EM2
Established Member
It's not a Silent Carriage, it is a Quiet Carriage. And to be honest, if I was talking 'at normal conversational volume' and you were chastising me for it, I would probably tell you that you were bloody rude too!
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Rail staff - what's your pet hate?
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1) People who decide to stand in a coffee shop queue until the doors on the train have closed, who then decide to try and gain access to said train and use every excuse under the sun for why they missed it, even though we know why they missed it.
2) in times of major disruption, the ones who refuse to accept the information you have gave them and demand you run a train just for them, even if you have no signals for example......
3) as mentioned once or twice. 'Enthusiasts' who think they know more than staff, or even worse, enthusiasts who think they ARE staff.
2) in times of major disruption, the ones who refuse to accept the information you have gave them and demand you run a train just for them, even if you have no signals for example......
3) as mentioned once or twice. 'Enthusiasts' who think they know more than staff, or even worse, enthusiasts who think they ARE staff.
Matt Taylor
Established Member
Also, we've got Damien
Wow, 158820 had that nickname way back in its early days on Regional Railways! At one point it even had its own miniature nameplate.
Wow, 158820 had that nickname way back in its early days on Regional Railways! At one point it even had its own miniature nameplate.
For those of us not in the know, could you explain why it picked up this name?
A concept that is becoming increasingly alien to most people
trainophile
Established Member
On the other hand, it was refreshing today at Liverpool Central to see a middle aged man dash towards the escalator in pursuit of a young woman, tap her on the shoulder and return the phone that she had left on the train seat. Warmed me cockles that did, and the young woman was duly extremely grateful.
craigybagel
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Lol what's Damien!?
One of our lads much prefers 150s, I just don't get it! I find a 158 cab a far nicer place to be, and the saloon for that matter, and a panel at every door.
Luxury!
We've got intermediate panels on our 150s so 158s don't even win on that count!
Wow, 158820 had that nickname way back in its early days on Regional Railways! At one point it even had its own miniature nameplate.
As Matt hints, Damien has a long standing reputation for giving trouble, lots of little gremlins inside. Lately it's no worse than any of our other 158s to be fair, although you're always a little worried when you see it come around the corner! Whilst the nameplate no longer exists, there are still a few little hints inside the cabs as to the units legacy
The author of this clearly hasnt been to Sheffield
Indeed. I refer you to post #28. I hope that if a hapless visitor familiar with South Yorkshire arrives at the author's station to connect onto a rail replacement bus then any query they have is answered more helpfully than the author's tone suggests.
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As trackside staff, I have to say that my biggest bugbear has got to be folk who have followed their satnav down a quiet country lane, only to be encountered by a User Worked Crossing. They sit there looking at the crossing, apparently oblivious to the large red and white sign with three simple instructions on it, then wind the window down and yell across to the van where I'm having a quiet spot of lunch to see if we will open the crossing for them. When I ask them to follow the three simple instructions they turn their car around and drive away from the direction they arrived in; or they choose to use the crossing as they see fit which isn't necessarily the safest way....
Three-Nine
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Three-Nines Laws of the Railways:
1) A train on a platform is always going wherever the passenger thinks it is, regardless of its actual destination.
2) Anyone asking for the "earliest possible train" never wants the earliest possible train.
3) A passenger will always ask for an earlier or later train, no matter how many options they've already been presented with.
4) Trains are always late, until someone misses one, in which case it must have departed early.
1) A train on a platform is always going wherever the passenger thinks it is, regardless of its actual destination.
2) Anyone asking for the "earliest possible train" never wants the earliest possible train.
3) A passenger will always ask for an earlier or later train, no matter how many options they've already been presented with.
4) Trains are always late, until someone misses one, in which case it must have departed early.
gimmea50anyday
Established Member
185 108 (liverpool capital of Culture unit) i would consider to be TPE's damian unit, it always has one fault or other with it. Either that or 350 404 which always seems to be losing its pan somewhere....
HarleyDavidson
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Where's the like button when you want one?
I don't work on the rail network, but one thing that annoys me, and my perception is that it is increasing with time, is the apparent absence of spatial awareness that some people seem to have. Last Wednesday, I was waiting behind someone at the wide gate of Euston tube station waiting to go through the gate and get to my train heading for Crewe. After faffing about and eventually getting through the gate the person in front of me walked through the open barrier and then immediately stopped about a foot in front of it seemingly because she was confused as to where to go, thus blocking my way through the barrier. If you have to stop and think about what you are doing and where you are going next surely you can stand somewhere that isn't obstructing other people :roll: (I couldn't go through another gate as I had my folding bike and panniers with me so could only get through the wide gate).
gimmea50anyday
Established Member
My pet hates -
1 pax who dont use the cycle bays or other appropriate storage areas provided to store their bikes, or buggies or cases, and instead assume that the doors on the opposite side of the train to where they boarded is the best place to dump everything, then look puzzled when the next stop along the line those very same doors they obstructed have now opened for people on the platform who now cannot board!
