East Coast London – York 1st Class

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  • MarcusUK
    Participant

    Great interest in the thread thanks…

    I would like to see compulsory seating for anyone who has paid for a ticket on long distance trains, for safety, comfort, and for what we pay.
    British Rail used to run with 11-12 carriages, some of the trains now, 7-8. I would rather have 2 services an hour to and from London to say B’ham, and 12 carriages on, than 3 trains an hour with 7! we do not need more trains, we need better capacity on the ones we have. Crowding , safety and value for what you pay would then be addressed better.

    Network Rail Has refused Virgin trains permission to run trains directly to Blackpool (and other destinations), until late 2014. If they removed some trains, and added extra carriages on to the others, we would have the free space for new services. These were cut in the years gone by, so they are a “come back” service, rather than new.

    I realise services are getting crowded off and at peak times, in 1st and standard on the East Coast line. But they do appear to run more carriages, and the service in my experience is better than Virgin trains, as theirs has declined. It is the best there is…?

    Malbarda…
    Are services not on Grand Central to Harrogate?
    The sandwiches In 1st on East coast are fresh, on a platter on the trolley as they come down, not pre-packed, and there is a full bar service as well as cold / hot drinks. They also have a choice of two (at least) hot meals at all times of day. Virgin have removed this offering and no longer match this quality or choice.

    I found £46 one way 1st class from London – Edinburgh on East coast, on their site, booking two weeks ahead.It varies train to trains, sometimes only a few minutes apart. This was not off peak, leaving at about 8am!


    AMcWhirter
    Participant

    Grand Central does not serve Harrogate.

    Malbarda’s best option is to route via Leeds rather than York. Why ? Because the Leeds-KX train starts in Leeds so there’s greater availability of cheap seats.

    Almost all of East Coast’s York-KX trains are coming down either from Newcastle or Scotland so there’s less cheap seat availability.

    I have just checked Leeds-KX first class Advance fare availability in two days’ time. There are quite a few trains around mid-morning and lunchtime priced at £39 or £49 one-way first class. Prices checked with thetrainline.com

    If malharba cannot secure a cheap through fare from Harrogate then he/she should check the prices ex-Leeds and be prepared to travel with a separate ticket between Harrogate and Leeds.

    By the way, just now I did spot a few connections between Harrogate and London priced at £45 (for travel in two days’ time). I see that the services at 11.14hrs and 12.14hrs are both priced at £45 for one-way first class. These involve a routing via Leeds.


    malbarda
    Participant

    Thanks MarcusUK and AMcWriter. I guess I must have been just unlucky. I have traveled both through Leeds and York from Harrogate, but have simply never found these fares when I was looking. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that I log in/book from the US – let’s rip off the yanks 🙂 . I use East Coast Express’ own website.

    Also the description of food is something I have not experienced. Usually a gormly looking m/f, shirt stained and half tucked in, pushes a trolley through with coffee and tea, water and soda’s. The last time I traveled they did have menu’s on the table but the choice on an 8PM train from Kings X to York was “cheddar cheese sandwich”. I declined.


    NTarrant
    Participant

    Think the description of the staff is a bit unfair, yes there are a few that let the side down, but generally the customer services is fairly good


    malbarda
    Participant

    On my next trip I have already booked a BA flight, but every time I need to travel between “tut North” and London I will always compare the two. If I do find a decent rail option I will book it and will share my experience – promise.

    I do like trains as a means of transport in general. And I do like the East Coast first class seats with power and wifi. I have lived in Japan and Germany for several years so I am perhaps a little spoiled…

Viewing 5 posts - 46 through 50 (of 50 total)
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