Runway
>Where do we put the trains in this story? <
In the UK, you don't. They are definitely not low cost - apparently the most expensive in Europe. In many cases, they are overcrowded, dirty and uncomfortable, while the reliability and time keeping is not as good as it might be. Additionally, there is no flexibility left for when things go wrong, because of privatisation and the number of different companies who blame each other.
Personally, I want the full service that we used to get, and I am prepared to pay for it.