Reefsteamers Heidelberg Wanderer - shocking to say the least!!

We purchased tickets for the Heidelberg Wanderer trip for 31 August 2019 and what a disaster – was a BIG mistake!!!

We left Rhodesfield station at 09h15, and got to Heidelberg at 13h50, where their schedule explicitly states 11h30!! Whilst I understand that Reefsteamers is reliant on Transnet’s rails and authority, they must surely have record of their train schedules upfront and can plan around this accordingly. I do not for one minute believe that they do not have this information beforehand.

Furthermore, we were seated in the Lounge cart and were extremely uncomfortable as we were squashed up like sardines due to the train being overbooked and over-full! This is utterly unacceptable! People from other cabins were squashed onto our bench seat and we ended up being 4 x adults on one seat! How can this even be allowed??? This is ********* practice to overbook a train!

We heard more than once via their announcements that Reefsteamers crew were volunteers and not paid for their work – this to me has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on this matter as we paid for our trip, it was most certainly not for free! And we paid a lot of money! Had it cost nothing then granted we would have no right to express our dismay. But we were paying customers and what we got for our money’s worth was ludicrous!

We had pre-booked the history tour with Tony via Heritage Museum (which we were very much looking forward) and had to cancel him when we were stuck stationery at Union station waiting for 4 trains to arrive and depart! Everyone on the train was extremely irritated and upset by the time we got to Heidelberg.

We were definitely not willing to risk getting back onto an uncomfortable train (due to overcrowding) and potentially risk getting delayed again on the journey back home, so when we got to Heidelberg, we immediately ordered an Uber back to Rhodesfield station which cost us in excess of R600!!!!! Children were irritated and crying and screaming from the delays which also made it very unpleasant for other passengers. We did not have lunch either (and just as well because the Culinary Express were incapable of servicing the masses), nor did we look around the Heritage museum! To aggravate matters, Reefsteamers crew decided to change the boarding time from 3pm to 4pm – without consulting any of the passengers?! This was not convenient to us since we had evening plans! From their generic reply in writing to everyone’s complaints - the train only left Heidelberg at 16h30!!!

Our entire Saturday was ruined and what would have been my first trip on a steam train was *****ed by this horrible experience! There were also no shuttles from the new station to the old as confirmed there would be following my numerous requests!

We sent a letter to the Board of Directors stating our grievances, and got a generic reply in return that basically says it isn’t their fault and this happens! But they gladly take your hard earned money beforehand. They should not be offering these trips knowing full well they cannot deliver on their promises or schedule, not by a long stretch! I expect a full refund! This is the least you could offer the passengers on that train!

Do not waste your hard earned cash on booking any trips with Reefsteamers as they cannot deliver.