http://traintimes.org.uk/Birmingham/DCL/
You're correct that this is people's perception, but they probably haven't wandered into a typical German city station and found there's a two hour wait for the next train to another city, or that the only cheap option is a very slow local train.
How did you get into Switzerland? I've been considering / researching the possibility for a while, but it seems like a very long process to legally enter the country. Did you find it that way? Any recommendations?
[I looked for a personal email, but there isn't one listed on your profile.]
0:http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/having-a-say_can---and-should---...
But the person asking is American, which is presumably very different.
Curious because I regularly take trains all over the UK and have generally found the ones in the south-east and south in general to be the worst, as well as the most expensive, which seems reflected in customer satisfaction surveys at least – http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/leisure/reviews-ns/be...
Virgin Trains, running only long-distance intercity journeys, is compared to London Overground, which runs trains within London every 4-6 minutes for commuters. I'd also guess the average Which? reader is much more likely to rely on a train for work if they live in the south east.
If we compare local services, the south east is much better: much more frequent service, newer trains, generally staffed stations, better value fares within London.
If we compare long-distance services, the trains often start or end in the south east anyway.
Virgin trains are great. Liverpool to London in under 2.5hrs.
At least, in my opinion --- I live in Switzerland now, so my standards are... different. But, basically, overpriced, unreliable, dirty, and slow. The only places where the train system actually works well is the south-east of England, where it's horribly expensive. I used to live in Reading; a peak time day return into London, which is maybe half an hour a way, costs about £40.
Bear in mind that I know perfectly well that Britain's rail network is amazing compared to, say, America or eastern Europe. But the local perception of it is that it's bad. (Not helped by several rounds of botched privatisation, too.)
Incidentally, I'd love to know how to get from Ireland to Great Britain by train. Do they float?