“I unknowingly bought a ticket that had a rail card attached. The ticket was only a 40p discount. I bought the ticket as soon as I woke up for university at 7 am, at which point I was still half asleep and couldn't have possibly noticed the rail card attached to the ticket I bought due to the fact I am quite literally non functioning in the mornings.
Upon ticket inspection, the inspector was quite rude about my innocent error, I had explained that I unknowingly bought the ticket with a rail card attached and offered to purchase a new ticket to make up for my error. Unsurprisingly, I was met with a fine instead.
In my appeal I explained the above, and was met with a response indicating that the appeal member didn't even bother reading my reasoning and explanation. I stated that I bought the ticket as soon as I woke up, AT HOME, and the response stated 'there are signs displayed bla bla...' Riddle me this, if I unknowingly bought a ticket at home with a rail card attached, do they think that a tiny sign is going to make me realise I bought a ticket with a rail card attached?
Not to mention, trainline and the wmr app automatically adds railcards before purchase! So the one time I forget to check that I removed it, I'm met with an absurd fine. I'm not going to go dive into my rant about the pure capitalistic greed this company is demonstrating, however maybe if the rail card discounted more than a measly 40p I would've noticed that it was attached to my ticket.
Quite frankly it is absurd to be handed a fine over a 40p discount and acting like I am personally trying to defraud the railway service. West Midlands Railway are greedy thieves, actively trying to line their pockets while underpaying staff causing strikes, not to mention that the trains are always either delayed or cancelled. You'd expect the opposite with the hefty fines and ticket prices.”
“My daughter and 6 month old granddaughter were travelling from Stratford-upon-Avon to liverpool on Monday 25th August,the carriage we sat in was boiling hot as the air con wasn't working,the kind train manager called Darren suggested we swop carriages to cooler carriage and helped us with our pram and luggage, most considerate of him”
“Birmingham Snow Hill line- really bad.
Trains are cancelled and delayed almost everyday, sometimes with a minute’s notice. It’s difficult to plan connecting journeys and work schedules, requiring journeys that start much earlier (usually two services earlier to avoid the potential of missing connections or bei by late). Most services are running with fewer carriages with ridiculous excuses to explain why. I.e more trains than usual requiring maintenance, the hail in December damaged causing additional maintenance. Frequent rush hour services requiring 5 carriages run with just 2 or 3, they are dangerously overcrowded. The trains are dirty and badly maintained. It’s difficult to determine positives.”
“One of the worst train services I’ve ever experienced and they need to be held accountable. Last minute train cancellations, delays, signal failures, lack of space on the train carriage, expensive fares.”
“I would give it a - 1000 If it was possible.
Trains cancelled or delayed 2-3 times a week.
I had lived in various cities around Europe but this is the worst I have ever seen and had to use!!!
They simply don't have drivers to run the trains or always "a signal problem" cancelled last minute or delayed and then cancelled, completely unreliable to use for a daily commute.
Absolutely ridiculous, pathetic,
Nothing is being done to resolve this either, it just get worse and worse.
Having to take ubers to get to work even tho I pay for a season ticket.
Once I leave Birmingham it's going to be such a relief that I won't have to use this service again.
Absolute joke of a railway.
Sometimes trains cancelled one after the other...Do not use if you don't have to”
“Never on time, frequently cancelled due to a shortage of train crew, filthy trains - I could go on and on but since West Midlands Railway came into being it has been nothing but a massive failure”
“What they say about not all thieves wearing masks is true?
Charge more for an extra stop than it would to pay from that stop to the next one with a separate ticket. £4.10 for a two mile journey when with separate ticket is costs £3.40.”
“There is nothing good about this company and the 'service' it is supposed to provide.
Always got an excuse, often inconsistent between whichever train app you look at - they make it up as they go along.
Truly the most unreliable, untrustworthy and pathetic travel experience.
Unable to give 0 stars but then they barely deserve that.”
“How do they think people would spend £88 for a return trip from Rugby to London? I’d rather walk 5 days and back than spend £88 for a train ticket. They need some professional help”
“Untrustworthy. Delay repay claims ignored and if and when a refund is agreed it does not materialise. No doubt a contribution to Ian Mc Connell's bonus pot (CEO). Anywhere else this would be fraud.”
“Awful service - just the worst. The problem is that they operate a monopoly and therefore you have little choice apart from driving - which is probably the best idea.”
“Constantly running under capacity train service for commuting route. Constantly cancelling trains at short notice. Unhelpful and uncaring staff. State of uk train system is a joke. Especially this sector and company.”
“When one has to apply online to claim a refund, the online Form which needs to be filled in states clearly to attach proof of travel, ie Ticket. I had a journey from hell which was due to the fact that it was a hot Day and for reasons unknown the Air Conditioning on the Train was not working. I welcomed the relief when we stopped for 10 minutes for a Driver change at Northampton and could see others doing the same as me namely stepping out the Train to capture some welcomed air. The result of a badly maintained Train meant that all day long I had a muzzy Head and felt terrible. " We cannot access the proof" was a sentence used in the email exchange that took place. Not my problem but an interior one that they should sort out. Then they sarcastically treat me like some kind of fool and we are playing a game of Ping pong emails. If it were not for the fact that the Railway Ombudsman take up to 90 days to sort the Claim out, then I would have taken my Claim to them. I had to fork out £21 one way return fare to Euston with Avanti because this Rail Network are not to be trusted. The countless complaints on here speak volumes. This Company should be stripped of their franchise as they cannot organise a P*ss up in a Brewery. I have never been treated like this in all my life and to make matters worse my travel date was in mid April and still await a miserable £9.55 " out of the kindness of our Hearts" as was put. I'm a 65 year old Guy and if they treat all their Customers like this, then they need to take lessons in Customer care. A lesson to be learned. Do not travel with this Network and seek alternative means. Perhaps some advertising on TV of the wrong kind would go down like a Ton of Bricks. I'm dealing in Fast TV and have recently heard of a deal tied up by my Mentor that our new TV Show will be going Global. Let's have a debate about this Network and I bet the Switchboard will be jammed with People wanting to take part in the debate. I have to wait up to another 10 working Days just to receive this money. It just goes to show how many complaints they must be handling.
Give this Company a miss is my strong advise”
“Has to be one of the worst train operators going. First week of new timetable and there are already delays without an explanation or apology.
Chiltern no longer serve the area, which is a shame as they run on time and operate clean trains that are actually nice to sit on.
WMR needs to stop over promising and under delivering. Appalling.”
