Five hours no toilets!

[Starmill]

No reason why toilet stops couldn't take place at Crewe, Shrewsbury, Hereford, Cardiff and Swansea. Port Talbot and Stockport too but if they were really necessary. I hope they would have waited if anyone said they needed to go...

I've been London Midland trains that have stopped for up to 15 minutes for people to use the facilites at Milton Keynes, Crewe, Nuneaton, Rugby and Coventry before.

 

[PHILIPE]

No reason why toilet stops couldn't take place at Crewe, Shrewsbury, Hereford, Cardiff and Swansea. Port Talbot and Stockport too but if they were really necessary. I hope they would have waited if anyone said they needed to go...

I've been London Midland trains that have stopped for up to 15 minutes for people to use the facilites at Milton Keynes, Crewe, Nuneaton, Rugby and Coventry before.

No hold ups for toilet stops seen on RTT

 

[westcoaster]

Does the 50 mile rule still count, when I did my conductor training years ago we were told the train would not run if it was over 50 miles long and no toilets available.

 

[trainophile]

Does the 50 mile rule still count, when I did my conductor training years ago we were told the train would not run if it was over 50 miles long and no toilets available.

Loving the idea of a 50 mile long train Might help with the overcrowding problems at last!

I'd still like to know whether people are expected to take all their stuff with them when leaving the train for a toilet stop, or leave it on board and just hope the train doesn't continue without them.

 

[Starmill]

Loving the idea of a 50 mile long train Might help with the overcrowding problems at last!

I'd still like to know whether people are expected to take all their stuff with them when leaving the train for a toilet stop, or leave it on board and just hope the train doesn't continue without them.

A toilet stop is an advertised thing, you take your belongings with you and bring them back when you return, unless by other arrangement. The guard usually just waits to make sure everyone has time - 15 minutes is more than sufficient at most locations. If just one person who can be quite quick asks the guard to wait for them, they probably would agree to that too.

 

[Esker-pades]

Could the passengers complain to ATW and get something back i wonder.

Ha! Last time I claimed from ATW, they sent me vouchers without a barcode.

 

[father_jack]

I wouldn't even subject my biggest enemy to the toilets at Shrewsbury.

 

[Starmill]

They are pretty awful I agree...

 

[kentman]

A few years ago I was on the southbound Highland Chieftain from Inverness to Kings Cross (8H 40Min) , and after awhile it came apparent it had not been serviced fully overnight as water started running out one by one. After awhile they gave up locking them out of service, the rest well...

 

[kieron]

because there's unlikely to have been spare stock anywhere nearby, so they had the option of:
A: Run the service without a loo
B: cancel

This is Manchester, so the 175 which normally runs the 1550 to Llandudno was probably sitting in a siding not far away.

Swapping them around when convenient could leave someone on an unpleasantly short train (depending on what units were actually used), or could mean the broken train inconveniences people all the way to Llandudno instead of Carmarthen (if they couldn't arrange for something which was actually spare to replace it en route), but it was an option.

While Carmarthen is further in total, there would be over half an hour between Manchester and Warrington without a toilet break, as (as far as I know) none of the stations Arriva call at in Merseyside have public toilets.

 

[pemma]

This is Manchester, so the 175 which normally runs the 1550 to Llandudno was probably sitting in a siding not far away.

Swapping them around when convenient could leave someone on an unpleasantly short train (depending on what units were actually used), or could mean the broken train inconveniences people all the way to Llandudno instead of Carmarthen (if they couldn't arrange for something which was actually spare to replace it en route), but it was an option.

Add to that they could possibly arrange another unit to transfer from the sidings/depot at Chester to be on platform 4 at Chester at 16:50, then they could send the ex-Manchester train in to platform 5 and ask passengers to transfer - they've done it numerous times before.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

I heard that the actor Benedict Cumberbatch tried to board this service to use the toilet at Piccadilly but the guard told him "No s**t, Sherlock"!

 

[daniel3982]

I had to travel from Glasgow to Mallaig on a 156 that's toilets were flooded and out of service by Dumbarton. It was packed to the rafters too! Cue the unedifying sight of dozens of tourists (male and female) weeing in plain sight on desolate platforms throughout the Highlands.

 

[misterredmist]

I see "steerage class" is alive an well on our railways then !

the thought of going on a long distance rail journey with no serviceable loo is a
no-no for me , and there should be adequate T&C's in the franchise agreements to
fine TOC's for providing inadequately prepared trains....

 

[jopsuk]

with the best will in the world breakages can happen- and may be down to passenger mis-use

 

[Bungle965]

Toilets do not have to be broken for them not to be able to be used. For example xc voyager toliets provide a gut renching smell if you are lucky enough to be on one that has a intensive diagram. Drunks, and people who have taken.. well you get the idea.

