Of course, as a younger less sensitive soul, jumping the train was a normal mode of transport, and if I got to piss off some jumped up pillock in first class with my cavalier attitude it just made the journey even more enjoyable

Yay, more sticking it to the man. You’re a hero.

little and often Boycey… little and often 😀

You’re still a youngster, you’ll thank me when you’ve matured a bit..
We should meet up some time.. you need a hug

Gladly meet up, sure you’re nothing like the character you portray on here. Could do it on a train too, just make sure you’ve got a valid ticket. 😉

Been using trains fairly often for over 10 years and had no idea you needed a ticket before you got on the train. I pay on the train every week and always get the off-peak discount too. I’ve found out the hard way on the Newcastle metro that you needed tickets prior to boarding but never on an ordinary overground train

Been using trains fairly often for over 10 years and had no idea you needed a ticket before you got on the train.

You don’t always – depends on the company and area.

last time I got on a train from Bristol to Exeter I only had an off-peak ticket but mistakenly got on a peak time train..

What’s ‘peak time’?

Serious question, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of consistency across TOC’s. Some it’s before 0930, others include 1630-1830, some depend on what way the moon is facing…

Peak will depend on when the peak hours of that line are, so a direct train from London might have a peak that ends later than others.

Having done a stint on trains over christmas when I was back all “Specified Route” trains were announced on the platform and well before the doors closed and I’m sure the peak ones were too.

Sometimes people like the ignorance excuse though.

Though from my short observations
As said on the previous pages what is it about standing in front of the doors when a train arrives, they don’t half look surprised when an Evoc bike bag comes out the door Alien style.
Why are the doors so small on trains in the UK? The bigger the doors the faster you can get people on and off.
When did 1st class become so stingy? I remember getting a free bar and what ever I wanted on the West Coast on a Friday night (Virgin) on the XC and the rest I was really limited, one sandwich per 300 miles or something

I used to regularly get the Sheffield-Derby train for work. It’s now become more viable to drive what with the time + cost of it.

Anyway, I got a penalty fare once for not having a valid ticket as my tenth £70 monthly in a row had expired “No problem” thinks I, “I’ll get a return on the train as I’ve done countless times before”. Well no, because on East Midlands trains you’re not allowed to do that, whereas on Stagecoach you are. Both trains run the same line, stops and destination but alternate every 25 minutes.

The officious prick had the facility to charge a fine, but not to sell a ticket apparently.

I think the most annoying thing was the dick sitting across from me who said ” just pay it, the way you’re dressed it looks like you can afford it”, who when sat next to me on the return journey denied all knowledge of his comment.

I suppose I shouldn’t go out in my ermine though really. Or my Jimmy Choose.

erious question, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of consistency across TOC’s

There’s not. Sometimes it’s about arrival times in London. Some have evening peak, some don’t. Bit of a minefield!

Why are the doors so small on trains in the UK? The bigger the doors the faster you can get people on and off.
When did 1st class become so stingy? I remember getting a free bar and what ever I wanted on the West Coast on a Friday night (Virgin) on the XC and the rest I was really limited, one sandwich per 300 miles or something

Depends on the train, always has. Generally commuter services have double doors at 1/3 and 2/3 splits. Designed for speed and efficiency of loading, and large vestibules for standing or luggage. Longer distance trains have single doors at the ends to offer a nicer atmosphere on board. Gatwick Express got it wrong as they took over the stock originally designed for London – Poole/Weymouth services.

First class facilities vary by TOC (spotting the theme?). Virgin will give you a hot sandwich and a beer, but as you say are very elusive after a first ‘pass’. First Great Western only offer hot/soft drinks and snacks, but are very good at coming round regularly throughout the journey and encouraging you to help yourself from the trolley if not. Southern you get an antimacassar and theee surly teenagers playing the ignorance card.

Not read all of these posts but am I right in thinking that the op has the hump because someone got on the train without a ticket and then coughed up for one when the inspector came around?? This is common practice on my regular line (Milton Keynes to Northampton) in fact Ive turned up at the station with minutes to spare but found a dirty great cue at the “card only” machine with several people using this for the first time and making a right hash of it, then the next few booking some round the uk multi stop epic and my train is now pulling in….. So I just get on the bloody thing and pay at the other end. It’s no biggy!! Never had the third degree at the other end just tell them sorry and hand my money over.
Perhaps this is an issue in more heavily used areas like London but otherwise it gives the bored London midland blokes something to do at the other end. It’s not like I’m jumping the barriers and tearing off out of the station.

