Which is your favourite TOC and why?

[JDi]

DOR was never a TOC.

What is DOR?

 

[PeterY]

I've never had a problem with Chiltern.

The only problem I've had, is with Southern branded trains.

My only complaint about London Midland is short formed trains.

I can't really comment about TOC's up north because I've never used them.

 

[Fuzzytop]

What is DOR?

Directly Operated Railways iirc - ie. the government-operated East Coast from 2009 to 2015.

East Coast still tops it for me now it's Virgin.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I presume that is just your personal opinion rather than a known fact ?

see bold. I suppose he is always in a pickle with people on this forum. What about Mr Branson though?

I forgot the
I think SBS is "colourful" let's say, but he knows how to run a transport operation, and doesn't mind the publicity, good or bad. Nor does SRB.
But you never see the real bosses of Arriva, Abellio, Govia or Keolis, who run most of our railway.
First are a bit more prominent. NX have vanished.
The railway needs champions.

 

[Joe Paxton]

Chiltern are reasonably good, though AIUI they led the attempt to abolish the Network Railcard that led to the weekday minimum fare, so for that they get a nice big black mark.

I had thought SWT was the ringleader in the attempt to kill off the Network Card as was (quite a while back now, early noughties)?

 

[amarshe]

In London and South East it is SWT. Their 455s are so much nicer and more comfortable compared to Southern's (seat pitch, colour scheme etc.). The company actually comes across as being professional.

Ticket office at Clapham Junction employed a few numpties in 2006 though.

Long distance it's the Caledonian Sleeper.

Northern always seem to have friendly staff, despite their ancient rolling stock.

GNER, back in the day, were excellent...

 

[D5645]

East Midlands Trains for me.

Their staff always seem to be friendly and they still operate decent trains to London too.

 

[AlterEgo]

GWR. Nice brand, still operate HSTs, and you can still get a lovely dinner on the Pullman.

Other than that, Scotrail. Always been fascinated with the Glasgow suburban network.

 

[mikeg]

I've never personally had a bad experience with EMT and their VP185s are much better than MTUs. Haven't had reason/chance to travel with them this year though. First class is pretty pathetic so if going First Class from experience I'd say Virgin Trains East Coast but not as good as it was in the days of plain old 'East Coast'. Now I have had a couple of bad experiences with East Coast, but it hasn't put me off.
Most overrated is Grand Central, have nothing much against them but their punctuality is pretty poor and once had to correct a member of staff on the subject of overnight break of journey.

I suppose what I'm saying is it depends on what criteria you judge and what sort of journey you want. Overall, I'm going with EMT. Was also quite impressed with AGA when I did the Anglia Plus day ranger last year. In fact most TOCs are good, but many will inevitably fall in my bad books for whatever reason, albeit usually temporarily.

Worst intercity TOC is CrossCountry, worst local TOC is probably TSGN, which includes the worst non-TOC Gatwick 'Express'. Have to say it's easier to find the worst than the best.

And I have to agree with Alterego on the Glasgow suburban network. Recently did a Roundabout and was quite impressed.

 

[Chris M]

London Overground, if they count as a TOC for the purposes of this thread.

 

[matt_world2004]

London Overground too, they have an expanded concessionary travel scheme compared to other London TOC's their trains are clean and reliable, The stations are well maintained. quick to do ticket acceptance when there are problems.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Most overrated is Grand Central, have nothing much against them but their punctuality is pretty poor and once had to correct a member of staff on the subject of overnight break of journey.

A sample of one, to be fair, showed Grand Central to be as lackadaisical about presentation as XC, ATW etc...anyone noting a common theme there? The First Class on their HST, while nice and traditional, was scruffy and poorly maintained. Had the same sort of "tarted up on the cheap 1970s" feel (as distinct from the GWR HST refurb which feels modern and of high quality) as the Caledonian Sleeper lounge cars do, particularly the FO style one often finding itself on the Fort Bill portion.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Worst intercity TOC is CrossCountry

Yes, I forgot just how much of a load of dross that TOC is. Fortunately I don't have to use them often.

 

[Parallel]

South West Trains and Chiltern Railways get my vote. I also used c2c for the first time this year too, and was quite impressed.

I also really enjoy travelling with ATW, though the TOC isn't perfect, some of which isn't their fault.

 

[47271]

My totally personal and biased views:

Best considering the massive and complex nature of its operation - SWT by a mile.

Favourite - a lot of issues with knackered ancient stock but unparalled commitment to service and hospitality - Caledonian Sleeper.

Avoid like the plague, thankfully there's always another way to make the journey - Cross Country.

Worst, but unavoidable if you have go that way - Southern.

I should also mention Merseyrail. As many times as I've used them over the past few years, I've never been on a train that hasn't been exactly punctual and with pleasant staff. Discarded copies of Metro lying around is about the worst I can level at them.

 

[Bromley boy]

GWR. Nice brand, still operate HSTs, and you can still get a lovely dinner on the Pullman.

Other than that, Scotrail. Always been fascinated with the Glasgow suburban network.

Agreed. Pullman Dining clinches it for GWR.

A rare window into a more glamorous era of train travel and well worth the cost (espescially with a priv ).

 

[Clansman]

Caledonian Sleeper wins it for me - their customer service is second to none, and no grumpy git staff either, as you often see on a lot of TOCs. I find Caledonian Sleeper staff have the best chemistry out of any TOC, which is always great to see as this bounces off the passengers, giving a warmer feel to the journey and a sense of sheer professionalism.

