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Northern trains

Horley Chorley said:
Totally agreed, mate.
It's beyond comprehension, how Northern, can only put two carriages on, on a busy Saturday, knowing that the usual GC service wasn't running, and when the North East's two biggest football teams are playing at home, and not forgetting those people that use the train to travel up to Newcastle, for shopping, a day or night out, or those heading to the airport.
Unbelievable incompetence down the years.
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43 years has convinced me they just don’t give a shit mate. You hear the same tired old platitudes over and over and nothing changes.
 

kyle's left foot said:
As Hank said been shite for years.
Always remeber Sunday 1245 kickoffs in the prem were a mare, like only 2 trains would get you up to Sund in time, and was always still only 2 carriages on

Did the 'Teeside branch' thing ever take off, im seem to recall it was on facebook for a bit but never heard any more?
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Sadly didn’t get the initial interest I’d hoped for 😞
Then covid hit.
A bus from Teesside would be ideal though!
Received this from Northern after my complaint email earlier ……

Thank you for your email regarding yesterday's journey between Thornaby and Sunderland. I am very sorry to learn of the crowding you experienced. Please allow me to apologise for any stress or worry that the issue caused and thank you for bringing this issue to our attention.

I can certainly appreciate your concern and can assure you that all of our available rolling stock is out on the network to provide services for our customers network-wide. Unfortunately this does mean we are unable to put any extra carriages or run more services as the capacity to do so is limited as all resources are being used, and I apologise for any further disappointment this may cause.

We have decreased the amount of Advance single tickets available, which restrict passengers to using specific services, in order to help reduce capacity. As we do not have seat reservations and with the vast amount of tickets purchased by passengers are flexible in nature, with Anytime, Off-Peak and Season tickets not restricting passengers to a specific service, there is no way of predicting exactly how many passengers will choose to take the same service. We do monitor passenger flows and this information helps our Planning Team allocate our available resources.

Please also be assured that your comments surrounding this matter have been duly noted, and will be recorded alongside the headcode of the train you intended to catch and your journey details. This will then be fed back out to the wider company and regions to demonstrate the concerns that our customer's are having whilst travelling, and the problems customers are experiencing in order for us to look at how such issues can be alleviated and if possible, where additional resource may need to be allocated in the future.

I would also like to apologise for any concern caused by being unable to open the windows on the service. The majority of our services run with air-conditioning which does not recycle air from within the carriages but uses fresh air from outside of the train. The opening of windows onboard services does prevent the air-conditioning from working correctly and is therefore not recommended.

We do have some services which do not have air conditioning and we have reviewed our processes on these services. As we run a short stopping service there is a high frequency of stops on many routes which does allow fresh air to circulate when the doors are opened at our stations.

When one of our trains has reached its destination and is not due to depart again for a significant period of time, then we may consider opening the windows. However, this will only happen if staff are present or during crew change overs. When staff are not present windows and doors will be shut for safety reasons.

Once again, I sincerely apologise for the disappointment and concern caused during your journey.

Kind regards,
Tony Suleiman
Customer Complaints Manager
 
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SAFCTEES said:
Sadly didn’t get the initial interest I’d hoped for 😞
Then covid hit.
A bus from Teesside would be ideal though!
Received this from Northern after my complaint email earlier ……

Thank you for your email regarding yesterday's journey between Thornaby and Sunderland. I am very sorry to learn of the crowding you experienced. Please allow me to apologise for any stress or worry that the issue caused and thank you for bringing this issue to our attention.

I can certainly appreciate your concern and can assure you that all of our available rolling stock is out on the network to provide services for our customers network-wide. Unfortunately this does mean we are unable to put any extra carriages or run more services as the capacity to do so is limited as all resources are being used, and I apologise for any further disappointment this may cause.

We have decreased the amount of Advance single tickets available, which restrict passengers to using specific services, in order to help reduce capacity. As we do not have seat reservations and with the vast amount of tickets purchased by passengers are flexible in nature, with Anytime, Off-Peak and Season tickets not restricting passengers to a specific service, there is no way of predicting exactly how many passengers will choose to take the same service. We do monitor passenger flows and this information helps our Planning Team allocate our available resources.

Please also be assured that your comments surrounding this matter have been duly noted, and will be recorded alongside the headcode of the train you intended to catch and your journey details. This will then be fed back out to the wider company and regions to demonstrate the concerns that our customer's are having whilst travelling, and the problems customers are experiencing in order for us to look at how such issues can be alleviated and if possible, where additional resource may need to be allocated in the future.

I would also like to apologise for any concern caused by being unable to open the windows on the service. The majority of our services run with air-conditioning which does not recycle air from within the carriages but uses fresh air from outside of the train. The opening of windows onboard services does prevent the air-conditioning from working correctly and is therefore not recommended.

We do have some services which do not have air conditioning and we have reviewed our processes on these services. As we run a short stopping service there is a high frequency of stops on many routes which does allow fresh air to circulate when the doors are opened at our stations.

When one of our trains has reached its destination and is not due to depart again for a significant period of time, then we may consider opening the windows. However, this will only happen if staff are present or during crew change overs. When staff are not present windows and doors will be shut for safety reasons.

Once again, I sincerely apologise for the disappointment and concern caused during your journey.

Kind regards,
Tony Suleiman
Customer Complaints Manager
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So in other words, tough shit. There is an alarming tendency These days for people like him to apologise and assume that’s enough. No further action required. I find his reply condescending, an insult to the intelligence and bordering on contemptuous. Wanker.
 