Hora junior’s getting an early educantion on fair dodgers. Almost every evening we’ll sit on the Tram station platform waiting for mrshora and watch dodging/ensuing conversations in action. Almost all the <30yr olds ‘dont have any I.D’ and the suit/working ladies that should know better can be abit rude.

Strangely there doesn’t seem to be any working age/working males who forget tickets.

Not read all of these posts but am I right in thinking that the op has the hump because someone got on the train without a ticket and then coughed up for one when the inspector came around??

You’ve not read the OP either by the looks of it.

OP was sat opposite a very well off person who very begrudgingly bought a ticket when the guard came around, ie she was actively trying to avoid paying.

The technology for this already exists…

I realise that. You appear to have missed my point.

OP was sat opposite a very well off person who refused to pay the ticket when the guard came around, and only relented after some persuasion.

Not quite refused, but was all for cock n bull stories as she quite clearly knew she had dodged the fare wherever it was she boarded. Every station has barriers, so the only way you are getting on without a ticket is if you purposly make a positive action to avoid doing so.

The ToC is quite clear on this – you need a ticket before boarding, otherwise there is a penalty fare. The number of people caught everyday is really quite astonishing.

One of the best moments I saw was an indignant lady at Liverpool Street. Seemingly middle aged and middle class. Definately fare dodging as barged past one of the guys manning the gate to let luggage, bikes, etc. through. Wouldn’t stop when challenged. Guy on the barrier idicated to a random bloke with a rucksack. It was an undercover BTP guy. Firm grasp of indignant lady’s wrist. “Police, come with me madam”. Excellent!!!

Some it’s before 0930, others include 1630-1830

IIRC it just used to be something like 7-9:30am now it’s that plus 16:00-18:30, damn money grabbers.
Dunno if this varies across the country tho.

The real pisser is when you get to the station just after off peak time has started buy a ticket wander down to the platform get on the first train that comes (it’s off peak now right?) and then get accused of fare dodging because
“this is the 9:25 train”
“well you didn’t get here ’til 9:45 so you’re off peak”
“no we’re not. pay up!”

Pretty galling that they can do that when all the trains I am allowed to catch are stuck behind a load of ones I’m not allowed on – if your entire journey on the train is during off peak hours then WhyTF should the timetable and their sloppy punctuality affect me? That’s their problem.

not quite refused, but was all for cock n bull stories as she quite clearly knew she had dodged the fare wherever it was she boarded. Every station has barriers, so the only way you are getting on without a ticket is if you purposly make a positive action to avoid doing so.

Yes, sorry, got in the sneaky edit while you were posting!

Dunno if this varies across the country tho.

Yep, and it’s not as easy as it being the time the train arrives either always. For some it’s the time it arrives at its destination. So it’s trains getting to London before 10 (say, I’ve not got the specifics), but that can mean an 0845 train far enough down the line can be off peak.

And on FGW the peak thing only applies if you get off at Reading or London. Take the same train Carmarthen to Bridgend it’s not peak even if you sit next to someone going to Reading for whom it is peak 🙂

and then they wonder why nobody* catches the train 🙄
public travel should be quick, simple and cheaper** than car travel otherwise car use will never substantially decrease. So far we have none of those 3.

*comparatively <10% modal share iirc
**per journey, almost no one ever factors TCO for cars when deciding whether to drive or take the train/bus somewhere.

Except rail use is increasing hugely, and has been for 20 years or so.

Our rail network is the envy of many countries. It is quick, and there’s a lot of trains. It isn’t cheap if you want to turn up and go, but it’s not that bad if you plan journeys ahead of time and have some flexibility. It’ll never rival car travel for convenience, so ‘simplicity’ is a difficult one. You could simplify ticket prices – make everything the peak time fare. I suspect folk would moan though.

