Most irritating (small) things on trains...

trainophile · 5 Jun 2019

xotGD said:
Next up, someone will complain about passengers who take their shoes off!

That gave me a flashback to a journey one hot summer's day, when the whole coach was stunk out by what turned out to be a chap who had taken his trainers off under the table, and hadn't been wearing socks, so had bare sweaty feet. Everyone was looking around to see who had stinky cheese!

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Bletchleyite · 5 Jun 2019

xotGD said:
Top tip: Always check the water before soaping up!

Not so easy when you have those stupid automatic setups that require one to take soap first.

gazzaa2 · 5 Jun 2019

Bletchleyite said:
Reasonably so. I don't want to be sitting there smelling someone's **** because they were too lazy to spend half a second closing it.

Irritating things on trains: people who actually do a number 2 on a train toilet (unless it's genuinely related to a medical condition and/or a genuine emergency).

Bletchleyite · 5 Jun 2019

gazzaa2 said:
Irritating things on trains: people who actually do a number 2 on a train toilet (unless it's genuinely related to a medical condition and/or a genuine emergency).

Given how unpleasant doing so is in a tiny cubicle with #1 all over the floor, I very much suspect that everyone who does had an urgent need that could not wait for arrival.

181 · 5 Jun 2019

Bletchleyite said:
Not so easy when you have those stupid automatic setups that require one to take soap first.

Or water triggered by an unreliable sensor that requires you to spend a minute waving your hands under where you hope the water will come from to make sure that there is some, and then do the same a second time when you actually need the water to remove what is sometimes an over-generous quantity of soap.

Bletchleyite said:
Given how unpleasant doing so is in a tiny cubicle with #1 all over the floor, I very much suspect that everyone who does had an urgent need that could not wait for arrival.

Or possibly they knew that the facilities on arrival would be worse, or non-existent.

bramling · 6 Jun 2019

Ianno87 said:
Nor is just getting up yourself to close it without making a big huff and slamming it.

Another similar one, on older trains with hinged doors between vehicles for example class 317 or 321, is people who make a point of slamming the door shut when someone walks through without closing it. If it’s such a big deal, why choose to sit next to the door?

Likewise people who have a wide choice of places to sit on a lightly loaded train, yet choose to sit near someone else and then expect that someone else to close their open window.

For me it’s either a lightly loaded train or go by car.

yorksrob · 6 Jun 2019

People who have to through the whole carriage slamming shut all the windows, just because we're going through a tunnel.

CaptainHaddock · 6 Jun 2019

Train companies who insist on you downloading their irritating app in order to take advantage of their cheapest ticket promos.

yorksrob · 6 Jun 2019

CaptainHaddock said:
Train companies who insist on you downloading their irritating app in order to take advantage of their cheapest ticket promos.

Oh yes, I agree with that.

Everything should be available at the booking office IMO.

Dr_Paul · 6 Jun 2019

Girner said:
As for smelly food, it's just another example of how ignorant people are.

Mea culpa! I once bought some garlic salami from Bloom's kosher deli in Whitechapel (now, sadly, closed down) and then travelled all the way to Richmond on the District Line, and then on a bus. I didn't realise that it ponged so much when I bought it; one could almost see the fumes coming out of the bag. People were wrinkling their noses in disgust. The salami was great, of course, when I ate it. Following from this, whenever I went to Bloom's deli, I always took a well-sealed bag in which to carry the salami.

Bletchleyite · 6 Jun 2019

Dr_Paul said:
Mea culpa! I once bought some garlic salami from Bloom's kosher deli in Whitechapel (now, sadly, closed down) and then travelled all the way to Richmond on the District Line, and then on a bus. I didn't realise that it ponged so much when I bought it; one could almost see the fumes coming out of the bag. People were wrinkling their noses in disgust. The salami was great, of course, when I ate it. Following from this, whenever I went to Bloom's deli, I always took a well-sealed bag in which to carry the salami.

At least durians are not normally on sale in the UK.

al78 · 6 Jun 2019

After using the toilet, washing my hands then finding the drier doesn't work.

