To be really funking fed up of the shit train services in this country

This 100%.

I posted on another thread about Avanti that the BR rolling stock could be in pretty bad nick. Broken windows and holes in the ceiling but there were lots more actual trains running. The Sunday service was fairly decent. People could go away for the weekend and actually get a late train back on Sunday afternoon/evening. Almost unthinkable now.

Lots more people commuted then as working from home was non existent for office workers. There were lots of trains until late. In a city you could go out for drinks after work and just roll up to the station to go home without needing to check train times and all the palaver that goes with it now around tickets.

I know this is a zombie thread 😂 but I wanted to join in and say yes the trains are awful.

I work from home mainly but go into my office once a month. I’m so glad it’s not more! Earlier this week I travelled from one northern place to another northern place. It was meant to take 1 hour 30 minutes each way but instead it took well over 2.5 hours each way and on the journey there as well as the journey back, it involved me standing in the cold waiting for the next train for half an hour after a delay meant I missed my connection !

And the thing is the office is only 1 hour away by car. I feel that they only care slightly about getting people from the north down to london but the train services connecting northern towns and cities are abysmal and they’ve just totally gave up. I could’ve got to London Euston quicker with the time this took!

I just don’t understand how they can on one hand make car ownership so expensive and so hard to book a driving test, while they encourage people to use public transport but then in reality provide unreliable and expensive public transport.

After almost two decades of using public transport as an adult, mainly living in London and not feeling like I needed a car - I’m now very much planning to get my driving license and buy a car by end of this year.

It’s all very well telling people to go green and give up their cars but the infrastructure just isn’t there to support this in the Uk. I don’t know what the answer is but I’m sick of waiting for things to improve so I’d rather get a car. I’m fortunate right now that I don’t need to travel more than once a month to the office but that could change.

My husband used to be a high speed train driver on southeastern. Since 2000 we were able to travel anywhere by train for free or 75% off with another operator. I was never bothered by the shit service funnily enough but as soon as the strike crap started my husband immediately applied to go over to the freight trains. This was in 2022. I really miss the free train travel and avoid going on trains at all now as I realise how expensive and rubbish they are

Another endorsement for nationalised trains (BR).

Trains were bigger and it was far easier to find trains that went all the way rather than having to change. It was rare to see people standing. They were far cheaper, and you could just go to the window and get a ticket without being penalised. I liked the old compartments and the interesting people you would get chatting to, although some of the rolling stock could be tatty.

The big improvements have been made in the station buildings - a lot of the old Victorian brickwork has been cleaned up and the lighting improved. Previously old and dingy stations are now illuminated and the well-designed focus of a station complex.

I wonder if it’s one of these areas where the difference between north and south has widened since then- maybe the deterioration has been greater in the north like it has in other aspects of life. With the population rise around London there are probably more trains even if they’re more crowded than ever, whereas the problem with Transpennine Express is that the service is a fraction of what it was.

I cannot believe there is any comparison between nationalised trains and now.

Its like pot luck now. Or the 7th circle of hell. They might turn up/ might not. Loads cancelled.

It was NOT like this with nationalised trains. They ran frequently and to a good timetable.

When it was nationalised the rolling stock was ancient (corridor trains anyone!)
I'd love to have corridor trains back. Occasionally still see them in Europe.

and the catering was notoriously bad
Like with most aspects of BR, the myth lived on after the actual service had improved. They got Delia Smith in to sort out the catering and were running a decent operation by 1993.

I think that the big difference is that on the roads - even when stuck in absolute gridlock - people feel in control. On the railways you feel dependant upon someone else.

Trains are generally held to much higher standards than private cars. People complain about the cost of train travel, but when calculating the cost of driving only think about the fuel, not all of the other expenses. You know that car travel is likely to make you late, so you make allowances and leave early (I remember the twice-a-week evening crawl to cadets when I was a teenager)

When it was nationalised the rolling stock was ancient (corridor trains anyone!) and the catering was notoriously bad (jokes about British Rail sandwiches used to be a thing) but the service was more frequent, cheaper and in many cases faster than now, since when targets were introduced for punctuality the companies responded by building in extra journey time to give themselves more slack.
The improvements have been in accessibility and facilities like WiFi and phone charging, but the basics of moving people from A to B reliably and affordably are worse. And unfortunately the gains in accessibility are partly wiped out by the losses in punctuality since passenger assistance tends to evaporate when trains are cancelled and delayed.

What horror, I used to use trains all the time, local (to and from college for me)and national as a teen when it was still nationalised. It didn't break the bank so I could afford to visit my boyfriend in Uni at the other end of the country, I got a seat, and I was on time within just a few minutes to be picked up at the station.

Easier said than done though. Road transport often isn't readily available at short notice, especially outside of major cities.

They don't. The government pays. This is why the government's strategy of cutting maintenance and pissing off the staff (so that they aren't inclined to volunteer for overtime when there are shortages) is a false economy. Disruption costs far more.

They weren't anything like as bad as they are now, and I'm not looking back through rose tinted spectacles.

They were good. I remember....
The only time was when the strikes happened (strikes also happen now) and they were right to strike. They closed so many of the train stations following the beacher report leaving us with this shit show we have now and a reduced service

I now live in a country with a nationalised rail service. Its brilliant. Cheap and efficient. Trains stop at "unprofitable" stations as its to serve the community not for profit

There was no horror. They were better than now. I used to catch loads in the early 80’s.

Now is just anarchy on the trains.

Just wait until they get nationalised. I remember the horror then.

The problem is decades of underinvestment. If you travel by train in continental Europe it is so so different. Double decker trains!

You can work on the train which is a bonus

Do you live on the same planet as me?
Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to work but I promise you it doesn’t.

100% agree. I would happily train all over the place if it was a viable cost alternative to driving and you knew you’d get a seat and the train would actually arrive.

It's absolutely ridiculous that the government talk about environmental targets without a proper, reliable and affordable public transport system. People need an alternative to cars and in lots of cases we would happily get on a train rather than sit in traffic, deal with potholes, the myriad of congestion charges in big cities and parking is a complete nightmare. Right now trains are not the alternative because they are expensive, uncomfortable and it is highly likely you will not get to your destination in time if at all.

I travel on the train into London most weeks - have to say most cancellations and delays are due to the following

• suicides on the line
• trespassers on the line
• a plank of wood hit a train last week
• a tree came down on on the overhead lines last week

None of those issues are going to be solved by nationalisation

The train services are incredibly unreliable.
I have to travel to the Midlands and Manchester area for work.
Going is usually OK, sometimes a delay or seat reservations all cancelled so can't get a seat but usually arrive within 30-40 minutes of the time the train should arrive.
Coming home is always a nightmare.
Trains cancelled due to being short of train crew, landslides, trespassers, no driver, you name it. I usually have a delay of around 45 minutes to two hours meaning I eventually get home about 10/11 pm.
It costs more than a return flight to Italy or Spain and it takes longer.
It's a joke. We are supposed to use public transport for the environment but it's so unreliable and expensive.

It doesn’t matter if the station has no staff. Control room staff will be aware that the train is cancelled, and they will get the bus or whatever ordered and sent there. If no staff they would probably send some from another station to assist with the passenger flow

True.