Sheffield to Manchester: I took one of the busiest trains out of Sheffield after Martin Lewis' railway rant

The direct East Midlands Railway from Sheffield to Widnes via Manchester is a train I take about six times a year. It’s a good thing I enjoy it too, then.

The route is something of a miracle to me, as it will get you to Manchester in around an hour and to Widnes - just south of Liverpool - in an hour-and-a-half by cutting straight through the Peaks.

I’ve always forgiven its shortcomings. Not only because, with no car, it’s given me the freedom I’ve needed to see my closest friends at the drop of a hat.

No, it’s the view. Despite how blaringly loud the train is, how cramped it might be, how a 90-minute train somehow costs £20 or more in the UK even with a railcard, for a blessed half an hour this route has postcard views of Hope Valley, The Peaks and Mam Torr. Even the rail replacement bus isn’t so bad for it.

But it’s time I look at my train journeys more critically. Last week, Martin Lewis posted a scathing critique of an East Midlands Railway route from London to Sheffield, which he claims had "500 people" crammed aboard and served by just one toilet.

"Every seat taken, every standing space taken, scores sitting in mid-train corridors," wrote the Money Saving Expert, who slammed the EMR service as "degrading" and likened it to "something from the 19th century".

The rail provider blamed network upgrades and has since apologised.

Mr Lewis’ gist was what we all know about train journeys - they are loud, stressful, often packed, tardy, underfunded, and, with all this in mind, ludicrously expensive.

With a mind to pay attention to its shortcomings, I took the 16:48 Sheffield to Widnes on Friday, January 23, 2024, to examine if I was seeing that view of the Peaks through rose-tinted plexiglass windows.

Packed? Not as bad as I've seen some. It was the kind of busy where people decide which they are more comfortable with - with sitting next to strangers, or standing. But I did see a mother sitting on the floor with her child in the wheelchair bay of a carriage because they couldn't get two seats together. One carriage over, a bicycle was blocking three disabled access seats.

And everything else was standard fare - which is not a compliment for trains in England. The loos were surprisingly clean, with emphasis on the surprising. It was as loud as a factory and it rocked like a ship at sea.

I consider myself optimistic about trains and will tell anyone I enjoy taking them. But the last dozen or so journeys have been tainted by knowing this is about to end for me.

I turned 30 in October 2023. Of all the humdrum realisations to come with it, the most troubling - no, really - is that my 25-30 Railcard expires in April.

I rely on the train to see nearly all of my friends and family, and it's about to get 30 per cent more expensive for, to me, no reason at all.

I've crossed the magic line that says, 'no more'. The next time I'm eligible will be the senior 60+. I've long held the belief this is a subtle machination by the Government and privatised rail to get people aged 30-60 to buy cars, which I frankly can't afford.

Starting this spring, the same trip to Widnes will be £30.90 return. Seeing my brother in London will cost £90. I'm faced with either cutting back on seeing my loved ones, or preparing to triple travel times on average by taking the coach.

The lovely views of the direct line to Widnes don't last. They come to an end around Chinley.

I don't excuse the shortcomings of the EMR service to Manchester because I don't excuse the shortcomings of privatised rail. Loud, stressful, over-packed, tardy, underfunded - and for all this you also must pay a devastating amount of money. I estimate Mr Lewis' train of 500 people, if true, would have netted its operator more than £22,000 gross in ticket sales. Where in the hell does it go?

I pulled into Widnes three minutes late.

Watch the video above for my experience on one of the busiest trains out of Sheffield.

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