10 Tips for Surviving Train Journeys

September 29, 2008 · Filed Under Travel

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I recently traveled down from Hull to Torquay on business which meant a 6 hour journey and luckily, only a couple of changes (but could have been many more).

Train travel is a much better option for business, because as we all know, it means that you can (hopefully) get some work done, and you don’t end up being completely shattered after a big drive. However, there are a number of tips which I suggest when you are going by rail.

Don’t take too many bags. There’s nothing worse than struggling about with mulitple bags, and also finding places where to put them. I usually travel with my Tom Bihn Empire Builder Laptop bag, and a Tumi roll on. These two bags are both a good few years old, but look virtually new and are perfect mix of form, design and function.
Book a seat. No excuse not to nowadays. You can use thetrainline.com and they post you your tickets. There was a real shortage of seats on the main line was on, and it is no fun standing.
Get some noise cancelling headphones. These are essential for any sort of travel and make a real difference to your quality of journey. There are many sorts available, but my Bose ones have been going strong for 5 years and I would not travel without them.
A decent book (or two). Check out my recommendations here.
The Trains iPhone app which you can get from the App Store here. This will tell you all the departing and arriving trains from any station in the UK - I’ve just downloaded this and it is excellent.
A light weight laptop. My current MBP is not cutting it right now, too heavy and a little slow The Air or a Linux Acer One is now looking very tempting, but hanging fire until Apple have a refresh and I can afford one!
Bring your own food and drink. The stuff available onboard is not the best and way overpriced.
Make sure you put your mobile on silent. This is not a hard thing to do you would think, but the amount of people who don’t bother is staggering. It is rude, ignorant and annoying. Especially if you have the “Final Countdown” as your ringtone.
Make sure people know you are on a train if they want to speak to you. The reception, even on mainlines, is rubbish and you will spend the whole time having dropped calls. So don’t schedule any telecons as it won’t work, and long loud phone conversations are rude, ignorant and annoying.
Dress appropriately. If you can avoid it, don’t wear a suit. It will be trashed. Something lightweight and warm is my preference, howies merino stuff does the job well.