First Great Western stole an hour of my life on Monday night. I was one of a trainload of passengers aboard the 20.51 service from Paddington which came to an abrupt halt just beyond Didcot. The three-car train rested motionless for perhaps ten minutes before moving forward — into an even longer stop.

We eventually limped into Oxford more than an hour late. Apologising for this “severe” delay, the guard (‘train manager’ I suppose these days) blamed signal problems at Appleford. Many other services were presumably affected too.

The strangest part of the experience was the attitude of our fellow passengers. No one seemed annoyed or surprised by what was happening. All used to it, I guess.

My general means of travel to London at night is by the Oxford Tube, whose coaches are fast, frequent and comfortable. But I can’t pretend they’re entirely trouble-free — not least as a consequence of roadworks which, on the M40, seem never to cease.