Trains only really work if at least one end of your journey is right in a city centre (esp london where public transport (tube) links are good and very flexible). That makes the overall trip quick & easy. Costwise, it only really benefits mid-long term predictable travellers – commuters, mostly.

If you’re willing to bugger about either with taking a folding bike or taxi/bus options then it’s an option in other circumstances too, but it’s not really “convenient”. Add in the high cost and driving wins in a lot of people’s eyes

Threads this full of middle-class indignation make me want to go jump a train

In Japan, there is a queue position marked on the platform floor. It positions you just to the side of the doors so that people can get off easily. Works really well and is cheap.

obelix – Member
Threads this full of middle-class indignation make me want to go jump a train

We can’t all afford First Class like you upper crusters you know.

What countries envy our train systems ? Ones without train systems ?

Ive used train services extensively on mainland europe , australia an new zealand and caught a few in former soviet states

Ive yet to come across such self important assholes as the conductors on virgin and east coast main line trains.

First scotrail on the other hand – top folks

When did 1st class become so stingy?

1st class on the east coast main line from London a couple of months ago, nothing stingy about it. Tea and coffee as well as beer wine and spirits as well as hot food, sandwiches and cake. Wine was jolly decent and flowed freely all the way home. All for about £20 over the cattle class price.
No problems with the staff either, friendly and helpful

What countries envy our train systems ? Ones without train systems ?

Fantastic trail_rat !

I have commuted for 30 years, 20+yrs in the UK plus 3yrs in the US and 2yrs in Singapore plus used the railways throughout Europe quite a lot (France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland). Without doubt the UK system is the worst. Even in the US the trains where slow but always ran on time including with 2-3 feet of snow on the ground. Car park was free with train season ticket, UK it’s £9.00 a day and pricing lies outside the regulatory formula.

Electronic ticket pricing, Oyster etc, has been a licence to print money for the train companies, £100’s millions of penalty fares for forgetting to touch in / out which are not possible if you are carrying a paper ticket which you show if/when asked. Plus the excellent scam of charging you £5 for the card which is an interest free loan and many cards are lost / bought by tourists who never reclaim their money, over the 100,000’s if not millions of cards that a very large sum of money / source of profit

Andy_B – Member
In Japan, there is a queue position marked on the platform floor. It positions you just to the side of the doors so that people can get off easily. Works really well and is cheap.

And they never change the fares (or very rarely). In the 11 years I went to Japan regularly, my ‘normal’ route never changed the fares. 150yen to the office or 540yen for a 1hr journey into central Tokyo.

Except rail use is increasing hugely, and has been for 20 years or so.

so what was the modal share for 2014? Pretty sure upto 2012 is was around 8 or 9%, unless it’s jumped a lot it’s still dwarfed by car travel.
No idea how UK compares to the rest of the world but compared to private travel, short term, it sucks.

Train is an option for commuters (if you like the sardine effect) and long term planners, bloody rubbish for other stuff. No it will never be as convenient as cars so work on making it cheaper, speedy and simple. Except it’s all privatised so they concentrate on the easy targets – day to day cramming as many commuters into as little rolling stock as possible, trying to entice those long term planners with some decent deals and stinging those who have no other option. (I hate driving in traffic, much prefer the train but the way things are it’s still a close run thing between taking the car or train on my rest* days)

*and as major local engineering works are about to kick in and **** everything up even further for the duration I’m either going to have to forgo rest days or drive in.

So you want it made better but without any disruption from work needed to make it better?

ChubbyBlokeInLycra – Member

1st class on the east coast main line from London a couple of months ago, nothing stingy about it. Tea and coffee as well as beer wine and spirits as well as hot food, sandwiches and cake. Wine was jolly decent and flowed freely all the way home. All for about £20 over the cattle class price.
No problems with the staff either, friendly and helpful

Don’t worry, it’s been reprivatised so soon will be back to normal.

On my line into Waterloo they’ve extended the platforms to get an extra two carriages on, the commuter lines do seem to be at capacity. Same with the tube, more should cycle!

So you want it made better but without any disruption from work needed to make it better?

not at all, I’m happy that they’re upgrading, doesn’t stop me having a minor moan that the already running at capacity commuter service is about to be turned to >50% rail replacement for a couple of months does it?

