I have logged in again to tell my tale of woe.
The worst railway journey I have ever experienced.
The Good - Caledonian Sleeper, ScotRail, Southern, Thameslink
The Bad - South Western Railway
The Ugly: Avanti West Coast
21 JULY 2025
SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY
Due to what was described as “Code Black” at Waterloo Station – all signals down, trains were cancelled from early in the day. I arrived at Dorchester South at 1600hrs, where I was told by the ticket office staff that there were trains waiting to leave Weymouth for London. At around 1830hrs, a train did indeed arrive, however at Bournemouth we were asked to alight.
At this station, I witnessed poor customer service, with one staff member shouting “Don’t ask me, I don’t know what is going on, you know more than me” before storming off from a group of customers. Another staff member advised us that no taxis or replacement buses would be provided as South Western Railway has issued a “Do Not Travel” warning. This was accompanied by a rather odd, dare I say, smug, smile, given the circumstances. SWR Journey Check did not mention a Do Not Travel warning, just that severe delays could be expected and that tickets were valid the next day.
A train pulled into Bournemouth, and as we boarded, passengers alighting had been told that the service had been cancelled. This was not the case, although we only got as far as Southampton before being asked to alight again.
SOUTHERN / THAMESLINK
Southern operate from Southampton to Brighton, and I was able to catch a train there, and a Thameslink train to East Croydon, arriving just after midnight, where I had, enroute, booked an overnight hotel. The ticket inspector on the Southern train was excellent.
At East Croydon, the easiest exit for the hotel is Dingwall Road, however this had just closed. The Southern staff member opened it for me however, which saved a walk down the full length of the platforms and a similar length walk back outside the station - over half a kilometre! So, much appreciated.
Now here is a lesson - there was a connection showing at 17:42 from Dorchester West to Paddington via Castle Cary. I didn't take this train as the Heart of Wessex line had delays earlier, the connection at Castle Cary was five minutes, with a two hour wait for the next service, and I was told that SWR services would be starting soon.
22 JULY 2025
AVANTI WEST COAST
Truly the worst of the bunch. Given my delay, I went to the gate staff at Platform 4.One member of staff looked at my "Super Off Peak Single" and referred me to the manager. The manager point blank refused to accept my ticket as it was dated 21 July. They did not accept that my ticket was valid to complete my journey the following day. This was ignorance combined with arrogance as the ticket actually had a web link on it for the T&Cs.
I simply wanted to know if I could use my ticket on the "peak" 0830 service to Glasgow as a favour, rather than the off peak 0930 train, given the delays I had already experienced.
The Avanti gate manager confidently explained to me that Avanti do not issue Super Off-Peak tickets, my ticket was not valid on their services, and as I had a seated sleeper reservation the only people who could help me were the staff at the Caledonian Sleeper lounge.
I knew this was not correct.
The train manager of the 0830 service also said my ticket was not valid on Avanti West Coast. Going to the sleeper lounge meant there was no chance of boarding the 0830 service.
The Terms and Conditions are:
Break of journey is permitted. For long-haul train journeys, if a customer begins their journey at such a time that the timetable does not facilitate completion of the journey into their destination, customers may break their journey overnight. The same time restrictions apply for any continuation of travel on day 2 in this scenario.
CALEDONIAN SLEEPER
As instructed by Avanti, I went to the lounge and explained my tale.
At this point, I was not officially their customer as I had missed the 2345 to Edinburgh on 21st July.
The manager there (as expected) said they couldn’t help with my ticket, as although it was valid on Caledonian Sleeper, their next departure wasn’t until 2115. However, she invited me into their lounge, said that I could help myself to coffee, use their Wi-Fi to look at other options, and just decompress! This was absolutely amazing and just what I needed.
Interestingly, my ticket would not have granted access to this lounge if everything was on time, so a really lovely gesture from Caledonian Sleeper, truly going above and beyond.
SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY (again)
At the sleeper lounge, I messaged SWR on Twitter and was told that their announcement that tickets would be valid the following day only applied to Southwestern Railway services and that I
was basically at the mercy of any other TOC. Again, seemingly unaware that a Super Off-Peak ticket can be used to complete a journey the next day.
A friend reminded me that the question was actually redundant as the ticket was valid anyway, given the existing reservations that I had missed on 22nd July.
AVANTI WEST COAST (again)
I returned to Avanti West Coast and this time a different staff member waived me through, rolling his eyes at me, again after I had to explain that my ticket (dated 21 July) was valid to complete my journey the following day. Thankfully I had screen shots on my phone which “allowed” this to happen. What if I hadn’t taken screenshots?
