Worst Railway Journeys in the UK

[godfreycomplex]

And suburban West London generally (plus Slough) is by far one of the most grim parts of the city

Not nearly as grim as Bletchley

The route out of Paddington is full of railway interest. Yards, Sidings, depots.

And anyone making sweeping negative generalities about West London has clearly never lived there.

Hear hear

There’s good points in a lot of the really bleak lines (c2c has the bit by the estuary at Leigh-on-Sea, Hadfield has the viaduct and even the Merthyr branch has a certain je ne sais quoi/Dydw i ddim yn gwybod beth)

That being said the good points of all 3 lines of the Dartford Loop are proving elusive

 

[nw1]

I have never taken to the Par-Newquay branch. To me it's just a poor means of getting to Newquay other than by bus. It has none of the scenery that the other Cornish branch lines have in abundance.

That part of Cornwall, inland, is surprisingly flat and barren. The coastal scenery is nice but not so much inland.

I recall the inland scenery being much better from Wadebridge north and east, and also southwest of Newquay going down towards Penzance.

 

[Mountain Man]

Preston to Manchester on a Saturday when the Christmas markets are on.

 

[341o2]

Southampton to Portsmouth Harbour, the official route given Bournemouth to the Isle of Wight
S-L-O-W, stopping every few minutes with a change at Fratton as well

 

[mike57]

My offering, already mentioned, Leeds to Bradford Interchange. Slow, through run down urban areas, and we wont mention Bradford Interchange itself. Also compared with the route from Leeds into Forster Square which is actually quite pleasant.

 

[deltic]

I'm sure a lot of people in the Welsh valleys would want those days to return.

Not sure they would - given the huge rates of sickness due to miner's lung. They were dark depressing places served by ancient DMUs. where it always seemed to raining or damp.

 

[Magdalia]

As an ex London commuter, any deep level tube journey in the rush hour is easily the worst, especially if the weather is hot.

Above ground, I think that my top dislikes have still not been mentioned. Surprisingly, for someone who likes the seaside, both routes are coastal.

I've always detested the North Wales Coast. Prestatyn, Rhyl and Colwyn Bay are grim. Anglesey is grim. Even what could be the nice bit, between Conwy and Bangor, is scarred by the A55. And at the end of the line Holyhead is a dump.

And I try very hard to avoid going to Southend. The LTS is grim, apart from the view of the Dartford Bridge. Pitsea is a classic case of nominative determinism. Once I got off at Benfleet and got the bus to Canvey Island. It was a once in a lifetime experience. I'm never doing that again.

 

[stuu]

The Watford DC line is just relentless grimness, but it feels churlish to mention it here given how much better it is than the Silverlink days. Longitudinal seating doesn’t help, nor does Harlesden.

+1

Extra grim points if you have to do it on a Bakerloo Line train

 

[Class15]

The Watford DC line is just relentless grimness, but it feels churlish to mention it here given how much better it is than the Silverlink days. Longitudinal seating doesn’t help, nor does Harlesden.

Are you forgetting something called Wembley Yard?

 

[cactustwirly]

I quite like the good view of the city you get from the elevated Southern suburban lines. West London is far more boring.

One of my favourite journeys is the Southeastern Victoria to Dartford service.
Like the scenery going past Battersea, then over viaducts through Camberwell and Peckham.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Not nearly as grim as Bletchley

Depends which bit. It has Council estates and nice big private homes. The centre is a bit grim but for most people CMK is their centre.

 

[D6130]

Also one in Northern Ireland!

Of course....I'd forgotten about that, even though I've been hauled by it several times!

 

[zwk500]

Are you forgetting something called Wembley Yard?

Can you see much of it from the DC lines, which go round the back of the IC depot?

 

[Class15]

Can you see much of it from the DC lines, which go round the back of the IC depot?

The sleeper depot and Brent sidings.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The section between Skipton and Appleby is, IMHO, particularly scenic / interesting.

Just arriving into Carlisle on the 0920 Northern train from Leeds via Skipton.

Anyone who thinks the 'Settle and Carlisle' is one of the Worst Railway Journeys in the UK, on the grounds of lacklustre scenery, needs to give their head a wobble.

 

[MattRat]

Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Oxford Road when a 2 car train turns up. People practically fall out the train at either end.

 

[Basil Jet]

The last 5-10 miles of most routes into London. There's only so many backs of terraced houses and graffiti'd railway infrastructure you can look at before it becomes dull.

That's far better than the non-stop backs of industrial estates that you see from Tottenham Hale to Cheshunt.

 

[Train Maniac]

A lot of dislikes on here for the NKML, personally i don't think its that bad. East of Strood its not bad view wise as you get to see a nice view of Rochester from the train, then past Gillingham there is some good countryside all the way out to Faversham and both the Canterbury East and towards Margate lines have some nice sights.

A Kent line that is rather dull in the Maidstone East line West From Maidstone East up until Victoria as the views are rather uninteresting as you go through a lot of cuttings and tunnels with little to look at outside of the train scenery wise. You can feel the 1hr and 10mins journey to Victoria and its crammed between Bromley South to Victoria . The section of the line from Maidstone East to Ashford intl is quite the contrast as there is some nice views from the train and its a decent 20mins for that section of the line.

