Five hours no toilets!

[FordFocus]

I've arranged toilet stops before on journeys over an hour long. Normally count the people going to the toilet and count them back in. Takes around 5 mins normally. It's unfair on passengers who may have medical issues not to take a toilet break.

Control can protest as much as they want but it's not up to me that the train I've been given has no working toilet.

 

[MCR247]

In the bad old days train toilets discharged their contents on the track and were located in tiny compartments with narrow doors thus inaccessible to a wheelchair user. But they were always available, even if they had run out of flushing water and/or had become blocked and were completely rank you could still use the thing if you really needed to.

Today, there's no muck dropped out the underside of the carriage, big power-operated doors allow wheelchair access but if there's any problem they're locked out of use, so are therefore to all intents and purposes optional. That's certainly the case on my local line since the 172s were introduced. Toilets are optional.

This is what is known as 'progress'. :roll:

I'm guessing you don't work for Network Rail on the tracks then?

 

[alxndr]

In the bad old days train toilets discharged their contents on the track and were located in tiny compartments with narrow doors thus inaccessible to a wheelchair user. But they were always available, even if they had run out of flushing water and/or had become blocked and were completely rank you could still use the thing if you really needed to.

Today, there's no muck dropped out the underside of the carriage, big power-operated doors allow wheelchair access but if there's any problem they're locked out of use, so are therefore to all intents and purposes optional. That's certainly the case on my local line since the 172s were introduced. Toilets are optional.

This is what is known as 'progress'. :roll:

Not everywhere unfortunately! I've been on the receiving end of a toilet being flushed a couple of times, and once made the horrific mistake of not watching where I put my feet seconds after watching the darned thing flush all over the points I'd just nicely cleaned up... Let's just say my boots got a thorough hosing that day

 

[paulfoel]

Had to be ATW. Don't give a monkeys....

I caught the last train from Cardiff on the EV line Wednesday night after a night out in Cardiff. Bus replacement - no toilet. Over 90 mins jorney to Ebbw Vale.

Bearing in mind this is the last train home from Cardiff so, as expected, there are people on here who've been drinking. Its just a disaster waiting to happen....

Its just so obvious that this is not a good idea but they still do it because they don't give a monkeys.

For this 5 hour journey just what would the guard do if someone said they HAD to use the toilet?

 

[Clip]

For this 5 hour journey just what would the guard do if someone said they HAD to use the toilet?

Probably let them have a toilet break as has been mentioned many times already.

Or they could've cancelled the service - would you have preferred that as their option?


However I must ask - how many people would travel on that the length of its journey? Looks like a few to Cardiff which is a distance but after that surely its only local commuters?

 

[satisnek]

I'm guessing you don't work for Network Rail on the tracks then?

I don't, no. But I think I'd rather work on the tracks than be one of those unsung heroes at Central Rivers who clean out the bogs on the 220s, particularly after a heavy Saturday. But I digress!

 

[Elecman]

I've stripped down the extractor pumps at Chester that suck out the toilet tanks on 175s when they are fully blocked with foreign objects on many occasions. No central vacuum system there!! Absolutely delightful.

 

[craigybagel]

Had to be ATW. Don't give a monkeys....

I caught the last train from Cardiff on the EV line Wednesday night after a night out in Cardiff. Bus replacement - no toilet. Over 90 mins jorney to Ebbw Vale.

Bearing in mind this is the last train home from Cardiff so, as expected, there are people on here who've been drinking. Its just a disaster waiting to happen....

Its just so obvious that this is not a good idea but they still do it because they don't give a monkeys.

For this 5 hour journey just what would the guard do if someone said they HAD to use the toilet?

Probably let them have a toilet break as has been mentioned many times already.

Or they could've cancelled the service - would you have preferred that as their option?


However I must ask - how many people would travel on that the length of its journey? Looks like a few to Cardiff which is a distance but after that surely its only local commuters?

Not very many its true, but there's usually a small amount (say 3 or 4) on your typical Manchester service travelling beyond Swansea.

I suspect though that if no toilet stops were made, then the message was inaccurate in some way; maybe it wasn't all of the toilets that were broken, or the fitters based on route were able to fix one during the journey. ATW aren't as evil as some like to make out - everything possible would be done to avoid forcing people to go that long without toilets.

 

[Ianigsy]

Britain was actually ahead of many European countries in having all train toilets of the flushing variety- in a lot of vintage European stock the toilet was basically a funnel opening directly onto the track.