2 pax who continue to fill an obviously full, out of comission and blocked toilet with more cr@p and dont bother to tell me the toilet is otherwise full, blocked and full of cr@p! How anyone can use a full toilet bowl is beyond me.....
3 pax who become arrogant, rude, abusive etc when they are told something they dont want to hear, usually in conjunction with a ticketing issue that isnt in their favour and very often with pet hate number....
4 the oft quoted word in an attempt to demean the staff, JOBSWORTH!
5 pax who interfere with or otherwise get involved with a ticketing/travel/service disputes by butting in when they have no connection whatsoever with the people involved and try and make me look out of line/belittle me/overrule me because they think i am in the wrong, often in conjunction with 4 above! I have had to cancel TI reports and unpaid fares notices or lost out on catching suspected serial offenders because passengers trying to be good samaritans have gotten involved.
6 pax attempting to board an otherwise overcrowded train where they physically cannot get on to the train thereby blocking the doors which I then cannot close, then blame me for leaving them behind, and dont believe me when told theres another train 5 minutes behind going to exactly the same place!
7 pax obstructing the doors to let their late running mates get on, or otherwise forcing the doors open to board the train because otherwise they will miss it, even tho there is another one 5 minutes behind!
1 pax who dont use the cycle bays or other appropriate storage areas provided to store their bikes, or buggies or cases, and instead assume that the doors on the opposite side of the train to where they boarded is the best place to dump everything, then look puzzled when the next stop along the line those very same doors they obstructed have now opened for people on the platform who now cannot board!
2 pax who continue to fill an obviously full, out of comission and blocked toilet with more cr@p and dont bother to tell me the toilet is otherwise full, blocked and full of cr@p! How anyone can use a full toilet bowl is beyond me.....
3 pax who become arrogant, rude, abusive etc when they are told something they dont want to hear, usually in conjunction with a ticketing issue that isnt in their favour and very often with pet hate number....
4 the oft quoted word in an attempt to demean the staff, JOBSWORTH!
5 pax who interfere with or otherwise get involved with a ticketing/travel/service disputes by butting in when they have no connection whatsoever with the people involved and try and make me look out of line/belittle me/overrule me because they think i am in the wrong, often in conjunction with 4 above! I have had to cancel TI reports and unpaid fares notices or lost out on catching suspected serial offenders because passengers trying to be good samaritans have gotten involved.
6 pax attempting to board an otherwise overcrowded train where they physically cannot get on to the train thereby blocking the doors which I then cannot close, then blame me for leaving them behind, and dont believe me when told theres another train 5 minutes behind going to exactly the same place!
7 pax obstructing the doors to let their late running mates get on, or otherwise forcing the doors open to board the train because otherwise they will miss it, even tho there is another one 5 minutes behind!
HarleyDavidson
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Taught one rude oink a lesson the other week, when I was trying to hold a conversation with a fitter, he threw his toys out of his pram, so I snapped back and said "What", I want to go Surbiton, no please or excuse me, no manners, so I pointed at a 444 two platforms away & off he went without so much as an acknowledgement.
The feeling of smugness I got when I checked the P2 screens and noticed that it was a Weymouth, 1st call Winchester!
So to the ignorant oink. Perhaps the extra time you got added to your journey that evening may teach you a lesson, in manners and civility and not to interrupt members of staff who're trying to resolve a problem with a train.
As the saying goes Manners maketh man. Ask nicely and I would have told you that my train was in fact going to Surbiton.
I'm sick & tired of people especially Londoners with no manners.
The feeling of smugness I got when I checked the P2 screens and noticed that it was a Weymouth, 1st call Winchester!
So to the ignorant oink. Perhaps the extra time you got added to your journey that evening may teach you a lesson, in manners and civility and not to interrupt members of staff who're trying to resolve a problem with a train.
As the saying goes Manners maketh man. Ask nicely and I would have told you that my train was in fact going to Surbiton.
I'm sick & tired of people especially Londoners with no manners.
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gimmea50anyday
Established Member
^^^ he he lol!
Solent&Wessex
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Pet hates:
Passengers who just say "Is this X?" or just simply "X?" and point at the train, when in fact they mean "Does this train go to X?". I often reply "No, this is Y", but they don't often see the funny side sadly.
