22 Minutes late, escaped puma at Heaton Chapel

19 minutes late yesterday.

A full Reginald Perrin-syle 22 minutes late today

I'm getting fed up with this. The 8:24 from Cheadle Hulme (8:04 from Manchester) had been quite reliable up to a couple of weeks ago, but has gone badly pear-shaped in the last few weeks. Every other day nowadays it seems to be late.

Part of the problem seems to be the 'efficient' (from an operator's point of view) use of stock. The class 323 set used on this train previously works a Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester working, due in at 8:00. Yes, folks, that's just a four minute turnaround. Wonder why it often runs late?

I have no way of telling if things will get better or worse after the timetable change at the end of the month. During the summer the Stoke line will be closed for rebuilding, and all Virgin Trains services to Manchester to London and Birmingham will run via Crewe. Will congestion on that route cause even more delays?

Still, only four more days till I go to Switzerland, where trains run on time, and seem to run for the benefit of passengers (not 'customers') rather than accountants.