Which train company brand names does the public know and use, and why?

[Irascible]

And the inevitable prefix if there is a problem with a/c in a hot summer?

Oh dear, lol... knowing Londoners that'll happen & go unprintable places too

 

[Bantamzen]

I must confess I've found myself referring to the 06:38 LNER from Shipley that I usually use to commute into Leeds as "the Azuma". The power of marketing eh?

 

[AM9]

I've just been viewing Jago Hazzard's latest video about the 'newness' of the Elizabeth line. I note that he refers to it as the "Lizzie" (maybe he spells it as 'Lizzy'). So it looks like the name given by Londoners is likely to be the the 'Lizzie' as I suggested some way back.

 

[Royston Vasey]

"Getting the Grand Central" or just "getting Grand Central to the smoke" is very commonly used up in Sunderland in particular.

A few reasons why really...

- It was a big deal when it started up to have a London service, and still is fondly regarded as "our train". GC stuck at it and succeeded and the people are quite proud of it and proud to use it as "theirs".
- It is particularly well known amongst the thousands of travelling football fans who discuss awayday travel extensively on an extremely popular local football forum (particularly when planning visits to Wembley)
- It differentiates it conversationally from the more awkward Newcastle route and also is often cheaper
- It is visible and stands out as a Big Train given that the main Metro station in the city is the shared Sunderland (unofficially "Sunderland Central") which also carries the GC. Its arrival always seems a big event if you're expecting your Metro to shuffle in. This was even more true in the Valenta HST days!

 

[BluePenguin]

My friends and acquaintances generally say they get "the Eurostar" to (eg) Paris. They don't specify whether they get "the GWR" to Paddington, or "the Chiltern" to Marylebone. And friends in Surrey don't say they get "the Southwest" to Waterloo. Friends in Brighton just say they can't understand the palaver about tickets for a Govia train only (allegedly) being valid if the train's the right colour.
I just say I get a train to Paris, or wherever. To me "the Eurostar" is an unremarkable train, with unusually annoying queuing and faffing before you board.
I guess, but don't know, people may say they get "[the?] Lumo" to Edinburgh, and go on to tell you it was a lot cheaper than "[the?] LNER".
What do forum members say themselves, and hear others saying?

Yes, I do say this. Nearly everyone I know does actually. The reason being it is obviously insinuated that you took a train due to the context of your conversation. Otherwise it would be as stupid as saying “I drove my car to Bristol yesterday” instead of “I went along the M4 to Bristol yesterday”

The southern, the southeastern, the southwestern, the liner, the lumo are all common. A notable one is “took the Thameslink to Blackfriars” which is used the same way as Eurostar. Only last week I said I got off the Thameslink at London Bridge to someone.

Saying you took the (TOC name) train is helpful to who you are speaking to as they then know what route you took. Especially when there are multiple TOC is between 2 destinations.

Locally, as all out trains are Southeastern, amongst friends and family we usually say we took “the Charing Cross train” or “the high-speed train” - talking about 395s to St Pancras not an HST!

When going to Canterbury East we take “the Victoria line” (Chatham main line not the underground)

In conclusion, yes it is very common to mention the company you travel with. Whether it be an airline, train company, coach company or even Uber. Not only travel but this applies linguistically to other situations too:

I took the National Express to London. I ordered myself a Deliveroo. I took easyJet to Spain. I took the Thameslink to Bedford. I got an Uber home from work. I Googled the address.

I’ve never quite understood “the Eurostar” usage either, as though there’s only one…

Well, there is? Of course you mention your destination but it is implied there is more than one train to a big city lol