Northern - Clean your trains!

[xc170]

Used a couple of Northern 158's over the last couple of days on the Yorkshire Coast Line and the one think that has caught my attention is the appalling state of the trains, I'm aware Northern are in a bit of a mess at the moment and are putting the fleet through a refurb program, but have a look at the photos attached to this post, this is a build up of filth over time, not a recent thing....



There really isn't an excuse for this obvious lack of attention towards presentation.

 

[Rail Blues]

Proper cleaning costs money and Arriva are notorious skinflints who seemingly take no pride whatsoever ever in anything they do. That plus a solid track record in staff demotivation ensures a good portion of their trains are skips on wheels,

 

[387star]

A shame carpets etc can't be replaced proactively for instance many remain stained for years or covered in gum
Instead we have to wait years for the next refurb

are those luggage stickers BR? The same are displayed inside class 165s

 

[xc170]

are those luggage stickers BR? The same are displayed inside class 165s

Pretty good chance they are.

Only things changed since being built are the seat covers and carpet...

 

[LOL The Irony]

It doesn't help that the new livery is white. All you had to do was look at the 156's on Airport - Blackpool runs...

 

[xc170]

It doesn't help that the new livery is white. All you had to do was look at the 156's on Airport - Blackpool runs...

This one hadn't been refurbed, but that doesn't given them an excuse not to clean it...

 

[driver9000]

This had been the standard since Serco/Abellio days.

 

[AverageTD]

Proper cleaning costs money and Arriva are notorious skinflints who seemingly take no pride whatsoever ever in anything they do. That plus a solid track record in staff demotivation ensures a good portion of their trains are skips on wheels,

I agree mostly but I find Arriva Trains Wales to be considerably less worse than XC or Northern

 

[507 001]

I agree mostly but I find Arriva Trains Wales to be considerably less worse than XC or Northern

Really? The last time I went on a 175 it was like one of those houses you see on TV shows by that Kim and Aggie.....

 

[MatthewRead]

Southern need to clean their trains just look at this

 

[Fincra5]

I'm sure most Northern passengers are just happy a train has turned up!

 

[simon7929]

They had on train cleaners up here last year in the NE. Arriva decided they didnt need them anymore and gave the agency who employed them their marching orders just before Christmas last year.

 

[jamesst]

An intensive cleaning regime really should be built into any franchise contract with strong penalties if it isn't done. The difference between the standard of cleanliness on national rail services and London Underground services is unbelievable.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

An intensive cleaning regime really should be built into any franchise contract with strong penalties if it isn't done..

Such clauses should include the windows as well; we seem to have an epidemic of a grey film of dirt over windows at the moment because nobody seems to realise that the washing plants only move the dirt around - that shows up much more on windows than it does on the paintwork.

 

[Rail Blues]

I'm sure most Northern passengers are just happy a train has turned up!

Yes and no. As an infrequent v Northern passenger my expectations are low. But on occasion I find myself thinking, why on earth can they not get the basics half way right? Crap refurb, plus irregular cleaning is a recipe for a poor ambiance.

 

[northernchris]

They had on train cleaners up here last year in the NE. Arriva decided they didnt need them anymore and gave the agency who employed them their marching orders just before Christmas last year.

Northern still have cleaners elsewhere on the network, see them quite often at Leeds whizzing through the train on turnaround

 

[DarloRich]

Used a couple of Northern 158's over the last couple of days on the Yorkshire Coast Line and the one think that has caught my attention is the appalling state of the trains, I'm aware Northern are in a bit of a mess at the moment and are putting the fleet through a refurb program, but have a look at the photos attached to this post, this is a build up of filth over time, not a recent thing....

There really isn't an excuse for this obvious lack of attention towards presentation.

that looks like more than regular cleaning. I suspect those panels will be replaced at overhaul. I also suspect cleaning the ceiling panels is outside of the scope of the "regular" cleaning contract and so not paid for as an extra.

 

[Whattraintoday]

I present two photos of a seat on 333012, 17 days apart.
Tweeted exact carriage number and location to Northern's twitter team on 22/06/2018, including that it was particularly nasty. They said they'd reported it and I've no reason to disbelieve them.
Sat next to it again today.

 

[Girner]

I present two photos of a seat on 333012, 17 days apart.
Tweeted exact carriage number and location to Northern's twitter team on 22/06/2018, including that it was particularly nasty. They said they'd reported it and I've no reason to disbelieve them.
Sat next to it again today.

That is rank! This is not exclusive to Northern though, every TOC have issues with cleanliness. The reasons are usually understaffing and the quick turnaround times the sets are required to do giving the cleaners absolutely no time to do a proper clean.
Try looking in the areas the public can't directly see, under seats, tables etc, it will turn your stomach.

 

[Bertie the bus]

Proper cleaning costs money and Arriva are notorious skinflints who seemingly take no pride whatsoever ever in anything they do. That plus a solid track record in staff demotivation ensures a good portion of their trains are skips on wheels,

You can't blame Arriva for the internal cleanliness of Northern's trains. Agreed, they've had 2 years to do something about it but they have been disgusting for years. Abellio/Serco did a reasonable job with Northern except for the almost complete lack internal cleanliness. It seems to be a culture thing with Northern rather than an owning company thing.

 

[MatthewRead]

You can't blame Arriva for the internal cleanliness of Northern's trains. Agreed, they've had 2 years to do something about it but they have been disgusting for years. Abellio/Serco did a reasonable job with Northern except for the almost complete lack internal cleanliness. It seems to be a culture thing with Northern rather than an owning company thing.

You need to look at Southern they are the worst it's a wonder they are still allowed to run services.