Roasting the rails as Easter engineering works brings delays… again
Last updated: 28/08/2025
Last updated: 28/08/2025
Delays, ruined plans - and having to stand for hours at a time - are Brits’ top ‘rail fails’ according to research.
A poll of 2,000 adults discovered the top 15 train peeves include rail replacement bus services, loud music or videos being played and unclear announcements over the tannoy.
Similarly, seats being taken up with luggage or being used as a footrest are familiar annoyances.
While the top three most annoying rail peeves are costly tickets (35 per cent), delays (34 per cent) and overcrowding (24 per cent).
In a comedy skit, Comedian Joe Thomas has teamed up with temporary car insurance provider Tempcover to deliver a humorous take on the UK’s rail services ahead of the Easter weekend travel.
The light-hearted video brings to life some of the shared irks of travellers, including having to take the replacement bus and risking “having to pay 5 times the price of a ticket from Paris to Berlin”.
The Inbetweeners star’s bad luck started when he risked using the bathroom, resulting in missing his planned train.
Joe’s characteristically dry-humoured and witty take comes after the research revealed the top national 'travel peeves’, included unreliable timetables (12 per cent) and rail replacement bus services (12 per cent).
Almost half (43 per cent) are already bracing for rail transport this Easter to be disrupted.
Tempcover created the comical sketch along with Joe, poking fun at some of these nationwide bugbears.
Marc Pell, Managing Director of the temporary car insurance provider, which commissioned the research said “Joe’s video brilliantly captures the very real frustrations many endure with UK train travel, using comedy as the vehicle to do so.”
“While it brings some much-needed laughter to a frustrating issue for many, it also raises an important point that unreliable services take away from people’s precious time.
“Over a four-day Easter holiday, no-one wants their plans derailed.”
The research went on to find two in 10 experience delays or cancellations on services most times they travel by train.
Furthermore, more than one in 10 (11 per cent) have experienced a delay of more than four hours.
And the average time passengers have had to wait on a rail replacement bus service is 41 minutes, while 20 per cent have done so for an hour or more.
Signal failure, engineering works and the wrong type of weather all made it into the top reasons that seem to cause most of the problems.
Joe Thomas said: “It was fun bringing to life some of the well known irks about the prospect of using trains over the holidays”
“But it would certainly be annoying if this was your reality during the long weekend, when everyone else is larking about enjoying the extra days off.
“It was a good laugh to create this little comedy skit, I use the trains all the time – when they’re good they’re great and when they’re bad they’re rubbish.”
And 84 per cent have had to stand up on their travels for more than 30 minutes, as a result of overcrowding due to train companies overselling tickets.
A further 48 per cent have had their plans ruined due to a delayed or cancelled train.
The average price of tickets costs almost £110 – with 80 per cent citing train ticket prices as expensive.
Brits have said that the staff are the silver lining, with 49 per cent saying they are helpful.
Furthermore, 51 per cent would rather drive than catch a train – as you can get straight to your destination (49 per cent), have your own space (38 per cent) and it’s seen as more reliable (35 per cent).
Marc Pell of Tempcover added: “This Easter, car sharing is another way to visit friends and family.
“This is where temporary car insurance can really help. Just borrow a car, get insured in minutes and you can travel on your own terms whenever you want – evening or day, on or off-peak.”
TOP 15 ‘RAIL FAILS’
