A poll of 2,000 adults discovered the top 20 ‘rail fails’, which include noisy passengers, 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.
The top three most irritating rail dislikes are costly tickets (35%), delays (34%) and overcrowding (24%).
Going somewhere this Easter by train? 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩. 🫣
Save yourself the travel hassle and 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚’𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙧!! This Easter, we’ve teamed up with Joe Thomas to help you skip the delays, dodge the dreaded rail replacement buses, and avoid sad egg… pic.twitter.com/8bKh7vDhsA
— Tempcover (@tempcover) April 15, 2025
Almost half (43%) are already bracing for rail transport this Easter to be disrupted.
Marc Pell, managing director at temporary car insurance provider Tempcover, which commissioned the research, said: “The research highlights the very real frustrations many endure with UK train travel.
“The quality of a journey significantly impacts overall enjoyment, and 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 – with 11% having experienced a hold-up of more than four hours.
The research comes ahead of a long weekend. (Image: Joe Pepler/PinPep)
The average time passengers have had to wait on a rail replacement bus service is 41 minutes, while 20% have done so for an hour or more.
The average price of tickets costs almost £110 – with 80% citing train ticket prices as expensive.
To make things even worse, 44% have witnessed someone playing loud music in their carriage, and 42% have come across a rude passenger during their travels.
But staff are the silver lining, with 49% saying they are helpful, according to the OnePoll stats.
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Furthermore, 51% would rather drive than catch a train – as you can get straight to your destination (49%), have your own space (38%) and it’s seen as more reliable (35%).
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”.
