This morning I thought to bring an extra passport-sized photo the rail station ticket booth, and so was able to get a 7-day pass for £13.30 instead of a daily for £3.40, getting about a weekday and a half for free (plus weekends). So that went well.Somewhat less salubrious was that the platform screens were on the blink, so you couldn't tell which train was stopping where. No problems, I just hopped about the eastbound 8.06am, same as I rode Monday morning.
PROBLEM! Turns out that the Paddington Express was running 10min late this morning, so the carriage into which I so confidently leapt proved a high-speed lockbox for the 25min sprint into London. D'oh! Since something similar had happened when I came over to interview, I knew the drill -- chase down a staffer by the Paddington through-gates, explain the situation, and he kindly pointed me to platform 11 where I was able to hop a ride back toward Slough.
Not that platform 11 is particularly well-advertised, mind you. It may not be protected by Dobby-level magic -- or it may be, I can't be sure -- but I and another tardy commuter ran up and down several flights of stairs and down back alleyways to find it. We got there 3 minutes late, but fortunately this train was likewise 10min behind -- sometimes two wrongs DO make a right :-)
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Welcome to the wonders of Paddington Station! Unfortunately it's been the same with late trains and departure screens that break down at the most inconvenient of times (rush hour in particular) for as long as I remember.
ReplyDeleteIt is manageable, though, once you figure out the correct course of action for each issue that occurs and before long Paddington will be like a well known, slightly mad friend.
(Yeah, right!)