More delays on Southern due to snow damaged trains (From Wimbledon Guardian)

More delays on Southern due to snow damaged trains

9:40am Wednesday 30th January 2013 in News

Southern train services were affected again this morning as the company struggles to get its snow damaged carriages back on the tracks.

The 8.38am train from Epsom to Victoria was one of the services affected with frustrated commuters were told the delay was due to a lack of carriages.

When a train finally arrived at 8.50am it was made up of old style carriages, according to passenger Angela Mingoia, and was made up of just four coaches rather than the usual eight.

She said: "I was astounded when I arrived at Epsom station to find that the train to London Victoria would be 17 minutes late because of "a shortage of available coaches" – especially as the night before I was forced to take a later train because they were "awaiting a member of the train crew."

"What is happing to Southern? I used to be one of their biggest defenders, but they have become so unreliable that I am now looking at alternative transport."

A Southern spokesman said yesterday that just two trains of three carriages each were still in workshops undergoing repairs after their electric motors were damaged by powdery snow a week ago.