Boarding the"fast" service from Victoria to Horsham, looking forward to getting to Horsham in 50 minutes, only to have the train repeatedly going trundle trundle, and it ends up taking the full hour, or no quicker than the standard train, AGAIN.

Getting the train from Horsham to Haywards Heath, then finding out it would have been quicker by bicycle.

When I have a guided walk arranged, and decide to use the train to get partway to the meeting point, the discover there is engineering work and rail replacement buses (can't take my bicycle then). The following month I have another guided walk and again run into engineering work. Amazingly all the other Sunday's have a normal rail service.

Excessive announcements.

Not being able to get a decent meal on board, which would be great when travelling from SE England to the Scottish highlands. Hard to take your own food and have one decent meal, so have to break the journey and find a restaurant. It used to be possible to get a hot meal on the East coast main line. Someone might complain if I light my camping stove to heat water for a dehydrated meal.

Megafuss · 7 Jun 2019

A modern day gripe. TOCS which do not allow me to buy m-tickets for journeys they operate (hello Thameslink)

bramling · 7 Jun 2019

yorksrob said:
People who have to through the whole carriage slamming shut all the windows, just because we're going through a tunnel.

I’d add to that people who slam windows full-stop. Does it give them a sense of self importance or self satisfaction?

The internal gangway doors on Networkers amuse me. The buttons have a quirk that they require a gentle tap to work, so people who punch them with their finger will find nothing happens.

185143 · 7 Jun 2019

chris_in_salop said:
When did it become socially acceptable to eat smelly food on a crowded train? Something inoffensive like a Mars Bar is OK. But a good proportion of my weekend journeys are made just that little bit worse by people noisily chomping on burgers and chips.

Last week someone opening a packet of fish and chips on departure from Holyhead. Yesterday someone guzzling a bucket of KFC on the single carriage of a Heart of Wales train. Are people deliberately trying to rile me?

I take your point and raise you a group of 31 US Tourists boarding my (virtually empty-around 4 people onboard) 150 carriage at Fishguard and Goodwick all with Fish and Chips!

They were actively offering them round though to the few of us already onboard, so all was good!

Few thoughts for the thread:
-Loud drunks. Sit down, sup up and shut up. I manage it fine!
-Unduly harsh Penalty Fare schemes, I'm strongly against people being fined within a barrier line for simply approaching staff to buy a ticket, with no intention whatsoever to avoid paying as they know they'll need a ticket to leave regardless.
-West Midlands Trains' use of 350/2s on Euston-Crewe services. Or any other TOC using 3+2 seating on anything more than about an hour. (He says, on a 350/2 to London...)
-Virgin displaying "AVAILABLE IF UNOCCUPIED" above my now occupied reserved seat.
-Music/Videos being played without earphones, often loudly. I've even had-TWICE-a group of people plug a stereo in and crank up the volume! Needless to say, the guard wasn't best impressed.
-People with their feet on the seats.
-Trains with an excessive amount of seat reservations and too few unreserved seats.
-People shouting into a phone which is also on speaker. I spent a journey from Birmingham to Bristol Parkway recently wanting to get up, take someone's phone and stick it where the sun don't shine. Thankfully for him, the train broke down at Parkway...
From a staff perspective:
-This train has 8 carriages. USE ALL OF THEM. Some people would seemingly rather stand in crush loaded conditions that walk down the platform.
-TOC specific tickets and advances on short journeys that really shouldn't have them. Yes, Manchester Piccadilly-Manchester Airport I'm looking at you. There are others I'm sure.

yorksrob · 7 Jun 2019

bramling said:
I’d add to that people who slam windows full-stop. Does it give them a sense of self importance or self satisfaction?

This particular problem could be solved with sliding ventilators !

