The Railway Touring Company Reviews 121

The whole day was brilliant.

PLEASE - don't be tempted to pay this company any money, but rather pay that bit more and travel with Saphos. We gave this firm a second chance, yet the day was just as bad. Awful customer service from an outsourced catering company. The food was disgusting and churned out like old school dinners. Dirty cutlery, a premium 'Prawn & Smoked salmon' salad starter. Look at the photo posted o Tripadvisor, and I implore you to locate the salmon. I complained but executive management couldnt care less, dumbing down my experience as an only report of unsatisfactory service. Look at the multitude of complaints by several customers, all saying the same. Furthermore, we didn't feel safe, carriages were dirty. AVOID!
**This review is based on my own personal experience and is the truthful opinion and thoughts of this service provider, as is my statutory right as a consumer**

Two trips booked and 2 trips cancelled. The first was the Kentish Belle trip around the Kent Coast on August 6th and the latest was a trip to Canterbury on the 10th December. No real apology other than that's the way it is!! Not remotely good enough. I will not be booking with this company again.

Excellent day out , lovely day and weather , knowledgeable people and staff, and bang on schedule everywhere we went, the coaches could do with a little more legroom haha, but a very pleasant day.

Everything was good. The train journey went as expected, the RTC team and the Gravy Train team were all very helpful and very pleasant and the food and drink was very good. Definitely value for money. A most enjoyable day. Looking forward to next time I travel with RTC!

Had a fantastic day on the Chiltern Explorer. We went Premier Dining, both Breakfast & Dinner were fantastic. It was served at your table by very friendly & professional staff. Each of the coaches had a steward, don’t know if they were paid or volunteers.
Which ever they were helpful & knowledgable.
This was our first time with The Railway Touring Company, but we are already looking for some thing in 2026. Thanks to everyone who made this a day to remember.

A good day out with steam to reading from Nuneaton via east west line. Staff well informed

It was a good trip on the Chiltern Explorer! Would happily do 1st class again but would like to request cream with the scone in the afternoon

Trip was a great day out . Staff on the train were well presented and friendly at all times. B coach steward seemed to stay at one end of the coach and not interact with the rest of the coach. Food way well prepared and presented.

such a disappointing trip travelling Premier dining that I had been looking forward to with my husband and daughter. Joined at taunton, an hour after everyone else and many were eating their breakfast. No problem there but we were then treated as an inconvenience. We were rushed, every time I asked for something (like bread basket after the pathetic half a slice of toast and scrambled egg) I was told it was too late but grudgingly I was brought a cold round of toast, asked for a cup of tea and was told I now had to pay for it when clearly others had been enjoying cup after cup - I had eye rolling and curt replies from the stewards as if I was making outrageous demands. Evening service was better but the food portions and quality disappointing - a 2 pack of jacobs cream crackers with miniscule portions of cheese. Everything seemed skimped on. I am comparing them with Midland Pullman Company and Pathfinder Tours who I have travelled with on many occasions and enjoyed excellent meals and service. This is meant to be a premium service and it was not. I don't usually write a bad review but I wrote to the company after the trip to voice my concerns and was ignored. They had their chance.

ON TIME COMFORTABLE EXCELLENT SUPPORT STAFF GREAT DAY OUT

We were well looked after by the staff, good atmosphere onboard, knowledgeable guests onboard, great city for a couple of hours walk and a market & cathedral to boot (Chester).

A very good and well organised tour

Very well organised tour , with friendly and knowledgeable leader.
Would be better if one or more free days were included , to allow for exploring the immediate area.

I have done a considerable number of tours with Railway Touring and as usual everything within the control of the company was excellent throughout the day.
The Settle to Carlisle Railway rightly deserves its place in the lists of *the best railway journeys"

Excellent organisation. Catering was superb with great staff. Fortunate to go on a day that the weather was good. Highlight was the steam train and the opportunity to get close up at Preston.

Plenty of helpful stewards on board, well organised and paperwork arrived in plenty of time. Only problem on the day was a points & signal failure, which was a Network Rail problem and beyond Railway Touring Company's control. The stewards provided free hot drinks to cover the 1hr 20 min delay and regular updates so no major problem. The actual Settle to Carlisle under steam power part of the trip was really enjoyable.

Just completed their Autumn in Alsace tour & what an enjoyable experience it was. The trip was based in the charming town of Colmar which was very handily placed to reach all the other locations of the itinerary by short coach or rail journeys. Whilst the 4 heritage railways visited were the main attractions for me, this wasn’t just about trains. This is a fascinating area historically & culturally & the trip is designed admirably to provide a taste of its charms. Special mention needs to be made for our guide, John Bullock, whose knowledge of & enthusiasm for the area was positively infectious. We had a full itinerary for the 7 days of the tour & my one suggestion (even though it would add to the cost) would be to extend it by one day which people could use as a free day to explore at their leisure & choice. There was plenty to see in & around Colmar I didn’t have time to visit & the day we had in Strasbourg barely scratched the surface of what that city has to offer.

The ladies I have dealt with at RTC have been brilliant, the boys totally unhelpful, never identified themselves.
The change to get home one hour later was unacceptable due to age and help and male operator not willing to help even though plenty of time. Result didn't travel, forfitted fee