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Worst UK train?

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DB

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Alas, I fear that they're not the right ones. The ones I like are from the EMR "blue" trains.

IC7Os. Seen some standard class ones from them listed a few weeks ago, and some standard ones from one of the two LNER sets which had them. Most EMT sets still in use though due to the work required to the LNER ones.
 
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yorksrob

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IC7Os. Seen some standard class ones from them listed a few weeks ago, and some standard ones from one of the two LNER sets which had them. Most EMT sets still in use though due to the work required to the LNER ones.

I'm a bit too fat for the stsndard class ones, unfortunately !
 

Bletchleyite

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I'm a bit too fat for the stsndard class ones, unfortunately !

Best place for Standard Class IC70s is the bin. Unless you're a skinny waif, they make the Fainsa Sophia look good.

(The IC70 cushions in Mk2 frames you got on some XC sets were OK, though - absent the middle armrest the cushion is actually quite decent)
 

43096

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Possibly true. But you have to admit that a traditional first class mk 3 is better than their modern equivalents !
I actually (just!) prefer the first class seats in SBB's panoramic coaches and EuroCity stock to the IC70 first class seat.

If you're talking standard class seats, there's still nothing to beat to an IC70.
 

yorksrob

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I actually (just!) prefer the first class seats in SBB's panoramic coaches and EuroCity stock to the IC70 first class seat.

If you're talking standard class seats, there's still nothing to beat to an IC70.

I've not tried those, but they would have a hard job to beat.
 

gaillark

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Class 800 series.
Awful interior design. Cheap low budget appearance. Poor quality fittings, no guards area for storing bulky items, lack of buffet car. Kitchen in wrong area, lack of sufficient toilets, terrible seats, too many automated announcements, horrid lighting, plastic feel, lack of any quality.
Could easily have been the best if DfT bothered to fully consult /engage with passengers early on in the design stage and built mock ups for feedback into the final design.
 

cactustwirly

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The worst train in my opinion by seat comfort is the Thameslink 700 - rock hard, very uncomfortable seats! Electrostar 387s (and later 377s) aren't much better either.

Clearly not been on a 345, makes the 700s seem luxurious.
 

Mikey C

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Clearly not been on a 345, makes the 700s seem luxurious.
To me the 345s are nicer inside, allowing for the fact that they are high density London trains. Yes most of the seats are sideways, but there are transverse seats and they are more comfortable than the 700's ironing boards which are also far too narrow and close to the wall
crossrail-train-seating-class-345-elizabeth-line-interior-walk-through-jem989.jpg

300px-Thameslink_Class_700.jpg
 

Pacco

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It's not even close.

Northern Class 150.

Noisy.

Cramped.

Dirty.

Bare fluorescent tube lighting like a Soviet bus in the 1970's.

Noisier still from the platform.

Windows need to be open in summer & winter for ventilation, means diesel fumes pouring in.



Just the most basic train that is acceptable in 2020. Nothing more.



Pacers are worse, but everyone knows they are dreadful. Refurbished 150s are presented as 'new' - as if passengers should be grateful for a 33-year-old train with new upholstery and a lick of paint.
 

Wilts Wanderer

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Whilst the obvious (and IMO fully-deserved) answer is the Class 142 with bus seats, the worst individual example of a train I ever rode on was a Central Trains 153 in which pretty much all of the rubber window seals had failed. Consequently the space between most of the panes of double glazing was filled with 5-6 inches of filthy yellow-brown water, sloshing back and forth... until one window‘s inside seal failed as well and suddenly dumped a couple of pints of this liquid legionnaires disease into a commuter’s lap.
 

Liverpool 507

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It's not even close.

Northern Class 150.

Noisy.

Cramped.

Dirty.

Bare fluorescent tube lighting like a Soviet bus in the 1970's.

Noisier still from the platform.

Windows need to be open in summer & winter for ventilation, means diesel fumes pouring in.



Just the most basic train that is acceptable in 2020. Nothing more.



Pacers are worse, but everyone knows they are dreadful. Refurbished 150s are presented as 'new' - as if passengers should be grateful for a 33-year-old train with new upholstery and a lick of paint.

They’ve looked a lot better in the past few months. I have seen for myself the hard work that train presentation staff at Northern have put in to make these trains look well presented for customers and staff. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to look after these trains.

What is suitable to replace a 150 used on local stopping services, in your opinion? A train with the interior of a Boeing 787?
 
