What is it about trains...

[Amanda P]

Because I'd love to be able to believe that the human race isn't actually as stupid as it continually demonstrates itself to be...

You're going to have to stop travelling on trains, then.

In fact, best to move into a cave in the woods somewhere, grow a beard, stop washing...

Oh yes, and stop reading this forum.

 

[ChrisKH]

Would have been even more interesting a journey had you been sitting next to theclaud.

 

[Fnaar]

And don't get me started on thetrainline.com. What an utterly rubbish service that is. And their call centre is hopeless.

I ain't never had no problems with the website... always given me the info I wanted, and has always been accurate... never tried the call centre tho'

 

[hackbike 666]

Passengers do make me laugh or almost pull my hair out.

Example.I have just split an 8 car train on a platform at Waterloo making two four car trains on same platform.SO the doors on the rear portion a locked shut and the doors on the front train are released.The endless amount of passengers who are pressing the buttons on the rear train and wondering why the doors aren't opening.They then proceed to every door on offending train with the same results.It's so frustrating to watch.I take it these same people don't read the screens.I even took a passenger to the train yard one night due to the fact that she had got on the wrong train (slam door) and had to escort her through the yard.

I'd worked a train from Clapham Yard into platform ten at Waterloo yesterday and an old gent asked me if it was the train to Bournemouth.Said I wasn't sure but there it was BASINGSTOKE final destination on the screen.So I was a bit puzzled.Then he told me he wanted platform 11.I was on platform ten.Question answered.

Run trains round Kingston/Hounslow some of the time as either 4 or 8 car trains but it can be amazing how people can be caught out and wait at the end of the platform when you stop half way up with a 4 car.(In relation to the position of the stairs on the platform) That generally comes up on the screen as well.They can also get distracted when using a mobile phone as well.

I try to keep a straight face and look innocent but sometimes it's embarrassing and some people look at you and think you do it deliberately.

Was working up from Chessington at 6am one morning and stopped on the four board with my four car train at Malden Manor(It's booked eight car) and a passenger had a go at me and said I should have blown the horn to warn him.Ironically with the curve im surprised he couldn't work it out himself.

The new one is making a dive for the train even if the departure time isn't reached,when the doors shut on the 30 second timer.(Desiro's and other new trains)

 

[Paulus]

I used to get similar thing happen when I was at Kings Cross. The Kings Lynn trains were often 8 cars to Cambridge, and then the first 4 would go on and the back 4 would wait for the train from kings Lynn to arrive and the go back to the 'Cross. no matter how many anouncements were made there were always some people left at Cambridge on the rear part of the train.

 

[hackbike 666]

Yup it's a classic,they either don't listen to announcements or don't think it applies to them.Might as well bung all those information screens in the bin though.

 

[Soltydog]

Passengers do make me laugh or almost pull my hair out.

The new one is making a dive for the train even if the departure time isn't reached,when the doors shut on thfe 30 second timer.(Desiro's and other new trains)

Hello from one train driver to another

I thought southerners were more intelligent than us thick northern monkeys, but it appears the railway atracts the same kind of people all accross the country
The job would be a lot better without passengers/customers, but probably not as entertaining

 

[Paulus]

Hello from one train driver to another

I thought southerners were more intelligent than us thick northern monkeys, but it appears the railway atracts the same kind of people all accross the country
The job would be a lot better without passengers/customers, but probably not as entertaining

Passengers, sorry customers, are the same the country over. many don't listen to what is going on and don't look either.

 

[hackbike 666]

Aye and I can't think of any other diamond snippets at the moment but im sure there are plenty.

Oh the slam doors,weren't they infuriating?

Doors always left on the catch sometimes deliberately or left open for that matter,when you are trying to run to time or make up time.At Southampton one day there was actually a woman sitting by the wide open door and she didn't bother to shut it so had to traipse half way down the train to shut it.Then they wondered why we were late.How did this degenerate into a train drivers moaning thread anyway?

Hello from one train driver to another

Hello.

 

[gavintc]

What really hacks me off is people trying to get on the train before those getting off have got off. I get the train between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The turnaround at Glasgow is generally about 7-8 mins, ample time to unload and reload with Edinburgh bound passengers. But, every time, you get the muppet wanting to force their way past you. I have started carrying the bike off with the chain to the side but on a slight diagonal as a barrier to force them back.

 

[Kirstie]

I ain't never had no problems with the website... always given me the info I wanted, and has always been accurate... never tried the call centre tho'

Thetrainline.com gives you different search results for trains depending on the IP address you do your search from. From my work IP address I get offered different trains, times and tickets than I do from my home IP address. My mate who i often go touring with also gets offered different tickets and trains than I do, when we do our enquiries simultaneously and we're on the phone to each other.

The other week I was offered a £32 single ticket from Berwick to Birmingham, I refreshed the page and it became a £44 ticket. Refreshed the page again and the entire train had disappeared from the search results.

I do all my online bookings through the train company websites now because they give you all the ticket options and all the services. They're still not perfect but they're better than the trainline.

One time when my tickets didn't arrive by post, I called thetrainline.com to make alternative arrangements. They said they'd fax my local station with the booking details so they could issue the tickets. I was at the station for one and a half hours. The ticket office had to call thetrainline.com three times so they'd send a fax with the right information on it. Then they'd only sent enough information for my outbound journey. For my inbound journey, despite promising to fax the information to the station, they hadn't done so. Again I was at the station for two hours prior to my journey, three phone calls to their call centre. Each time they said the information had been sent (without knowing that it actually had been sent), and it never arrived. Basically they fobbed me off and didn't give a shoot. I travelled without a ticket at the discretion of the train guard.

What a pain in the arse.

 

[snorri]

Yup it's a classic,they either don't listen to announcements or don't think it applies to them.Might as well bung all those information screens in the bin though.

That's all very well hackbike, but some of us are used to a station with just the one platform for each direction of train, no staff, no announcements, no ticket office and no information boards other than a timetable outside.
It's all very baffling for us when we hit the big smoke once in every ten years.

 

[Kovu]

I love trains. I just thinks there's something amazingly wonderful about it. People are different for some wierd reason and I find that funny/

 

[hackbike 666]

That's all very well hackbike, but some of us are used to a station with just the one platform for each direction of train, no staff, no announcements, no ticket office and no information boards other than a timetable outside.
It's all very baffling for us when we hit the big smoke once in every ten years.

I managed in Japan on their metro and main line ner,ner,ner.

I can't speak Japanese.

Must admit it was difficult due to the lack of English spoken though by the Japanese.

 

[snorri]

I can't speak Japanese.

Must admit it was difficult due to the lack of English spoken though by the Japanese.

I know the feeling, got it last time I was in London.