Other than that, London Midland and SWT. As highlighted already, Stagecoach are more professional in their approach and don't use "in your face" branding either. They just maximise the resources at their disposal and do their utmost to turn it into a well balanced quality of service you don't normally see with the likes of Virgin, XC etc

Should turn this thread into a Poll, so our opinions can be displayed and compared.

 

[westv]

Don't Hull Trains always score highly in these sort of polls?

 

[swt class 450]

For me South West Trains is 100% the best TOC. They seem very professionally run compared to most other TOCs and have a decent management team. Their entire fleet of trains are comfortable and nice to travel on. They also dont have as many delays and cancellations compared to other TOCs.

I think Chiltern Railways would probably be my second favourite TOC. They also seem very well run. The only thing that i really dislike about them is the DOO used South of Banbury.

Heathrow Connect also seems to be a decent service. Apart from overcrowding at peak times and being poorly publicised it is quite good.

First Trans Pennine Express are also quite good and have a very nice fleet of trains. There main problem seems to be overcrowding.

London Overground and TFL Rail are very good in terms of punctuality and being on time. However unfortunately their customer information is absoulutely appalling. They dont even produce paper timetables any more.

I am also mostly impressed with East Midlands Trains / Arriva Grand Central / First Hull Trains services.

Personally this is how i would put the TOCs in order from best to worst.

South West Trains
Chiltern Railways
Heathrow Connect
First Trans Pennine Express
Arriva Trains Wales
Northern Rail
Merseyrail
East Midlands Trains
First Hull Trains
Arriva Grand Central
Abellio Greater Anglia
Stansted Express
London Overground
TFL Rail
Great Western Railway
C2C
Caledonian Sleeper
Cross Country Trains
Virgin Trains East Coast
Virgin Trains West Coast
Abellio Scotrail
London Midland
Great Northern
Thameslink
Gatwick Express
Southeastern
Southern
Heathrow Express

I am aware GTR are one TOC but i have listed the brands seperately to show the best of the worst and the worst of the worst of their brands.

GTR (all four brands) and Southeastern have both always been pretty rubbish. London Midland are the best of the Govia owned TOCs but still seem quite rubbish as well (especially their customer service). Abellio Scotrail dont seem to be doing too well either (i think First Scotrail was much better).

Im not really a fan of VTEC or VTWC either. Cross Country arent the best either (although their Birmingham to Stansted Airport / Birmingham to Cardiff Central / Birmingham to Nottingham routes are quite good).

Heathrow Express are at the very bottom due to their ridiculous extortionate fares and their poorly designed 332s and their annoying onboard TVs that play throughout the journey.

 

[theironroad]

For me South West Trains is 100% the best TOC. They seem very professionally run compared to most other TOCs and have a decent management team.

Despite your avatar, I guess you don't work for them. Appearances can be deceptive.

 

[swt class 450]

Despite your avatar, I guess you don't work for them. Appearances can be deceptive.

No i dont work for them. I dont work in the railway industry. However i do use SWT almost every day.

 

[sk688]

I have heard a lot of good things about SWT
LM ( my local TOC) aren't too bad, but suffer from way too many short forms. They don't have the 350s they need. IMO they need to take the 350s from TPE, maybe swap with the 319s, so that short forms on the peak services are reduced

LO ( also my local.), usually good but since the change in November, I have seen frequent delays of up to 5 minutes on the Watford DC, although train upkeep seems to have improved ( from already high previous standards)

TL seem decent to me, while GN have been OK when I use them a couple of times a week on the inner suburban routes

Southern seem to have a good fleet, but the overcrowding on their West London route at peak times is unreasonable , it is horrific and people cannot get on, hence why southern are my least favourite ( along with all the other disruption)

 

[3141]

Interesting how SWT gets a majority vote (so far), and yet their boss is one of the most reviled on this forum (second only to Mr Branston).
.

You'd hope that people could see the difference between a well-run train company and the person at the top of the group whom they happen not to like, for reasons that in many cases have nothing to do with railways.

 

[Great_Western]

GWR have a fantastic brand, I've always found their staff very competant and they have no dislikeable rolling stock. Likewise with Chiltern Railways and Greater Anglia. Anything run by Stagecoach is decent but unremakable (Although I have an unfathomable dislike for the two "Virgin" franchises). Although ATW clinch it for me because they pay my wages

 

[221129]

CrossCountry, Chiltern, Arriva Trains Wales, Grand Central because of their cheap fares for me.

 

[matacaster]

He promises things on a huge scale that he inevitably fails to deliver and does not pay any attention to the basics at all. Northern is in my view mediocre at best - a polished turd, one could say.

I have not noticed any evidence of polishing!

The 142's look very shabby and the 150's not much better. Strangely the 144's desktop have faired better - they are the best of the 14x in my opinion.

It's a shame that the bidding processes tend to make little account of the longevity of a manufacturer's previous products!

 

[dk1]

AGA, every four weeks they deposit money into my bank account.

I don't usually do these trivia things as the childish responses tend to irritate me, but I am so with you there mate. GA forever

 

[Spankthemonkey]

Any run by Stagecoach - just so much more professional.

Agreed.

 

[All Line Rover]

CrossCountry... because of their cheap fares

hock:

Some of their fares are reasonably priced, but only if your journey commences after 09:30 and ends by 15:45 or commences after 18:15 (difficult for any journey which is genuinely "crosscountry"), and isn't on a Friday or a Sunday.

A pricing structure as arbitrary as £209.30 for an Advance 1st if boarding the 09:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth 14:11 at Manchester, but £79.70 if boarding at Stockport at 09:35, is anything but cheap. What other TOC would attempt to charge almost £130 for a passenger to travel from Manchester to Stockport?

 

[JaJaWa]

Gatwick Express.