Great Northern Reviews 

252
TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

1.5

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Evaluating 53 reviews, most reviewers were let down by their experience overall. Travelers frequently report that regional trains are constantly delayed or cancelled without proper warning, leaving daily commuters stranded on dark platforms for extended periods. Consumers also strongly emphasize that standard ticket prices are extremely expensive considering the consistently poor quality and inefficient management of the entire railway network. Though some customers experienced severe disruptions, a few reviewers praised individual staff members for offering exceptionally kind and helpful assistance during difficult travel situations. Passengers additionally noted that unexpected schedule changes frequently ruin daily commutes and consistently cause missed professional appointments across the entire region.

What people talk about most

Service

Reviewers highlight negative aspects of service, consistently reporting widespread unreliability, frequent... See more

Staff

Consumers express deep frustration and dissatisfaction regarding the staff and general crew availability.... See more

Cancellation

Customers consistently note negative experiences with cancellation, pointing to an unreliable service and... See more

Location

Clients share ambiguous opinions on location, experiencing long journeys from London stations like King's... See more

Price

Customers had negative experiences with price, consistently reporting that train tickets are far from cheap... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

A company ran by the most clueless useless members of staff. Good luck trying to get an answer out of an easy question like "excuse me is this train running?" or "does this train stop at ____?". Inste... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Trains from Cambridge to Kings Cross are often delayed. The information board will say that a train is running just 3 or 4 minutes late, but when it does arrive slightly late at Cambridge, it just sit... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Less than zero. Abysmal in every way, trains service is unreliable, expensive and utterly inefficient. We pay a kings randsome for an unfit, poorly managed service. They could not arrange a piss up i... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Shockingly bad service from this train operator. Trains mainly late or cancelled with regular claim that either staff haven`t turned up or signals faulty. Andy Burnham has completely failed in impro... See more


1.5

Bad

TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

252 reviews

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1.5

All reviews

(252)

54 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Beyond abysmal

I'm writing this review as I'm sitting on yet another woefully late Great Northern train out of King's Cross, trying to get home to King's Lynn after a day working in London. This service is so appalling and unreliable that I have no expectation that it will ever improve - and especially not in response to this review - but I'm getting some temporary satisfaction by writing it at least. If you can drive instead do, fly instead do - go on a bloody tandem if you have to, as you'll have more chance of arriving on time than with "Great" Northern.....

5 May 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

first class filth

Paid a premium price for first class, carriage was filthy, seats with chewing gum on them, debris and dirt that had been there for a long time.

contacted customer service who refused to do anything about it not even reimburse the difference between tickets. Disgrace
20260420-964677

14 April 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Arived at stevenage on 16th of April…

Arived at stevenage on 16th of April and left on the 20th of April like to say very very very good service with customer care best out of all train stations very very well done to you all Mr Shorey Michael exalent service thank you so much

15 April 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Train far too hot

Train dirty and smelly. Train very hot. First class like a sauna far too hot for anyone to sit in which explained why for once there were empty seats. Other carriages still far too hot. One elderly woman felt faint and I had to give her my water. She said she won’t travel by train again.

15 April 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I am a regular user of Great Northern…

I am a regular user of Great Northern (Kings Lynn to Kings Cross) and am astounded at how many times I am forced to make a delay claim. I travel to London once a week and in the past 6 weeks - since the beginning of Feb I have made 7 claims either because my journey into London was delayed or cancelled or my return was affected or both. This service only seems to be getting worse.

12 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Incredibly unreliable

Incredible frequency of which all trains are cancelled or significantly on given days. This would be forgivable if it occurred on a rare basis but it is so common. If you need to travel anywhere reliably, avoid the trains and seek alternative transportation.

