Train travel in the UK

(a) Long-distance trains are virtually never so crowded that you
couldn't get on. You don't have to queue to board (unlike the trains I
travelled on in Canada recently) - once you know what platform the
train is going to leave from, you walk along the platform and board by
any available door. The idea that you wait in line and find yourself
prevented from getting on a train in the first place is simple
nonsense - in 50+ years of travelling by train I have NEVER seen that
happen. Some services are very popular (around weekends and public
holidays), and there might be some risk of having to stand, but you
can always reserve a seat. You can check timetables and availability,
and book tickets and reserve seats online at www.qjump.co.uk or
www.thetrainline.com.

(b) It would never occur to me to expect the train companies to deal
with my luggage the way airlines do - they don't have the stowage
limitations of an airline. I very much prefer having my luggage under
my eye the whole way. Different trains are configured differently:
some have space for luggage at the ends of compartments or between
seats, though in most it's true the luggage racks are overhead. It
would be considered good manners for any other passenger to help an
elderly person who might be struggling to lift their luggage, but in
any case you would presumably be there to help. On an uncrowded
service you could probably get away with putting your luggage under
the seat or even on a neighbouring seat. It helps to pack light if you
can, or maybe to plan around staying in a limited number of bases and
taking day trips from there by train.

PJW

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:08:20 -0500, Darby Jo
wrote:
"I had some questions about train travel in GB, so I called my
travel agent, and here is what she told me. They NEVER recommend
that you check your luggage on a train, because chances are good
you may never see it again. What you do is take it on with you,
and then you have to lift it to the overhead compartment. Also,
unless you are taking a train from a major city and returning to
that major city, the trains are like metros--they arrive on time,
and leave on time, and if you aren't at the head of the line you
may not get on. There are no boarding calls. This would be like
the metro in Paris, and we had to wait several times for the next
one*. We might not have the option of another train coming along
in a smaller town."

In message , P J Wallace
writes
(a) Long-distance trains are virtually never so crowded that you
couldn't get on. You don't have to queue to board (unlike the trains I
travelled on in Canada recently) - once you know what platform the
train is going to leave from, you walk along the platform and board by
any available door. The idea that you wait in line and find yourself
prevented from getting on a train in the first place is simple
nonsense - in 50+ years of travelling by train I have NEVER seen that
happen.

You've not used Blackpool North station then -- they've got a daft
system where they don't let passengers onto the platforms until shortly
before the train's due out, but that's the only station I've seen that
system in use, apart from London Euston when they're preparing the
train.

Catching a Wales & Borders Cardiff train at Manchester Piccadilly is
slightly tricky -- you can get onto the platform all right, but the
train doors are usually locked until about 5 minutes (2 minutes, once,
in my experience) before the train's due to leave, then everybody gets
on at once and she leaves on time.

--
Arwel Parry
http://www.cartref.demon.co.uk/