Weekend of travel disruption after Milton Keynes train derailment

First the train had an unscheduled stop at Carstairs where we were held up for over half an hour because there had been a derailment at Milton Keynes, more than 350 miles away. Then, as the train pulled into Oxenholme, we were informed that due to overhead cable problems between Lancaster and Preston we would not be moving until the problem had been fixed – and the engineers were not even at the site yet.

As Steve Cardownie boarded the Avanti train at Waverley last Thursday morning, little did he know what was in store.

We were then told via the tannoy that if we wanted to “abandon” our journey our tickets would be valid for the train home and also for the following day if we wanted to resume our travel. There was dismay and resignment in equal measure as passengers considered their options, and this resulted in a mass exodus from the train as most strived to find alternative means of transport to get them on their way. After four unsuccessful attempts and taxi quotes of £150 to Blackpool we managed to get an Uber for half that price and arrived at our hotel a few hours late whereupon we dumped our bags and headed for Ma Kelly’s.

The next couple of days comprised of lengthy spells at The Soul Suite, The Bee’s Knees, Bloom’s at the end of the North Pier and the aforementioned Ma Kelly’s. Starting the refreshments before midday, we navigated our way back to “our digs” as the early bird was out catching worms. And the trip held one more surprise for me. I received a message on my mobile informing me that my Sunday morning train to Preston had been cancelled. Ye couldnae make it up!