Brighton to London in 2003

One of the great things about this weblog is that it allows me to inflict my views on anything and everything on the world at large. So, for purely cathartic purposes, here is my account of a simple journey attempted on Britain's railway network yesterday evening, a distance of some seventy miles from work (Brighton & Sussex Medical School) to home (North London)
5 pm: leave work for Falmer station for the first leg, a six minute journey to Brighton. Train indicated as 3 minutes late: annoying, as this means I will miss the 1719 Brighton to London train, but this is fairly frequent. But a friend from work is also waiting for this train, so the wait and the journey pass pleasantly, althogh the indicator changes to show the train as being on time, when it patently isn't
520-ish: arrive Brighton, bid farewell to friend. Worryingly large crowd at station. As soon as I see the indicator boards I realise something is wrong: all trains to London shown as delayed. Apparently there has been a fire at Preston Park. Vague announcements don't tell me very much, but eventually they advise travellers to London to catch a train to Lewes; this is the very train I just came in on; I and other passengerswonder why we weren't given this advice at Falmer station twenty minutes earlier. But I catch the recommended train and apart from a curious incident in which a passenger beat on the driver's cab door repeatedly and had to be told not to, all passes well.
540: Arrive Lewes, and the 1749 for London is indicated as being on time. It pulls in and is full, but not impossibly so.
610: Arrive Haywards Heath, A variety of conflicting and often inaudible announcements are made. A fool sitting next to me witters into his mobile, which makes the indistinct loudspeakers even more difficult to hear. But it becomes apparent that as well as the fire, there is a points failure at Haywards Heath. In a while we are told to get off the train we're on and catch another one at another platform. This seems to be a Brighton train which has been turned round at Haywards Heath. Again it's full, but I find a seat.
730: arrive London Victoria.Now for the tube...but the Jubilee line is "experiencing delays". I arrive home at 830, about an hour and a quarter later than I should be.
Now no blood has been shed, no real suffering endured....but what I don't understand is why, when demand for rail travel has never been higher and is growing, should it have to be such a difficult experience?