Central Trains (Central Trains)

Member Name: adamdavid

Product:	Central Trains
Date:	13/08/00 (191 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Don't have the hassle of driving into and out of Birmingham, Chiltern trains

Disadvantages: Expensive, uncomfortable, unreliable, dangerously overcrowded at peak times

I use trains to travel into the centre of Birmingham (where I study at Aston University) from Solihull (where I live). The trains are generally reliable and nearly on time but if you travel in the rush hour, they are dangerously overcrowded, and I do mean dangerously. Until recently, the trains that arrived in Birmingham (Snowhill and Moor St stations, not New Street) between 8:30 and 9:00 had only three carriages. This meant that you had to stand up. I don't mind standing up but I consider it to be dangerous when there is nothing to hold on to. There are times when it is impossible to get on the train at stations further down the line (e.g. Olton, Acocks Green) because there is physically no more room. The trains themselves are less than comfortable and are a little on the filthy side. Solihull station doesn't even have any way of telling you that the train you are waiting for is delayed unless the bloke from the ticket office comes along and tells you.
Central trains recently added another carriage to their peak time trains and this will probably alleviate the overcrowding (to a point). I can't say whether it has or not because they added the new carriages when the University's had finished, the school holidays were a couple of weeks away and less people would be travelling into Birmingham during peak times due to holidays and the like.

The state of the trains themselves might not be so bad if it weren't for the Chiltern Rail service that runs on this line between London and Birmingham. If I can I catch a Chiltern Rail train. These are spotlessly clean and a lot quieter than the Central trains. Chiltern's service runs into London so they need to be more comfortable for the longer journey but they really show up the state of Central's trains.

The only reason I use the train is because it is even worse to drive into the centre of Birmingham even though it takes me the same length of time by car or by train
(if there isn't any traffic). The other main gripe with the trains is the cost. I have ten week terms at university, but Central only do one, four or fifty-two week tickets. Quite why I can't buy a ten week ticket in this day of technology is beyond me.

When I graduate and I am working, I will go back to using my car because trains are too uncomfortable, expensive and unreliable. I have to leave half an hour earlier than I should need to because if the train is delayed or cancelled then I risk missing lectures. Central is probably no worse than any other regional train service but I object to paying as much as I do for the service they provide.

Summary: