Robert Hampton

On Friday, the UK rail industry said goodbye to the Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Company, which was killed off after its parent company concluded that it would never turn a profit.

I never experienced the joys of this company’s trains, although I’d hoped to try and arrange a ride sometime this year (procrastination FAIL).

The new Wrexham-Marylebone service was launched in 2008, restoring direct trains to London from Wrexham, forty years after they were withdrawn. For passengers, WSMR promised a railway experience akin to that of yesteryear, using refurbished ex-BR coaches with a spacious, roomy layout. Cooked meals, freshly prepared on board (no microwaved bacon baps here) were served at your seat. All this for far less than the fares of rival operator, Virgin Trains.

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Dear Network Rail,

I’m going to London by train on the 23rd, so please get this mess sorted out before then. Thanks

Lots of love,
Rob
x

So, how did day 1 of the Super duper new West Coast Main Line timetable go? I have no first hand experience, but over on uk.railway one person reported that his train from Lime Street to London this morning was cancelled due to… overrunning engineering works. Hm.

Elsewhere it was a happier story, with Stone station in Staffordshire getting its first train in five years, after its services were “bustituted” in 2003 to allow the upgrade work to take place.

Network Rail can’t quite shake the engineering work bug though, as there’s one last hurrah the weekend after Christmas.

Liverpool to London with Virgin Trains? For £10.60 return? Yes, I think I will buy that.

GOOD: Going to London for a day out.
BAD: Having to get up at stupid o’clock (aka 5.30am) to get the first Merseyrail train into town to connect with an early morning Virgin Train at Lime Street.

GOOD: Virgin allow Off-Peak tickets bought with Railcards to be used on any train without time restriction.
BAD: Everyone else gets charged a hugely expensive fare, meaning that my train (the 07.07 to London, supposedly Virgin’s “flagship” Liverpool service) was half-empty.

GOOD: The Science Museum has a great exhibition on the development of British technology in household appliances.
BAD: The Science Museum cafe promised sandwiches “from £1.50″, but I certainly couldn’t find any at that price (nice Danish pastry, though).

GOOD: Meeting up with a friend I haven’t seen for ages and strolling alongside the River Thames with her.
BAD: Seeing things which looked really interesting (Tate Modern, Globe Theatre, HMS Belfast) but not having time to visit them. I need to book a hotel and spend a few days there.

GOOD: Having the foresight to buy an Oyster card online from TfL’s website, meaning I saved money and beat the horrendous queues at Euston Underground station.
BAD: Slipping on the wet surface at Boston Manor tube station and falling down the stairs.

GOOD: Reaching Euston station early enough to catch an earlier train home than the one I had planned.
BAD: Did not have a seat reservation for this service so had to fight my way past the Friday night crowds to the non-reserved coach where I got a seat — just.

GOOD: The train toilets were clean.
BAD: Opening the train toilet door to find a woman in “full flow”, as it were, because she had forgotten to push the “Lock” button.

Regular readers (bless you, both) will know that I’m quite a fan of the railways. I think that a properly-managed rail network has an important part to play in this country’s transport network and I’m supportive of any initiative to improve it. I even use the trains for… gasp! Non-commuting purposes. Sometimes even getting on trains just for the hell of it.

But after reading three separate examples of the UK rail industry shooting itself in the foot, I wonder if soon I might be the only one left.