[swisstrains]

Hello Lisa and welcome to the forum.

Originally Posted by Lisa

...........I live in cumbria and do not use trains very often at all. Sadly, they are expensive and are a treat every now and again, for local travel..........

I can't argue with you there although if you are able to plan your journey in advance you can often get some very good deals by booking on the internet.

Originally Posted by Lisa

.......I love trains partly for this reason,(its a treat) and Im intrigued by them but terrified by the difficult to understand timetables and tannoy announcements etc for 'real' journeys.This stops me using them.
To a total novice, a train ride is really stressful trying to find the right platform (why cant it say in advance what platform???)

Travelling by train for the first few times is daunting for everyone especially those who have been brought up with road transport. Just look upon it as a learning experience. A train is not much different to a bus but because it needs more space it's stations have to be bigger which makes things appear more complicated. I appreciate that there can be problems finding the right platform at larger stations so make use of the station staff. Tell them where you are going and they will be able to direct you to the right platform. The person who sells you your ticket should also be able to give you information to make your journey easier. Once you have done it a few times it will become much easier, you will be able to navigate around the station using the information screens and even those announcements will start to make sense. Don't despair if you are having trouble understanding railway timetables as there are plenty of rail enthusiasts who have similar problems. The best thing I can suggest is the National Rail journey planner http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/en/pj/jp
Just follow the on-screen instructions to create the times for your journey. It's much easier that wading through the printed timetables and you can do it at your leisure without someone breathing down your neck.

Originally Posted by Lisa

The journey is good (I did the coastal cumbrian to lancs, prior to the preston disaster) and it was lovely scenery, but the stress in between of trying to find stuff out was not easy.
Commuters are there and seasoned travellers, knowing how it all works, but for the total novice, it is not straight forward.
And... to those who can negotiate like the back of their hand, it will seem no doubt odd, but timetables for a novice are not an easy thing!!!!!

All those seasoned travellers were novices one upon a time!!. Once you have travelled by train a few times you will wonder what all the fuss was about

Originally Posted by Lisa

And, why is there no notice by way of a bell or something that you have for example 30 seconds until the door says no no no, you are not getting on!

There is usually an electronic bleeping sound to tell you when the doors are about to close. Perhaps in your panic and with all the other things going on you didn't hear it? When the doors have been closed and the light on the push button has gone out, no amount of pressing, either outside or inside will get them to open again. This is because the doors have been locked ready for the train to leave.

Originally Posted by Lisa

further, I would now be scared to get off the train to change carriage in case the doors closed and I couldnt get back on!
What happens if you are on first class and you didnt know this?
I didnt but some peoiple who had got on before me and were standing in ear shot said, oh, this is the first class bit, its more expensive.
I would not have realised, not being a rail traveller, so what would have happened if the ticket man had arrived and I couldnt move to the ordinary class because there was no door!!???

If you find yourself in the "wrong" carriage it is very unlikely that you will ever need to leave the train to change carriages. As Adam(Pavarossi) said, you more than likely went the wrong way when you were hurrying to get out of first class and came up against the end of the train. If you had gone the other way you would have come to the standard class section without actually having to get off.
Even if the ticket man/woman had come while you were trying to find your way to standard class there wouldn't have been a problem. You pay for sitting in first class, not walking through it. They would have understood your problem and directed you to the correct seats.

Hope this hasn't put you off train travel. Believe me Lisa, once you have done a few "real" journeys you will be a seasoned traveller just like all the others. Try to enjoy it and don't worry so much. It's only a train.