Can I have a rant about trains

[Ohwhatfuckeryitistoride]

Booked to go to Birmingham. Split ticket.Two seats together. Booking on phone says coach c 37 and 38.(not sat together both aisle seats) Leave station and live booking changes telling us that from York we are in coach D 52 and 46. )I doubted my sanity at this point but the lady next to me saw it happen on my phone as I was talking to her) However, this train is now packed solid. Standing room everywhere. People are booked into our c coach seats. So we fight through, DH can't get to his seat (manages to get another one after two stops). And for the privilege of this we paid a stupid amount of money. Obviously no trolley service, no way to get to buffet or toilets (which reeked) not a sign of a conductor to help any problems(we weren't to only ones). Hate to be that person, but other countries have functioning, efficient, clean and cheaper transport systems, but ours got broken up by ill managed and thought out privatisation, leaving train users as the ones to suffer. Rant over except we are going back tomorrow and hope it might be a better journey.

I always drive now. I go to London 2-3 x a week for work and the trains are too unreliable and too busy, and often full of aggressive drunks. I have a blue badge and so am exempt from the congestion charge and have more parking options. Trying to travel or do anything in the UK atm feels like an expensive, frustrating and often totally pointless pursuit.

Totally agree. I drive everywhere as it's cheaper if there is more than one of us travelling, which there usually is, and we know our transport won't be overcrowded or cancelled. My kids use trains as none of them drive but I'm forever having to pick them up from places as their trains have been cancelled and they can't get on the replacement bus, if there even is one.
It's such a shame as I live round the corner from my local station.

It should be a fixed price per mile so avoiding this stupid split ticket nonsense
privatisation was as good for trains as it was for water and dentistry and it will be for health - but of course private is so much more efficient- bollocks
and don’t travel on a Sunday if you can help it
I think you can rant harder here!

I used to travel everywhere by train. Now I drive and hate using the train. Not because driving is nice - but because train travel is now. Uncomfortable, dirty and stressful.

This is why a car is the best option for travel in the UK.

Was this CrossCountry trains? They are utterly utterly appalling. Even if you stump up the ridiculous price for First class.

The only thing I’d say is that if you book direct with the train operating company of the actual train you’re taking, you won’t get that silliness with seats.

Unless, of course, they decide to run only 3 Standard Class carriages from Edinburgh to Birmingham.

Trains are ridiculously expensive OH got an Easyjet flight from Inverness to London for half the price of the train from Inverness to Aberdeen.

At busy times we're lucky to get 2 carriages yet at 06.45 there are 5 carriages with about 5 people in each carriage.

I have given up on rail travel, not because of the trains but because of (some of) the people who use them.