The worst train today?

[MattRat]

Just for a bit of fun, I'm doing the opposite of another thread 'What is your favourite train?'

This will most likely end up revolving around bashing your most hated train, but try to keep it somewhat light hearted as at the end of the day, they're only trains.

I also only want ones that are still on the network as of writing, just so we can go out to point and laugh at anything we agree on

I'll start. Class 155. We all know the Class 153 is bad right? A single carriage that would be better as a bus than a train, and isn't PRM compliant. Bonus points if two are coupled together pointlessly when any 2 car unit would be better. Well, except the 155. The train so bad, the 153 was an improvement on it. Shockingly, some survive in revenue earning service.....

Your turn.

Edit: I probably should have just said 153.

 

[yorksrob]

It's difficult to think of a worthy successor to the Merseyrail pacer !

 

[geoffk]

Are we being asked to rate trains as a passenger or as a member of train crew? I used 155s a far bit on the Calder Valley line and didn't find anything much to complain about. As for 153s, they would be fine provided they run coupled to a compliant 150 or 156.

 

[skyhigh]

Well, except the 155. The train so bad, the 153 was an improvement on it.

I honestly don't understand how anyone could think a 153 is preferable over a 155!

 

[Failed Unit]

i Would say the 700. But it is the configuration rather then the train that is the problem here. So I will say the 153 is the worse train operating in the uk.

 

[L401CJF]

Surely the class 230 is worse than a pacer? At least they managed to work some services in their life!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

80x: Flimsy, cheap-feeling and apparently almost the only new train that is available, so becoming ubiquitous everywhere away from the former Southern... and keeps being suggested for roles entirely unsuited (such as replacing short HSTs in Scotland and the West Country).

 

[satisnek]

Just for a bit of fun, I'm doing the opposite of another thread 'What is your favourite train?'

This will most likely end up revolving around bashing your most hated train, but try to keep it somewhat light hearted as at the end of the day, they're only trains.

I also only want ones that are still on the network as of writing, just so we can go out to point and laugh at anything we agree on

I'll start. Class 155. We all know the Class 153 is bad right? A single carriage that would be better as a bus than a train, and isn't PRM compliant. Bonus points if two are coupled together pointlessly when any 2 car unit would be better. Well, except the 155. The train so bad, the 153 was an improvement on it. Shockingly, some survive in revenue earning service.....

Your turn.

I don't see how the 155 can be worse than the 153 bearing in mind that every 153 used to be half a 155 with a cramped little cab built into the non-driving end.

But surely the lowest of the low must be the four-wheeled ice cream van which replaced the Class 153 on the Stourbridge Town branch....

 

[Bletchleyite]

All doors at thirds Mk3 based DMUs and EMUs as built.

It must have taken a particularly vindictive designer to design a train where not a single seat was properly window aligned, or later a seat layout where even a kid would have trouble fitting.

Some were modified to be better, e.g. the 319/2s, but most have been bad for their whole period of service.

It is such a shame that the MetCamm Class 151 wasn't the standard regional DMU instead.

 

[prod_pep]

The Class 150 is the worst in my experience, although some are better than others. Short-distances on the Welsh 150s are bearable but Northern's are vile even after refurbishment. They are cramped, usually far too small for the routes on which they operate and share the same deeply unpleasant interior style and seating as other classes of similar vintage.

Talking of which, the worst EMU has to be the Class 319. An EMU which barely improves upon the performance of the diesels it replaced on Northern metals is an embarrassment, added to the fact they never received anything approaching the promised 'like new' refurbishment. Worst of all are the seats, ludicrously low to the ground and no good on a tall person's back at all. Travelling on their first day in service with Northern, I remember thinking that other than the fact they are much quieter, it is difficult to argue they are a step up over the 156s common to the Airport express at all. In some ways, they were a step down.

The 319s are night and day compared with the 323s which really did offer a demonstrable improvement with far pleasanter interiors and the rapid acceleration expected of an electric service. The new CAF classes have their well-documented drawbacks, but they are a colossal improvement on rubbish like 150s and 319s.