Seconded. It doesnt help that its my home line so i have to ride it twice a day to be able to get to any worthwhile adventure. Also, really crap signal for most of the way between Maidstone and Swanley, so cant even distract myself by looking at the forums Haha. The Charing Cross trains were supposed to be an amazing upgrade but somehow the service is even worse! (no longer clockface)

You do get to go over the rail/road bridge at Kingsferry and get a decent view of the sea, so not as bad as some of the others.

It does have some vibe of the "deprived British seaside town" though.

Otherwise I'd have to add anther +1 for Reading - Waterloo which feels really slow. The Sutton loop also feels painfully tedious.

Ugh... Sheerness is a dump even on a nice day. Back when i was small the steelworks always made a cool sight though. The rattle of going over Kingsferry bridge is also suitably fun

Any train ride after dark is guaranteed boredom, nothing to see outside and usually less than favourable travelling companions....

 

[TheSeeker]

Any train ride after dark is guaranteed boredom, nothing to see outside and usually less than favourable travelling companions....

Did Ashford to Brighton once after getting off a late EuroStar. Very grim. Someone threw a bag of chips at us. The first impression of the UK for my French other half.

 

[urbophile]

I quite like that line...nice scenery and you see the Burscough Curves.

It hs the feel of an old fashioned country branch line. Strange considering it was once the main line from Liverpool to the north. But yes, the scenery is not stunning but very pleasantly rural: Rufford (with the Hall) and Croston are both interesting places to stop off.

+1

Extra grim points if you have to do it on a Bakerloo Line train

At least you can face the way you are going on a Bakerloo train.

 

[stuu]

At least you can face the way you are going on a Bakerloo train.

More danger of seeing out the window, and the ride is appalling, although you do get the unusual experience of going through the running shed at Queen's Park I suppose

 

[greyman42]

The smell from the sewage treatment place just north of Doncaster on the ECML... nasty.

I have passed it hundreds of times and never smelled anything.

 

[M&NEJ]

One line that I found surprisingly boring was Inverness to Wick and Thurso, long stretches of featureless landscape aka the Flow Country in a 158 isn't inspiring

I'm amazed at the contrasting views this question elicits; because I would go out of my way to travel from Inverness to the Far North, just to see the wilderness!

One of my worst journeys was a late-night stopper from Preston to Manchester Airport, while covid rules still applied but international travel was just possible provided you had a "fit to fly" test. In may case I was going to have to pass two more covid tests on arrival in my destination country; so I hoped the last train of the day would be quiet. Indeed it was until Horwich Parkway, where a match had just ended and hordes of Bolton supporters filled the train to the rafters. There were football fans in every nook and cranny, on the tables, in the aisles and hanging from the luggage racks. As if that wasn't bad enough, I could see my next covid test being a failure, given the amount of breath being exhaled in close proximity from the singing and shouting!

Remarkably I passed my PCR tests over the next few days.

 

[InkyScrolls]

Anyone who thinks the 'Settle and Carlisle' is one of the Worst Railway Journeys in the UK, on the grounds of lacklustre scenery, needs to give their head a wobble.

Indeed! Blea Moor tunnel to Birkett tunnel (approx. Ribblehead to Kirkby Stephen for the uninitiated) is particularly stunning.

 

[yorksrob]

Did Ashford to Brighton once after getting off a late EuroStar. Very grim. Someone threw a bag of chips at us. The first impression of the UK for my French other half.

That route is actually very picturesque in the daytime.

You have the Romney Marsh, the seaside and beach huts around St Leonards, the South Downs, the approach to Brighton over London Road viaduct.

But yes, flying chips are a hazard !

 

[PGAT]

That route is actually very picturesque in the daytime.

You have the Romney Marsh, the seaside and beach huts around St Leonards, the South Downs, the approach to Brighton over London Road viaduct.

But yes, flying chips are a hazard !

Ore to Winchelsea is pretty grim, the rest of the route is much nicer

 

[yorksrob]

Ore to Winchelsea is pretty grim, the rest of the route is much nicer

Well, it's in woodland and tunnel, but I wouldn't call it grim. Although Ore station itself does have a mad max feel about it.

Angerstein's wharfe is bleakly industrial when sat there between the aggregate heaps. Still quite an interesting experience though !

 

[Magdalia]

Indeed! Blea Moor tunnel to Birkett tunnel (approx. Ribblehead to Kirkby Stephen for the uninitiated) is particularly stunning.

The Settle and Carlisle is three stunning railways in one. At either end there are two contrasting river valley ascents, Ribblesdale when coming from Settle and Eden Vale when coming from Carlisle.

The bit in the middle, between Ribblehead and Ais Gill, is a superb demonstration of Victorian engineering, getting from Ribblesdale to the Eden Vale via the top of Dentdale, the top of Garsdale and the top of Wensleydale. In particular, between Dandry Mire and Ais Gill the line is back on the eastern side of the Pennines from a drainage perspective. It still amazes me that a man on a horse went up there and worked out where to put that bit of railway.

 

[Some guy]

On the subject of Merseyside, I would argue for Ormskirk to Preston. Dreadful run with dreadful stock

I agree it was much better when 158s were on the route

 

[MikeWM]

I'm amazed at the contrasting views this question elicits; because I would go out of my way to travel from Inverness to the Far North, just to see the wilderness!

I've only done it the once and I found it truly fascinating. It really does feel like another world.

Though I suspect you'd quickly get bored if you did it regularly!