Worst UK train?

[yorksrob]

Yes, the more I have to travel on Northern's 150's, the less I like them. Could be made perfectly decent with a Wessex style refurb, but no one ever does it.

 

[irish_rail]

Yes, the more I have to travel on Northern's 150's, the less I like them. Could be made perfectly decent with a Wessex style refurb, but no one ever does it.

The GWR 150s are pretty decent , and frankly are perfectly acceptable on longer journeys. Shame northern dont take a leaf out of the westerns book.

 

[Halish Railway]

Class 220 Voyagers, God where do I start?

Too short, claustrophobic, stink of toilet and engine emissions, ugly, poorly maintained interior, engine is to intrusive inside and can it’s drone can be heard from miles away and they displaced locomotive hauled trains and HSTs. Not to mention that whenever I go on them they seem to be filled with some of the more raudy customers on the railways.

“Design not popular with passengers” - Rolling Stock Review magazine.

Honarable mentions: Class 142, 319, 700 & 707.

 

[yorksrob]

The GWR 150s are pretty decent , and frankly are perfectly acceptable on longer journeys. Shame northern dont take a leaf out of the westerns book.

Yes. 2+2 seating and the odd table go a long way.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Yes. 2+2 seating and the odd table go a long way.

They go a long way to reduce the on-paper capacity, which is probably why no other operators have followed their example.

 

[yorksrob]

They go a long way to reduce the on-paper capacity, which is probably why no other operators have followed their example.

3+2 airline seating might look better on paper, nut doesn't work in reality.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

3+2 airline seating might look better on paper, nut doesn't work in reality.

I agree, but if you want to know why no other operators have done the same with their 3+2 units, it's the "on paper" capacity reduction that stops it happening.

If it was up to me, all Northern 150s would get the same layout as the SW 455s or Merseyrail 507/508s. If that results in too big a drop in "on paper" capacity, then the answer is to increase the fleet size. If that means an increase in subsidy, so be it.

 

[Metal_gee_man]

The -9 variety of South Eastern class 375 Electrostars. Very tightly packed extra uncomfortable seats. Other varieties are fine.

Ooh the 375/9s are a special breed of crap, take an interior dimensions of a 375 which isn't the widest, add in extra rows of ironing board seats, make them 3 + 2 seating with some facing a bulkhead and a dividing door add a few half sized tables and expect people to traverse the aisles between the seats without upsetting the aisle seat passengers. They really are an awful design and very much a poor afterthought on a pretty good commuter train in all other guises

 

[DM352]

Class 139 - sounds like a bin lorry when taking off, and the buzzing noises every few seconds. Luckily is a short ride.
Class 153 - cramped, noisy and slow with underpowered engine for its size - was supposed to replace bubble cars which it did. However, for most it was a cheap way to make 35 new trains to replace two car 1st gen dmus which the pacers did not cover.

 

[Sean Davidson]

Those horrid 321 refurb things on the Southend line, hard seats.

 

[MrKyleBuses]

Class 319's, just feel dated, cramped, bumpy and really unsuitable for the routes they are on, Don't mind the similar trains as they feel a lot more up to date and actually on suitable routes.

 

[APT618S]

For me, Pendos are the worst (windows too small) then Voyagers (general poor internal ambiance), then 150s (seats far too low). Prefer a pacer over the 3 above.

 

[pompeyfan]

Southerns 313s get the vote for me. They initially started off quite nice but the refurb hadn’t aged well at all. Seats threadbare, rattly, a strong smell of damp. Genuinely not a fan

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

Tricky one but I think the Pacer and not because of the ride quality - I sometimes feel like a few have been heading down the first generation DMU direction of leaking exhaust systems.

My first trip on a 142, 09:21 from Blackpool North to Preston on route to Windermere on the 04/09/14, had fumes come in each time the train braked. Even the 150 from Preston around 19:10 was much better.

In 2017 I've seen a few Pacers looking a bit ill.

Admittedly my second Pacer trip, 16:21 from Manchester Piccadilly to Bolton on the 21/03/18, was way better!

The 3+2 (bench-seated 142's) aren't built for comfort, space or legroom.

Worst train for reliability undoubtedly has to be the Class 180.

 

[AM9]

Class 150. Slow, noisy and uncomfortable (even the GWR ones). I've been used to 319s for years under all weather/track condition/passenger loading conditions, - I've even been on them since Northern started using them. So why are they so much better than 150s?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Class 139 - sounds like a bin lorry when taking off, and the buzzing noises every few seconds. Luckily is a short ride.
Class 153 - cramped, noisy and slow with underpowered engine for its size - was supposed to replace bubble cars which it did. However, for most it was a cheap way to make 35 new trains to replace two car 1st gen dmus which the pacers did not cover.

There are/were 70 class 153s, formed out of 35 2-car class 155s.