East Coast booze only weekdays not weekends. That’s dull.

Even in the US the trains where slow but always ran on time including with 2-3 feet of snow on the ground.

The North East Corridor is pretty good, but the distance trains are a joke. The infrastructure is largely owned by the freight operators, so passenger services are just pushed down the priority list. They’re regularly 12+ hours late. They’re infrequent too, daily at best, for many major cities. To say their system is better than ours is just utterly daft.

In France TGVs are good, but regional services aren’t as good. Switzerland is pretty spot on. Italy isn’t great. Spain neither.

almost no one ever factors TCO for cars when deciding whether to drive or take the train/bus somewhere.

That’s because it isn’t simply purchase cost divided by number of miles. There are other factors that make you buy a car, and then each morning the decision to get in your car instead of take the train costs much less. More complex than some of the anti car lot make out.

I’m pro public transport but making poor arguments helps no-one 🙂

Just out of interest, I’ve done a search on thetrainline.com for a midweek journey in May for 2 adults from Chelmsford to Manchester Piccadilly*, arriving in Manchester for around 9:30, departing the same day after 7pm

The best price it came back on a simple search was £421 😯

Of course we could go first class and remove restrictions on times and it would be a mere £1,044 😯 😯

Not exactly an enticing offer to dissuade us from driving there!!!

*MrsFeet has had one of her entries to the ‘Little Painting Challenge’ selected to go into the exhibition 😀

Italy isn’t great.

In February I travelled from Catania, Sicily, to Tirano, near the Swiss border. Night train from Catania to Naples, fast train from Naples to Milan and commuter from Milan to Tirano. Sleeper compartment was small but well organised and comfortable, fast train was very fast and comfortable with decent and not too overpriced food, commuter was fine. Excellent trip. And if you want to not use the fast trains Catania-Tirano with a sleeper compartment for the night section was from 50 Euro. Fast Eurostars are a bit more

Of course we could go first class and remove restrictions on times and it would be a mere £1,044

Not exactly an enticing offer to dissuade us from driving there!!!

Piedi has hit the nail on the head as to the problem with the railways. The pricing structure is intentional so as to dissuade people from using trains. You could fly from Stansted to Manchester for far less, in fact Network Rail staff do this because trains are too expensive.

The last government’s attitude to this was to simply continue to ladle duties onto road/air travel to make rail travel artificially competitive. None of the main parties know what to do, Labour and the Tories come out in hives whenever anyone mentions “Nationalisation”, the Liberals and the Greens have touted very modest fare cuts (1% and 10% respectively).

The rail network is over-complex and has suffered from under-investment for decades, until the last decade or so. Governments refuse to listen and see rail travellers as a soft-target. They also want to see rail travellers pay inflated fares to help fund the infrastructure for HS2, which will ferry a handful of plutocrats around, but is likely to be too expensive for the likes of the rest of us.

What’s needed is legislation to cut fares, strangle the multitude of layers of private bureaucracy and to ensure that more railway track is laid to ease the burden on the existing network. I’d go further and suggest that anyone involved in rail privatisation during the 1990s is publically shot, but I’d settle for seeing them surrender their generous pension allowances and barred from employment.

CBA to refute every single example – everyone will have an anecdote about a country with their experience. Italy is like France, the connection between the major centres of population is good, but beyond that it’s a bit lacking. A very quick Google suggested roughly 40m (edit, sorry that’s HSR only) passenger journeys per annum versus our 1.2bn, from a similar national population.

PdF – that’s the trouble, however, look at it differently. You can go up the night before for £88 each, first class, or £44 each standard. Have a bit of food. The Novotel is good value and close to the station. Coming back is £44 each. Get a “Two Together” railcard, they’re £30 a year, you’ll save more than that on this trip alone.

It’s not necessarily cheaper than driving, but it can be significantly more relaxing!

The pricing structure is intentional so as to dissuade people from using trains

Don’t be daft! How busy do you reckon a London – Manchester train will be that arrives into Manchester at 09.00…? I’ll give you a clue, it’s not dead! You can’t even fly from Gatwick or London City to Manchester anymore, too few passengers. It’s annoying, as I used to do it, and you can’t really do a day trip from us by train.