Win! Your rail complaints can’t be ignored for much longer

Greetings. Thank you for the Email. I rarely use the trains, although on the occasions I have the services ran on time with staff being very pleasant plus helpful. However, Ihave noted your advice in case I do have cause to make a complaint,

I recently had to get a train from Barming to St Pancras. The train I was scheduled to catch was cancelled and the next one was over 20 mins late which resulted in a wasted hospital appointment I travelled all the way from Plymouth for. It’s not good enough – they need more accountability and oversight by an ombudsmen.

I wrote a letter complaining about the price of travelling to London for work. The reply was that they charge according to what the market can bear. There is no market as such. I had to use the train to get to work. We are captive. Seemed a callous answer

Transdev Citzap have started a bus service between Leeds and Manchester it takes very little longer than the train but much, much cheaper £9.50 return Buses every hour via the M62 with just one stop at Ainley Top Wifi and chargers on every bus The journey time is 1 hour 20 minuites Those traveling by train should give it a try glorious views from the M62 you miss when going by car I am no part of Transdev Blazefield but a frequent bus traveller

A few years ago, I complained bitterly that the 17.30 from Holyhead sometimes ‘just missed’ the booked Virgin connection at Chester. In fact, it became quite farcical as passengers with bags struggled over the footbridge amid a cocophony of whistle blowing and shouting. It was not unknown to miss the connection. Following my complaints, in fairness, Arriva Trains Wales re-scheduled the Holyhead train and then ran it non-stop from Llandudno Junction to Chester. This resulted in more time for the Chester connection and a more relaxed inter-change. It really is worth writing polite well-expressed complaints, detailing the required improvements. Full marks to Arriva Trains Wales for responding so well.

You have NO right’s whatsoever when some arrogant B*****d, who has only paid for 1 seat take’s up 2 & refuses’ to move, leaving you stood in the aisle.
These are people who should be targeted & the train operators’ should have more power when it comes’ to dealing with these people.
Maybe they should be removed from the train altogether & made to catch another?
Only then, can the price of our train fares’ be a bit nearer justified, despite being extortionate anyway.
Now, “That” is a train complaint!

One unwelcome trend that is emerging, is that when engineering works are taking place the blockade involves a much longer length of line than was the case only three years ago. This involves longer and more uncomfortable journeys on often old buses often taking an hour or more. To make matters worse Network Rail are proposing two 9 day blockades in October 2018 and February 2019 meaning no trains during that period and that many rail journeys will be replaced by bus journeys up to three times longer during this period (including peak hours), assuming that road traffic conditions will be good.

At the end of the day, if you buy a rail ticket, you rightly expect to travel by rail, not on an old and uncomfortable bus and being forced to shoe-horn yourself into a seat with hopelessly inadequate leg room, if you are unfortunate enough to be tall in height.