Since I have been living in Nuneaton for the past year, I have been commuting to Birmingham almost every day. One of the major factors which influenced our decision to buy a house in Nuneaton were the good rail links to Birmingham and Leicester, and it is true that on paper at least, the train service looks quite impressive with two trains in each direction every hour.

Unfortunately, the reality is somewhat less impressive. The evening services in particular are frequently so crowded that there isn’t even standing space for all the people who want to get on, and if I had been given a pound for every time I was wedged into the vestibule area unable to move and with a businessman’s armpit in my face – well, I wouldn’t quite have enough cash to give up work yet, but I would certainly be able to order Tim’s Christmas present

It was influenced by these experiences that I wrote the following complaint to Cross Country trains a couple of weeks ago. (more…)