Overpriced. Overcrowded. Unclean. Cramped. Occasionally unreliable. We don't have any high speed rail apart from the link to Paris, but our standard intercity trains have connected most major cities at 200kph since the 1970's which is faster than conventional rail in Europe. TGV style High speed lines are a real pain to build in the UK because of the high population density of the countryside coupled with the extensive and laborious public consultations required. We don't have Alps but we do have quite a lot hills between the main cities. Once the route has taken account of all these concerns there are often not many parts where the trains will go at full speed. This is why the new HS2 route will only save 15mins off the time from London to Birmingham.
Compared to Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Holland. Spain. E.g. Once travelling Copenhagen to London. The train from Copenhagen to the airport is spotless. The train from Stanstead to London is dirty and full of litter. There was a pile of rubbish on that train which was waist height; burger boxes, bits of foods, drinks cartons. I was embarrassed to be British. Also nobody cleans the crevices on British trains there's always black grime in there and the toilets often malfunction and stink out the carriage.
