The usual bumbling inadequacy

Was down the Smoke yesterday afternoon/evening. The trains I normally get (I think 15:45 yesterday) tend to be on time. As I've noted before, one reason I don't go later is because the trains get less reliable. Here's the moral hazard: the train companies (I understand) are "fined" if they fail to achieve puctuality for a certain percentage of their services. But this ignores the fact that it is easier to be punctual during the day than at rush-hour when the network is busier.

The trip back (21:15) was not so good. It slowed to a crawl after Royston, arriving at about 22:16 instead of 22:05, which is just annoying: "They Think It's All Over" started at 22:35, for example. The BBC did not delay the broadcast by 11 minutes. I couldn't hear the PA system on the train properly, so I don't know why we were delayed. And I put on my sweater at around 22:00, ready to get off the train. Of course, by 22:16 I was hot, as the heaters are turned up to max., which is uncomfortable, wastes energy and is unnecessary as we're all wearing coats. These are all problems people have complained about for years: niggly delays, dodgy PAs and primitive heating systems. Why isn't something being done about them?