trainophile
Established Member
Just to air my appreciation of all you rail workers for the complex and often thankless job you unfailingly do, I thought I'd share a couple of incidents from my Southport to Hereford (via Chester) journey today.
First, on Merseyrail out of Southport I was lucky enough to be in a carriage with seven or eight uniformed M/Rail staff, including a couple of guys who were obviously new recruits on a training day. I was able to hear some of the conversations, and it brought it home to me how involved the job actually is, learning the door opening/closing procedures, always being alert for any kind of unexpected event, ticket checking etc. These guys all looked very smartly turned out, were unfailingly polite, had a friendly word for anyone who caught their attention, and quite honestly made me proud of the ethos of our rail transport workers.
Then on ATW from Chester to Crewe I was impressed with the newness of the coach, which has apparently just been refurbed. Sorry I am no good with knowing what reference numbers trains are, but it was a two-coach newly painted one! . I particularly liked the back of seat tray tables, which now have a pull-out handle-like rail that extends the supported area, ideal for laptop users, or readers of large books!
It was good to see the train presentation guy cheerfully cleaning the tables and collecting rubbish. I was not impressed by how much litter previous passengers had strewn on the floor, but that's another thread!
Thank you guys and gals, with all the things we have to grumble about in this country these days, I am pleased to say that train travel is not one of them, at least in my experience. Yours gratefully (and no I haven't been drinking!) .
First, on Merseyrail out of Southport I was lucky enough to be in a carriage with seven or eight uniformed M/Rail staff, including a couple of guys who were obviously new recruits on a training day. I was able to hear some of the conversations, and it brought it home to me how involved the job actually is, learning the door opening/closing procedures, always being alert for any kind of unexpected event, ticket checking etc. These guys all looked very smartly turned out, were unfailingly polite, had a friendly word for anyone who caught their attention, and quite honestly made me proud of the ethos of our rail transport workers.
Then on ATW from Chester to Crewe I was impressed with the newness of the coach, which has apparently just been refurbed. Sorry I am no good with knowing what reference numbers trains are, but it was a two-coach newly painted one! . I particularly liked the back of seat tray tables, which now have a pull-out handle-like rail that extends the supported area, ideal for laptop users, or readers of large books!
It was good to see the train presentation guy cheerfully cleaning the tables and collecting rubbish. I was not impressed by how much litter previous passengers had strewn on the floor, but that's another thread!
Thank you guys and gals, with all the things we have to grumble about in this country these days, I am pleased to say that train travel is not one of them, at least in my experience. Yours gratefully (and no I haven't been drinking!) .