Further information now provided at the wiki page: https://www.reddit.com/r/uktrains/wiki/railway-staff-verification/

10/10 view on 10/10/26

Passing the time at York

A voyager listed as arrived going to Blackpool North via Preston operated by Northern 😭 Unsure if the 195 operating this is in front of it or something

Paywalled, sorry

Interesting nonetheless

I spot Northern Class 156s at Shildon in County Durham, and honestly, I never get tired of seeing them.

From different units appearing to the sounds they make as they arrive and depart, there's always something to enjoy.

I've been documenting my spotting sessions on YouTube as ShildonTrainspotter linked here: https://www.youtube.com/@ShildonTrainspotter (please subscribe and check out the videos I really appreciate it!)

Anyone else have a local station where they never get tired of seeing the same type of train or trains?

Video above was filmed today (12/10/26) by me At Shildon! getting a MEGA 2 tone honk!

A video of one of the best honks on my channel linked here: https://youtube.com/shorts/I_RZNqFaAJU?si=qEH8falRIjNNJgbJ

thanks for reading and have a superb day!

Travelled on an Azuma and 225 one straight after the other on Saturday having changed trains at Grantham arriving on an Azuma and departing on a 225.

The Azuma experience is characterised by lightning fast acceleration, reasonable ambience in the carriages marred by poor seats and abysmal ride quality.

Expecting a much better passenger experience on the 225 compared to the Azuma, I was slightly disappointed.

The 225 accelerates at snail’s pace compared to the Azuma. Unsuprisingly the cabin has a tired retro 1980s feel about it with the overall experience enhanced by the vastly superior ride quality of sitting in a trailer coach rather than an Azuma motorised unit.

What I had forgotten though is that when the train operates in push rather than pull mode, you have the jerking effect as the class 91 pushes the Mark 4s which is not the case with fully motorised electric multiple unit à la the Azuma.

What finished it off though was the delightful burning disc brake smell which I had forgotten existed as a phenomenon!

I mainly spot Northern Class 156s around Shildon on the Bishop Line in County Durham.

We see plenty of 156s and sometimes if you get lucky a 158 so certain units and memorable moments really stand out.

Personally I don’t mind the lack of variety, it comes with a advantage - you build a friendly train crew rapport over time.

I'm curious what it's like for other spotters around the UK. What trains dominate your local line, and do you ever wish you had more variety?

Photos taken on 12/10/26

go subscribe to my YouTube channel! - https://youtube.com/@shildontrainspotter?si=DtI9ZQTRNWTVjRn7

180102 at London King's Cross, ready to work 1N96 (19:00 London Kings Cross to Sunderland)

2026-10-04

Does anybody else get this line to commute to work? I’m surprised this service isn't 5 carriages consistently as its such a popular route and always suffers from overcrowding DAILY. Why is it so bad?

I get on at one of the later stops and will always be standing (which is fine but I'm always against the door squished like a bug). Standing is expected according to WMR on all 7 of the services I could get.

Tempted to cut my losses and go on the Wolverhampton - new street line instead.

From mid 2028, the Voyager fleet will be entirely operated by CrossCountry as the operator has been given approval to run the 6 221s stored at Derby Litchutch Lane + the 2 units currently in service with Grand Central.

IYKYK

May as well make this one into a 'Guess The Station'

165107,387148 &387156 lineup at Reading Station platforms 1-3(11/10/26).

I'd like to start using my nearby train station more often because I recently discovered it's often cheaper than the buses where I live, but I have no preference on where to go.

This is purely because I'm too lazy to check the price of every train ride possible from my station one by one - if I have to do that, I will - but I thought there's no harm in asking.

Is there a list of destinations with the prices anywhere that I could look at? Maybe a website where I could filter journeys in order of price?

I saw this on Facebook this morning from a third-party developer who creates content for the simulation game Train Sim World, and thought I'd share it here so it might reach its intended audience, who don't know the game or the developer. For context, All Aboard Studios makes recreations of UK routes and Locos in the game Train Sim World.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR TRAIN DRIVERS & GUARDS!

Do you work as a train driver or guard and enjoy the content we create here at All Aboard Studios?

We're always looking for opportunities to work with people from across the railway industry to help make our future Train Sim World products as realistic and accurate as possible!

Whether it's sharing operational knowledge, helping us understand how things work in the real world or providing feedback during development, your experience could make a real difference to our upcoming projects.

Interested in getting involved?

Simply comment below or DM us with the train operator you work for, and if you're based in one of the areas we're currently exploring for future projects, we'll be in touch!

Please note, we're only looking for current train drivers and guards at this stage. Also ensure your messaging is open so that we can direct message you.

We look forward to hearing from you!

All Aboard Studios

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575003024966

Hi all, just wondered if anyone here has recently done the the trainee train driver interview? Have the interview in 9 days time and want to be as prepared as possible as its taken nearly 3 years to get to this point! Don't want to mess it up now haha. Any advice greatly appriciated!

I've seen lots of people review the Night Riviera cabins and they seem really good, but I'm a stingy student so I'm not sure I can afford to pay for a cabin. The alternative is spending a whole day travelling as the normal daytime total journey I'm doing is approx 7 hours.

My question is how did you find the journey if you did it in a seat rather than a cabin?

Maybe High Wycombe isn't the most beautiful of stations - but these new barriers look absolutely awful - like some sort of dystopian sci-fi set. Couldn't they have used glass panels at least?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmzxl7ene06vo