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Worst maintained train interior?

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rg177

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While the 465s are somewhat unloved, having been on 142s with random seats missing and seat cushions that fall off, 150s with internal doors missing and missing seat cushions, and 156s and 158s with missing tables, I must say that Northern have a much worse record with maintaining their interiors, usually due to the strain on needing everything out and operating.
 
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fgwrich

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Networkers of one sort of another are a definite theme here.

Yes, I've been on a couple of Southeastern ones in the past month or so that were very tired, but a pleasant cleaner came by at Cannon Street as the train I joined turned round so I give them 5/10.

I have to say that the most rancid, motheaten and neglected interior I've experienced in the past five years has been on a 365 between Kings Cross and Cambridge. If someone had told me that I was sitting on the original upholstery I would've believed them. It looked like no litter had been collected in three or four days and the floor was running with goodness knows what. I'd paid an extortionate price for a morning peak service into the bargain, I can't think of a worse contrast between the amount demanded and the state of the train.

On that basis £5 to ride a Northern Pacer for 20 minutes doesn't seem that bad.

A collapsed seat Haymarket 158 - their fans on here will know exactly what I mean - still takes some beating. There's still a few of them out there, masochists catch them while you can. Lol.

Completely agree with you on the Networker theme here. Another is from Great Western Railway - Yes GWR I'm looking at you. Simply put, the state that the 165 fleet has been left to reach is appalling. Yes, the cleaners at Reading station do the best they can, but despite FGW providing a rather high quality refurbishment a few years ago they've just been left to reach a pretty poor state - Toilets are nasty and frequently either not tanked or left in a state (They've always been an appalling design), the interiors feel grubby and dirty and the ex First Class area is appalling - carpets frequently ripped from the walls, some collapsed seats (A Haymarket 158 rival!) and a carpet so ingrained with dirt and dust that the FGW Blue has been turned into a well trodden flat brown. A refurbishment cant come soon enough for those things!

Sadly the South Eastern Networkers to equally pip it for me, just for retaining the original flooring - otherwise it's a close contest.

And yes, I know what you mean about the delightful Haymarket 158s! Thankfully GW seem to keep a little more on top of their Richmond seated units than ScotRail does.
 

43096

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Hi,

I never exaggerate. ;)

Literally every 465 I have travelled on has had puddles of urine on the floor. OK, so some of them were small but it’s still urine! :lol:
Well you'd better stop p***ing on the floor, then!
 

Girner

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Most, if not all trains on the UK network are filthy. It's just varying degrees of filth. Some TOC's are better than others in keeping their fleet clean but they all fail when you scratch away at the surface. The worst culprits are the longer distance trains with carpets and table seating. Next time you are on one, have a look in an area not usually picked up by a cleaners vacuum or on the underside of a table. You will be shocked.
If I was to single one out though it has to be a Cally Sleeper berth. It is borderline criminal the condition of some of them going with what they charge for a journey.
 

pompeyfan

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Question;

How much of these issues are the fault of the TOC and how much is it passengers doing things that are unreasonable?

Litter strewn through the train, newspapers torn into Tic-a-tape, etching, permanent markers, feet on seats, animals on seats, vomit in the heating grills. If humans had more consideration for others all of the above wouldn’t happen.

I’ll happily admit that overflowing litter bins, overflowing/dry toilets and sludge and salt in the carpets from the winter months are inexcusable from the TOCs though.
 

cactustwirly

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Ooh, I know.

When SWT first received the 456s from Southern they used them on the Ascot to Guildford line and geez were those things nasty...

That's an exaggeration, I went on one before it had been refurbished and it was perfectly fine.

Apart from the flooring, I don't think that 465s are that bad...
The Northern 150s and 158s are much worse IMO
 

trentside

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If you think some of the saloons are bad you should see the state of some cabs. Not only are you often contending with water leaks and drafts, but years of accumulated filth that gets nothing more than a wipe once in awhile.

Some train crew are worse than passengers for leaving mess. It’s amazing how often you’ll throw a bag down on a secondmans desk to find it covered in food or drink remnants!
 

