Reply to THIS thread
Start a NEW Talkback Thread
Talkback Home

Worst train ever - Mark (12th Jan 2020 - 19:44:33) Is it just me or have South Western outdone themselves? I think they have started running really old “reconditioned” trains recently. I came back on one on Friday night. To be fair it did have new carpets and two USB charging sockets but the seats were really uncomfortable, no proper table to speak of, the intercom sounded like a run can with string on and the corridor and door area barely had room for one person. The guard who I recognised from other trips was uncharacteristically short with me when I asked if this was going to be the norm and said yes and these trains are appalling especially from a safety point of view. I know SWR are having major financial problems but presumably if the government take over the trains will remain the same. I think they cancelled a new train order from the previous franchise holders. It struck that perhaps nothing can be done as privatisation in the rail industry doesn’t give you a choice between suppliers, without moving house. Amazing that fares can go up but trains can be replaced by older models. At least they aren’t the really noisy single door models with no heating/air con and hard seats that appear at Guildford after bus replacement and engineering works and seem to service the slower local routes.

Re: Worst train ever - Richard (13th Jan 2020 - 00:15:36) Just as I was thinking I wouldn't be able to get to sleep, rest assured there's yet another post about a train. That soon had me slumbering

Re: Worst train ever - Anon (13th Jan 2020 - 09:49:36) [At least the old trains didn't microwave you all the way to the office with Microwaves] You may live longer now. LOL!

Re: Worst train ever - Train man Stephen (13th Jan 2020 - 10:27:07) Are you referring to the class 442 wessex electrics as the worst stock ever? As Liphook’s resident rail enthusiast I’ve been on worse than that I can assure you! For those who don’t know about the Wessex electrics they were introduced in 1988 to run services to Weymouth alongside the slam doors with the occasional service to Portsmouth. They lasted with them south west trains until January 2007 when they were transferred to Gatwick express in 2008, the 442s entered Gatwick express runs soon after and lasted in service until mid 2016 when the class 387’s took over.

Re: Worst train ever - liz (13th Jan 2020 - 10:38:54) It's amazing how some people think that a topic that doesn't interest them won't interest anybody else.

Re: Worst train ever - Simon (13th Jan 2020 - 11:19:54) I took two trains last week into London, and on all four trips the staff were slating SWR. Clearly morale at an all time low.

Re: Worst train ever - paul (13th Jan 2020 - 12:53:14) Bring back the Victorians, they were good at building the railways that worked, and comfortable trains.

Re: Worst train ever - Yellow Bannanna Adrian (13th Jan 2020 - 20:09:51) I agree these re-furbished trains are uncomfortable very hard seats. But on the plus side they are providing people work in Eastleigh doing the refurbishment, and the new trains ordered by the old south west trains were for the suburban services anyway. Also on the plus side South Western Railway are so bad they are going bust, the sooner the better.

Re: Worst train ever - Greg (14th Jan 2020 - 12:45:31) So far in 2019 I have made 15 train journeys to and from Waterloo. Not ONE of them has been on time. One of them was 2 minutes late, that's the closest SWR have got. Most are between 10 and the magic Delay Repay figure of 15 minutes late. But it's not just that, it's the chaos at Waterloo and Haslemere when it goes wrong. It is genuinely an appalling service, far worse than SWT.

Re: Worst train ever - FYI (14th Jan 2020 - 13:06:54) As I have an insider source at SWT the carriages have been brought back in response to customer complaints about the three abreast seating arrangements, these older stock have two abreast seats.

Re: Worst train ever - liz (14th Jan 2020 - 16:59:24) The refurbished trains were to allow South Western Railways to add more services. Unfortunately, it seems, not to Liphook.

Re: Worst train ever - Rob (16th Jan 2020 - 16:23:44) I took one of the new "refurbished" trains yesterday. Frankly I thought it was an improvement on the ones we used to have. The seats are somewhat less padded, but they are more spacious, as there are only 4 to a row, not 5 like in the normal ones. They are nothing like the old sprung ones on the old slam door stock, they were soft! They are a moulded foam, all very anatomical I'm sure, the trick is probably to sit up straight, I'm sure the foam will soften with age too. I thought it was quieter as well, better sound insulation? There was nothing wrong with the speaker on the ones I took yesterday. for the record there do seem to be more trains to Liphook, I had a choice of 4 per hour late last night, 2 stopping services and 2 fasts which the stopping service is supposed to wait for at Haslemere.

Re: Worst train ever - Rölli (17th Jan 2020 - 10:48:12) its just so difficult to know what is fact or fiction on Talkback nowadays

Reply to THIS thread
Talkback Home