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It's crap. At least, in my opinion --- I live in Switzerland now, so my standards are... different. But, basically, overpriced, unreliable, dirty, and slow. Th

It's crap. At least, in my opinion --- I live in Switzerland now, so my standards are... different. But, basically, overpriced, unreliable, dirty, and slow. The only places where the train system actually works well is the south-east of England, where it's horribly expensive. I used to live in Reading; a peak time day return into London, which is maybe half an hour a way, costs about £40. Bear in mind that I know perfectly well that Britain's rail network is amazing compared to, say, America or eastern Europe. But the local perception of it is that it's bad. (Not helped by several rounds of botched privatisation, too.) Incidentally, I'd love to know how to get from Ireland to Great Britain by train. Do they float?

maelito 11y ago
Thanks ! As for your question, if you can understand french, you should watch this https://vimeo.com/47189915#t=125s https://vimeo.com/47189915#t=125s
Symbiote 11y ago
There's a ferry from Holyhead to Dublin, you can buy a valid ticket from any British station. http://traintimes.org.uk/Birmingham/DCL/ http://traintimes.org.uk/Birmingham/DCL/ You're correct that this is people's perception, but they probably haven't wandered into a typical German city station and found there's a two hour wait for the next train to another city, or that the only cheap option is a very slow local train.
lukeqsee 11y ago
> I live in Switzerland now How did you get into Switzerland? I've been considering / researching the possibility for a while, but it seems like a very long process to legally enter the country. Did you find it that way? Any recommendations? [I looked for a personal email, but there isn't one listed on your profile.]
- tormeh 11y ago
  If you're an EU citizen, you can settle just outside of Switzerland and commute across the border. It's very common. Anyway, it can't be that hard as a quarter of the Swiss population are foreign residents[0] 0:http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/having-a-say_can---and-should---immigrants-participate-in-swiss-politics-/41295556 http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/having-a-say_can---and-should---...
- tonfa 11y ago
  Is it so much harder for UK citizens? For (most) Schengen people it is really simple.
  - Symbiote 11y ago
    Schengen is irrelevant here, British people have the same rights as every other EU citizen (i.e. go, then register as a citizen which is just a formality). But the person asking is American, which is presumably very different.
- david-given 11y ago
  I cheated --- I have a work sponsored visa, I'm afraid.
archagon 11y ago
Having recently visited the UK for a couple of months, I don't really understand why the people there hold their rail system in such low regard. Every time I compared prices between rail and coach, there was almost always a rail ticket that cost about the same as the bus and got me to my destination faster, even at the last minute. The trains were also very slick and clean, and often had outlets and working Wi-Fi. Better than many places in mainland Europe!
- timthorn 11y ago
  Because the majority of train journeys in the UK are commutes into metro areas at peak time rather than intercity journeys. They tend to be overcrowded with variable reliability due to the fact the networks are at capacity, and are not cheap.
Comaleaf 11y ago
What aspects of the train system did you find only work well in the south-east? Curious because I regularly take trains all over the UK and have generally found the ones in the south-east and south in general to be the worst, as well as the most expensive, which seems reflected in customer satisfaction surveys at least – http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/leisure/reviews-ns/best-and-worst-uk-train-companies/best-train-companies-overall/ http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/leisure/reviews-ns/be...
- Symbiote 11y ago
  That's really not a fair comparison. Virgin Trains, running only long-distance intercity journeys, is compared to London Overground, which runs trains within London every 4-6 minutes for commuters. I'd also guess the average Which? reader is much more likely to rely on a train for work if they live in the south east. If we compare local services, the south east is much better: much more frequent service, newer trains, generally staffed stations, better value fares within London. If we compare long-distance services, the trains often start or end in the south east anyway.
rorykoehler 11y ago
Rail and sail tickets for Ireland to UK. Did it once. It was ok but I doubt I'd do it again. Virgin trains are great. Liverpool to London in under 2.5hrs.

maelito 11y ago

Thanks ! As for your question, if you can understand french, you should watch this https://vimeo.com/47189915#t=125s https://vimeo.com/47189915#t=125s

Symbiote 11y ago

There's a ferry from Holyhead to Dublin, you can buy a valid ticket from any British station. http://traintimes.org.uk/Birmingham/DCL/ http://traintimes.org.uk/Birmingham/DCL/ You're correct that this is people's perception, but they probably haven't wandered into a typical German city station and found there's a two hour wait for the next train to another city, or that the only cheap option is a very slow local train.

lukeqsee 11y ago

> I live in Switzerland now How did you get into Switzerland? I've been considering / researching the possibility for a while, but it seems like a very long process to legally enter the country. Did you find it that way? Any recommendations? [I looked for a personal email, but there isn't one listed on your profile.]

tormeh 11y ago
If you're an EU citizen, you can settle just outside of Switzerland and commute across the border. It's very common. Anyway, it can't be that hard as a quarter of the Swiss population are foreign residents[0] 0:http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/having-a-say_can---and-should---immigrants-participate-in-swiss-politics-/41295556 http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/having-a-say_can---and-should---...
tonfa 11y ago
Is it so much harder for UK citizens? For (most) Schengen people it is really simple.
- Symbiote 11y ago
  Schengen is irrelevant here, British people have the same rights as every other EU citizen (i.e. go, then register as a citizen which is just a formality). But the person asking is American, which is presumably very different.
david-given 11y ago
I cheated --- I have a work sponsored visa, I'm afraid.

archagon 11y ago

Having recently visited the UK for a couple of months, I don't really understand why the people there hold their rail system in such low regard. Every time I compared prices between rail and coach, there was almost always a rail ticket that cost about the same as the bus and got me to my destination faster, even at the last minute. The trains were also very slick and clean, and often had outlets and working Wi-Fi. Better than many places in mainland Europe!

timthorn 11y ago
Because the majority of train journeys in the UK are commutes into metro areas at peak time rather than intercity journeys. They tend to be overcrowded with variable reliability due to the fact the networks are at capacity, and are not cheap.

Comaleaf 11y ago

What aspects of the train system did you find only work well in the south-east? Curious because I regularly take trains all over the UK and have generally found the ones in the south-east and south in general to be the worst, as well as the most expensive, which seems reflected in customer satisfaction surveys at least – http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/leisure/reviews-ns/best-and-worst-uk-train-companies/best-train-companies-overall/ http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/leisure/reviews-ns/be...

Symbiote 11y ago
That's really not a fair comparison. Virgin Trains, running only long-distance intercity journeys, is compared to London Overground, which runs trains within London every 4-6 minutes for commuters. I'd also guess the average Which? reader is much more likely to rely on a train for work if they live in the south east. If we compare local services, the south east is much better: much more frequent service, newer trains, generally staffed stations, better value fares within London. If we compare long-distance services, the trains often start or end in the south east anyway.

rorykoehler 11y ago

Rail and sail tickets for Ireland to UK. Did it once. It was ok but I doubt I'd do it again. Virgin trains are great. Liverpool to London in under 2.5hrs.