A drag performer has called out Avanti West Coast train service after buying a £589 return ticket for a north Wales service which didn't turn up. George Ikediashi, better known as Le Gateau Chocolat, forked out nearly £600 to travel first class between Brighton and Bangor for a performance but wasn't told the morning train wasn't going ahead until two minutes after it was meant to leave the platform.
The artist told the Guardian he had agreed with his clients to travel first class, which was meant to include a Christmas dinner on the service from London Euston, to guarantee a seat and food due to a tight turnaround after arriving in the Welsh cathedral city. But first Mr Ikediashi was told the night previously that there would be no first class option on his intended service before another earlier service at 10.05am was also cancelled, letting customers know at 10.07am, North Wales Live reports.
From there the following train was also cancelled, while the return journey back home took a staggering 10 hours instead of five. Posting on Twitter, Mr Ikediashi said: "£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."
Read more: All the travel disruption facing people travelling home for Christmas
In response, a staff member named Mike from Avanti replied: "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." To which the drag 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."
By contrast to the £589 ticket, on Monday morning you could have bought a one-way ticket to Australia for £568 - coming in at 10,000 miles rather than the 650 miles from Brighton to Bangor and back. And it seems the cost of travelling wasn't lost on social media users as one person replied to the tweet by saying: "FIVE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY NINE ACTUAL POUNDS?! What in the name of renationalise this nonsense is going on!?"
An Avanti West Coast spokesperson 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.”
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