When Are You Impressed By The Railway

RichmondCommu · 20 Sep 2019

Hi everyone,

In my case it's travelling by Pendolino from London Euston, albeit only three or four times a year. To achieve those kind of journey times using outdated infrastructure is in my opinion very impressive.

Any more suggestions?

Thanks for reading this.

RailUK Forums

4F89 · 20 Sep 2019

Depends where u are travelling to....

Ken H · 20 Sep 2019

when the staff turn up and run trains when the weather is horrid.

iphone76 · 20 Sep 2019

When you sit at a busy station like Liverpool Street waiting to depart and see how the trains are scheduled perfectly arriving and departing to maximise capacity.

SN1 19-5 · 20 Sep 2019

Last Saturday.

At Exeter St. D.

I was on the Oke Cokey to Weymouth. We got in more or less on time. The silly train to Paddington pulled in (19 mins late) just after us.

I could see all the bods on the platform having all sorts of conversation stuff. I thought to myself,
"why can't they let us go first? We are non stop to Westbury (silly train isn't)"

It will go not in our favour.

Then the chap on the station said, let them go, it makes sense!

Off we popped! Quality! We got to Westbury and reversed heading to Weymouth. Silly train passed us before we left the main line.

This, impressed me.

northernchris · 20 Sep 2019

When things have gone wrong and staff go the extra mile to assist with onward travel

leightonbd · 20 Sep 2019

Simply, seeing kit (ie drivers) going faster than road speed, in a small space with no apparent adhesion. Not admiration for the driver as such but for the system (and all the people involved) that enables it.

bhb · 20 Sep 2019

It generally works quite well. But sometimes doesn’t. Just like everything!

Carlisle · 20 Sep 2019

leightonbd said:
Simply, seeing kit (ie drivers) going faster than road speed, in a small space with no apparent adhesion. Not admiration for the driver as such but for the system (and all the people involved) that enables it.

Yes unlike road vehicles, a major advantage of rail seems to be that performance is on the majority of occasions completely unaffected by heavy rain, unless it’s led to serious flooding.or created a high risk of it

higthomas · 20 Sep 2019

Turning up at Euston and seeing 3 trains to Manchester each and every hour. Just the amount of people moved so far, with little fuss.

martinsh · 20 Sep 2019

Virtually never

johnnychips · 20 Sep 2019

When I can go to Donny on the bus, choose from five trains an hour to Sheffield and it’s still quicker than the X78 which passes 100 yards from my door!

RichmondCommu · 20 Sep 2019

Carlisle said:
Yes unlike road vehicles, a major advantage of rail seems to be that performance is on the majority of occasions completely unaffected by heavy rain, unless it’s led to serious flooding.or created a high risk of it

That's a very good point. To be able to run at 125 mph in filthy weather and at night with just the lights at the front of the train is pretty damn impressive.

LowLevel · 20 Sep 2019

When I see stations that 25 years ago were in a terrible way full of flowers and nicely tended by the community that use them. Perhaps not something to be impressed with the railway itself, but it does at least facilitate it by allowing people access. Community rail is a nice thing to have.

tom73 · 20 Sep 2019

Impressed by he competition on the ECML with Grand Central often undercutting ECML on routes to Yorkshire. My ultimate destination is Leeds but it is fun to me to take a roundabout route if it works out cheaper than LNER direct. Like Grand Central non-stop KGX to YRK for almost half the fare LNER had for the same route and then a surprisingly fast Northern back down to LDS. Unimpressed by the fact there is no way to hit Leeds by train before 08:20.

DerekC · 20 Sep 2019

Waterloo in the PM peak when it's working properly (most days, to be fair). it just swallows thousands of people.

Terry Tait · 20 Sep 2019

When I find a seat and it is comfortable.

ijmad · 20 Sep 2019

Watching a 700 pull in to the north end of Blackfriars platform 1 while the one before it has only just cleared the starter signal

Watching the platform alternation ballet on P8/9 and P2/3 the Southeastern trains do during rush hour at London Bridge

Master29 · 21 Sep 2019

I have to say the staff that run (as the OP rightly points out) an antiquated railway with devotion, dignity and professionalism, for the most part anyway, sometimes against serious odds.

Antman · 21 Sep 2019

My partner needed to get eight trains by five different operators yesterday. Some tightish connections. Across busy networks on a Friday.

SWR
XC
GWR
WMT
Virgin
plus LU

It worked.

AM9 · 21 Sep 2019

DerekC said:
Waterloo in the PM peak when it's working properly (most days, to be fair). it just swallows thousands of people.

I agree, seeing a peak service running like a well-oiled machine swallowing and disgorging thousands of people. For me, despite its occasional problems, at St Albans and in the TL core, train after train arrives, platforms up to 10 deep with commuters are emptied with little fuss.
Even more impressive was the Javelin operation to serve the Olympic Park at Stratford International. 12-car class 390s came in on all four platforms, (both of the 760mm high UIC ones were fitted with temporary raised floors), and each train emptied its packed platform so that it could be refilled from the queue that went back all the way to the stadium.
This is what railways excel at better than any other transport mode when everything is working well.

Mintona · 21 Sep 2019

Sitting at Reading in the morning rush hour during normal working and just seeing the huge amount of trains and people all seamlessly interact with each other with no fuss.

Trainfan2019 · 21 Sep 2019

When I get a seat on a TPE 185 between Sheffield and Manchester even at off peak times.

TheEdge · 21 Sep 2019

As said by a few others a London terminal, working well in the peak really is an impressive feat of planning and execution.

Tio Terry · 21 Sep 2019

Worked in the industry for 53 years, I’m always impressed with how much is achieved with such limited resources.

Ethano92 · 21 Sep 2019

•Not NR but the tube. Was at Victoria on the Victoria line platforms yesterday with a guy hurling insults at the platform staff about the trains being so full. I just sat and appreciated that the times from one train beginning to accelerate to the next train entering the platform was 22 seconds, 25 seconds and 24 seconds respectively.

If you're on an unfrequent line and the 2 car diesel train is full it can be infuriating. On the tube, or as said already standing at Waterloo seeing a succession of (almost) full length trains leaving I don't get how people can't appreciate its gonna be full because of the sheer number of people, not because of the poor service. When I was on a 4 car train out of Waterloo last Saturday that was a different matter, people couldn't get on as if it was rush hour, which isn't the service anyone expects on the weekend.

•Again at Victoria I was on Google maps to check the time of my departure and including the tube, southern, and Southeastern there were 7 trains all due to leave within the same minute. Crazy knowing each and every one of them would be the full length in respect to the service and still absolutely full.

alistairlees · 21 Sep 2019

When I’m in Switzerland or Japan.

2L70 · 21 Sep 2019

Most journeys I do on LNER, especially in first class.

paddington · 21 Sep 2019

When Northern pays my kedelay repay like clockwork

ijmad · 21 Sep 2019

Ethano92 said:
•Not NR but the tube. Was at Victoria on the Victoria line platforms yesterday with a guy hurling insults at the platform staff about the trains being so full. I just sat and appreciated that the times from one train beginning to accelerate to the next train entering the platform was 22 seconds, 25 seconds and 24 seconds respectively.

There's a Geoff video showing the Vic hitting 36tph (I know he's marmite in these parts but this vid is probably less controversial than some!).

When Are You Impressed By The Railway

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