Trains, rice and sardines....

I'm not being funny, and I never had a major upset with trains in the UK - never had a cancelation, or more than a 30 min delay - but for a country that actually INVENTED the whole thing, why oh why is the UK train system so completely crap? I mean, its like the chinese having crap rice, or the portuguese having crap sardines. (Wouldn't know, can't stand the bloody things)