Train travel

mejinks · 14 Mar 2011 at 20:59

Why is it that all the railway staff I have come into contact with are the most rude, obnoxious morons to grace the earth? Is their job so soul destroying that they take it out on fare paying customers?

I'm not talking odd slip ups or poor grammar, but downright rudeness, like its hammered into them to be nasty, rude and abrupt.

Order something from the bar on a London to Paddington and you are normally greeted with a "what" rather than "how can I help" Ask for directions on the platform and you are lucky to get a response. More often than not, you get a "over there" while they walk away back to their hiding place.

Is it too much to expect a little courtesy?

Glaucus · 14 Mar 2011 at 21:10

No idea, but i do get annoyed by passengers who don't believe, I don't know when the trains are going to turn up or on what platform and look in disgust when I point them towards someone who would know such info.

Ahleckz · 14 Mar 2011 at 21:17

I had a really nice chat with one of the ticket inspectors the other night. She was lovely. If I could remember her name, I would probably email SPT and tell them how good she was. Though, she may get fired for skiving and talking me!

Energize · 14 Mar 2011 at 22:11

The UK has such a terrible train service. First class tickets cost more the shorter the distance you are travelling, it works exactly the opposite to how to it's supposed to!

V4NT0M · 14 Mar 2011 at 22:17

Never had a problem with them, and in fact the other day I traveled from Glasgow to Darlington and like an idiot I left my ticket on the train. The woman at the turnstyles let me through ok after a bit of a chat, she didn't have to do that and she was polite to boot. Saved me what could have been a pretty penny.

Pawnless Endgame · 14 Mar 2011 at 22:18

I've generally had a good service on trains and at stations. The only thing I really don't like (and it's naughty of them), is that some routes are cheaper if you break them down by changing at a certain station.

Uhtred · 14 Mar 2011 at 22:30

Trains in this country are passable, i've never had a particular problem with the customer service i receive, no worse than other sectors in this country at least - the thing that gets my back up is how outrageously expensive they are and how complicated the ticket system is.

plus it's a bit of a joke that a train has to be 30 minutes late to get even a partial refund.

V4NT0M · 14 Mar 2011 at 22:36

What's complicated about tickets? And £8 for 180 miles isn't bad.

Uhtred · 14 Mar 2011 at 22:54

Skyfall said:
What's complicated about tickets? And £8 for 180 miles isn't bad.

Not even national rail or the people at the station are able to sell you the best ticket because there are so many different types, according to a recent survey. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8342600/Half-of-all-rail-ticket-advice-is-wrong.html

I don't count advanced tickets - there are only a limited number and you have to buy too far in advance and at inconvenient times - the full price on the day is what I mean.

I've always been amazed that in such a small country it can be cheaper to fly from the south east to scotland than go by train.

K.C. Leblanc · 14 Mar 2011 at 23:05

I've never had any issues with the staffing on the rail system.

The biggest issue for me is the ticketing system, although advance tickets are often good value for money you never know the price till you've bought them. It makes it impossible to plan, because sod law dictates if you promise someone you'll arrive on a certain train it'll end up being three times the price of the one that goes an hour later.

You have to bare in mind when you compare train to air, that stations are generally central. You can't say the same for air ports.

Uhtred · 14 Mar 2011 at 23:24

I feel that they could be far more imaginative with the ticket system - If I go away with my gf and we could make the 3 hour journey by car or train, am i going to pick the mode of transport which costs half as much with two of us making the same journey, or twice as much?

Energize · 15 Mar 2011 at 00:13

Skyfall said:
What's complicated about tickets? And £8 for 180 miles isn't bad.

If only that was the price.

Zap said:
I feel that they could be far more imaginative with the ticket system - If I go away with my gf and we could make the 3 hour journey by car or train, am i going to pick the mode of transport which costs half as much with two of us making the same journey, or twice as much?

On a journey I frequent the total time by car is 7 hours and costs £30 in fuel, vs 9 hours for the train at a cost of £65!

Uhtred · 21 Mar 2011 at 20:20

Great programme on channel 4 - dispatches.