Trains from Selly to New Street are suffering huge delays
And taxi prices are rocketing
Trains to New Street from Selly Oak and university stations are either cancelled or facing huge delays following signalling problems at University Station and Duddeston, a station down the line from New Street.
It seems as if students might struggle to get home for Mother’s Day at this rate as train disruptions are expected to continue until at least 6pm.
Although the signalling issues are now reportedly fixed, the earlier issues are still impacting on services and causing delays.
Students travelling home for Mothers’ Day this weekend have been posting in the Fab ‘n’ Fresh page to warn fellow travellers not to rush for a train that won’t be there.
The delays to trains has meant an increased demand on taxis who have increased their fares, so students are still struggling to make their connections in order to get home for the weekend, as well as being left out of pocket.
Mikey, a first year Psychology student, got caught in the chaos and ended up paying extra. He told The Tab: “It [my taxi fare] was £26.10 from University to New Street.
“Luckily I split it with four people but frankly it’s ridiculous how much we have to pay when the train service messes up.”
A taxi from Selly Oak to New Street station normally costs between six to eight pound, so Mikey’s fare shows more or less a four-fold increase.
Meg, who is in her final year studying Politics, said her friend almost had to pay a taxi fare of around £30 from Selly Oak station to New Street, “but she got lucky, a train pulled up right before she booked it. Apparently people ran like crazy trying to get on, it was so rammed.”
The anarchy should soon subside, but in the meantime, TGIF.