Sorry if the above comes across as too serious for a light-hearted thread, but let's just say I avoid these trains like the plague wherever possible!

 

[KevL]

“Talking of which, the worst EMU has to be the Class 319. An EMU which barely improves upon the performance of the diesels it replaced”

You should have been on the st pancaras class 127s. You wouldnt say that if you ever had that experience! lol

 

[RichJF]

“Talking of which, the worst EMU has to be the Class 319. An EMU which barely improves upon the performance of the diesels it replaced”

You should have been on the st pancaras class 127s. You wouldnt say that if you ever had that experience! lol

Networkers or Class 376 are on a par with the 319s. At least the 319s can go fast enough to get cold air into the carriages!

Networkers - still in a grotty state since the 1990s.
Class 376s - no air con, awful seats, slow, grimy.

 

[HST274]

153 are pretty bad. Two WMR 153's coupled together was a nightmare- so incredibly loud and the entire train vibrating like crazy. As an enthusiast I saw enough in the uniqueness of it (on that line) that I wasn't too annoyed but they were nasty nonetheless. Perhaps it's bad memory but TFW 153's seemed much quieter (post new refurb is when I travelled).

Shoutout to class 172's. I don't mind them but they are just 170's but so much worse IMHO. Also 323's do the job but are definitely ovverated (ducks). A 4 car packed voyager and 350 are definitely up there to in terms of where you don't want to be at 1730 on a Friday.

 

[paul1609]

Class 313/2s on the Brighton to Portsmouth service. No toilets on a well over an hour service, heating doesn't work on most services. Ride is awful at speed. 10 years overdue the scrapyard.

 

[MattRat]

I don't see how the 155 can be worse than the 153 bearing in mind that every 153 used to be half a 155 with a cramped little cab built into the non-driving end.

But surely the lowest of the low must be the four-wheeled ice cream van which replaced the Class 153 on the Stourbridge Town branch....

Well, it was at the time seen as an improvement. I remember hearing about how the 155 floor sags, like a dog dragging it's behind across the tracks. I suppose 153 could also be a valid answer though.

 

[STINT47]

I would have to go for any 22x.

Narrow trains due to the tilt profile meaning limited overhead storage and a cramped feel, smelly toilets, inadequate luggage space, loud vibrating underfloor engines. To think that these were a successor to MK3 coaches makes me sad every time I use them.

They are also in a petty poor condition now with the 222s standar class being especially poor for an Intercity service to London. Whilst they are also often inadequate for the services operated with people standing for long periods .

A decent refurb and some new stock would solve the last two points but even with this I will never love the 22x trains and would not mourn their passing to Booths.

 

[urpert]

Networkers or Class 376 are on a par with the 319s. At least the 319s can go fast enough to get cold air into the carriages!

Networkers - still in a grotty state since the 1990s.
Class 376s - no air con, awful seats, slow, grimy.

Especially the 465/2s with the water sloshing around inside the bodies...

 

[Class360/1]

Just for a bit of fun, I'm doing the opposite of another thread 'What is your favourite train?'

This will most likely end up revolving around bashing your most hated train, but try to keep it somewhat light hearted as at the end of the day, they're only trains.

I also only want ones that are still on the network as of writing, just so we can go out to point and laugh at anything we agree on

I'll start. Class 155. We all know the Class 153 is bad right? A single carriage that would be better as a bus than a train, and isn't PRM compliant. Bonus points if two are coupled together pointlessly when any 2 car unit would be better. Well, except the 155. The train so bad, the 153 was an improvement on it. Shockingly, some survive in revenue earning service.....

Your turn.

I hate the 153’s, especially the Anglian interior.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

While quiet and nippy, 172s have the blandest, most rubbish interior I've ever seen. To think that First Great Western considered them for the Portsmouth Cardiff route is beyond me; at least the Express Turbos have half tables and declassified first at each end. I also think it's ridiculous that the seats in 315s and previously the 314s survived so long. They're the equivalent height of children's stools. I also think East Midlands Railway's 360s are revolting, dirty and unpleasant inside, and regardless of journey length a downgrade from a Meridian (probably my favourite diesel unit)'s interior to that is just cruel.

