Weather may freeze up but you don’t have to It’s easy to relieve pain caused by winter chills
I had planned to get to Swansea for 6.50am so I had time for a quick gym session before work, which starts at 8am.
A quick look at the board showed the first two services from Cardiff were cancelled, but I followed directions onto the rail replacement bus out the back.
I should have stayed put and waited for the train two hours later.
Instead, a small group of eight of us dutifully hopped onto the bus.
What followed was a total farce as the bus driver had little idea of where each train station actually was.
We had to wind our way along the dark roads to all the stations: Ninian Park, Pontyclun, Llanharan, Pencoed, Bridgend, Pyle, Port Talbot, Baglan, Neath, Briton Ferry, Skewen and Llansamlet.
As we tried to reverse out of a dead-end lane at Pontyclun, the driver decided he would just abort and miss out that station altogether!
I asked the driver what time we were due to arrive at Swansea.
He replied saying 8.20am – nearly three hours after advertising feature the train for everyone to move up a bit, but it would have little effect. We shuffled up and two more people squeezed on.
We left five or six people standing on the platform.
The conductor said there was a replacement bus waiting on the road – the same one I got off at Bridgend!
Transport woes are great for uniting us all. The usual silence was replaced with everyone moaning to each other about the service.
It was difficult to make conversation while my face was pressed into someone’s armpit, but most of us were late for work.
We can apply for compensation for the ticket cost, but TFW won’t hand out money to compensate for missed meetings, missed connections, missed gym classes.
They won’t account for the fact that I will stay late at work to make up for the time lost, which means a later train home, which means more cancelled plans...
We rolled into Swansea at 8.40am. Everyone was stressed and frazzled.
As we exited the ticket barriers, we wished each other luck and headed off to our respective offices.
It took me nearly four hours, door-to-door!