SAFCTEES said:
Sadly didn’t get the initial interest I’d hoped for 😞
Then covid hit.
A bus from Teesside would be ideal though!
Received this from Northern after my complaint email earlier ……

Thank you for your email regarding yesterday's journey between Thornaby and Sunderland. I am very sorry to learn of the crowding you experienced. Please allow me to apologise for any stress or worry that the issue caused and thank you for bringing this issue to our attention.

I can certainly appreciate your concern and can assure you that all of our available rolling stock is out on the network to provide services for our customers network-wide. Unfortunately this does mean we are unable to put any extra carriages or run more services as the capacity to do so is limited as all resources are being used, and I apologise for any further disappointment this may cause.

We have decreased the amount of Advance single tickets available, which restrict passengers to using specific services, in order to help reduce capacity. As we do not have seat reservations and with the vast amount of tickets purchased by passengers are flexible in nature, with Anytime, Off-Peak and Season tickets not restricting passengers to a specific service, there is no way of predicting exactly how many passengers will choose to take the same service. We do monitor passenger flows and this information helps our Planning Team allocate our available resources.

Please also be assured that your comments surrounding this matter have been duly noted, and will be recorded alongside the headcode of the train you intended to catch and your journey details. This will then be fed back out to the wider company and regions to demonstrate the concerns that our customer's are having whilst travelling, and the problems customers are experiencing in order for us to look at how such issues can be alleviated and if possible, where additional resource may need to be allocated in the future.

I would also like to apologise for any concern caused by being unable to open the windows on the service. The majority of our services run with air-conditioning which does not recycle air from within the carriages but uses fresh air from outside of the train. The opening of windows onboard services does prevent the air-conditioning from working correctly and is therefore not recommended.

We do have some services which do not have air conditioning and we have reviewed our processes on these services. As we run a short stopping service there is a high frequency of stops on many routes which does allow fresh air to circulate when the doors are opened at our stations.

When one of our trains has reached its destination and is not due to depart again for a significant period of time, then we may consider opening the windows. However, this will only happen if staff are present or during crew change overs. When staff are not present windows and doors will be shut for safety reasons.

Once again, I sincerely apologise for the disappointment and concern caused during your journey.

Kind regards,
Tony Suleiman
Customer Complaints Manager
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Same old absloute bullshit
 
Dilligaf60 said:
So in other words, tough shit. There is an alarming tendency These days for people like him to apologise and assume that’s enough. No further action required. I find his reply condescending, an insult to the intelligence and bordering on contemptuous. Wanker.
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I really hope it doesn’t take an injury or a covid outbreak for Northern to realise their failings here. The service offered on Saturday (and most Saturdays) was an absolute disgrace. People are paying good money for a poor product.
 
SAFCTEES said:
I really hope it doesn’t take an injury or a covid outbreak for Northern to realise their failings here. The service offered on Saturday (and most Saturdays) was an absolute disgrace. People are paying good money for a poor product.
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Just sent my email off. Pointed out the obvious problems but also how incredibly naive they are packing in so many people on to 2 carriages off the back of a national pandemic. To say it was strongly worded would be an understatement mind :lol:
 
See some cascaded Northern Trains in York from I think either Leeds or Manchester running to Hull, Harrogate line, Blackpool I presume and Leeds. Frequently see a couple of sets parked up, nothing new though. No real investment up here at all. Its about time Sunderland had a TPE service to Manchester or Liverpool.
 
Further reply….


Thank you for your further email. I am sorry you are unhappy with my reply.

I appreciate your continued concern and as advised your comments have been logged so our planning team can take them into account when assessing how we can best use the finitie resources we have available.

The number of carriages available will fluctuate due to scheduled and non-scheduled maintenance needed. Additionally, we are undertaking a refurbishment programme to bring our stock up to a better standard for our customers. However, the units must be removed from service to complete the refurbishment, which leads to further capacity issues.

I can assure you that we review current and historic passenger counts, conductor feedback, as well as feedback from our passengers to see where are resources can best be utilised. Where resources allow we do look to strengthen busy routes by adding additional carriages or running extra services.

Again I do apologise for your disappointment and hope your future experiences when travelling with us are more positive.

Kind regards,
Tony Suleiman
Customer Complaints Manager
Telephone: 0800 200 6060
Smart Ticketing: 0333 222 0127
Post: FREEPOST Northern Railway
 
Heres a very simple thing they could offer.
They onow for a fact 4 carriages needed on the 11,12 n 1.
Why not simply add 2 direct buses when 4 carriages arent svailable for whatever shit reason.
Not exactly ideal but at least you can buy a ticket n know you’ll get there one way or the other.

Anyone fancy asking the morons that?
 
Simple fact is the “Northern Monkey” service could not give a fk. I have complained a few times over the years. Former First service at 7.20am to Newcastle, 2 carriages on matchdays, peak weekend times, countless cancelled trains and 1 train per hour at busy times. Service is sh1t and won’t improve until our local authorities push against them. They wont. Teesside or Tyneside might.
 
cfg said:
They don’t own the rolling stock, they lease it from Rolling Stock Leasing Companies.

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It's a hell of a mess
Dilligaf60 said:
Well, aye. The ”customers” are just a cash cow.
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And when privatised company aren't making enough they hand back the franchise to the government and we all pay the bill.
Conversely when e.g. Virgin doesn't win a contract, Branson sues the government and they stump up because he's got deep pockets and/or it was the government's intention all the while to keep him sweet but they know he's a useless train operator.
 
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