Southern Railway

They is reviews on here calling Southern reliable and quick and to be honest, they are certainly not that! Southern are amongst the worst train companies for overcrowding trains and delays, and this basically summed up my experiences with them, I don’t think I ever had a train with Southern that was on time.
Standard Class is often very crowded, horrible and noisy and First Class is quite nice, it is quiet and not much extra but still I’m not aware of any benefits for being First Class, like free food and drink, which is offered by Virgin Trains so Is it worth it on such a short journey? Probably Not.
They is not much else to say about Southern other than since 2009 they have gone so far down hill, with punctuality being as bad as the sitcom Friends, it being crowded like the tube and it not being a very nice to be, especially at peak times.

When we initially got to Portsmouth Harbour, 06:04 train to Barnham, then change to Victoria Station, was delayed, mind you so were all bar one, the Cardiff train. Around 06:00 announcement 06:04 cancelled please join another train, as every one walked towards the train, it left the station. The train was cold, no heating on. The next one we caught was late leaving by about ¹⁰⁄₁₅ mins, missed connection at Barnham, had to wait another 20 mins for the Victoria train. The Barnham train had a problem with the doors opening, so it was slightly late leaving due to this.
Return journey late due to Road Show running slight late, got onto another train, which we had to change at Cosham, however this changed to Havant due to a another door failure which resulted in the train running slightly late. The change to Portsmouth Harbour was running ¹⁰⁄₁₅ mins late.
We ended up on a Southern West train, even though our tickets stated ‘southern only’.
So after leaving the house at 05:00 & return home at 20:45, it was rather a long day.

Southern Rail is the easiest, quickest, cheapest and most reliable way to get between Brighton and London — wahoo! First Capital Connect occasionally run cheap services, but they usually go to London Bridge, the trains are a bit uglier, and they aren’t nearly as regular. As trains go Southern is a good’un. Get cheapie early bird returns for around a tenner, plus occasional deals too.
But:
Avoid rush hours — busy.
Avoid smugly seating yourself at a table for six with a good book — because, without fail, whether am or pm, some pre/​post football spectators will come breathe their smelly lager breath all over you.
Avoid Sundays — bus replacement services a go go.
And also check which are the faster trains — some check 25 minutes longer by stopping everywhere between Victoria and Brighton.

Wow — Southern Railway is clutch for an affordable Saturday afternoon date. Don’t believe me?
Let’s say you finish work on Saturday a bit earlier than expected.
And let’s say you have an extremely valid cause for celebration.
And let’s say you have an obsession with a restaurant in Brighton that has the most amazing food and floralicious desserts that dreams and heaven and clouds and Care Bear Stares are made of.
If you’re a smart little lad or lassie, you’ll immediately check
for their 50% offers, snag two return seats to Brighton for £10 quid, pop over to Victoria and be on the next fast train to Brighton for a fabulous late-​afternoon getaway.
54 minutes later, you’ll be strolling through the Lanes, debating the beauty of pear shaped diamonds, awaiting your 6:30 dinner reservation, and enjoying the sweet life.
Catch the 9:40pm train back to central London, and be tucked in bed safe and sound by 11pm. (The rest of your, ahem, evening is up to you…)