6 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Zero respect for passengers

Zero respect for passengers. Zero customer service.
Tuesday 3rd March - very sad accident at around10am. Great Northern caused complete chaos, delayed passengers unecessarily beyond Cambridge to Kings Lynn. No effort was made to make a bad situation any better! All trains stoped at Cambridge. 1 train per hour to Cambridge North!! Waited 50 mins. THEN minimal bus service to Ely ( in excess of 1 hour wait in a queue). Then , 1 train per hour Ely to Kings Lynn. THEN these trains are cancelled so we all queue again ( another hour) to wait for a taxi - another hour journey to get to kings Lynn. Shame on you !! You should have provided taxis or buses from Cambridge. 16:48 from KX arrived in KL at 21:30!!!!

3 March 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Sam Review

Sam, behind the bar, is absolutely top. Poured me a second pint for free. Absolutely top place, would recommend.

13 February 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Less than zero

Less than zero. Abysmal in every way, trains service is unreliable, expensive and utterly inefficient. We pay a kings randsome for an unfit, poorly managed service. They could not arrange a piss up in a brewery. Got forbid you need a train past the rush hour.. then better get a cab, because you get better odds of winning the lottery than getting a train. A day return is £30.10 for what, utter rubbish. That’s what.

11 February 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Completely useless

If it was possible to leave a negative rating I would! Completely useless train service on every level, barely a day goes past without some sort of delay. Trains are cancelled or delayed largely without notice with a lack of information as to why and when the next train is running. Leaving people stranded on platforms with absolutely no help is the normal for this utterly appalling excuse for a train operator!

20 January 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Cancel trains don’t provide the service…

Cancel trains don’t provide the service you pay for and don’t want to refund a ticket . Hands down the worst train company in the country . Any other train company I’ve ever dealt with in terms of cancellations no problem at all . Such a poor service

6 January 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

If I could give no stars I would

If I could give no stars I would. How can a service be so bad? Trains often cancelled at the last minute, if they do run they are almost certainly delayed.
Trains are always filthy and overcrowded. The icing on the cake is that you have to pay through the nose for this shocking service. Get a grip Great Northern

12 January 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Trains from Cambridge to Kings Cross…

Trains from Cambridge to Kings Cross are often delayed. The information board will say that a train is running just 3 or 4 minutes late, but when it does arrive slightly late at Cambridge, it just sits there on the platform getting later and later. While this happens, staff just chat to each other with no apparent sense of urgency. Frankly, it’s a poor, expensive service that can ruin the experience of regularly traveling between Cambridge and London.

7 January 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Makes me grateful I'm not a HC resident working in London

My train was on time and I got a seat, which probably marks me out as the lucky few judging by the rest of the feedback, but the staffing situation at their London terminals is appalling. Easy to see why this became a hill they were prepared to die on when the rail unions tried to stop it. An even easier life raking in inflated ticket revenue and endless DoT cash where passengers get pure crud in return.

Moorgate, no station crew or gates, caused me to get charged twice for my journey.

Finsbury, no station crew or gates, caused me to get overcharged. Two refunds I had to chase up from Tfl for one day's travel on account of GN's incompetence.

Expect to get lied to and fobbed off by customer services. Literally the only people who lifted a finger to help me in this situation were Tfl. I think the latter have a good case for claiming back the administration and staffing expenses from GN.

2 January 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

DONT USE THIS TRAIN SERVICE

Every time I used the service from Manchester Airport to Leeds or Bradford has been delayed .
Also they have made very difficult the compensation process to a point where you give up or your claim gets DECLINED .
I SHALL ENDEAVOUR NEVER TO USE THE SERVICE AGAIN !!!!!!!

14 December 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Trash service that is always getting…

Trash unreliable service that is always getting delayed and/or cancelled.
These people have cost me so many job opportunities simply by making me late due to their incompetence and inability to successfully run an efficient Train service.
Out of all the London area lines they are easily the worst .

21 December 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolute joke

Absolute joke. Services rarely run on time. Last minute cancellations. Over priced tickets. Always something going wrong.

20 December 2025
Unprompted review

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