A correspondence with Cityrail
December 30th 2006 04:25
Dear Cityrail
I am sending you this ticket as proof of purchase and this letter as a request for a refund of some sort for the cancelled train to Glenfield or thereabouts that would’ve passed through Granville around 7:20 am on this date (1/11/05). I paid for a ticket with a view to catching this train and was subsequently made late to work, which I do not appreciate. If it was my own fault to be late to work I would cop it on the chin but the fact that I paid more than $10 for this ticket angers me in the light of the fact that the service I paid for was not available.
Regards, Luke Bartolo.
Dear Mr Bortolo
I refer to your letter concerning your request for refund of train fare due to disrupted train services.
Please accept my apology on behalf of RailCorp for the inconvenience caused as a result of your intended service being delayed on that occasion.
I regret to advise that RailCorp can accept no responsibility for inconveniences arising from such instances. One of the provision made under the Transport Administration Act of 1988, reads as follows:
“Times published in the official timetables are those at which it is intended to run services. The State Rail Authority does not guarantee the departure or arrival of services at the time stated, nor will it be responsible for any consequence arising thereform.”
“The Authority also reserves the right to cancel, wholly or in part, any of the services shown in the official timetables, or to vary the stations and locations at which the services will pick up or set down passengers. The times of arrival or departure, as shown I such timetables, must be taken to be subject to such right”.
Consequently, your request for a refund of your train fare must be declined.
Yours sincerely, Kim Steine.
Dear Mr Steine
I received your letter today and was confused by what it contained.
Where is this Transport Administration Act of 1988? I never read it on the ticket… the train stations haven’t really made available any portable timetables, and last time they did (about six months ago I think? I’m not sure, I’m sure you know when though) I don’t recall reading this Act on there.
It doesn’t sound very believable. I mean, it’s funny how all of a sudden this Act comes out of nowhere and gets cited and I’m not entitled to anything! I’m not necessarily saying that you made it up, but I think there’s something dubious about the lack of public access to such information when it informs our rights when it comes to a service we pay for so regularly.
Also, I seem to recall a time about a year or two ago when the public were allowed a whole day of free travel due to the various delays leading up to this day. I think it was a Wednesday, I clearly remember seeing it on the News. If CityRail could offer such a thing for it’s delays then, why can’t it do the same for me now? You say that you must decline my request, but it’s obvious that things aren’t necessarily that rigid if you were able to compensate people in the past. I’ve pretty much solely relied on CityRail to travel about for 10 years now, I’m not asking for you guys to shower me in riches, I’d just like some sort of material acknowledgement for the hassles I’ve had to endure. I never benefited from the aforementioned ‘free day of travel’ as I didn’t have to work that day, but the cancelled train on the 1st of November this year was the last straw. I’ve had enough of paying for ticket after ticket and having to endure such poor service. I realise it’s a hard job to run such a complicated and underfunded system but hey, I’m not the government so it’s not my responsibility. The money I pay for train tickets are not a donation, I expect to get the service I pay for, and if I don’t get it, surely you guys should be morally obligated to repay me in some way?
Regards, Luke Bartolo (not Bortolo).
I am sending you this ticket as proof of purchase and this letter as a request for a refund of some sort for the cancelled train to Glenfield or thereabouts that would’ve passed through Granville around 7:20 am on this date (1/11/05). I paid for a ticket with a view to catching this train and was subsequently made late to work, which I do not appreciate. If it was my own fault to be late to work I would cop it on the chin but the fact that I paid more than $10 for this ticket angers me in the light of the fact that the service I paid for was not available.
Regards, Luke Bartolo.
----------------
Dear Mr Bortolo
I refer to your letter concerning your request for refund of train fare due to disrupted train services.
Please accept my apology on behalf of RailCorp for the inconvenience caused as a result of your intended service being delayed on that occasion.
I regret to advise that RailCorp can accept no responsibility for inconveniences arising from such instances. One of the provision made under the Transport Administration Act of 1988, reads as follows:
“Times published in the official timetables are those at which it is intended to run services. The State Rail Authority does not guarantee the departure or arrival of services at the time stated, nor will it be responsible for any consequence arising thereform.”
“The Authority also reserves the right to cancel, wholly or in part, any of the services shown in the official timetables, or to vary the stations and locations at which the services will pick up or set down passengers. The times of arrival or departure, as shown I such timetables, must be taken to be subject to such right”.
Yours sincerely, Kim Steine.
----------------
Dear Mr Steine
I received your letter today and was confused by what it contained.
Where is this Transport Administration Act of 1988? I never read it on the ticket… the train stations haven’t really made available any portable timetables, and last time they did (about six months ago I think? I’m not sure, I’m sure you know when though) I don’t recall reading this Act on there.
It doesn’t sound very believable. I mean, it’s funny how all of a sudden this Act comes out of nowhere and gets cited and I’m not entitled to anything! I’m not necessarily saying that you made it up, but I think there’s something dubious about the lack of public access to such information when it informs our rights when it comes to a service we pay for so regularly.
Also, I seem to recall a time about a year or two ago when the public were allowed a whole day of free travel due to the various delays leading up to this day. I think it was a Wednesday, I clearly remember seeing it on the News. If CityRail could offer such a thing for it’s delays then, why can’t it do the same for me now? You say that you must decline my request, but it’s obvious that things aren’t necessarily that rigid if you were able to compensate people in the past. I’ve pretty much solely relied on CityRail to travel about for 10 years now, I’m not asking for you guys to shower me in riches, I’d just like some sort of material acknowledgement for the hassles I’ve had to endure. I never benefited from the aforementioned ‘free day of travel’ as I didn’t have to work that day, but the cancelled train on the 1st of November this year was the last straw. I’ve had enough of paying for ticket after ticket and having to endure such poor service. I realise it’s a hard job to run such a complicated and underfunded system but hey, I’m not the government so it’s not my responsibility. The money I pay for train tickets are not a donation, I expect to get the service I pay for, and if I don’t get it, surely you guys should be morally obligated to repay me in some way?
Regards, Luke Bartolo (not Bortolo).
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