Mon 4 April - So we begin...

And how could I know the very first trip being blogged would be cancelled? Does this provide an omen for the rest of the week?

Apparently there's an industrial dispute that's stopped Connex sending SMS alerts to advise of cancellations. So I head to the station with some apprehension. Sure enough the 07:14 has been cancelled – a great start to the working week. No choice but to wait for the 07:29, which arrives pretty much on time and is fairly crowded. Not great, but could've been worse - at least I had an episode of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy to distract me.

Home time and I'll go for the 17:38. It pulls in at about 17:36, so that's promising. They decide to leave about two minutes late, so officially "on time". "On time", according to Connex and our pusillanimous state government, means getting to the destination within five minutes and 59 seconds of the scheduled time. So even if it leaves 10 minutes late, and I get home 10 minutes late, if the driver can make up four minutes and two seconds he'll be "on time". Guys, it's a timetable. You're either leaving at the scheduled time or you're not. Despite this very generous description of "on time", 314 trains during the last reported period were late or cancelled!