Julia · 7 Jun 2019

Another very modern gripe, no wi-fi on longer distance services. One of the major advantages of taking the train is being able to use the time for other things, now that a lot of what I do is electronic I need to be online... so I find myself planning journeys like Cambridge - Blackpool around what might be likely to turn up on any given service, not what's quickest and/or cheapest. I know EMT 158s will be a dead loss; Northern services like York-Blackpool probably also...

sheff1 · 7 Jun 2019

bramling said:
I’d add to that people who slam windows full-stop. Does it give them a sense of self importance or self satisfaction?

If a window is open, nobody is sitting by it and I would prefer it closed then I close it. Doesn't make me feel self important or self satisfied, just free from an unnecessary draught.
.

bramling · 7 Jun 2019

sheff1 said:
If a window is open, nobody is sitting by it and I would prefer it closed then I close it. Doesn't make me feel self important or self satisfied, just free from an unnecessary draught.
.

You’ve missed the point about slamming it. Some people seem to feel the need to do it with such force and noise as if to prove some kind of point.

sheff1 · 7 Jun 2019

bramling said:
You’ve missed the point about slamming it. Some people seem to feel the need to do it with such force and noise as if to prove some kind of point.

Try effectively closing a window on certain types of Northern train without slamming them. If you take the "gentle" option you will be up and down like a yo-yo every time a train passes the other way or enters/exits a tunnel. I have seen many people fall for this one and, after a couple of attempts, have advised them to slam the window if they haven't already worked it out for themselves.

yorksrob · 7 Jun 2019

sheff1 said:
Try effectively closing a window on certain types of Northern train without slamming them. If you take the "gentle" option you will be up and down like a yo-yo every time a train passes the other way or enters/exits a tunnel. I have seen many people fall for this one and, after a couple of attempts, have advised them to slam the window if they haven't already worked it out for themselves.

Again, solved by sliding ventilators.

bramling · 7 Jun 2019

sheff1 said:
Try effectively closing a window on certain types of Northern train without slamming them. If you take the "gentle" option you will be up and down like a yo-yo every time a train passes the other way or enters/exits a tunnel. I have seen many people fall for this one and, after a couple of attempts, have advised them to slam the window if they haven't already worked it out for themselves.

Which quite probably explains how the windows got broken in the first place...

sheff1 · 7 Jun 2019

bramling said:
Which quite probably explains how the windows got broken in the first place...

Quite probably and why newer trains have different designs.

yorksrob · 7 Jun 2019

sheff1 said:
Quite probably and why newer trains have different designs.

Sadly not sliding ventilators

mralexn · 7 Jun 2019

excessively bright internal lighting. Especially when travelling at night.

6Gman · 7 Jun 2019

mralexn said:
excessively bright internal lighting. Especially when travelling at night.

Indeed.

Oh for the days of Mk I compartments where there was a switch to allow lights to be dimmed.

Not being able to work out where we are from a Voyager or Pendolino is very irritating.

Bletchleyite · 7 Jun 2019

6Gman said:
Indeed.

Oh for the days of Mk I compartments where there was a switch to allow lights to be dimmed.

Not being able to work out where we are from a Voyager or Pendolino is very irritating.

Voyagers and Pendolinos of course being an example of a train with rather subdued lighting by modern standards...the original Mk3s were a lot brighter, so the problem is not a new one.

yorksrob · 7 Jun 2019

Bletchleyite said:
Voyagers and Pendolinos of course being an example of a train with rather subdued lighting by modern standards...the original Mk3s were a lot brighter, so the problem is not a new one.

They are (which is nice) but you need a window seat.

Strat-tastic · 7 Jun 2019

I'd quite like travelling at night with all the lights off. Properly enjoy the view out the window.

mralexn · 7 Jun 2019

Strat-tastic said:
I'd quite like travelling at night with all the lights off. Properly enjoy the view out the window.

You used to be able to on the Night Rivera before the refurb, as the lights were turned down really low. It was lovely to see everything to passing by, especially on a night when there was a clear moon and a full sky.

It's a shame that newer trains don't even have curtains in first class now, so you can't use them to look out of the window at night.

Anyway, See it, Say it, Sorted I guess :P

Most irritating (small) things on trains...

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