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Pains on Trains

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tempests1

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As an occasional commuter travelling into London twice a week. I am pretty used to some of my fellow travellers ways but I had the misfortune to travel off peak into London Waterloo this morning and a few annoying things happened.
1. I approached the door on a class 444 there were a number of people around including these two cyclists who took it upon themselves to go through the door first if anyone knows the stock well there is this small cycle storage area to side of the door there was already a cycle there so they had to muck around to secure their cycles whilst the non bike passengers had to stand outside waiting for them to clear the area as they were blocking the entrance. Common sense dictates they get on last so they can fiddle around and not delay the train.
2. Whilst walking through the aisle to find an available seat this guy virtually was sat with his legs stretched out and glared when I said excuse me. I felt like saying this train service is not for the exclusive use of yourself!
3. On the way back the train was a 450. I had to go right up to the front of the eight coaches to get a seat. Getting near to my destination. I walked a few coaches back to be near the station exit on my way I walked through the disabled area with the large toilet and flip down seats there was a women with a pushchair she had taken the child out and postioned the empty pushchair so it was blocking access through apart from a clearance of less than a foot as it was across the width of the train she had a changebag/handbag/shopping bags on the handle the person before me went through and knocked on of the bags and she sharply said to him 'excuse me'. Did she leave her brain at home :roll:, or I am wrong to thing she should have put the pushchair lengthwise as so to not cause an obstruction or perhaps she is one of these smug parent types that you can meet that think they are ever so important and the moral majority. To add I not anti children as I have two children under 5 one of which is still in a pushchair but I would not want to inconvenience other people. Sorry rant over:D
 
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VTPreston_Tez

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I console you, mate. I would have got the guard, because I've had to deal with similar stuff on a Euston-Preston (well actually Glasgow Central stopper) before today, getting the guard and what.
If it was possible, I would have used another entrance/way through the train if it was possible, notably the getting on incident at the start. But I do think they should remember their brains next time!
 

Clip

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Bad behaviour on trains that is not caused by football fans? I am shocked.
 

CC 72100

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There's been threads on this before, but people who feel that their bag deserves a seat,
and the evil glares you get given when you move a piece of luggage that has been placed awkwardly so that you can get yours in too - if you don't want people to slightly move it to fit more in the space, don't put it there in a way that it takes up lots of space in the first place!
 

SS4

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There's been threads on this before, but people who feel that their bag deserves a seat,
and the evil glares you get given when you move a piece of luggage that has been placed awkwardly so that you can get yours in too - if you don't want people to slightly move it to fit more in the space, don't put it there in a way that it takes up lots of space in the first place!

Exactly how long had you been lurking for? :lol:

You're right of course, these threads come up every so often and the consensus is that your average forum member would put a bag on a seat unless the train was full.

When I read the thread title I expected a thread on stories of people who fell ill on trains or decided it would be wise to come in with the plague :lol:

OP said:
1. I approached the door on a class 444 there were a number of people around including these two cyclists who took it upon themselves to go through the door first if anyone knows the stock well there is this small cycle storage area to side of the door there was already a cycle there so they had to muck around to secure their cycles whilst the non bike passengers had to stand outside waiting for them to clear the area as they were blocking the entrance. Common sense dictates they get on last so they can fiddle around and not delay the train.

You'd think so wouldn't you although strict efficiency would demand that wheelchair users get on last and alight last.

OP said:
2. Whilst walking through the aisle to find an available seat this guy virtually was sat with his legs stretched out and glared when I said excuse me. I felt like saying this train service is not for the exclusive use of yourself!

Should have pulled his legs in but as someone well aware of the deficiencies in leg room (ie 185cm) I cannot blame him so long as nobody was coming.
What frustrates me is seeing someone short sitting in the seat with the largest legroom.

OP said:
3. On the way back the train was a 450. I had to go right up to the front of the eight coaches to get a seat. Getting near to my destination. I walked a few coaches back to be near the station exit on my way I walked through the disabled area with the large toilet and flip down seats there was a women with a pushchair she had taken the child out and postioned the empty pushchair so it was blocking access through apart from a clearance of less than a foot as it was across the width of the train she had a changebag/handbag/shopping bags on the handle the person before me went through and knocked on of the bags and she sharply said to him 'excuse me'. Did she leave her brain at home , or I am wrong to thing she should have put the pushchair lengthwise as so to not cause an obstruction or perhaps she is one of these smug parent types that you can meet that think they are ever so important and the moral majority. To add I not anti children as I have two children under 5 one of which is still in a pushchair but I would not want to inconvenience other people. Sorry rant over

Did better than me, I've physically pushed empty pushchairs out of the way before usually citing fire risk. Only empty ones though :)
Alas I see the "smug parent types" on the bus a fair amount of the time- who think they've a given right to board first, block the aisle, flagrantly disregard the sign of two unfolded buggies only and give you daggers if you dare knock it despite being in the confines of the aisle. Best stop there before I get my blood pressure up
 

bAzTNM

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I absolutely hate getting off a train whilst people are coming onto it. Surely it's common courtesy to at least wait until the person is fully off? Hurt my knee jumping off at a weird angle once.

