Having endured a fortnight commuting from Blackpool to Stockport, all I can say is that it takes more than a bit of litter to generate the squalor that passes for a clean train at Northern (apart from one particular 150 which seemed to have been deep cleaned and was quite pleasant). It's not coffee cups and copies of the metro, it's the thick layer of hairy, sticky gunk that clings to everything below seat level, the corners that haven't seen any cleaning for years. Even a 158 that I took to Leeds last week was filthy, and had one bay with a table completely missing. Sit in an EMT 158 and then a Northern, you wouldn't think they were the same age and type.
Why is that TPE and EMT trains are almost always immaculate?
It's nothing to do with the passengers, where they come from etc. They're no dirtier than anywhere else (and a recent trip on a Southern 377 made me think there's another company with Northern's pride in its rolling stock).
Such a shame, because apart from one badger-related incident every journey was near enough on time, staff all helpful and friendly. Northern provide a good service, they just don't have the stock to be able to provide that service and look after it.
Ironically the cleanest train of the lot was a Pacer.......