A MAN was left fuming after his train journey cost the same as a flight to Australia – and then train didn’t even turn up.
Entertainer George Ikediashi, 37, was charged £589 for a first class ticket from Brighton to Wales over the weekend for a special performance.
2George Ikediashi was left fuming after his train, which cost nearly £600, didn’t even turn upCredit: WNS
2He said that the exorbitant tickets cost more than a flight to AustraliaCredit: WNSBut singer George saw the return trip on the 10.05am train from Bangor suddenly cancelled at 10.07am.
George was then shocked to see the next train was also cancelled.
And the return leg, scheduled to take around five hours, ended up taking a whopping 10.
His ticket was also supposed to include a Christmas dinner on the London Euston to Bangor section but staff shortages meant this didn’t happen.
George’s fans pointed out that there are cheaper one way flights being offered to Australia for £568 for a near 10,000 mile journey, compared to his 650 mile round trip.
The performer tweeted his frustrations to Avanti on Sunday: “£589 was the cost of your return 1st class ticket, @AvantiWestCoast.
“Yesterday, the driver announced there’d be no 1st class service on the 1610 from Euston to Bangor. This morning, you cancelled the 1005 train from Bangor to Euston at… 1007.”
The sheer cost left people gobsmacked on social media.
One person responded: “FIVE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY NINE ACTUAL POUNDS?! What in the name of renationalise this nonsense is going on!?”
Mike, from Avanti, responded on Twitter: “So sorry to hear that, if you were looking to take this further please submit your comments and tickets here and it’ll be looked into for you.”
The performer responded: “Oh, at £589, I shouldn’t be the one looking to take it further, Mike. But sure, I will. Thanks.
“Merry Christmas and wintery Season’s Greetings @AventiWestCoast You’ve just cancelled the next train. Interesting that I can no longer tag you. Superlative service.”
The performer said he had agreed with the clients who booked him that he should travel by train first class in order to guarantee a seat and dinner due to the tight schedule once arriving in North Wales.
An Avanti West Coast spokesperson apologised to George in a statement.
They said: “We’re sorry to hear about this customer’s experience and we’re happy to contact them to look into their complaint.
“Over the last few months, our sole focus has been to do everything we can to return to a more resilient operation and deliver more services for our customers and communities.
“Crucially, our new timetable is based on a robust and sustainable roster for our people without reliance on overtime, and has been achieved by working with our people and the unions.
“It provides a better working pattern for staff and our customers will benefit from more trains and greater connectivity.”
Story Credit: thesun.co.uk