700007

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I'd go for Southeastern 465s, they look very tired and outdated. The very few 317s that Greater Anglia still haven't refurbished also go up there. They're incredibly dirty, I can imagine the cleaners go to war with it but often lose because it's just etched into the train now, the seats always fall off and they're dirty and worn out - you can actually see the netting or whatever it is underneath on some of the seats. The trains always smelt really bad and there were weird stains in the carpet everywhere, possibly the source of the smell - and this was First Class!

Well done to Greater Anglia for doing an amazing refurbishment on these trains, despite the fact they haven't got long to go until withdrawal. It was still much much much needed, because boy were those trains grotty.
 

ChiefPlanner

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The state that Connex (both SE and SN) let their fleets get into was a disgrace - the 46x fleet especially , effectively trashed and undercleaned.

However , it came back to bit them - they had to pay for the reglazing of about 99% of the window glass , and the severe costs of heavy cleaning to restore to "as inherited" condition.

Was a bit underwhelmed with Merseyrail this year - though the trains are litter free , there was a lot of IMHO , ingrained dirt etc on the seating / panels / floors. Maybe - as often happens in the last years of a fleet they let it go a bit.
 

tsr

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Much as it pains me to say it, some of the 171 fleet has dropped to these levels over the last year or two. They tend to get a decent clean when they head down to the coast, but that’s a rare event (especially for the four car units!). There are travelling and turnaround cleaners but they are generally only equipped for basic litter picking, which is hopeless when you’re dealing with dirty carpet, coffee spills, graffiti or chewing gum.

Cleanliness issues do seem to be a bit of a Govia (not just GTR, but also Southeastern) theme - SE Networkers have long had the problems described, though I have felt there have been some quite recent improvements in the calibre of cleaners and the condition of some fairly surprising areas such as the remaining older-style toilet cubicles. I’ve also found a fair few 700s recently with window etchings, three-day-old Evening Substandards, no handwashing water, vomit and all sorts. FCC 319s were worse but, in FCC’s defence, their cleaning staff had all sorts of unpleasant nooks and crannies to contend with, and they did at least have roving cleaning staff in the London area.
 

387star

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I actually think Greater Anglia now have one of the most comfortable fleets in the country

The refurbishments have been excellent and many of the trains are actually very comfortable

The xc voyagers are a disgrace.

377s mostly seem to be maintained Well and the newer sky blue panelling lasts much better than the as built stuff
 

samuelmorris

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Some context needed here - 465s aren't wonderful in that they're usually a bit grubby and often smell of urine but in the grand scheme of things they're really not that bad - just look at footage of underground systems in the 80s / early 90s for comparison, especially New York, but London was pretty bad too. Despite nowadays being a fan of rail transport I was pretty unnerved by using the tube as a child, but looking at the state of it back then it's easy to see why.

The worst case I can think of is a Northern 150 a couple of years ago, apart from being untidy and not having been cleaned for a while, the seats, grabrails etc. were rotten, rusty to the point it was flaking off. I do wonder how much longer it would have run like that without one of the seat bases actually breaking off.

The most shameful is GTR 700s for sure. You can tell which units are the newly delivered ones as they're still relatively clean from the factory. The earlier units don't look as if they've been cleaned since they were delivered, inside or out. A filthy train isn't exactly the greatest crime but while these units are still being introduced as the 'new trains' that are still making their way to new territory, you'd think they'd take at least a little pride in their appearance. A 700 working its way onto a new route, 'look at your new train' and see the brown-stained train turn up with floors caked in various stains and several days old litter strewn throughout the train, it doesn't leave a great impression.
 

aiden_g1

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For me it's the 142s. They do the best to keep them running safely but the interiors have more than had it. Non existent window frame / seals on some units, missing or if not damaged seats, random lighting variations, rattling doors, yellowed plastics (beating Ryanair's actual effort to be yellow) and of course the good old rain inside the train.

As for an intercity fleet, i have to say Grand Central's standard class on the Class 180s have to be up there as some of the worst / most thread-bare interiors! Luckily though they are carrying out some refresh / deep cleaning on these units. Although any more details than that are not known.
 

