• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

My journey: Northern Rail Disgrace

Status
Not open for further replies.

Eric

Member
Joined
21 Oct 2010
Messages
594
Location
West Yorkshire
How Northern rail are allowed to run a two carriage pacer on the Leeds to Manchester Victoria via Bradford route is absolutely disgraceful. The train was late due to passengers crush loading onto it at Leeds and then left passengers behind at New Pudsey and Bradford. Absolutely disgraceful how this is allowed to happen every day in the North whilst the south gets all the new trains and huge infrastructure developments.
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

ess

Member
Joined
9 Feb 2010
Messages
551
It is appalling however it’s also true that 12 car trains leave London crush loaded.
 

3rd rail land

Member
Joined
30 Jan 2019
Messages
623
Location
Where the 3rd rail powers the trains
You need to make a complaint and don't get fobbed off by some stock answer that you might get from Northern's customer services team. Take you complaint a higher level if needs be or the ombudsman if applicable.

I live in the south and there is more demand than in the North but I have never come across a time when people have been left behind due to overcrowding, at least not on the National Rail network. During peak hours an 8 or 12 car train can get very busy so the investment in more capacious/frequent trains is required.

That said I think money should be invested in replacing the pacers up North, or at least ensuring busy routes/times have at least 4 car trains.
 

Eric

Member
Joined
21 Oct 2010
Messages
594
Location
West Yorkshire
You need to make a complaint and don't get fobbed off by some stock answer that you might get from Northern's customer services team. Take you complaint a higher level if needs be or the ombudsman if applicable.

I live in the south and there is more demand than in the North but I have never come across a time when people have been left behind due to overcrowding, at least not on the National Rail network. During peak hours an 8 or 12 car train can get very busy so the investment in more capacious/frequent trains is required.

That said I think money should be invested in replacing the pacers up North, or at least ensuring busy routes/times have at least 4 car trains.

The conductor on the train repeatedly apologised for being lumbered with the train and he agreed when I finally got off that running a two carriage pacer on the core Leeds to Manchester route in the peak was unacceptable.

That guard deserves a medal for what will be one of those shifts from hell.
 

Metal_gee_man

Member
Joined
28 Oct 2017
Messages
669
Being crush loaded isn't abnormal in the South, but the numbers of passengers involved are much higher but I accept it does happen a bit less regularly from the sound of things compared to up north. Try catching a train between Clapham Junction to Waterloo anytime between 7am & 9.30am you'll get to the platform and have to miss at least the first train if not the second, I had to wait for the 3rd service the other day and even then the queues of people who were there had to wait for future services! That was a 10 car class 455/456, trust me, if you create extra capacity it doesn't take long to fill it
 

Eric

Member
Joined
21 Oct 2010
Messages
594
Location
West Yorkshire
It is appalling however it’s also true that 12 car trains leave London crush loaded.

But do they have pacers with bus seating in London? I find it highly irritating that these particular trains are still around and hopefully going to the scrapyard later on this year.

Nobody wants to spend nearly two hours crush loaded onto one of these things.
 

Doomotron

Member
Joined
25 Jun 2018
Messages
1,173
Location
Kent
It's funny how crush load in the north could fit on a 4-coach train, with lots of room to spare.
 

ForTheLoveOf

Established Member
Joined
7 Oct 2017
Messages
6,416
Pacers are already scheduled to be replaced before the end of the year.
 

221129

Established Member
Joined
21 Mar 2011
Messages
6,520
Location
Sunny Scotland
But surely a 2 car train is better than no train at all? And this is the same North that is getting 100s of Millions of pounds worth of brand new trains in the next couple of years.
 

61653 HTAFC

Veteran Member
Joined
18 Dec 2012
Messages
17,624
Location
Another planet...
If that was the only serviceable unit available, then that's what you'll get. Would you rather they cancelled the service? Then you'd have to wait until the next, which might be something a little bigger but would have 2 services worth of people trying to board.
 

Llanigraham

Established Member
Joined
23 Mar 2013
Messages
6,074
Location
Powys
Whilst crush loading is not the best, would you have preferred that they hadn't run the train at all? Because as far as I can see that is the only alternative.
 

3rd rail land

Member
Joined
30 Jan 2019
Messages
623
Location
Where the 3rd rail powers the trains
Being crush loaded isn't abnormal in the South, but the numbers of passengers involved are much higher but I accept it does happen a bit less regularly from the sound of things compared to up north. Try catching a train between Clapham Junction to Waterloo anytime between 7am & 9.30am you'll get to the platform and have to miss at least the first train if not the second, I had to wait for the 3rd service the other day and even then the queues of people who were there had to wait for future services! That was a 10 car class 455/456, trust me, if you create extra capacity it doesn't take long to fill it
I used to live in Clapham Junction for a short while and trying to get a morning peak time train towards Waterloo was challenging. Services out of Waterloo were also very busy in the evening peak. Very glad I haven't had to do that journey for quite a number of years. That was with 8/10/12 car trains so I can only image the horrors of a 2 car pacer even if the demand is less up North.
 

Harpers Tate

Established Member
Joined
10 May 2013
Messages
1,679
......I had to wait for the 3rd service the other day....
...which, on the route referred to in the OP would have involved you waiting two hours. Leaving pax. behind on a 5 or 10 minute frequency is, I'd suggest, somewhat different to doing so on an hourly route.

But surely a 2 car train is better than no train at all?...
It is absolutely NO better to anyone who was unable to board.

If that was the only serviceable unit available, then that's what you'll get......
and that, right there, is the problem that needs fixing.
 

cactustwirly

Established Member
Joined
10 Apr 2013
Messages
7,447
Location
UK
How Northern rail are allowed to run a two carriage pacer on the Leeds to Manchester Victoria via Bradford route is absolutely disgraceful. The train was late due to passengers crush loading onto it at Leeds and then left passengers behind at New Pudsey and Bradford. Absolutely disgraceful how this is allowed to happen every day in the North whilst the south gets all the new trains and huge infrastructure developments.

Try going to London Paddington, and see the 2 car 165s that are full and standing! :rolleyes:
Not just a problem in the north!
 

ainsworth74

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Global Moderator
Joined
16 Nov 2009
Messages
27,539
Location
Redcar
We don't need another thread on "The North never gets any money spent on it it all goes to the South with their platforms paved with gold!" or "The South suffers with just the same problems as the North but on a larger scale!" or whatever North v South view you ascribe to. Equally there are also plenty of threads covering the plans to upgrade services in the North and introduce new trains over the coming months.

Therefore this thread is locked as the subject has either been done to death or is covered in other threads.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top