But the worst train overall, for me?
Northern's 150s have to be the worst in my opinion. Old, slow, noisy - but it is that ridiculous "cram 'em in" interior that does it for me, where the airline seats feel like the ones in front may decapitate your legs at any time, and the fact barely any of the facing seats have a window view. Add in the dodgy colour scheme and the irritating ">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>" on the PIS and it's just not a nice atmosphere. I much preferred the bench-seat pacers.

 

[MattRat]

But the worst train overall, for me?
Northern's 150s have to be the worst in my opinion. Old, slow, noisy - but it is that ridiculous "cram 'em in" interior that does it for me, where the airline seats feel like the ones in front may decapitate your legs at any time, and the fact barely any of the facing seats have a window view. Add in the dodgy colour scheme and the irritating ">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>" on the PIS and it's just not a nice atmosphere. I much preferred the bench-seat pacers.

I think what makes it worse is that some of them are on the same services as 195s, and while the 195s has flaws, it's a much more modern unit to the 150s, and one that passengers would prefer. So why on earth shoot the route in the foot by having some services be 150s? It just makes passengers avoid that route in case they get stuck with a 150.

 

[warwickshire]

720s anytime.

 

[py_megapixel]

Shoutout to class 172's. I don't mind them but they are just 170's but so much worse IMHO. Also 323's do the job but are definitely ovverated (ducks). A 4 car packed voyager and 350 are definitely up there to in terms of where you don't want to be at 1730 on a Friday.

In what way are the 172s worse than 170s, and what makes you feel the 323s are overrated?

 

[XAM2175]

I'll start. Class 155. We all know the Class 153 is bad right? A single carriage that would be better as a bus than a train, and isn't PRM compliant. Bonus points if two are coupled together pointlessly when any 2 car unit would be better. Well, except the 155. The train so bad, the 153 was an improvement on it. Shockingly, some survive in revenue earning service.....

Can you please confirm that you understand that the 153s all started their lives as one half of a 155?

 

[150249]

I would have to say any of Greater Anglia's older stock that the remarkable 745/755s replaced although my opinion changes constantly

 

[SuperLuke2334]

Worst for me has to be a 153. No aircon, glacial door cycles, dreadful lack of power. Just not a nice unit altogether.

 

[DelW]

My "Oh no, surely not" moment comes when I'm heading for a longish journey on a scenic route, and a 150 comes into view heading for my platform.

150s are all right in their intended habitat - short trips on urban routes - but their bleak, comfortless interiors, garish lighting, inadequate heating, and terrible seat / window misalignment, make them very poor for longer journeys.

Unfortunately their ubiquity and reliability mean they turn up in all sorts of unsuitable locations.

 

[skyhigh]

Well, it was at the time seen as an improvement.

Was it? 155s were solely split into 153s to create single vehicle Sprinters. In other regards they were identical to 155s. Only relatively recently did 155s get upgraded to PRM standard, before that you'd have struggled to tell the difference between a Northern 155 or 153 from the saloon.

I remember hearing about how the 155 floor sags, like a dog dragging it's behind across the tracks.

I've heard this come up time and time again on here, but I've never seen any actual evidence it's a real problem. And in any case, if the 155s sag there's no reason 153s wouldn't as they're almost exactly the same train!

 

[MattRat]

Can you please confirm that you understand that the 153s all started their lives as one half of a 155?

As that was how they improved the 155. So how bad was the 155 to start with?

 

[skyhigh]

As that was how they improved the 155. So how bad was the 155 to start with?

No....? They split the 155 to create a larger fleet of single vehicle Sprinters to replace older units. It was not to 'improve' 155s, it was to replace old stock on the cheap. 155s and 153s are almost identical, they made almost no changes to the 153s other than add a new cab.

 

[DelW]

I've heard this come up time and time again on here, but I've never seen any actual evidence it's a real problem. And in any case, if the 155s sag there's no reason 153s wouldn't as they're almost exactly the same train!

If you look along the length of most 153s, they do indeed sag noticeably in the middle. I don't know of any actual issues that causes though.