I'm a cyclist myself, but the ones who bring on the bikes on (known) very busy trains, and they demand space, bug me so much.

Cheeky ticket examiners too. Far too many of them around now on Scotrail trains. Women 40+ are the worst I feel.
 

wensley

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On a train...somewhere!
Passengers are like that...they'll moan about everything, think that they're most important, and generally be a pain!! But without 'em there wouldn't be a railway ;)

I've reached a point of not rising to it any more...I'll just roll with it (for want of a better expression!), often it isn't worth the aggro.
 

stut

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1. I approached the door on a class 444 there were a number of people around including these two cyclists who took it upon themselves to go through the door first if anyone knows the stock well there is this small cycle storage area to side of the door there was already a cycle there so they had to muck around to secure their cycles whilst the non bike passengers had to stand outside waiting for them to clear the area as they were blocking the entrance. Common sense dictates they get on last so they can fiddle around and not delay the train.

You'd think so, but, whenever you wait until the end with a bike, a) someone will stand in the vestibule on the side where you're waiting to board and make it equally difficult to get on (not least because someone else is blocking the corridor to spend 5 minutes taking their jacket off), and b) someone will dump all their luggage in the cycle space and disappear off down the corridor. You can't win.
 

Squaddie

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3. On the way back the train was a 450. I had to go right up to the front of the eight coaches to get a seat. Getting near to my destination. I walked a few coaches back to be near the station exit...
And no matter how packed a train, there are always a few who insist on pushing their way through it as they approach their destination, to save a few seconds on arrival... ( :lol: )
 

MarkyMarkD

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Those who deliberately sit, alone, on the aisle seat blocking an empty window seat on a busy train, hoping that you won't ask them to move, and who then make you clamber past them rather than simply move over.

If they were just going to the next station, then fair enough, but they're doing it to pretend there wasn't an ulterior motive in their seat-blocking.
 

stut

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Those who deliberately sit, alone, on the aisle seat blocking an empty window seat on a busy train, hoping that you won't ask them to move, and who then make you clamber past them rather than simply move over.

If they were just going to the next station, then fair enough, but they're doing it to pretend there wasn't an ulterior motive in their seat-blocking.

Yes, you're absolutely right, there's no possible other reason why someone over 6' crammed into seat with almost no legroom would have a strong preference for an aisle seat. :rolleyes:

No excuse for not standing up to let someone in, though.
 

swt_passenger

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I absolutely hate getting off a train whilst people are coming onto it. Surely it's common courtesy to at least wait until the person is fully off?

Waiting until everyone has got off is an explicit requirement of the byelaws.

I doubt it has ever resulted in a prosecution though, unless one of our legally minded members knows otherwise...
 

Matt Taylor

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And no matter how packed a train, there are always a few who insist on pushing their way through it as they approach their destination, to save a few seconds on arrival... ( :lol: )


And then we wait while 50 people slowly pile out of one door while the other 15 doors are available and unused. This sort of behaviour adds around 20 seconds to station dwell times and is the most common cause of delays in peak hours.

It's a false economy.
 

stut

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Another fun one is at termini in the rush hour. An easy 600 passengers disgorged simultaneously and funnelled towards the barriers...

...and those waiting to board the outbound service stand so as to create a complete bottleneck, allowing only 1-2 people at a time through, complaining about how long they have to wait before boarding.

Yes, platform 9 at King's Cross, I'm looking at you...
 

SS4

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I absolutely hate getting off a train whilst people are coming onto it. Surely it's common courtesy to at least wait until the person is fully off? Hurt my knee jumping off at a weird angle once.

Not just common courtesy but also a byelaw (10(1)).

As for stations stair and escalator issues need fixing since someone who is invariably slow as molasses will be at the front holding the queue up despite being better off with the lifts. Saw it at BHM last week in the evening peak when a woman with a child was holding up the entire staircase. I firmly believe Tube ettiquette for escalators should be applied nationwide and extended to stairs
 

tsr

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Not just common courtesy but also a byelaw (10(1)).

As for stations stair and escalator issues need fixing since someone who is invariably slow as molasses will be at the front holding the queue up despite being better off with the lifts. Saw it at BHM last week in the evening peak when a woman with a child was holding up the entire staircase. I firmly believe Tube ettiquette for escalators should be applied nationwide and extended to stairs

Escalators - yes, the LU model would be pretty good nationwide. Stairs - I'm not sure how that would work. After all, most normal people don't just stand on the stairs waiting to be moved somewhere, with other people trying to walk past them. Anybody who decides to loiter on the stairs without a very good reason at busier stations should certainly be moved on ASAP, though.
 

