Using the train in Rail travel in the United Kingdom
Using the train in Rail travel in the United Kingdom
London St. Pancras International, the UK terminus of the Eurostar high speed train, and domestic terminus for trains north to Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield.
The National Rail website has an information page for every railway station in Britain, with details of access, facilities, ticket office opening hours and recommended connection times. The 'live' Departures & Arrivals screen for every station can also be viewed online, with up-to-the-minute train running information.
If you are unfamiliar with your journey, arrive at the station with time to spare, and be aware that you may be asked to show your ticket or open a ticket barrier with it.
Larger stations will have electronic departure screens listing trains in order of departure, their platform, any delay, calling points and the operator. Trains do not have publicly announced numbers; they are identified at each station by their departure time and destination (eg. "The 12:15 to Manchester Piccadilly"). Platforms may not be announced until a few minutes before the train is due to depart, and can subsequently change if the train is delayed. Listen out for audio announcements. Platform staff can also advise where to stand if you are travelling with a bicycle.
At smaller stations without electronic displays, signs will indicate which platform to wait on for your destination station.
If you have a reservation, watch the outside of the train as it arrives for your coach number (some main line railways will have signs on the platform telling you where to wait). Coach A is not necessarily at the front of the train, and some letters may not be included. If you are the last person to board or alight through a manually operated door (which can be opened by pushing down on the handle on the outside of the train) don't forget to close it behind you.
Seat reservations are marked either with paper tags on the headrest or an electronic display above the window.
Keep your ticket and any pass on you when you move about the train, as you may be asked to show it. Station stops are normally announced over the public address system or on scrolling electronic displays in the carriage.
Most trains have electrically-powered external doors, however they do not open automatically - you must press an illuminated button next to or on the door to open it, and they will close automatically when the train leaves. If the weather is cold outside and you are the last person to board, it is polite to press the 'close door' button to keep the inside of the car warm. On older trains with manual doors, you should open the door by pulling the handle downwards and pulling the door outwards. You should also close the door behind you and make sure it shuts properly (the handle will return to a horizontal position. When alighting, you should open the sliding window and open the door with the external handle.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Rail travel in the United Kingdom
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Rail travel in the United Kingdom Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
