Just how bad is the service?

I've ridden British Rail while stationed in the UK back in the early 70s. While the service wasn't at the level of what you might expect on the Queen Mary, it seemed just fine to me. I found the rail service to be reasonably priced, usually on schedule (or close to it), and actually a kind of neat way to travel.

But things sure must have changed in the last thirty years as I see that British Rail has issued DNA kits to its employees to collect samples when they are spit on.

Incredible.