Sam

 

[broadgage]

Does the 50 mile rule still count, when I did my conductor training years ago we were told the train would not run if it was over 50 miles long and no toilets available.

Seems rather an odd rule to me, surely the time in minutes is of more relevance than the distance in miles.

 

[rebmcr]

Loving the idea of a 50 mile long train Might help with the overcrowding problems at last!

"Please move all the way down the train."

 

[trainophile]

"Please move all the way down the train."

"Will passengers who wish to alight at the next station please make their way to coaches 432 to 440" .

It occurred to me that because the toilets are charged for at MAN, I bet a lot of people think they will wait and go on the train. All the more reason for an announcement to have been made before people boarded!

 

[rebmcr]

"This train is formed of 3,492 coaches. Doors in the rear 3,488 coaches will not open at this station."

 

[Minilad]

What a shame it would be if there was an amorous couple on the train. Their hopes would be dashed!!

 

[Kernowfem]

What a shame it would be if there was an amorous couple on the train. Their hopes would be dashed!!

Nothing more romantic than getting amorous in a public loo....on a train. Ewwwww. Classy. Reminds me of an old thread on here...the railway version of the mile high club

 

[Minilad]

Nothing more romantic than getting amorous in a public loo....on a train. Ewwwww. Classy. Reminds me of an old thread on here...the railway version of the mile high club

Ow gawd!!!
How is Ivo these days? Are you two still married

 

[Kernowfem]

Ow gawd!!!
How is Ivo these days? Are you two still married

He dumped me when he realised my passion for kettles and 37's would always come first.

 

[Erniescooper]

This is Manchester, so the 175 which normally runs the 1550 to Llandudno was probably sitting in a siding not far away.

Swapping them around when convenient could leave someone on an unpleasantly short train (depending on what units were actually used), or could mean the broken train inconveniences people all the way to Llandudno instead of Carmarthen (if they couldn't arrange for something which was actually spare to replace it en route), but it was an option.

While Carmarthen is further in total, there would be over half an hour between Manchester and Warrington without a toilet break, as (as far as I know) none of the stations Arriva call at in Merseyside have public toilets.

Yesterday's 15:50 to Llandudno was 175105 which is the exam train at Chester today. Sending it to Carmarthen without enough exam mileage to get it back wouldn't have made unit control very popular.

 

[Ianigsy]

I seem to remember reading about an incident in Romania a couple of years back where new DMUs had been put on this particular line but the tanks could only be emptied at one end. A unit was sent out without the tanks having been emptied, so the toilets were unusable on the return journey and with typical Eastern European pragmatism, the crew decided to make a stop in the middle of a forest on the way back to Cluj or Bucharest or wherever for everybody to go in the bushes.

The only problem was that nobody thought to count people off the train and back on again and some people took too long and were left behind!

 

[HA25322]

I seem to remember reading about an incident in Romania a couple of years back where new DMUs had been put on this particular line but the tanks could only be emptied at one end. A unit was sent out without the tanks having been emptied, so the toilets were unusable on the return journey and with typical Eastern European pragmatism, the crew decided to make a stop in the middle of a forest on the way back to Cluj or Bucharest or wherever for everybody to go in the bushes.

The only problem was that nobody thought to count people off the train and back on again and some people took too long and were left behind!

Blimey using retention toilets in Romania (and other ex eastern block countries for that matter.) You should see the state of some of the toilets. Absolutely hanging.

And on the topic of the ATW in this thread. It was 175112 and I overheard on the radio at Stockport by the Virgin dispatchers that the guard refused to take it forward and it stood for 4 minutes in platform 2 I think. Then all of a sudden it went. Make of that what you will.

 

[chris_in_salop]

I wouldn't even subject my biggest enemy to the toilets at Shrewsbury.

They're not that bad, well at least compared to some of the other ones elsewhere in the town. Shrewsbury's real horror loos are to be found in some of the more traditional pubs.

 

[yorksrob]

the crew decided to make a stop in the middle of a forest on the way back to Cluj or Bucharest or wherever for everybody to go in the bushes.

Reminiscent of the classic film 'Carry on at Your Convenience'

 

[satisnek]

In the bad old days train toilets discharged their contents on the track and were located in tiny compartments with narrow doors thus inaccessible to a wheelchair user. But they were always available, even if they had run out of flushing water and/or had become blocked and were completely rank you could still use the thing if you really needed to.

Today, there's no muck dropped out the underside of the carriage, big power-operated doors allow wheelchair access but if there's any problem they're locked out of use, so are therefore to all intents and purposes optional. That's certainly the case on my local line since the 172s were introduced. Toilets are optional.

This is what is known as 'progress'. :roll: