Commuter sets up South Western Railway delay bingo

Commuters tweet in reasons why trains have been delayed

A long-suffering commuter has set up South Western Railway (SWR) bingo in a bid to make train delays "interesting".

Mike, who wishes to remain anonymous, launched @sw_bingo on Twitter two weeks ago and already has 180 followers tweeting him service delay "excuses".

The card, which is renewed each week, includes delays due to Network Rail, congestion and disruptive passengers. There has yet to be a full house.

SWR, said it knew "how frustrating delays can be" for its passengers.

But the train operator added a "number of issues" causing delays were "outside our direct control".

The bingo card includes points failure and weather

Mike, who commutes to London every week, said he set up the weekly game as a "little hobby".

Launched on 1 October, the game invites commuters to try and match their delays to "good old favourites" like staff shortage as well as long shots such as trackside fire.

"It's already had some good feedback," said Mike.

Each week the card is changed, and this week commuters are just one match away from bingo.

"Last week, given the wet weather, we removed track fire which was unfortunate as we actually had one this week," said Mike.

An SWR spokesperson said it was working very closely with Network Rail to "improve performance and boost the punctuality of services".

"Whilst the majority of our services run on time, there are a number of issues, many of which are outside our direct control, that can unfortunately cause delays."