ChilternTurbo

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I find the Pendolino fleet are generally looking rather tired after the best part of 15 years intensive use with a lot of the seat moquette in both first and standard being worn and faded. New seat covers and replacing or repainting some of scuffed and scratched interior fittings would go a long way to improving the general ambience. I will say that as a regular on the WCML, Virgin do a pretty good job at keeping the trains clear of litter, both en route and at terminals.
 

prod_pep

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It has to be Northern's older stock for me. The number of 142s, 150s and 156s with a lingering damp smell is considerable. Panels tend to be dirty, seating worn and baggy, litter a regular sight, lighting panels filthy and that is before we've even considered the lavatories. All this and the ubiquitous, dour purple decor makes these trains thoroughly unpleasant to travel in.

Honourable mentions: the GN 313s, which looked superb internally during the final phase of FCC but now look almost as decrepit inside as they do out. Last week I had a ride on 700113 and was surprised to see the interior was already rather scruffy. A couple of window panes were etched, there was plenty of litter and grime was starting to accumulate. It didn't feel particularly new.

On Merseyrail's trains, I find internal vandalism is rare despite the lack of laminated glass but the presence of accumulated grime, ingrained dirt on panels and mismatched lighting is unfortunately commonplace. This is nothing new, either.
 

cactustwirly

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The ATW unrefurbished 150s are pretty dire, with mismatched moquette, shabby interior panelling and plenty in ingrained dirt.
 

bramling

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The most shameful is GTR 700s for sure. You can tell which units are the newly delivered ones as they're still relatively clean from the factory. The earlier units don't look as if they've been cleaned since they were delivered, inside or out. A filthy train isn't exactly the greatest crime but while these units are still being introduced as the 'new trains' that are still making their way to new territory, you'd think they'd take at least a little pride in their appearance. A 700 working its way onto a new route, 'look at your new train' and see the brown-stained train turn up with floors caked in various stains and several days old litter strewn throughout the train, it doesn't leave a great impression.

So much for the "easy to clean" finishes on the 700s. In fact, we have seen exactly the same with the 365s when at their recent refresh they lost carpet in favour of vinyl. This sort of interior design simply shows up dirt and mess a lot more.
 

bramling

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That's an exaggeration, I went on one before it had been refurbished and it was perfectly fine.

Apart from the flooring, I don't think that 465s are that bad...

With the rider that I don't use 465s all the time, although I do from time to time, and I must say I've found them fine. Compared to some of Northern's trains they're positively sparkling.
 

bramling

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They're easy to clean, if Govia actually bothers with a cleaning regime!

I still think these finishes show up dirt and mess a lot more. Even if the train is well cleaned overnight, it's going to accrue mess during the day.

Of course, the Thameslink concept generally provides half the frequency of in-service cleaning compared to if the service was split in half with termini either side of London. That certainly doesn't help.
 

Jamesrob637

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I find the Pendolino fleet are generally looking rather tired after the best part of 15 years intensive use with a lot of the seat moquette in both first and standard being worn and faded. New seat covers and replacing or repainting some of scuffed and scratched interior fittings would go a long way to improving the general ambience. I will say that as a regular on the WCML, Virgin do a pretty good job at keeping the trains clear of litter, both en route and at terminals.
I'm currently on a Pendolino and it's not held up too badly over the last decade and a half!

Some of Northern's fleet is very shabby and some of the GWR local trains were shabby on a recent visit to Devon and Cornwall
 

mugam4

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158s still in FGW colours, every time. I've been on services without working overhead lighting (at night - maybe a few tubes per carriage operational), some/most seats being half exposed sponge, carriages strewn with litter, and all toilets out of order, no working air con. I'm not sure how GWR are not embarrassed especially when they must work through the Salisbury-Portsmouth corridor passing spotless SWR units!
 

MG11

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XC Class 170s regularly have lighting shades missing IME. I understand these are maintained by West Midlands Trains at Tyseley.
 
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