Which is your favourite TOC and why?

[185143]

That one guard will see thousands of people a day. They should not be expected to remember what ticket everyone has and when it runs out.

I have a few regular guards who I see very frequently who know my journeys and know I'll either have a season ticket or a Saveaway depending on where I am. It is good when you get met with a 'you've got your pass haven't you?', saves digging it out!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

SWT - they just seem to me to be that bit more professionally-run than the others.

Oh they’re not! Try having them as your local TOC - just look at what they’ve done to me - if I’m travelling from Basingstoke to Bournemouth I now deliberately miss a 10 car 444 to get a 4 car Voyager!

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Directly Operated Railways iirc - ie. the government-operated East Coast from 2009 to 2015.

East Coast still tops it for me now it's Virgin.

I agree totally. For Standard:

Virgin Trains East Coast
Chiltern Railways

For First:
Great Western Railway
Virgin Trains East Coast
Virgin Trains

So overall VTEC

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

And yes I know my quotes are ancient!

 

[MG11]

East Midlands Trains - They have my favourite rolling stock - Class 222. They run to the best city in the world, London. They have highly strengthened Revenue Protection, around 60% of their London services have atleast 2 Revenue Protection Officers on board. Their trolley services sell high quality products like Frobisher's Orange Juice too.

 

[cactustwirly]

I've travelled with EMT quite a few times now.
Their trains are very well turned out (probably the best kept I've seen) and the punctuality is good, some of the fares are good value.
However the frequency and lack of a Sunday service on some routes (and extortionate fares south of Leicester) mark them down.

 

[maire23]

VTEC hands down. As a disabled traveller they are spot on with how well they look after me. Nothing is ever a problem for them. Plus their first class is amazing. There’s some TOC’s that could well do with taking a leaf out of their book (mentioning no names CrossCountry who told me to move out of the wheelchair space when I was sat in it in my wheelchair!)

 

[whhistle]

It's such a subjective view that unless we're comparing against the same things, there's no point in trying to compare.

For example:

Last time I travelled on GWR was about 15 years ago. Can't remember anything exciting or special about it. But their new look (as GWR) screams modern professionalism. Everything from the colours, the name, the typeface used... compared with other companies, GWR are the best. Yet their train travel experience could be terrible, so I can't say on that.

 

[class387]

And yes I know my quotes are ancient!

This fact is quite important given that the TOC South West Trains no longer exists . I probably agree about SWR though.

 

[SEClass375]

Out of all the TOCs I have been on (SouthEastern, GTR, GWR and SWT/SWR), SouthEastern has been the best so far although GWR comes a very close second.
The reason why it has to be SE is that I have found them quite punctual and the staff are very friendly.
I travel with SE quite a lot compared to the others so my view maybe biased.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Out of all the TOCs I have been on (SouthEastern, GTR, GWR and SWT/SWR), SouthEastern has been the best so far although GWR comes a very close second.
The reason why it has to be SE is that I have found them quite punctual and the staff are very friendly.
I travel with SE quite a lot compared to the others so my view maybe biased.

I laughed when I saw that. SE over GWR. Oh well, it’s your opinion. I wish I could be as tolerant with SouthEastern as you are! I like their 375s, don’t mind the Javelins or 376s but hate hate hate Networkers.

 

[yorkie]

I laughed when I saw that. SE over GWR. Oh well, it’s your opinion. I wish I could be as tolerant with SouthEastern as you are! I like their 375s, don’t mind the Javelins or 376s but hate hate hate Networkers.

Is this a favourite trains thread? I thought it was about your favourite company?

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Is this a favourite trains thread? I thought it was about your favourite company?

Oh, well I thought they went hand in hand a bit. Whenever I travel with Southeastern I normally end up on a Networker and this puts me off the TOC.

 

[SEClass375]

Oh, well I thought they went hand in hand a bit. Whenever I travel with Southeastern I normally end up on a Networker and this puts me off the TOC.

I normally get a 375 but on occasion I can get a 465/9 which aren't bad. Yet to get a 395 or a SE 377

 

[DarloRich]

All completely subjective as I doubt many commentators have a fair spread of usage to grade things. The responses are based on silly things like who has the nicest paint or the smartest uniforms or the best free stuff in first class.

