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Thread: The UK's impressive rail network...

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    mutantbass head Lee H's Avatar
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    The UK's impressive rail network...

    Okay I've blatently lied about the topic, but the current status of the rail network, in particular when doing repairs is farcical. There is no communication at all and half the stations have no information signs or even staff that can assist!

    I'm trying to get home at the moment and we've checked the train times and found that due to ongoing work in the Tipton area I had to get to the station at 03 mins past to get a coach to Wolves, then swap coaches at Wolves to Stafford and then train it back to Manchester.

    So... We got to the tipton station for 55 mins past 5, just in time for the 6.03 coach to find no real information signs stating where to wait etc so we waited.

    10 mins later - no coach
    20 mins later - no coach

    Then after this some random guy who was waiting for the Birmingham coach turned round and said it had left about 4 mins before we arrived.

    Whats the point of them displaying times for coaches IF they cannot be bothered to adhere to them?

    So now, it's either a trip to Birmingham or to Stafford in order to get to Manchester for 21.45-22.00 hours tonight and then another 29 minute (approx) to get home.

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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    Feel for you mate....I used to HATE travelling by train...Especially around the Wolves area, they used to have some crazy diversions when the repair works were on. Nothing worse than a weekend away and then having to deal with all the cr@p the rail networks can throw at you.
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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    It's became so bad for myself, it became one of the main reasons I got a car!

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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    Count yourself lucky, just back from France, no trains and no replacement bus service. The only way to travel was by the normal bus service, 1 every 3 hours between Boulogne and Calais.

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    Not Very Senior Member RavenNight's Avatar
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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    I love swiss public transport, it's not just some stereotypical thing, it's actually all true! In the whole fortnight spent travelling round on it we only had one minor hiccup, the train was 2 mins late and the driver actually made an announcement apologising!
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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    Our rail network is a complete farce and a waste of time to ever use it. Its held to ransom by near communist trade unions and run by complete pillocks. Its excessively expensive and ridicuously slow. When I used to commute to Docklands from colchester, I could save over 1/2 hour each day and halved my costs by driving to work!
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    Un-Official HEXUS CS:S Clan Member/ajbruns man! Daymonkey's Avatar
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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    South-west trains are actually incredibly good compared to other companies, although they are late there isn't many cancellations and the buses are amazing (we always get on them when we aren't planning to get the train as the contractors aren't asked to ask for your ticket ).

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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    Ill stick to my megabus and national express coach any day as trying to get a train from Portsmouth harbour is near impossible as the new signals they put in ages ago wont work.

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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    It is better than driving when I go to Leeds to see my wife. Its cheaper and faster than driving even with travel to and from the station.
    Not around too often!

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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    The last time I had to use the train, some 3 years ago now, it was 2 hours late, and when I did get on it, it was so full I had to stand all the way from Plymouth to Redruth, grrr.

    Public transport down here in Cornwall is a joke.

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    mutantbass head Lee H's Avatar
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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    Well.. I finally got home in 1 piece

    What a cock-up that was as the trainline website said trains were running from Wolverhampton to Stafford and then on towards Manchester.

    We gets to Wolves to find theres nothing running and the coaches were all waiting.

    Ended up grinning like a loony rocketing towards Stafford station and then getting on the train to Manchester.

    I need a drink or three now after this episode.

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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    Personally I dislike having to take the train because there's never enough space on them. Typically on a day when Arsenal are playing at home they'll be packed and yet they'll STILL run 4 carriage trains instead of a far more sensible 8 carriage job that they run later in the day when no one's travelling...

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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    it is a shocking network and one of the biggest things I love to complain about

    Its much better on the continent too - but one of the reasons why is because of WW2 - most of continental europes train lines were blown up one way or anyother during the war, and as such they have been replaced over the past 60 years. Because the majority of the english lines and rolling stock survives the war, the tracks have simply not been replaced/upgraded, and the rolling stock wasn't updated until much later. All this means we are now massivly behind the times, with much slower trains due to the old track which cannot take the speeds that the newest trains can go.

    Add that with the disastrous privatisation and the fact that Virgin Trains are totally uselsss and you have a realy poor rail network that costs the earth to travel on and is rarely anywhere close to on time. It's actually cheaper to drive most places than to take the train if your car does over 40mpg - eg a round trip from Manchester to Stafford (40 miles) costs around £10 of fuel, or £13 of train tickets with a railcard (+ £3 on the met to get to the station), or £18 without a rail card.

    Even adding on road tax, tyre wear etc the car is cheaper for the journey...

    But i'll stop rambling about the trains now and finish on a good point - south west trains are actually pretty good (if still slow), whenever i've used them i've found the staff friendly and that the trains run on time..its like how a train company *should* be run

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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    I had to get a train from Peterborough to Wolverhampton on Saturday. It was supposed to be 2 changes, on at Leicester and then at B'ham New Street. Got on train to Leicester no problem but then from there to B'ham there were no trains, had to get a coach to Nuneaton, then a train to New Street (had to wait 40 minutes for the train though).

    Once I got to New Street I went to ask what platform the train to wolves was and was told 9b, got to 9b to find it had changed to 7 then again got to 7 to find it was on 5b. Got to 5b to see it pulling away! Grrrrrr

    Left at 10.30, got to Wolves at 3.30, could have gone home with parents (to Kent) and driven back up faster.

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    mutantbass head Lee H's Avatar
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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    Quote Originally Posted by 99Flake View Post
    Once I got to New Street I went to ask what platform the train to wolves was and was told 9b, got to 9b to find it had changed to 7 then again got to 7 to find it was on 5b. Got to 5b to see it pulling away! Grrrrrr
    Ahh another of my pet hates - Pathetic information screens and hidden arrows and signs for platforms. Maybe I've got used to having a HUGE screen like at Manchester Piccadilly but some stations have hardly any signs and arrows at all. Then you have platforms and hidden sub-platforms.... grrrr

    On friday - I got to Stafford and got off to change for the train to Tipton and had to use devine intervention alone to get my connecting train. If it wasn't for the fact that I had a few lovely cool stella's on the train alongside the banter I was having with some Liverpudlians I think I would have gone all postal on them and use the kitty silencer

    Anyway, trains might be a thing of the past for me as I soooo want a motorbike now

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    Re: The UK's impressive rail network...

    Quote Originally Posted by Lee @ SCAN View Post
    Ahh another of my pet hates - Pathetic information screens and hidden arrows and signs for platforms. Maybe I've got used to having a HUGE screen like at Manchester Piccadilly but some stations have hardly any signs and arrows at all. Then you have platforms and hidden sub-platforms.... grrrr

    On friday - I got to Stafford and got off to change for the train to Tipton and had to use devine intervention alone to get my connecting train. If it wasn't for the fact that I had a few lovely cool stella's on the train alongside the banter I was having with some Liverpudlians I think I would have gone all postal on them and use the kitty silencer

    Anyway, trains might be a thing of the past for me as I soooo want a motorbike now
    Sub-platforms are a nightmare... Reading is easily the worst... I had a platform changed 3 times in the five minutes before the train came in, there were herds of us sprinting about trying to find the train, we only just made it and you could see several people who missed the train as a result when we pulled out!
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