8 HOURS on Britain's WORST High Speed Train - The Highland Chieftain from Inverness to London
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- Опубликовано: 25 сен 2024
- For my 100th video on the channel, we'll be looking at LNER's Highland Chieftain service which runs a daily service from Inverness to London (and return) and takes close to 8 hours to complete. Whilst the Azuma trains LNER use aren't the comfiest, this journey is undoubtedly one of the best you can take in Britain, and you'll see why in the video. Enjoy!
Journey details:
Date of travel - January 2024
Operator - London North Eastern Railway (LNER)
Train type - Class 800 "Azuma"
Origin - Inverness
Destination - London Kings Cross
Class of travel - First
Price - £95.35/€111.02/$121.57
Advance First Single (inc
1/3 Railcard discount)
Journey time - 8 hours, 18 minutes
Distance - 566 miles/911km
Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video!
Music from EpidemicSound and is used under license.
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#class800 #azuma #lner #highlandchieftain #tripreport #vlog #trains #edinburgh #inverness #london #scotland #england
Alright, because I've had several comments about this...
The map used in my intros are not to be taken as gospel - they merely just show the origin and destination city. The full route map, which follows the East Coast, is shown from 04:57. Hope that clarifies
😁
What do you use to make the maps?
I live in Inverness, a lot of people who live in and around Inverness use LNER first class to go to Edinburgh for the day, as you get your breakfast on the way down along with constant snacks, teas, coffees and cold drinks. Enjoy a few hours in Edinburgh, then head home on the return LNER service back to Inverness getting your dinner. snacks, hot and cold drinks on the way back. I have noticed this is extremely popular. The comfort is dreadful, however the service provided in first class along with the food, drinks and snacks is superb and makes a nice day out. ScotRail by comparison is dreadful, where you will be lucky to get a cup of coffee and nothing else (it’s still hit and miss catering being available with ScotRail). Plus ScotRail use dirty old trains, which seem to be getting really grubby and poorly maintained.
I travel from the midlands to Inverness on average 4 times a year. Prior to the introduction of the godawful Azuma trains I always made the journey in first class, at considerable cost I might add. I made one return trip by Azuma and decided there and then my patronage of LNER services had ended. I now use either the Caledonian Sleeper or fly.
Stirling please, not Sterling [GBP] currency!
Yes that was a typo mistake, as you'll see from the originally uploaded subtitles to the video which have the correct spelling. Happens to us all!
I much prefer a 1st class Scotrail HST carriage compared to the Azumas. The only downside to the Scotrail 1st class HST is the near absence of catering services.
Map seems to show WCML but I assume you went down the ECML?
See pinned comment
Great video 😎👍🏽⭐️ Back in the 1980’s there were 2 services to London. This one to Kings Cross operated by a HST (Highland chieftain) plus a later departure (10:30am from Inverness) “The Clansman” to London Euston via the WCML, Wolverhampton, Birmingham & Coventry. Up until the mid 1980’s the up and down Clansman used to completely avoid calling at Glasgow or Edinburgh with the loco swap from Class 87 Electric to Class 47 Diesel (and vice versa) taking place at Mossend freight yard (Motherwell)…those were the great days 😎👍🏽
I did this journey this year, travelling 1st, and it was great. No complaints at all.
They've removed all the headrests in first now. They never worked well, but if you put the headrest where you wanted it, pulled the flap off the velcro, tightened it and stuck it back on the velcro agian they would stay where they were. I assume they were detachable in the first place to make rebranding the service easier. I wonder if they'll bring something new in in the future.
I got one of the headrests when they were removing them, had no idea what I was going to with it but I gave it to my dad and he's found use for it putting it on the back of one of his chairs
You need to work on your pronunciation of Scottish place names .
Yes, it does make the video more authoritative if they actually find out how to prononunce the places correctly, especially on a travel channel. And his pronuncation of the word chieftain needs work as well.
I was going to post a similar comment. Kyle of Lock-alsh is a name that is often problematic for non-native Scots. Apart from the place names, I must say I hadn't heard of the Highland Chief-TAIN before.