On the train, there were no ticket checks, and the café didn’t open until Preston.
SCOTRAIL
At Glasgow Queen Street, exhausted, I went to the gateline where a member of staff accepted my story, without needing screenshots etc. endorsed my ticket and told me not to
worry, and to board the next available train to Inverness. We then had a great chat about train travel in general!
The train to Inverness arrived late, however, ScotRail had held the 1831 train to Wick for passengers.
So, what did I learn from this journey?
There are some amazing staff members working on our railway. The Caledonian Sleeper staff at Euston and ScotRail staff at Glasgow Queen Street really stood out.
However, I saw a really poor side of Southwestern Railway and Avanti West Coast, where staff need a course in customer service, and although there is a plethora of ticket types available, it should not take too long to look up the terms and conditions on a “walk on” fare.
In fact, according to BR Fares, there are only three standard class walk on single fares.
The Avanti staff at the gate around 0800am on Tuesday 22nd July were particularly poor, showing an intransigence to even look up the ticket conditions, totally refusing to accept that
a Super Off Peak Ticket was valid on any of their services. Sending me to the Caledonian Sleeper lounge was clearly a "get rid of this pesky customer" move.
Yes, the 0830 train was peak, but the reason I went was simply to ask if I could travel on that service given the delays I had experienced.
I am an experienced traveller, but will be wary about using trains again, especially on tickets where travel cannot be completed the same day, as many staff members seemed unaware of this. I cannot in good conscience recommend a journey of this type to anyone who may be a nervous traveller, or someone who may be relying on paper tickets, without the option to check things online.
Southwestern Railway have refunded the £155 fare already and have refunded my hotel accommodation. Their email explained what had happened and apologised for the disruption.
Caledonian Sleeper / ScotRail sent me a nice reply to my emails praising their staff.
Avanti West Coast thanked me for my feedback.
Some other thoughts...
Why did it take a staff member in Glasgow to endorse my ticket? Should a passenger know to request this? Why couldn’t South Western Railway have offered this?
Why were so many staff unaware of the ability to complete your journey the next day?
I hope this doesn't come across as a rant,
I kept thinking, I have been travelling by rail for years, long distance, why is this so difficult?
What if I was a nervous traveller, someone a bit er, more mature or a first timer?
What if I didn't have access to Twitter or a smart phone?
The worst railway journey I have ever experienced.
The Good - Caledonian Sleeper, ScotRail, Southern, Thameslink
The Bad - South Western Railway
The Ugly: Avanti West Coast
21 JULY 2025
SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY
Due to what was described as “Code Black” at Waterloo Station – all signals down, trains were cancelled from early in the day. I arrived at Dorchester South at 1600hrs, where I was told by the ticket office staff that there were trains waiting to leave Weymouth for London. At around 1830hrs, a train did indeed arrive, however at Bournemouth we were asked to alight.
At this station, I witnessed poor customer service, with one staff member shouting “Don’t ask me, I don’t know what is going on, you know more than me” before storming off from a group of customers. Another staff member advised us that no taxis or replacement buses would be provided as South Western Railway has issued a “Do Not Travel” warning. This was accompanied by a rather odd, dare I say, smug, smile, given the circumstances. SWR Journey Check did not mention a Do Not Travel warning, just that severe delays could be expected and that tickets were valid the next day.
A train pulled into Bournemouth, and as we boarded, passengers alighting had been told that the service had been cancelled. This was not the case, although we only got as far as Southampton before being asked to alight again.
SOUTHERN / THAMESLINK
Southern operate from Southampton to Brighton, and I was able to catch a train there, and a Thameslink train to East Croydon, arriving just after midnight, where I had, enroute, booked an overnight hotel. The ticket inspector on the Southern train was excellent.
At East Croydon, the easiest exit for the hotel is Dingwall Road, however this had just closed. The Southern staff member opened it for me however, which saved a walk down the full length of the platforms and a similar length walk back outside the station - over half a kilometre! So, much appreciated.
Now here is a lesson - there was a connection showing at 17:42 from Dorchester West to Paddington via Castle Cary. I didn't take this train as the Heart of Wessex line had delays earlier, the connection at Castle Cary was five minutes, with a two hour wait for the next service, and I was told that SWR services would be starting soon.
22 JULY 2025
AVANTI WEST COAST
Truly the worst of the bunch. Given my delay, I went to the gate staff at Platform 4.One member of staff looked at my "Super Off Peak Single" and referred me to the manager. The manager point blank refused to accept my ticket as it was dated 21 July. They did not accept that my ticket was valid to complete my journey the following day. This was ignorance combined with arrogance as the ticket actually had a web link on it for the T&Cs.