At this time of year, with a lot of families travelling, it wouldn't take much for a child to fill its nappy or need to be sick, with unpleasant consequences for everybody on the train.

 

[al.currie93]

Good job it's not on an AMTRAK service, I was travelling from Chicago to Flagstaff and one toilet in the whole set was out of order, but state law was until the offending loo was fixed, the train was going nowhere, so we departed 3 bloody hours late!

I guess they could have locked it and made do with the others, I don't know how many toilets are on Superliner carriages but I know the consist is 7 coaches of varying type. To be fair on Amtrak though, Chicago Union to Flagstaff is a journey of over 31 hours, and the Southwest Chief has a total route time of over 42 hours, so they probably had no other real option other than cancellation - 31 hours without a loo would be a little messy

 

[ag51ruk]

Blimey using retention toilets in Romania (and other ex eastern block countries for that matter.) You should see the state of some of the toilets. Absolutely hanging.

And on the topic of the ATW in this thread. It was 175112 and I overheard on the radio at Stockport by the Virgin dispatchers that the guard refused to take it forward and it stood for 4 minutes in platform 2 I think. Then all of a sudden it went. Make of that what you will.

Don't 175/1s have three toilets? It would be unusual for all three to be out of service without that being ATW's fault

 

[Ianigsy]

Thing is, one defective toilet can have a knock-on effect, because everybody then has to use the other two, meaning that the water supply runs out quicker in the other toilets, which then become equally unpleasant. I saw exactly this effect first hand on a Milan-Paris sleeper several weeks ago; I was in a carriage which had been added to the train as a late replacement for another, so the water tanks weren't filled. Once everybody found out the hard way that the toilet wouldn't flush, they began to use the loos in the next carriage so the water in the tank ran out in the middle of the night, because it was serving twice as many people.

 

[plymothian]

Thing is, one defective toilet can have a knock-on effect, because everybody then has to use the other two, meaning that the water supply runs out quicker in the other toilets, which then become equally unpleasant. I saw exactly this effect first hand on a Milan-Paris sleeper several weeks ago; I was in a carriage which had been added to the train as a late replacement for another, so the water tanks weren't filled. Once everybody found out the hard way that the toilet wouldn't flush, they began to use the loos in the next carriage so the water in the tank ran out in the middle of the night, because it was serving twice as many people.

This, and the disgusting toilet habits of the general public can make a toilet unserviceable even if it does have water.

 

[Tom B]

A few years ago I was on the southbound Highland Chieftain from Inverness to Kings Cross (8H 40Min) , and after awhile it came apparent it had not been serviced fully overnight as water started running out one by one. After awhile they gave up locking them out of service, the rest well...

When VTEC are doing diversions via the Tyne Valley, the toilets on HSTs coming from the north tend to become pretty disgusting by about York. A combination of the water running out and the bins overflowing. A VTEC member of staff said "it's not our fault passengers misuse them" - but it's not misuse when the bins are overflowing and the water's run out. Doesn't take much for somebody to go along the train emptying the bins, mopping the floor and squirting some stuff down the pan. With an extended layover at Newcastle/Waverley on many of these services they could even be watered.

 

[Welly]

I once travelled from Basle to Luxembourg (about 4 - 5 hours journey ) on a rake of SBB coaches hauled by an SNCF loco. The surprise was that the Swiss forgot to replenish the water tanks and so none of the toilets were flushable! Ugh!

My theory is that since that train serves the important EU cities of Strasbourg, Luxembourg and Brussels, the Swiss just like to fux about with the Eurocrats travelling between those places!

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Once travelled on a car-sleeper from Narbonne to Boulogne with basically no water - in August - with o running water (and an 8 month old baby) - spoke to SNCF train conducter and asked politely if they could do something about it - like a splash of tanking done at Brive. He got knowhere - but we got a good few bottles of drinking water gratis from the resturaunt car. Basically - the servicing staff had not done their job - wrote a standard complaint letter and got a brush off - so wrote to the Area Manager at Narbonne , using my UK rail management status and got a full refund and a guarantee that the staff concerned had been bollocked thoroughly - so hopefully other people had a better experience than ours....simple attention to detail.

 

[Stampy]

Travelled on the 1923 train yesterday from East Croydon back to Bedford.

All toilets on the train were LOCKED shut out of order - no announcements made on the train (luckily I "went" before I got on the train!!)