Anon Mouse

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Central Station Metro last night. There had been a gig on and the station was full of young Goths. All sitting on the floor in the access corridor blocking access to the platforms and all standing in a big huddle in that area on the platform dispite there being loads of room at either end of the platform. Grrrrrrrr out of my way I want to get home!
 

SS4

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Escalators - yes, the LU model would be pretty good nationwide. Stairs - I'm not sure how that would work. After all, most normal people don't just stand on the stairs waiting to be moved somewhere, with other people trying to walk past them. Anybody who decides to loiter on the stairs without a very good reason at busier stations should certainly be moved on ASAP, though.

I was thinking that the left side be reserved for those faster than you sort of like the lanes on a motorway if that makes sense.

Not sure how you'd manage to get it done unless the stairs were one say so to speak
 

Urban Gateline

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Pretty much all of the things mentioned in this thread are people's selfish behaviours, in an ideal world people would think about how what they do, will affect others, before doing it! <D It just takes a bit of common courtesy and respect, but I guess that's too much for some people!
 
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Sniffing.

Not small occassional sniffs, but loud throaty ones that seem to roll snot around the sniffers throat. Generally repeated every 30 seconds or so regardless of the length of journey.

There are some ill people out there. Please buy some tissues or a handkerchief.

Or stay at home.

<(
 

dvboy

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And no matter how packed a train, there are always a few who insist on pushing their way through it as they approach their destination, to save a few seconds on arrival... ( :lol: )

It doesn't help when you have announcements for stations at least five minutes before getting there - LM and XC into BHM are notorious for this, any regular commuter knows there's no point getting out of your seat until you see the platform out of the window.

I've had passengers in the window seat ask me to let them get up well before the station in the past and I usually say "I'm getting off here too".
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Not just common courtesy but also a byelaw (10(1)).

As for stations stair and escalator issues need fixing since someone who is invariably slow as molasses will be at the front holding the queue up despite being better off with the lifts. Saw it at BHM last week in the evening peak when a woman with a child was holding up the entire staircase. I firmly believe Tube ettiquette for escalators should be applied nationwide and extended to stairs

Sometimes I've thought the stairs at BHM should be down one side of the concourse and up the other. A busy train alights at the B end of the platform, and inevitably there's one person trying to get down to it against the flow - they'd be much quicker going down the stairs to the A platform and walking along. Unfortunately some of the platforms are narrowed at the moment and lifts are at one end so it probably wouldn't work very well.

Some keep left signs on the staircases might improve things a little, and better signage for the lifts as people still struggle up and down them with buggies and luggage. I would hope the gatelines discourage this but I doubt they do.
 

Tomonthetrain

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Not just common courtesy but also a byelaw (10(1)).

As for stations stair and escalator issues need fixing since someone who is invariably slow as molasses will be at the front holding the queue up despite being better off with the lifts. Saw it at BHM last week in the evening peak when a woman with a child was holding up the entire staircase. I firmly believe Tube ettiquette for escalators should be applied nationwide and extended to stairs

Hear hear
 

ert47

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I've had passengers in the window seat ask me to let them get up well before the station in the past and I usually say "I'm getting off here too".

Not going to lie, I'm the type of person who prefers to get out of the train (and the station as quickly as possible as I know that if I let at least 2 people exit the train before me, they will no doubt take a while to get down the stairs). Only a couple of seconds, but sometimes patience is lacking for me.

When someone tells me "I'm getting off here too", and then they keep seated until the train stops, that kinda fills me with an uncontrollable sense of panic - dont ask me why :lol:

--------------

Speaking of exiting, the hilarious one for me is when you get up to walk to the door as the train is arriving at a station and on the way there, someone just happens to see you and decides to leave their seat and then stand in the vestibule in such a way that they block you, and they have the choice to get off the train first using the left or right hand doors (mainly happens when the train is arriving at the terminus).
 

tempests1

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Not going to lie, I'm the type of person who prefers to get out of the train (and the station as quickly as possible as I know that if I let at least 2 people exit the train before me, they will no doubt take a while to get down the stairs). Only a couple of seconds, but sometimes patience is lacking for me.

When someone tells me "I'm getting off here too", and then they keep seated until the train stops, that kinda fills me with an uncontrollable sense of panic - dont ask me why :lol:

--------------

Speaking of exiting, the hilarious one for me is when you get up to walk to the door as the train is arriving at a station and on the way there, someone just happens to see you and decides to leave their seat and then stand in the vestibule in such a way that they block you, and they have the choice to get off the train first using the left or right hand doors (mainly happens when the train is arriving at the terminus).