I simply wanted to know if I could use my ticket on the "peak" 0830 service to Glasgow as a favour, rather than the off peak 0930 train, given the delays I had already experienced.
The Avanti gate manager confidently explained to me that Avanti do not issue Super Off-Peak tickets, my ticket was not valid on their services, and as I had a seated sleeper reservation the only people who could help me were the staff at the Caledonian Sleeper lounge.
I knew this was not correct.
The train manager of the 0830 service also said my ticket was not valid on Avanti West Coast. Going to the sleeper lounge meant there was no chance of boarding the 0830 service.
The Terms and Conditions are:
Break of journey is permitted. For long-haul train journeys, if a customer begins their journey at such a time that the timetable does not facilitate completion of the journey into their destination, customers may break their journey overnight. The same time restrictions apply for any continuation of travel on day 2 in this scenario.
CALEDONIAN SLEEPER
As instructed by Avanti, I went to the lounge and explained my tale.
At this point, I was not officially their customer as I had missed the 2345 to Edinburgh on 21st July.
The manager there (as expected) said they couldn’t help with my ticket, as although it was valid on Caledonian Sleeper, their next departure wasn’t until 2115. However, she invited me into their lounge, said that I could help myself to coffee, use their Wi-Fi to look at other options, and just decompress! This was absolutely amazing and just what I needed.
Interestingly, my ticket would not have granted access to this lounge if everything was on time, so a really lovely gesture from Caledonian Sleeper, truly going above and beyond.
SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY (again)
At the sleeper lounge, I messaged SWR on Twitter and was told that their announcement that tickets would be valid the following day only applied to Southwestern Railway services and that I
was basically at the mercy of any other TOC. Again, seemingly unaware that a Super Off-Peak ticket can be used to complete a journey the next day.
A friend reminded me that the question was actually redundant as the ticket was valid anyway, given the existing reservations that I had missed on 22nd July.
AVANTI WEST COAST (again)
I returned to Avanti West Coast and this time a different staff member waived me through, rolling his eyes at me, again after I had to explain that my ticket (dated 21 July) was valid to complete my journey the following day. Thankfully I had screen shots on my phone which “allowed” this to happen. What if I hadn’t taken screenshots?
On the train, there were no ticket checks, and the café didn’t open until Preston.
SCOTRAIL
At Glasgow Queen Street, exhausted, I went to the gateline where a member of staff accepted my story, without needing screenshots etc. endorsed my ticket and told me not to
worry, and to board the next available train to Inverness. We then had a great chat about train travel in general!
The train to Inverness arrived late, however, ScotRail had held the 1831 train to Wick for passengers.
So, what did I learn from this journey?
There are some amazing staff members working on our railway. The Caledonian Sleeper staff at Euston and ScotRail staff at Glasgow Queen Street really stood out.
However, I saw a really poor side of Southwestern Railway and Avanti West Coast, where staff need a course in customer service, and although there is a plethora of ticket types available, it should not take too long to look up the terms and conditions on a “walk on” fare.
In fact, according to BR Fares, there are only three standard class walk on single fares.
The Avanti staff at the gate around 0800am on Tuesday 22nd July were particularly poor, showing an intransigence to even look up the ticket conditions, totally refusing to accept that
a Super Off Peak Ticket was valid on any of their services. Sending me to the Caledonian Sleeper lounge was clearly a "get rid of this pesky customer" move.
Yes, the 0830 train was peak, but the reason I went was simply to ask if I could travel on that service given the delays I had experienced.
I am an experienced traveller, but will be wary about using trains again, especially on tickets where travel cannot be completed the same day, as many staff members seemed unaware of this. I cannot in good conscience recommend a journey of this type to anyone who may be a nervous traveller, or someone who may be relying on paper tickets, without the option to check things online.
Southwestern Railway have refunded the £155 fare already and have refunded my hotel accommodation. Their email explained what had happened and apologised for the disruption.
Caledonian Sleeper / ScotRail sent me a nice reply to my emails praising their staff.
Avanti West Coast thanked me for my feedback.
Some other thoughts...
Why did it take a staff member in Glasgow to endorse my ticket? Should a passenger know to request this? Why couldn’t South Western Railway have offered this?
Why were so many staff unaware of the ability to complete your journey the next day?
I hope this doesn't come across as a rant,
I kept thinking, I have been travelling by rail for years, long distance, why is this so difficult?
What if I was a nervous traveller, someone a bit er, more mature or a first timer?
What if I didn't have access to Twitter or a smart phone?
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