London to Brighton on Southern
Hello and welcome back to another blog post! Today I am going to be reviewing the UK’s Southern! I rode on these trains back in July and today I am going to show you the full experience of what it’s like to travel from London to Brighton and back, let’s go!
Train Information:
Dates: July 16th 2023
Train Types: Southern Railway Class 377
Seat/Class: Economy Class Seats
Train Times: VIC-BTN 1h 4min BTN-VIC 1hr 10min
So, let’s get into the review. My 2 part journey today began at London Victoria Station. This is where I arrived on a CircleLine train 1 hour before my trip, which was overboard. You probably only need to show up 20 minutes before, but I’m a nerd, so I like to see and explore the stations before my train! Overall London Victoria Station is amazing, It is super bright, historical, and simply great! The same thing can be said with Brighton station, though. The blue pillars and glass roofs make it one of the nicest stations I have ever seen. I also like how misty it is there. Overall Southern has some amazing stations and you can expect to find food & drink all around, they even put up a close second to the GWR’s stations, but overall, you can expect a spectacular place to wait the 20 minutes before your train. Or an hour if you are like me, the good news is that I somehow didn’t get bored.
A look at the 2 Southern Stations I visited, Brighton (on top) and London Victoria (on bottom)
Even though the stations may look great, the same thing can’t be said about the boarding process. Overall, it can be very chaotic & unpleasant; our platforms kept getting switched during both of my journeys. And we almost wound up on a train to Southampton! My main problem with it otherwise, is that there is a lack of signs or directions to the trains & I found myself constantly asking staff for help, and although they were nice, there also should have been way more of them. From what I saw, there was practically not a single staff member in sight, in the stations or on trains; even though there are railway strikes in the UK, it is shocking to me that only one person is working at a packed ticket office on a busy day, otherwise the boarding process is simple, just walk up to you train & find an open car, after that press a quick button to open the doors and you are good to go, my tip for this process is to go far back to the end of the train, here you will find many empty carriages, meaning you might get an open row!
The boarding processes for my trains to Brighton and back
Once you are on board, here is what you can expect, Seating-wise! There are two classes of service on Southern, First class, and a Coach Class, from what I saw they looked the same, except First Class was in a 2-2 configuration, rather than a 2-3 configuration back in Coach Class. Overall, the seats are fine; they are super thin and feel like a medal rack, but it isn’t too big of an issue since my trips were only just over an hour. My one recommendation for the seats is to go into it with a commuter train mindset; although these trains may look leisurely, they are more like the LIRR in New York. Also, one small benefit of these seats is that there are two power outlets and tray-tables at all of them, there is also seating for those with disabilities, and tables for groups of 6 and 4.
A look at the seating options on Southern
So now that your train has departed, what can you expect from here? Well, there basically isn’t anything for service, no trolley carts like on the GWR; it’s just you in your seat. If that counts as a service, I guess there is a bathroom on board, but there really is nothing they have to offer. You would think there are good views to make up for that fact, but nope it is mostly empty stations and industrial sites in the middle of nowhere, in fact, the best scenery along my rides was Gatwick Airport and our departure from London Victoria. It really isn’t anything to write home about, but I guess it’s a commuter train, so is that okay?
2 photos of stuff you might see along your Southern trip
So yeah! I think that’s it. Overall, Southern is a fine rail service, but in my opinion, it would be wise for them to stop serving the small towns of the South Coast like a commuter train. And more like a pleasure train! I think more people would ride on a train like this if there was some service or even a cafe, just something to spice it up, so yeah, I guess that’s it for Southern. I’m going to give them a 5/10 today, this isn’t because they are bad or anything, I just think that the experience disappointed me a bit, as an American I expected more out of a British commuter train. The views were quite awful, and there wasn’t really anything, but I don’t think I have the right to complain, although it sounds fake. I only paid 10 pounds for my round-trip ticket, which is a steal in my book, but if there was more service, I would be happy to pay more! I just wish they would add a cart because the trains you saw in this video sometimes do 3-hour runs. This is LIRR Montauk Line length. Either way I guess that will do it, overall Southern is great, and I really hope they improve over the years, but as it is now I would still travel with them. Bye Everyone!