Most irritating (small) things on trains...

[adrock1976]

The point they're trying to make is not to dispose of inappropriate items down the toilet. Will the sort of people who do that pay any attention to this, I very much doubt it?

I've edited my post above - the M&S tills are being polluted by Amanda Holden's voice, but they're getting rid of that on Monday apparently.

That's the first time in a long time that "Amanda Holden" and "Virgin" have belonged in the same sentence...

I'm rather surprised that Virgin have used somebody originally from Southampton for the talking toilets, bearing in mind that Virgin Rail Group have not operated anywhere near Southampton since most of the Intercity Crosscountry franchise went to Arriva in 2007.

I would have thought that they could have found a Northern, Scottish, or West Midlands voice to do it, if at all necessary.

 

[Segedunum]

I'm sure I've heard staff say the same. Drunk students and teenagers will generally be boisterous but keep themselves to themselves and do as they are told if told to stop doing something.

OTOH, drunk self-entitled middle-aged businessmen are allegedly the worst - by far the most likely to assault staff, for instance.

My girlfriend had a bunch of these middle aged drunk types harassing her a few weeks ago on an EMT from Nottingham to Manchester. I told her to text 61016 after the guard did very little (and likely didn't want confrontation themselves, fair enough) and the charming gents were so pleased at a gaggle of BTP meeting them at Stockport that one got so abusive he was arrested!

Meanwhile, you'll usually (not always of course) find that the threat of police is enough for anyone my type (20, student) to shut up

 

[GrimShady]

PRM toilets going into shut down mode when tank hasn't been emptied on trains with only one toilet.Yes you class 155!

The length of time it takes the LNER complimentary service to reach coach M after learning Edinburgh i.e. just north of York!

Kids in first class.

 

[VT 390]

The length of time it takes the LNER complimentary service to reach coach M after learning Edinburgh i.e. just north of York!

Does it really take that long to get served? I am guessing they start in coach J (on HST's) so if it does take that long why not book a seat there if they are available?

 

[GrimShady]

Does it really take that long to get served? I am guessing they start in coach J (on HST's) so if it does take that long why not book a seat there if they are available?

Yes unfortunately at times it does. In EC days they were round in the first 20 mins.

It doesn't take 2hrs and 30mins to make your way from from J or K to M. Why should anyone have to rebook your seat?

 

[VT 390]

Yes unfortunately at times it does. In EC days they were round in the first 20 mins.

It doesn't take 2hrs and 30mins to make your way from from J or K to M. Why should anyone have to rebook your seat?

I am not saying that you should have to rebook a seat, and I agree that that is far to long to be served, it's just if they do start in J if you know it will take that long you can pick a seat in that coach.
Is there a reason why it takes so long?

 

[John Griffiths]

People pulling down the blinds so they can ostentatiously do some Very Important Work.​

 

[47271]

I'm rather surprised that Virgin have used somebody originally from Southampton for the talking toilets, bearing in mind that Virgin Rail Group have not operated anywhere near Southampton since most of the Intercity Crosscountry franchise went to Arriva in 2007.

I would have thought that they could have found a Northern, Scottish, or West Midlands voice to do it, if at all necessary.

Let's get our talking toilet facts straight, it's a very important subject after all...

No one's saying that Amanda Holden's voice is in the toilet. I did say that the toilet sounds like the equally awful M&S self service till, which is Amanda Holden.

Virgin has been trying to get people to do the voice for nothing in this 'competition':

https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/toilet-role

Our talking toilets are famous, and now you could be too! We're looking for up to five people to become the new voice of our toilets.

They've furthermore been criticised for it:

https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/201...se-of-unpaid-voice-overs-for-toilet-campaign/

Voice-over artists have accused Virgin Trains of trying to get free work out of members of the public and said that the competition was a “slap in the face” to people who do voice-overs for a living.

Equity’s Low Pay No Pay industrial organiser Charlotte Bence said: “Offering unpaid voice-over work as a competition is completely unacceptable.

Meanwhile apparently Holden was paid £100k to annoy us all at M&S, although that's according to the Daily Mail, which I refuse to link to.

I believe all of the above to be true, although I'm not expecting any of it to be taken seriously!

 

[Dr_Paul]

6) No knobbly things on the top of chairs to hold onto.

Good point. On a South-West 455 I once put my hand on the back of the chair in front of me to help me get up from my seat, and I accidentally grabbed hold of the top-knot of the young woman sitting there. This would not have happened had there been a 'knobbly thing' or handle on the seat-back.

 

[Dr_Paul]

People who ask you to move down the carriages!

This used to happen a lot with crowded 455s out of Waterloo, when people would not move to the far ends of the carriage, and people on the platform would gesture to those on board to move along. But there was a reason for that: there was nothing on which to hold, which was not only inconvenient but potentially dangerous if the carriage moved suddenly or jerked sideways. This has been rectified with the refurbishment with grab-handles being installed. I don't know if stock running with other companies has a similar problem.

 

[Ken H]

Let's get our talking toilet facts straight, it's a very important subject after all...

No one's saying that Amanda Holden's voice is in the toilet. I did say that the toilet sounds like the equally awful M&S self service till, which is Amanda Holden.

Virgin has been trying to get people to do the voice for nothing in this 'competition':

https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/toilet-role

They've furthermore been criticised for it:

https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/201...se-of-unpaid-voice-overs-for-toilet-campaign/

Meanwhile apparently Holden was paid £100k to annoy us all at M&S, although that's according to the Daily Mail, which I refuse to link to.

