I LIVE in New Zealand but use my sister’s house in Hereford as a base when travelling in the UK.

On last Saturday I caught the 09.51 First Great Western train from Paddington to Hereford via Oxford.

All went well until some time after leaving Oxford when we seem to spend rather too long at each little station, culminating in nearly 30 minutes at Kingham.

By the time we reached Evesham we were over half an hour late and the train manager announced that the train, whose destination was Hereford, would terminate at Ledbury owing to problems with the doors. It was said a coach would be waiting to take us on to Hereford.

After contacting my sister, who advised staying on the train at Ledbury and insisting on travelling through to Hereford, I found a member of the train staff and asked for further details. I was told the train was not going to Hereford ‘for safety reasons’ owing to problems with the doors. To my queries why it was safe to continue travelling to Ledbury under these unsafe conditions, there appeared to be no reply.

On arrival at Ledbury, there was no transport visible but we were required to leave the train. Within a few minutes a coach was spotted on the far side of the road and the Hereford passengers, about 40, carried their luggage to it.

We arrived at Hereford station about 40 minutes late, which was better than I had feared, but I am left with several questions.

What happened to the passengers who were waiting on Hereford station for the 13.20 Hereford to Paddington service, which never ventured further than Ledbury?

What happens to passengers who have train or bus connections (or meetings to attend) and rely on the service to Hereford being reliable?

I am told we were lucky alternative transport was actually available. Most important of all, I was planning to use a train from Hereford to Birmingham International Airport on Wednesday for a flight to Amsterdam.

Can I actually rely on this train existing or do I have to leave Hereford the day before to ensure I am using a reliable service? What effect does this poor train service have on business life and the tourist trade in Hereford?

MRS M J K PATERSON, Wellington, New Zealand.

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