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NoMorePacers

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The interior in the Wales & West 150s is more than perfectly adequate for the duties that both they and the Northern ones undergo (they are reasonably similar).
 

Huntergreed

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I must admit, after slagging off the 156’s for years, I took one on the WHL yesterday for 2+ hours each way and I must admit the ride wasn’t actually that bad. Very good all round window view, enough room, comfy enough.

I think my least favourire Train at the minute would be the Scotrail 320’s, they’re just not at all comfortable, they are noisy, the window alignment is beyond joke, the toilet rarely works. It’s not a good passenger experience at all.
 

gallafent

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Keep an eye out on Ebay when the sets go for scrap - seats and other bits are quite likely to appear.
Good tip! Annoying to have to sift through the “training seats” for toddlers, when searching, though! Sigh … anyone know how to make eBay search take “train” as just “train” rather than including “trainer” and “training”? :/
 

DustyBin

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I was going to nominate the 800-series but I’m not sure they’re objectively the worst UK train, maybe just the most disappointing in my opinion. Likewise the class 700, I despise the things, uncomfortable and the interior has the ambiance of an operating theatre but I suppose they do their job....

That leaves Cross Country’s voyagers which are long overdue a heavy refurbishment and the remaining Pacers which to be honest I won’t miss when they’re gone. I have a certain level of respect for them as simple, robust machines that have done their job (and more!) for far longer than was expected but they really aren’t a great way to travel.
 

Domh245

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Good tip! Annoying to have to sift through the “training seats” for toddlers, when searching, though! Sigh … anyone know how to make eBay search take “train” as just “train” rather than including “trainer” and “training”? :/

You can set it to search/filter by category - 'transportation collectables' is a good start, but you can also narrow it down to 'railwayana'
 

Jamesrob637

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Put things in context here. Pacer is fine on a short trip. I'd say the worst must be Welsh 150s being sent to Manchester. The very least this route deserves is air-conditioning. Maybe doesn't occur anymore but certainly did as recently as 2018/January 2019.
 

NoMorePacers

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Put things in context here. Pacer is fine on a short trip. I'd say the worst must be Welsh 150s being sent to Manchester. The very least this route deserves is air-conditioning. Maybe doesn't occur anymore but certainly did as recently as 2018/January 2019.
I saw a single 150 at Piccadilly going to Milford Haven about 2 months ago - so it still happens.
 

Pacco

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They’ve looked a lot better in the past few months. I have seen for myself the hard work that train presentation staff at Northern have put in to make these trains look well presented for customers and staff. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to look after these trains.

What is suitable to replace a 150 used on local stopping services, in your opinion? A train with the interior of a Boeing 787?

Do you know what? You are right, the refurbishment is good from a cleanliness point of view. I suppose I have just been scarred by twenty years of degradation and dusty musty carriages.

It is almost like they have had some extra sound deadening fitted.

BUT from our local station you used to be able to get in a Central Trains Class 170 in about 2000, and it was like a spaceship then, and would still be an upgrade now.

I think the thing I'm most sore about is the potential of another ten to fifteen years with trains I first commuted on twenty years ago, and were not young then.
 

Bletchleyite

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An EMU. Diesel wise look at a class 172 to see how bad a 150 is.

The Class 195 (very similar in concept to the 172) is a good replacement for a 150.

Unfortunately, Northern put them on long distance express services which would be better served by their existing 158 and 170 fleet.
 

danielnez1

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I must admit, after slagging off the 156’s for years, I took one on the WHL yesterday for 2+ hours each way and I must admit the ride wasn’t actually that bad. Very good all round window view, enough room, comfy enough.

I think my least favourire Train at the minute would be the Scotrail 320’s, they’re just not at all comfortable, they are noisy, the window alignment is beyond joke, the toilet rarely works. It’s not a good passenger experience at all.


I've never been a fan of the 156s (especially with their original interiors), to me they seemed noisy and bland inside and out. I remember going on a newly refurbished Northern Spirit 156 (on the Esk Valley line to Whitby) with its new carpet smell, complete with a few carpet cuttings left on the floor by the fitters, and they seemed so much nicer, especially when they fitted diffusers over the bare fluorescent light strips and with the dark turquoise end walls, covering the chevrons. Too bad they didn't paint the plastic paneling above the luggage racks, which were still in original (and yellowed/stained even back in 1999/2000) condition.
 
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