I believe all of the above to be true, although I'm not expecting any of it to be taken seriously!

I wish the self scan tills had a STFU button. I can actually read the screen.

And paying by card anywhere over contactless limit. You put your card in the machine, and the display says 'please enter your pin'. The the sales person says, 'please enter your pin'. Er - like what was I going to do?

Sorry, off topic rant over.

 

[Strat-tastic]

The driver performing a running brake test.

People reading papers from the back page first.

Tables which are not a proper rectangle.

Upside down windows.

Guards not checking tickets from the direction opposite to which I am looking.

Children who don't wave cheerfully at the train when it passes.

 

[Meerkat]

And paying by card anywhere over contactless limit. You put your card in the machine, and the display says 'please enter your pin'. The the sales person says, 'please enter your pin'. Er - like what was I going to do?

What annoys me is that they tell you to do it before the machine does - you don’t need telling you are just waiting. #grumpyoldman

 

[hexagon789]

The driver performing a running brake test.

Would you rather they didn't and the driver potentially went to brake from high-speed and found that it was inoperative or more likely giving a poor performance?

 

[Meerkat]

Would you rather they didn't and the driver potentially went to brake from high-speed and found that it was inoperative or more likely giving a poor performance?

If we are taking everything seriously......I would rather the brakes and procedures were reliable enough not to need testing

 

[mmh]

I wish the self scan tills had a STFU button. I can actually read the screen.



And paying by card anywhere over contactless limit. You put your card in the machine, and the display says 'please enter your pin'. The the sales person says, 'please enter your pin'. Er - like what was I going to do?



Sorry, off topic rant over.

In a parallel universe: "That cashier was so rude, they didn't say a word to me."

 

[hexagon789]

If we are taking everything seriously......I would rather the brakes and procedures were reliable enough not to need testing

And I would rather drivers continued to perform a RBT irrespective of how reliable they are told the brakes may be.

 

[GrimShady]

I am not saying that you should have to rebook a seat, and I agree that that is far to long to be served, it's just if they do start in J if you know it will take that long you can pick a seat in that coach.
Is there a reason why it takes so long?

I am not saying that you should have to rebook a seat, and I agree that that is far to long to be served, it's just if they do start in J if you know it will take that long you can pick a seat in that coach.
Is there a reason why it takes so long?

Another one of VTECs "improvements" that has got worse over time.

 

[Saperstein]

Would you rather they didn't and the driver potentially went to brake from high-speed and found that it was inoperative or more likely giving a poor performance?

As happened at Preston one Saturday night in the early 80’s and the DMU involved crashed into a loco at speed, ISTR it was made worse by passengers pulling the cord? Must dig out the report.

 

[xotGD]

Children who don't wave cheerfully at the train when it passes.

Passengers who don't wave back when children are waving cheerfully at the train...

 

[dk1]

The driver performing a running brake test.

Gosh, just when I thought I'd heard it all. Why on earth???

 

[hexagon789]

Gosh, just when I thought I'd heard it all. Why on earth???

Exactly - surely anything that's good practice from a safety point if view isn't inherently annoying, especially when most passengers will barely notice it.

 

[43096]

Edit - I've just done a search on the M&S horror and learned that the voice there is that of Amanda Holden, and she's getting the chop there on Monday. Thank goodness for that.

Thankfully she's going! Are the others going as well - they've got Ant and Dec and one or two others as well. I usually try to mute them, but recently the checkout supervisor/stormtrooper comes over and un-mutes it. I have yet to have the argument that says "if you don't want me to mute it a) get ridding of the annoying announcements and b) don't give me the option if you don't want me to do it."

 

[dk1]

Exactly - surely anything that's good practice from a safety point if view isn't inherently annoying, especially when most passengers will barely notice it.

That's definatley a like it or lump it response

 

[hexagon789]

That's definatley a like it or lump it response

Well seriously though, how on earth is it irritating? I doesn't physically cause irritation to passengers in any way that I can see?

 

[dk1]

Thankfully she's going! Are the others going as well - they've got Ant and Dec and one or two others as well. I usually try to mute them, but recently the checkout supervisor/stormtrooper comes over and un-mutes it. I have yet to have the argument that says "if you don't want me to mute it a) get ridding of the annoying announcements and b) don't give me the option if you don't want me to do it."

Oh Jesus I haven't heard her yet thankfully. Can't cop a lot of her at the best of times to be honest & hear she's going to launch the new national Heart Radio breakfast show tomorrow. No problem for me as I'm a life long BBC kind of guy.

 

[dk1]

Well seriously though, how on earth is it irritating? I doesn't physically cause irritation to passengers in any way that I can see?

Takes all sorts I suppose matey.

 

[43096]

I wish the self scan tills had a STFU button. I can actually read the screen.

Most do - usually a volume button with about 4 or 5 settings that they cycle through, one of which is mute. Just keep pressing it to cycle through.

 

[hexagon789]

Takes all sorts I suppose matey.

I guess so.

 

[Ken H]

Thankfully she's going! Are the others going as well - they've got Ant and Dec and one or two others as well. I usually try to mute them, but recently the checkout supervisor/stormtrooper comes over and un-mutes it. I have yet to have the argument that says "if you don't want me to mute it a) get ridding of the annoying announcements and b) don't give me the option if you don't want me to do it."

how do you mute it?