Colleagues in ticket offices and on platforms who, when asked by somebody whether they can use the incorrect train with their Advance ticket, just say "Go and see the Conductor, it's up to them", rather than give the correct reply of "No", because this then makes me look the baddie when I say no. In fact, I'll extend this to all colleagues who can't be bothered to deal with any situation correctly or give the correct answer and just pass the problem on to somebody else to deal with.
On-Train colleagues from my own, but mainly the area's local train operator, who find it completely impossible to look at the time restrictions on Off peak tickets, and just sell them anyway, even at times they are not valid. Or those that sell someone a ticket routed "Not Via X" or "Via Y" and then give them a timetable itinerary which bears no relation to the route displayed on the ticket they have just sold them.
Rail Staff, or to be fair mainly dependants, spouses and retired staff, who try and abuse their free travel privileges which current staff do not get.
Passengers who lie. Eg, people who present an invalid ticket and then say "I went to the counter just now and asked for a ticket to X and that is what the woman sold me" - No, that ticket came from the self service ticket machine and you pressed the child / railcard button yourself.
Passengers who want and buy the bargain basement cheapest Advance fare they can find, but expect all the flexibility of an Anytime ticket, and then when I point out that it doesn't work like that an they will need to pay some extra, start shouting about how unreasonable it all is, how they are never travelling by train again, how I am jobsworth, etc etc etc.
Passengers who just say "Is this X?" or just simply "X?" and point at the train, when in fact they mean "Does this train go to X?". I often reply "No, this is Y", but they don't often see the funny side sadly.
Colleagues in ticket offices and on platforms who, when asked by somebody whether they can use the incorrect train with their Advance ticket, just say "Go and see the Conductor, it's up to them", rather than give the correct reply of "No", because this then makes me look the baddie when I say no. In fact, I'll extend this to all colleagues who can't be bothered to deal with any situation correctly or give the correct answer and just pass the problem on to somebody else to deal with.
On-Train colleagues from my own, but mainly the area's local train operator, who find it completely impossible to look at the time restrictions on Off peak tickets, and just sell them anyway, even at times they are not valid. Or those that sell someone a ticket routed "Not Via X" or "Via Y" and then give them a timetable itinerary which bears no relation to the route displayed on the ticket they have just sold them.
Rail Staff, or to be fair mainly dependants, spouses and retired staff, who try and abuse their free travel privileges which current staff do not get.
Passengers who lie. Eg, people who present an invalid ticket and then say "I went to the counter just now and asked for a ticket to X and that is what the woman sold me" - No, that ticket came from the self service ticket machine and you pressed the child / railcard button yourself.
Passengers who want and buy the bargain basement cheapest Advance fare they can find, but expect all the flexibility of an Anytime ticket, and then when I point out that it doesn't work like that an they will need to pay some extra, start shouting about how unreasonable it all is, how they are never travelling by train again, how I am jobsworth, etc etc etc.
One of my pet hates is people who make comments like the above...
Such comments (along with Jobsworth ones) tend to come when they've lost their ticket and have to buy a new one, or they've missed their booked train on a bargain basement Advance and have to buy a new one, or other similar situations.
Captain Slow
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A response that seems to **** on the "I pay your wages" brigade crew's bonfire is "Well I'll come and see you when my pay is cocked up then"
321446
Member
A response that seems to **** on the "I pay your wages" brigade crew's bonfire is "Well I'll come and see you when my pay is cocked up then"
Haha! Good one!
"I pay your wages...."
LOVE that one.
£45k for a season ticket? You've been done mate.
Tell me Sir/Madam, what do you do for a living? You work in a bank in the City? Who EXACTLY is paying who's wages here then?
Someone has actually shouted at me "Why don't you get a proper job, you P***k?" when I asked him to move off after I refused to move my train because he was using it as support after an obviously tiring and emotional night out. He then got even more annoyed when I involuntarily laughed. Couldn't help meself.
The funny thing is, I love my job, even if it's not a proper one. But at least I don't have to earn my money, all my passengers just pay me. I don't even have to steer. I just sit there and pull levers & push buttons. Where is the skill in that?
All of which I have honestly had said to me. By people who meant it.
My Adoring Public. Gotta luv 'em.
That's probably why we have such a poor reputation for service. Perhaps there are some trains 'to London' that have different stopping patterns, ever thought of that and the passenger may be an infrequent traveller?
As I posted up thread :roll:, ask for the station you want, where the train goes after that is not really relevant to you!