I get why people want to get off near the exit, if you don't you could end stuck behind that annoying person at the barriers who have to search through there entire bag/pockets on clothing to find their ticket but whilst they are searching they are stood right in the way of the actual barrier so you have to quickly side step them to get to another barrier. You feel like saying perhaps next time get your ticket ready before you leave the train. This is more of a problem off peak as obviously the regular commuters go through the same process day after day. Another thing is people will go through the barriers and their friends or family are waiting for them they will walk a few foot beyond the barriers and just stop to greet them but then cause a blockage as they all stand there and not move out of the way!
 

Anon Mouse

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Sniffing.

Not small occassional sniffs, but loud throaty ones that seem to roll snot around the sniffers throat. Generally repeated every 30 seconds or so regardless of the length of journey.

There are some ill people out there. Please buy some tissues or a handkerchief.

Or stay at home.

<(

Oh yes, that really riles me too. On earlies when I lived at my Mums house I used to get a workers bus that took an age to get to Newcastle. A smelly old man used to get on the bus every morning and sit behind me and I had to endure about half an hour of a throaty cough every couple of minuites, a flemmy smell and sniffs and throat clearing every few mins. Even when I started to sit in another seat away from him I still had to endure the noise.

Another thing I hate is chewing in my ear, especially when I'm doing my doors and standing by the Guards Operating Panel and someone is behind me chewing and sucking their gum right in my ear. I hate it also when you are talking to someone who insists on chewing gum, eating or drinking instead of waiting till you have finished.

When I worked for the PTE I worked in the traveline call centre and it used to annoy me in the morning when callers would be eating their breakfast or drinking their coffee while on the phone to me!
 

extendedpaul

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I travel at weekends with family. Regularly there is not a single table for four vacant anywhere on a lightly loaded train. Most are occupied by a single passenger and hardly ever one using a laptop PC which I would understand. We end up unable to sit together.

I do not feel able to ask somebody to move as they are not doing anything wrong but I would like to see a sign on these tables something like "Priority seating for groups of 3 or 4 people travelling together".
 

stut

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It seems rather rich to complain of selfishness when the complaint is that people are in your way. A little tolerance, perhaps? You have no idea why they may be holding things up.

As for the tables, it's really something to sort out between you - who's to say your preference to sit together is worthier than the laptop-user's preference to work at a table (particularly when airline seats often have insufficient space, or a lack of power). A compromise between both parties is needed, not yet more petty, unenforced regulation.
 

185

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..two cyclists who took it upon themselves to go through the door first if anyone knows the stock well there is this small cycle storage area to side of the door there was already a cycle there so they had to muck around to secure their cycles whilst the non bike passengers had to stand outside waiting for them to clear the area as they were blocking the entrance. Common sense dictates they get on last so they can fiddle around and not delay the train

It would. But only in a common sense country. Many commuters seem to have little common sense.

Some years ago, I watched a cyclist getting on at the doors next to the bike space. Despite a half empty train, a woman was sat in the bike space, with laptop out and legal papers all over the place.

I walked down, and asked her if she would give up her seat for the cyclist. She refused and just ignored me. Two other cyclists appeared at the next stop, she was still sat there. At stop number three, she packed her laptop up and tried to get off, having to climb over the third bike that had appearred....

...whoops. there was oil everywhere on the bottom of her white cotton rain mac <D

She came to me and asked who she should complain to. I suggested she go to church and complain to god himself :)
 

Anon Mouse

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Mobile phones, walkmans and other noisy electronic devices being used in the quiet coach, especially by those who giggle about it and exclaim "ooh this is the quiet coach" when its announced but who still continuie to make a din.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
It would. But only in a common sense country. Many commuters seem to have little common sense.

Some years ago, I watched a cyclist getting on at the doors to the bike space. Despite a half empty train, a woman was sat in the bike space, with laptop out and legal papers all over the place.

I walked down, and asked her if she would give up her seat for the cyclist. She refused and just ignored me. Two other cyclists appeared at the next stop, she was still sat there. At stop number three, she packed her laptop up and tried to get off, having to climb over the third bike that had appearred....

...whoops. there was oil everywhere on the bottom of her white cotton rain mac <D

She came to me and asked who she should complain to. I suggested she go to church and complain to god himself :)

quality! :D
 

Deerfold

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I travel at weekends with family. Regularly there is not a single table for four vacant anywhere on a lightly loaded train. Most are occupied by a single passenger and hardly ever one using a laptop PC which I would understand. We end up unable to sit together.

I do not feel able to ask somebody to move as they are not doing anything wrong but I would like to see a sign on these tables something like "Priority seating for groups of 3 or 4 people travelling together".

Can you not get reservations?
 
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