I could happily talk about:

LM
Virgin
VTEC
XC
Scotrail
TPE
Northern
Southern
EMT

but I rarely use ATW or FGW or Anglia or Merseyrail or SE. How can I grade my response against those that I don't know?

PS are Grand Central a TOC?

 

[yorkie]

Oh, well I thought they went hand in hand a bit.

In most cases the current train operating company had no say in the choice of rolling stock.

 

[221129]

XC by far

 

[SaveECRewards]

It has to be Virgin Trains East Coast, despite hating them for all the damage that they've done to East Coast. With the exception of Pullman services on GWR and Arriva's business class dining East Coast still tops the league (if GWR had more Pullman services they'd win it).

GNER set the standard so high that even cutbacks by NXEC left East Coast still better than the rest, morale hit rock bottom and the DOR East Coast managed to get morale back up again. VTEC started OK (except Nectar) but this year they're on a cost cutting spree (so they have what we call the catering lottery where you might not get any hot food in first class), they've introduced ticket machines that are unfit for purpose, a booking engine that takes us back 10 years in terms of functionality and while failing on the basics are spending money on 'innovations' such as Seatfrog that also don't work properly. Also don't forget they quietly changed their definition of 'off peak' last year.

I used to say the only good thing that VTEC has given us is the beer (but that now only applies to Hop on Board, they've downgraded the complimentary lager to Carlsberg despite not updating the menus). Everything else has either been the same or (increasingly) worse than East Coast. So VTEC may be the best of a mediocre bunch, but now we pay more and get less.

 

[maire23]

All completely subjective as I doubt many commentators have a fair spread of usage to grade things. The responses are based on silly things like who has the nicest paint or the smartest uniforms or the best free stuff in first class.

I could happily talk about:

LM
Virgin
VTEC
XC
Scotrail
TPE
Northern
Southern
EMT

but I rarely use ATW or FGW or Anglia or Merseyrail or SE. How can I grade my response against those that I don't know?

PS are Grand Central a TOC?

Hmmm okay in the interests of fairness then- here’s my experiences of the train companies I have used in the space of this year from the most to the least (excluding VTEC which I have already mentioned)
EMT- not too bad. Good at putting things right which is useful as 9 times out of 10 their staff don’t bother showing up for Passenger Assist. Generally on time and decent trains.
XC- if I get started on their failings i’ll Be here all night. Trains are grim, staff are (there are some exceptions but not many) grumpy, and don’t try travelling with them if you’re disabled. They will try everything in their power to stop you!
TPE- I haven’t used them often but when I have the staff have been helpful and the trains clean, pleasant and on time.
Northern- Some of the trains aren’t the most comfortable but I’ve never had an issue travelling with them. Travelled quite a bit on Northern and found the staff helpful and the services decent. Ticket prices are good too.
Virgin West Coast- refuse point blank to travel with them after very poor treatment by staff towards myself and mum. Trains look good from the outside but after the incident this time last year at Coventry station which eventually went down the legal route they lost my custom.
LM- their Passenger Assist service is brilliant. Once again the trains aren’t the most comfortable but that’s the only issue I have- on long distance services especially.
Merseyrail- I love Merseyrail. I used to use it all the while when I lived there and nothing much has changed- I was well impressed at how often the trains were when I was there at the weekend. Staff were very helpful too.
I travel a heck of a lot, I see a lot of things but some TOC’s seem better equipped to deal with certain things than others.

 

[FQTV]

Hmmm okay in the interests of fairness then- here’s my experiences of the train companies I have used in the space of this year from the most to the least (excluding VTEC which I have already mentioned)
EMT- not too bad. Good at putting things right which is useful as 9 times out of 10 their staff don’t bother showing up for Passenger Assist. Generally on time and decent trains.
XC- if I get started on their failings i’ll Be here all night. Trains are grim, staff are (there are some exceptions but not many) grumpy, and don’t try travelling with them if you’re disabled. They will try everything in their power to stop you!
TPE- I haven’t used them often but when I have the staff have been helpful and the trains clean, pleasant and on time.
Northern- Some of the trains aren’t the most comfortable but I’ve never had an issue travelling with them. Travelled quite a bit on Northern and found the staff helpful and the services decent. Ticket prices are good too.
Virgin West Coast- refuse point blank to travel with them after very poor treatment by staff towards myself and mum. Trains look good from the outside but after the incident this time last year at Coventry station which eventually went down the legal route they lost my custom.
LM- their Passenger Assist service is brilliant. Once again the trains aren’t the most comfortable but that’s the only issue I have- on long distance services especially.
Merseyrail- I love Merseyrail. I used to use it all the while when I lived there and nothing much has changed- I was well impressed at how often the trains were when I was there at the weekend. Staff were very helpful too.
I travel a heck of a lot, I see a lot of things but some TOC’s seem better equipped to deal with certain things than others.

