Advantages: SAFETY
Disadvantages: LACK OF COMMUNICATION

...Whilst I have a great sympathy with the British Public with reference to the delays currently being experienced on the railway network,I must point out that SAFETY IS THE MORE IMPORTANT ISSUE!!!!!!!!! The people who experienced the dreadful tragedy at Hatfield recently would surely agree that there has at least,been some good to come from this disaster inasmuch as that the national railway system has been thoroughly examined and a rather disturbing amount of problems have been found on the tracks nationally!!!!!!! As a traveller on the railway system I find the delays incredibly frustrating,BUT,I would rather be delayed to arrive at my destination safely than experience the horror of another Hatfield crash!! The management of British Rail would much improve the current situation with a drastic review of their communication procedures... Read review

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Advantages: You get where you want to go eventually
Disadvantages: You pay a ridiculous amount of money to do so

...These people have got to be taking the piss. Surely i can't be the only person who has calculated that on average it costs just over £10 an hour to travel by British Rail. This is just ridiculous, i don't really care that much about cleanliness or timetable accuracy but i do object to paying over £60 for a 6 hour train journey. Recently i saw an advert in a paper offering flights to austrailia for £99, it costs about £130 to travel by train from the most southerly to the most northerly train station in Britain. If someone could explain to me why this is and where this mass of money is going i would be glad to listen. If the goverment want to get people out of their cars and onto buses and trains maybe they could get British Rail to stop charging me £3.50 for a 15 minute train journey every day. The only piece of advice i can give... Read review

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Advantages: None really
Disadvantages: Lateness, uncleanliness, uninformative

...I have just returned from Belgium and Holland and found a massive gap between the trains of Europe and those of British Rail. The train from Ashford International to Dover was late due to flooding and duly arrived 20 minutes late. The seats were ripped and dirty and the floor was strewn with rubbish. I won't mention the toilet! So you get the picture. I arrive in Belgium, buy my ticket and am given the ticket and another card with the times, platform and connections for the route to Amsterdam. Wow I thought, that is handy. The train arrives on time and looks like a new train. I see the other trains are the same and realise that this is standard. Clean on the outside and on entering I see plush seating, clean floors, segregated smoking, blinds on the windows, coat hangers by your seat. What a difference. At the time I though I... Read review

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Advantages: Quick easy savings
Disadvantages: Must be renewed every year

...I've had a young persons rail card now for 5 years and i wouldn't be without it. altogether the savings it has made me on rail travel have totalled at least £300. The young persons rail card gives you a 1/3 discount on standard train fairs any where in the UK and a discount on one day London travel cards. They are available to anyone aged 18-26 years old (and also mature students who have proof of student status from their academic institution). They are available from any British rail ticket office and cost £18 for one year at the end of which it must be renewed. If you have never had a young persons rail card the you will need to take along proof of your age such as a passport or driving licence (or for mature students a letter from your academic institution) and a passport size photograph (I'm not sure if its one or two so its... Read review

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Advantages: ?????????????
Disadvantages: time-wasting, stress, hassle

...British Rail has a great slogan "let the train take the strain" - I tried that and the only one left strained was ME. With three weeks left until my journey, I thought it best to buy the return ticket and sort out my timetable well in advance. My husband works in Newbury, so he spent one lunchtime at Newbury station getting my ticket. Granted it was for a Great Western train, but British Rail sold the ticket and arranged the travel. He paid for a ticket leaving Swindon on the Friday at 7.12pm, returning Monday at 8.25pm and the lady cashier even gave him a computer printout of the journey. Straight through, no changes - fantastic! On the day of travel, we arrived at Swindon with 20 minutes to spare and were told at the ticket desk to wait at platform 3. Just to check the train was running to schedule, we checked the televised... Read review

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Advantages: It is there, good selection of routes
Disadvantages: Dirty, poor food, always late/cancelled, safety aspects, some fellow passengers

...I don't drive, so am forced to use British Rail on a regular basis, whether it be a 20 minute journey to work or a 6 hour trip to see my family in Southport. As I am hoping to pass my driving test shortly, I pray that my usage of the train system will be minimised greatly... ROUTES/PRICE British Rail has a very good selection of routes and , with a number of connections, you can get to most of your required destinations. A lot of different rail companies run these routes, but this is more of an opinion about the general state of the rail system in this country, not each individual franchise. The prices are going up at a rate over inflation and £50 for a return to the north west from London is a disgrace RELIABILITY In a word - dreadful. This is not only because of the recent well-publicised problems caused by tragic disasters... Read review

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Advantages: Original unseen footage
Disadvantages: Poor quality production

...British team in the 1950s and 1960s is exactly what it says. British Steam in the 1950s and 1960s. It has to be said that the music chosen is not particularly good library music and that the titles seem to be rather low quality and amateurish. The quality of the sound of the narrator is very poor, being both muddy and rather faint. However, the programme rather redeems itself by showing uncut amateur footage form all four regions of British Rail during the 1950s and 1960s. Am I biased because the programme starts at Snow Hill Station in Birmingham, the station where my Dad used to take me every Sunday to see the trains? Yes! Of course I am! The programme then features Clapham Junction (interesting to see a tank engine juxtaposed with a diesel electric locomotive. Whatever happened to the diesel electrics? Other locomotives seen... Read review

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Advantages: Save 1/3 on most fares
Disadvantages: Not available on some local peak fares

...I purchased a Young Persons Railcard last August and it has been worth it's weight in gold (okay, it doesn't weigh much but you know what I mean!) I changed jobs and had to move 200 miles away from my girlfried, so I havebeen doing a lot of travelling up and down the country. As I am under 26 I was able to purchase a Young Persons Railcard. This entitles me to a discout of 1/3 off most rail fares, for an annual cost of £18.00. £18.00 may sound a lot but I saved that much on my first journey!. You can also save on some coach fares and get discount at some stores (sorry, I can't remember which). I think over the course of the year I have saved about £300, which is a lot of money! I would recommend this card to anyone who oes a lot of travel by rail. Be careful if you only travel short distances at peak times though... Read review

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Advantages: more investement, new trains, doesnt require as much Government money
Disadvantages: Railtrack making a mess of things at the moment

...I have to say that my views have had to have been reviewed recently in the wake of the spate of derailments etc... that we have experienced on Britains railways. However I still remain optimistic about the state of the railways in this country and will continue to travel on them for a good while yet as i believe they are the best form of public transport. I use the trains a lot to travel between Burton and Yorkshire and I can still safely say that despite all of the problems I am still a believer that rail privatisation was the correct thing to do. For starters it generated a lot of money for the country and the Government of the time. Also people forget how bad things were under British Rail before thinking how bad they think things are now. I don't believe a Government can invest enough money into the public transport system... Read review

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Advantages: You get to sit next to people who talk to themselves and smell of strong cider, which some people may enjoy(?)
Disadvantages: See Review

...The wind whistles on the unsheltered station and whips at your face and shoulders, pushing the heavy rucksack against your back, but still no train. You wait, getting increasingly impatient and desperate for the toilet as the one at the station is locked on a Sunday. Eventually your hope dies as there is no sign of the 10.17 to Manchester, in desperation you drag your heavy bags into the station office and beg the attendant to assist you even though he is 'on a break'. Your journey ends where it began as the trains are not running on this particular sunday due to 'trouble on tracks'. You discover that British Rail enabled you to buy a ticket and book a seat on a train that was never destined to make its journey. You were misinformed by Rail Information, you had to beg a family member to give you a lift, 200 miles up the motorway... Read review

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