Negatives about the old British Rail

[Carlisle]

Well looked after stations on VTWC?! Maybe the Network Rail ones but the ones that VTWC are responsible for all seem to be terrible.

I tend to agree, for example Stafford , Crewe , Wolverhampton Preston etc have certainly been rather tatty for years now compared to many on the ECML

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I must have imagined the taxi that VTEC put me and some other people in when we missed the last train from Darlington to Saltburn due to the late running of one of their services...

A pity their West Coast counterparts don't emulate them. Maybe am being a bit cynical but maybe they are being nice while their franchise is relatively new.
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I hated the lack of customer service in BR days. I went for an interview and got a First Class Ticket and the sleeper - Preston- Euston in 1984. I got in my compartment and the attendant said there was no water in his tank so there may not be any refreshment. There was an hour layover IIRC in Crewe with access to water etc. Sure enough I get to Euston and no tea/coffee. A fortune was spent on a First Class Ticket plus a sleeper supplement and you cant even get a frickin hot cup of tea. That would not happen in this new era - hell on Virgin there is even free food in First never mind a hot drink.

In general, I do not like nationalized industries - sorry.

Like all industries whether private or public - it depends how it's managed.

 

[Mordac]

Well looked after stations on VTWC?! Maybe the Network Rail ones but the ones that VTWC are responsible for all seem to be terrible.

Lancaster is pretty nice, and I use it very often. It will soon become my local station, in fact.

 

[yorksrob]

My line certainly was. I travelled daily 1986 to 1992 and the service on the line went from hourly with around 4 peak extras to 4tph for much of the day with excellent reliability.

Reliability on the line tanked shortly after privatisation and took years to recover.

Which line was that, out of interest ?