Johnny Casey, a climate change manager, had booked travel to and from the city for work, but was left worried he would be stranded in Edinburgh after Avanti West Coast cancelled trains back to his hometown of Leamington Spa on Monday December 5.
While there are no strikes scheduled for today or tomorrow, the 34-year-old was issued an alert at 1am on Monday December 4 announcing his train at 6.52pm the following day from Edinburgh was cancelled. When he checked on Network Rail, he found that there were no other trains available that he could take after work.
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The train company told Edinburgh Live the cancellation was due to a lack of train staff.
He said: "I booked a day return ticket from Leamington Spa (where I live) to Edinburgh for a work meeting; departing at 7:15am this morning, arriving in Edinburgh at 12:18pm; and then was due to return this evening on the 6:52pm service, arriving home at 11:58pm (both services changing at Coventry).
"Last night at 1am, I was sent an email from Avanti saying the 6:52pm had been cancelled, with no explanation why (and still no reason given on National Rail or other websites), and it just said I could use my ticket "on later Avanti services."
"Despite there being a plausible way for me to get home (via the LNER services to Kings Cross, then sprinting across London and getting a Chiltern service from Marylebone back to Leamington), they have said I can't use my ticket on that train, and won't give me a refund sufficiently large enough for me to buy that as an alternative ticket."
Jonny, a climate change manager, travels up to Edinburgh on occasion for meetings, and has hit back at the regular disruption. He said: "It is massively affecting work, as it hugely limits being able to meet partners and clients; and adds substantial stress to my day."
Jonny added: "I've been speaking to Avanti staff at the platform at Coventry station this morning (which is operated by Avanti) and on the train I'm currently on up to Edinburgh, and none of them have any idea about what advice to give.
"One suggested I take a taxi from Edinburgh to Preston then hope to get an Avanti train from there. Not only is that insane, but even then the Avanti services from Preston are all cancelled too!
"I feel extremely frustrated. There are no strikes, yet there are no trains running. They have been given warnings to improve their services, yet it's just getting worse.
"It makes trying to have business engagements in Scotland virtually impossible. I am a climate change researcher and obviously don't want to fly within the UK to go for meetings etc in Scotland. It should be totally possible by rail."
Jonny has now been left with little option to get home after work. He has been told he isn't able to use his ticket on any other operators and in a worst case scenario, he could possibly crash on a friend's couch. But he adds that this wouldn't be ideal as he's booked in for work down in England on Tuesday.
"I don't know what I'm going to do tonight as, four hours after I left Coventry station and started speaking with staff there about what I can do to get home, there is still no more information.
"I have a friend in Edinburgh so I can see if I can stay on their sofa, but even then, I have no idea if any trains will run tomorrow either, and I'm due in meetings in south Oxfordshire tomorrow (where our office is based)
"I feel for the front line staff too, it's not their fault and they're having to deal with upset passengers like me every day with little information that they can provide to help."
A spokesperson from Avanti West Coast said: "We have had some short notice cancellations due to train crew availability, including sickness. We know this is source of frustration for our customers and apologise for the inconvenience caused. We’d like to thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding.
“Anyone due to travel out of Edinburgh today but their service has been cancelled can claim a full fee free refund on https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/help-and-support/refund-journey.”
In an update, Jonny explained that he was told to take the Cross Country service to Birmingham New Station. He said: "Was told by staff at the station my ticket wouldn't be accepted on that service. But with no other plausible option, I boarded it. It sat on the platform for five mins after it was due to depart, and then they announced we were being "de-trained" due to a technical fault.
"It then left 16 mins later from another platform - I'm on it now and there's no WiFi working and it's really overcrowded. Once I get to Birmingham I will now miss the last available onwards connections to Leamington, so no idea what I'll do once I get there."
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