The proposed Metro-Cammell single-car units would have been a better option IMO, but those will forever remain a "what if..." scenario. I'm going to attempt to scratchbuild a model one at some point by chopping up a 156!

 

[supervc-10]

For me in general, anything that is a DMU with maybe the exception of Turbostar 172s and CAF 195/196/197.

Can't agree with this personally, the 158/159s can be great. The engine noise can be a bit intrusive and the doors take too long to open, but beyond that, they're decent stock. The 185s are good too, especially post refresh.

 

[StevieH500]

Can't agree with this personally, the 158/159s can be great. The engine noise can be a bit intrusive and the doors take too long to open, but beyond that, they're decent stock. The 185s are good too, especially post refresh.

158s are the devil's spawn. Toilets smell like a sewer, they breakdown all the time, you can break your leg by trapping it under the table as there's no room for your legs unless you are a small child, awful driving cab to sit in. Horrible things

 

[Ken H]

thread title is worst UK trains
but no mention of TfL trains
Are they all wonderful?

(I hate going in the tube, so hate all tube trains, so I cant be objective)

 

[CBlue]

Bakerloo line stock. Noisy, disgusting inside and uncomfortable.

The above also applies to Southern's 313s which seemed life-expired three years ago.

 

[Energy]

thread title is worst UK trains
but no mention of TfL trains
Are they all wonderful?

(I hate going in the tube, so hate all tube trains, so I cant be objective)

The tube trains are good for their intended purpose, I don't want to ride on one from London to Glasgow but they are perfectly good for the short journeys, apart from the older ones with no air con on a hot day.

 

[Energy]

Bakerloo line stock. Noisy, disgusting inside and uncomfortable.

I don't find them too bad but I don't use them too often, they have got much dirtier though, I doubt the seats are easy to clean.

 

[supervc-10]

158s are the devil's spawn. Toilets smell like a sewer, they breakdown all the time, you can break your leg by trapping it under the table as there's no room for your legs unless you are a small child, awful driving cab to sit in. Horrible things

Maybe too used to SWT's when I was younger living down south! Salisbury knew how to keep the running nicely, and keep the AC working! At 6'2 I can't say I ever had issues with the tables once actually sitting, although they can be awkward to get into.

 

[Mikey C]

A rather open question, as what you need for a short journey in a crowded city is completely different from what's required for a 6 hour journey

To take an extreme example, a luxury train like the Orient Express would be hopeless on a packed commuter route into London

 

[Howardh]

Pacers might bounce you about a bit, give you an unexpected shower and hypothermia in winter if you are near the doors, but all of those are recoverable. The ironing-board seats on soul-less Thameslink and many other TOC's trains (I believe) are a pain in the backside. That's literally. Might be shiny almost-new, wifi and you name it, but next time I'm bringing some shirts and an iron.

EDIT; of course those first-class seats in Avanti with the un-movable arm-rest next to the window.....a close second.

EDIT 2; although Northern's electrics (even the 30-yr-old ones) are fine, it's time the geordie telling us after nearly every stop "welcome on board....say it....sort it" needs to take a nice long holiday. Listen to the important announcement? Fingers in ears time.

 

[StevieH500]

Maybe too used to SWT's when I was younger living down south! Salisbury knew how to keep the running nicely, and keep the AC working! At 6'2 I can't say I ever had issues with the tables once actually sitting, although they can be awkward to get into.

I forgot to add the finger crunchingly tight and awkwardness of the disabled ramp storage and also how useless the air con is on a hot day. They were known as Scuds when they first came out in the early 90s because just like the missiles when they were sent up nobody knew where they would come down.

 

[StevieH500]

Pacers might bounce you about a bit, give you an unexpected shower and hypothermia in winter if you are near the doors, but all of those are recoverable. The ironing-board seats on soul-less Thameslink and many other TOC's trains (I believe) are a pain in the backside. That's literally. Might be shiny almost-new, wifi and you name it, but next time I'm bringing some shirts and an iron.

EDIT; of course those first-class seats in Avanti with the un-movable arm-rest next to the window.....a close second.

Is that 390 or 220/1 first class arm rest? Think I might know what your on about with arm rest but give me 1st class Avanti over almost anything.

LNER mrk3 and 4 first class coaches are the most comfortable IMHO

 

[DB]

LNER mrk3 and 4 first class coaches are the most comfortable IMHO

Agree, along with XC HSTs which have the same type of seats as those.

 

[Howardh]

Is that 390 or 220/1 first class arm rest? Think I might know what your on about with arm rest but give me 1st class Avanti over almost anything.

The pendos on Manchester - London route.

 

[StevieH500]

The pendos on Manchester - London route.

I like the pendo first class plenty space comfy but hey ho. Had a standard coach all to myself couple of weeks back it was fine and dandy what a difference no passengers makes lol