Ah but Freeport or Braintreee Braintree
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Yeah I can see where you are coming from but honestly a lot of the public are a bit as they say in Tyne & Wear 'slah' and understanding their mindset sometimes helps.
Does remind me of some of the old bus jokes when years ago I worked for Southern Vectis.
Is this bus for Cowes? "We carry old sorts madam".
What time do we get to Brighstone? "When the driver gets us there sir".
And the classic when the destination blind on the 32 service was permanently set at Gurnard. "Does this bus goe to the Round House?", "Yes madam". "Well it doesn't say so on the front, it says Gurnard and Im not going there". "It says Bristol on the radiator grille and we're not going there either!"
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EM2
Established Member
I am reminded of a story told about a guard on a service at Bognor Regis, who was approached by a lady about ten minutes before departure time.
'Are you Victoria?'
'Only at the weekend, madam. The rest of the time I'm Nigel.'
They probably also work in shops and give everyone the receipt first of everything, then any notes in the change, and then pile all the coins on top.
That is strange, because they are usually more than happy to accept an answer like "er, I think so" or "I bloody hope so because I'll be up **** creek if it doesn't" from the scruffy git sat in the corner of the carriage who looks like a tramp who's had a bath and isn't wearing anything that even remotely resembles any kind of uniform (me).
More or less, yes.
We think you've been taking advantage of the fact that you can see the screen and we can't to fart about pretending to look for a really cheap ticket and then come back with whatever it told you first off, because that would be easier than actually looking for real.
It is the same sort of reason why we don't believe shop assistants who, when we ask for some item that is missing off the shelves, fiddle about on their computer and then say they haven't got any. We think they're making it up so they don't have to bother going out the back and looking for it. Even more so since we don't believe the computerised stock control system can be relied upon to give an accurate answer either.
Compare the scene in "Falling Down" where Michael Douglas asks for some particular item in the burger bar and they refuse to sell it to him because it is one minute past some arbitrary deadline. They perfectly well could sell it to him but they are just refusing for patently silly reasons. So he shoots the place up and all the audience cheer him on. We sympathise completely with his feelings because we believe that people on the other side of counters are more concerned with their own personal convenience than with ours, and will happily hide behind silly regulations or tell outright lies to serve that end and can get away with it because there's nothing we can do to actually prove anything against them.
This is because we see it as bureaucratic stupidity par excellence which if it serves any purpose at all serves that of making us catch a different train where the fares are more expensive. The train stops anyway, the doors open anyway, people pass through them anyway, it makes no difference whether they pass through them in one direction or two.
I would agree with the suited chap. "Quiet carriages" never used to exist. Then mobile phones started to come in and exhibitionist prats started to take every possible opportunity to make ostentatious conversations in a loud voice about money in order to show off. So the "quiet carriage" was introduced as a response to the complaints from everyone else. Everyone thinks it is only about phones and other noisy electronic devices because that is the problem it was introduced to solve and because complaining about two people talking to each other is not reasonable anyway.
I don't know what your job is but I have certainly said things like that to people. The reason being that the context involves them looking up some pre-existing record on their computer which required my address to create it in the first place. In fact what I usually say is not a question, but a statement - "you've already got that". They then say "No I haven't". I say "yes you have, you took it when the record was created in the first place". They then go quiet for a bit and there are sounds of typing in the background after which they come back with "oh, yes, actually we do have it" in a surprised tone of voice as if they had never used that part of their system before. They can't all be on their first day, surely...
HarleyDavidson
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Pigeon said:
This sort of response just exposes you as a complete buffoon (polite version), I explained why they don't, there are too many passengers & Clapham has more than an adequate service provision using the suburban services on both Main & Windsor sides, there are already trains (not calling) having to wait outside Clapham because of poor train planning, so you're just going to add to the delays by allowing more passengers on & off there, you really are a treat aren't you.
HarleyDavidson
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Well when MoP are civil and well mannered/courteous then they'll get treated with respect, however if they use Oi, you and just butt into conversations rudely then they'll get treated with the same disdain as they've just shown me.
Londoners have this off to a fine art as they think that they're more important than everything & everyone else. :roll:
Londoners have this off to a fine art as they think that they're more important than everything & everyone else. :roll:
Strange thing to post if your are rail staff
Ex-rail staff, actually. Many years ago. But really I'm taking the alternative reading of the title and giving my pet hate about rail staff. Or indeed any 'customer service' staff who think that sort of thing's acceptable.
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There's a difference between disdain and deliberate misinformation.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
There's a difference between disdain and deliberate misinformation.
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