Some poor young boy had to make use of my empty water bottle as he was bursting!!!

Train pulls into Bedford, and ALL the toilets are shut on the station, as well as NONE of the ticket machines working!!!


Great trip back!! hock:hock:

A few people were planning letters of complaint!!!

 

[trainophile]

Travelled on the 1923 train yesterday from East Croydon back to Bedford.

All toilets on the train were LOCKED shut out of order - no announcements made on the train (luckily I "went" before I got on the train!!)

Some poor young boy had to make use of my empty water bottle as he was bursting!!!

Train pulls into Bedford, and ALL the toilets are shut on the station, as well as NONE of the ticket machines working!!!


Great trip back!! hock:hock:

A few people were planning letters of complaint!!!

And I bet if they'd resorted to having a pee in the station carpark they would have been arrested!

 

[PHILIPE]

According to FGW Journey Check 18 30 Hereford to Paddington (due 22 05) has no toilets said due to train fault. I'm not sure what is actually working it, but it is timed for a Turbo.

 

[trainophile]

According to FGW Journey Check 18 30 Hereford to Paddington (due 22 05) has no toilets said due to train fault. I'm not sure what is actually working it, but it is timed for a Turbo.

Blimey that's not good. First Class on that one too. How can "a train fault" put all the toilets out of use? It's not even as if the FGW toilet doors are button operated, they are old-fashioned open-and-shut with a handle ones.

 

[fowler9]

Once travelled on a car-sleeper from Narbonne to Boulogne with basically no water - in August - with o running water (and an 8 month old baby) - spoke to SNCF train conducter and asked politely if they could do something about it - like a splash of tanking done at Brive. He got knowhere - but we got a good few bottles of drinking water gratis from the resturaunt car. Basically - the servicing staff had not done their job - wrote a standard complaint letter and got a brush off - so wrote to the Area Manager at Narbonne , using my UK rail management status and got a full refund and a guarantee that the staff concerned had been bollocked thoroughly - so hopefully other people had a better experience than ours....simple attention to detail.

Purely out of interest as someone who is a complaint manager, how exactly did you get a guarantee that the staff concerned had been bollocked thoroughly? I can't think of a company in the world who would tell you what steps had been taken internally. What was it that made you satisfied that appropriate action had been taken?

 

[paulfoel]

Understand that technical faults happen and it becomes an issue. Its just the oh well never mind - dont moan would you rather we cancelled it then attitude that annoys me so much....

We're all for promoting public transport in this country but sometimes its just below par.

Imagine if you had a health issue that means you need to use the toilet (there are people like this - crohns etc?). Would you use the train? Or risk getting on the train to be told there was no toilets for 5 hours. I dont think so.

 

[plymothian]

Blimey that's not good. First Class on that one too. How can "a train fault" put all the toilets out of use? It's not even as if the FGW toilet doors are button operated, they are old-fashioned open-and-shut with a handle ones.

A train fault is exactly that, a fault with the train. If the toilet is OOU, it is faulty.

 

[Stampy]

And I bet if they'd resorted to having a pee in the station carpark they would have been arrested!

Sssshh!!

 

[trainophile]

A train fault is exactly that, a fault with the train. If the toilet is OOU, it is faulty.

Yes but ALL of them?

I was wondering whether there's anything in the Human Rights Act about being provided with a facility to relieve oneself .

 

[MCR247]

Yes but ALL of them?

I was wondering whether there's anything in the Human Rights Act about being provided with a facility to relieve oneself .

2 isn't exactly a huge number.

I'm pretty sure everyone has a right to decide whether or not they want to get on the train

 

[trainophile]

2 isn't exactly a huge number.

I'm pretty sure everyone has a right to decide whether or not they want to get on the train

Those FGW trains from Hereford, at least the ones I've been on, are about eight coaches long and have at least one toilet between each carriage.

Agree on point 2, but we're still not sure whether the situation was announced before the train departed, or at least with enough time for people to jump off, use the station toilets, and jump on again.

 

[MCR247]

I believe on a Sunday a 166 works to Hereford (or it used to) and I think it was that service

 

[trainophile]

I believe on a Sunday a 166 works to Hereford (or it used to) and I think it was that service

Oh right, thanks for clarifying. That's a different matter then.

 

[Rich McLean]

Monday - Friday - 1st down train to Hereford is worked by a 166 plus the return

Sunday - Said diagram already mentioned above also operated by a 166 (soon to become a 180)