Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I agree about the helpful staff, especially when it comes to wheelchair ramp assistance, which they have got down to a practised turn up and go routine (but it will no longer be needed with the new trains). I counted up to 6 wheelchairs on the 16:13 from Southport on some occasions when I used to take a disabled friend back from town to Birkdale twice a week. One thing I felt was particularly unfair during disruption on Northern was that, since Northern had no staff at Ormskirk or Southport, they left Merseyrail men and women to carry the can for the failings of a TOC that isn't even their employer (it's just "the railway" to your average commuter). The comment I heard more than once from staff was that "they [Northern] never tell us anything".
Is that actually unusual? At most small or medium sized stations the station is staffed by only one TOC who do "carry the can" for any that serve it.
There is an attitude problem pervading Merseyrail Electrics (right up to the top I expect) that they aren't part of the national network and therefore nothing else is their concern, which is why you might get more whining about it than you might get from, say, WMT staff dispatching XC trains.