Quite a lot of that resonates with me, too. And, as DarloRich says, you can only speak as you find from your own experience.

So, much as I like GWR Pullman Dining, and really enjoy Javelin rides, my vote goes to Transpennine Express. Why? Mostly for their staff and the on board service. It helps that I like 185s and 350s, so accepting that they're banjaxed when it comes to capacity, I like the fact that they generally just seem to get on with the job. Grand Central seem to me to do the same.

I might give an honourable mention to CrossCountry too, despite maire23's experiences. I too find them pretty dismal day-to-day, but oddly, when disruption occurs elsewhere, I've always found staff very helpful when accepting hordes of displaced passengers and working out connections to get them back on track.

 

[DanTrain]

For me I'd say Northern, they get a lot of slack, but I think they do a pretty decent job with the crap hand they've been dealt by DfT. They are rarely significantly late for me and run a decent service as best they can with the appalling rolling stock they have!

 

[Nean]

Some opinions from my travels over the past year or so:

Northern - People give them a lot of stick (including myself) however they manage to run the service that I care most about (and others that I've travelled on) reliably. The units I tend to get vary: the 142s and 150s are invariably grim but I really like the 156s they put out on my patch as they tend to be fairly clean and comfortable. Staff for the most part seem to be really nice (apart from the Rent-a-thug squad at Picc)- when I was commuting daily a couple of guards and station staff even started to remember me and exchange pleasantries which made the experience much better! Ticket-wise apart from advances being taken away from the CLC earlier this year (an EMT decision apparently) literally doubling the price of my commute overnight it overall seems pretty good- the mobile ticketing app is probably the best out there.

TPE - Standing Simulator 2017... Like many I find the refurbished 185s good but still too short though I miss the 170s on the Hull service. Staff seem pleasant and the information provided is normally pretty on point. Their WiFi seemed fairly useless last time I was trying to use it with my phone having better speeds and coverage pretty much all the way to Edinburgh! When I was a student I did quite like taking advantage of the 3AM Leeds>Manchester after a night out!

XC - Standing Simulator 2016! Hate the voyagers (due to living on the west side I've yet to sample an HST), staff on the services I've been on have been good- communicating excellently the other weekend where we were stuck outside Bristol for an hour before going backwards.

VTWC - I quite like the Pendolinos even if they do sap my phone signal like there's no tomorrow (still dislike the voyagers though). Quiet coach is good and usually well obeyed. Only disadvantage is I hate the multiple and often redundant announcements. I don't need 3 announcements from 2 humans and a computer when 1 would suffice! I've barely had any interaction with their staff since they got the barriers put in at Manchester which I don't mind based on them previously seemingly trying to get through the entire train as fast as possible (but I can't blame them for that- 11 coaches is a lot of people!).

EMT - Just once I'd love to get one of their services without being subjected to the Spanish Inquisition. I know I look young, but that doesn't mean I'm trying to fare evade by default. Their catering staff on the many occasions I've ended up having to share a vestibule with them tend to be quite pleasant. Also as previously mentioned according to Northern they're responsible (for some reason that I can't logically deduce) for removing advance tickets from most of the CLC, doubling my commuting cost without notice. Unsurprisingly I moved 6 weeks later. The 158s are nice when not rammed to the gunwales though.

Merseyrail - Service frequency is excellent, trains are often well presented (though this can be tested quite a bit later in the day!), staff are pleasant and helpful, and stations seem well kept. Only thing that would improve it for me is some form of mobile ticketing- I know walrus exists but to the adhoc traveller it doesn't appear to save me either time or money...

All in all if I had to rank them I'd go:
Merseyrail
Northern
TPE
VTWC
XC
EMT

 

[MarkWi72]

Chiltern. Worst - London Midland (just 3 and half weeks left for them!)