ON Tuesday I made the journey to Scarborough on the Flying Scotsman. It could have been a prestigious trip; it should have been; but amounted to little more than a hotch-potch botch of an event.

At York station we were told it was going to be 15 minutes late. This was then amended to 35 minutes late. We left well over an hour late. At Scarborough we were told it would leave on scheduled time; this meant we had less than three-quarters of an hour before departure, hardly time to do anything.

Departure time came and went. Sightings of the organisers at the station were non-existent.

Eventually after an hour standing on the platform the train turned up.

There was a PA system on the train because we were told there was a buffet service.

Did we get an apology for what had happened - or perhaps what had not happened, or an explanation? - good grief, of course we didn't.

The only presence of organisers on the train was someone doing a survey and when I asked why no explanation was on offer, I was brushed aside; they were doing a survey of what passengers thought but my comments would be passed on.

Had we been told at Scarborough that the train was going to be late, we could have gone for refreshments.

To spend more than two hours standing on station platforms for a two-hour rail journey is not my idea of a fun-packed day. It was an insult to the people who had contributed to the purchase of that fantastic engine.

For decades there has been a cavalier attitude to rail passengers - we've long since been downgraded to mere customers. Today's experience has demonstrated just how entrenched that attitude is.

Brian Ledger,

Horseman Close,

Copmanthorpe, York.

Updated: 11:17 Friday, July 23, 2004