Rail passenger uses Twitter to prompt action from rail operator
A FIRST Capital Connect (FCC) passenger has used a social networking site to alert the rail operator and fellow travellers about a train which had blocked toilets and litter strewn throughout carriages.
Nigel Byrne, an IT project manager, took snaps of the unsanitary condition of a train he caught from Bedford to St Albans on Monday.
He complained about FCC via Twitter that it was disgusting the train had not been cleaned and there was no water to flush four dirty toilets.
He tweeted: “@FirstCC you should be ashamed! Yesterday no drivers. Today no cleaners! It’s disgusting sort it out.”
Nigel told the Herts Advertiser he had caught the 8.40am Bedford to Brighton train, getting off at St Albans – a trip he takes every day.
He said: “It is never this bad. It is always quite clean. It must have been like that all night.”
After he tweeted, FCC queried his comments on Twitter, so Nigel then provided links to photos of the mess, which prompted the rail operator to promise the train would be cleaned immediately.
Nigel said: “I’m pleased with the response; I was gobsmacked that I got a reply from FCC within two minutes.” He said on Sunday he had had to wait half an hour for a train to arrive after being told a driver did not turn up.
A spokesman for FCC said: “We make every effort to ensure our trains are cleaned thoroughly and ensure that the toilets are clean and functioning, however we cannot clean the toilets after every use.”
See Nigel’s pictures on his account @byrnenigel
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