@@ZL54JK8 Culloden was the one that got me - it's not as if there were any really famous battle there that holds a dear place in history for the Scots, so i can understand how it got mispronounced.
@@BobTheBorracho Yes, right on the back of the Moa Ray Firth!
cheef" + "tuhn" Not cheefTAIN
What a beautiful scenic ride ! Certainly makes me want to try it out. Your commentary is great, thanks for sharing with this new subscriber 😊
First class on the Azuma is very poor. The cushions are too shallow - compare with any SNCF TGV ! The ride is also poor, and frankly no match for the Inter City 125s or the later Class 91s and Mark IV stick. A huge disappointment, and no improvement whatsoever.
The main improvement is leg room in standard class. Overall, yes a disappointing train with poor seating and functional ambiance built to a price. I find the ride quality similar to a 225 and that’s largely due to track bed, imo.
You're right about standard class seats - awful, like sitting on an ironing board.
Wife and I travelled Aberdeen - London in May 2022, about 7 hours, we used advance tickets & railcards to make this a very reasonably priced journey even for 1st class travel. We wanted two seats facing around a table but these trains only have one such per cariage and ended up having to share a table with strangers. I endorse the comments about poor ride quality, there were times the train seemed to crash over the track and gave me the impression of a derailment (thankfully not). At Kings Cross we crossed the road and took a Javelin home, another 90 minutes, these ride better because HS1 track is of a better quality and 140mph is fairly comfortable (that makes it a longer journey than your's was!!). I later found a split fare option would have been even cheaper, Aberdeen to Montrose and Montrose to London.
A fantastic video, Thank you for uploading this, keep well 😊😊
Thanks for the upload. The scenery and journey look spectacular. One thing about 'First Class' Train travel is it's not what it used to be. Got to Japan, the UK has a lot to learn from them in terms of first class, especially when you see their trains.
Sadly, the golden age of UK Train travel is over.
Looks pretty great to me
Journey other way be much better under current shower in government Scotland 🏴 has far better prospects
When the HST's and MK3 coaches came on stream, they were amazing. I was disappointed when the Class 91 and MK4 coaches came into service in the mid 80's, they ride harshly in comparison to the MK3.
When they announced the replacements for the class 91 (225) fleet, I had high hopes: sadly misplaced. I have taken to driving sometimes as the ride quality is so appalling I can't face it. I hope the people of Mexico get to enjoy the HST and MK3 combination for many years to come.
Apparently there are concerns about what they do to the track.
Each generation of trains has been worse than its successors for decades.
@@physiocrat7143 I had no idea about that!
So the passenger receives a train that's nowhere as near to its predecessors for comfort, and the Permanent Way teams have to work harder as it's tearing up the track!
I wonder what the unsprung load is per axle - I may look that up today.
@@hypergolic8468
Unsprung load is only a part of the problem. Factors like the compliance of the suspension have an influence, as does wheel diameter; the smaller the wheel, the smaller the contact area and the higher the point load. One metre is optimal.
Smaller wheels also hammer (literally) switches and crossings. The Vee component of points gets hit at a sharper angle by smaller wheels, which aggravates wear, also any jointed track.
It isn't just the 800 class. The new Stadler units on Anglia are really bad on crossings and the ride on jointed track is unbelievably rough.
@@hypergolic8468
This information is, incidentally, well known within industry circles. I was at a conference last May where the subject came up. Network Rail has been gathering information with its measument trains and a system has been detected for measuring the forces and wear on tracks, including switches and crossings. I understand that the 800 series have been identified as among the villains. Some new types of freight vehicles are also doubtful, including small wheeled container flats.
Nice as person That Enjoy Trains a lot but don't get the Chance to take them a lot I enjoy these videos Keep it Up :)
Great video. That's one of the best UK journeys I have seen and I think I might do it myself one day. Not a bad looking train either. Don't know if you have done this one. Recently I took a Transport For Wales journey from Birmingham New Street to Barmouth in Wales and that includes some nice views as you pass through the unspoilt Welsh Valleys towards the Cardigan Bay area. You can either turn south to Aberystwyth or north all the way to Pwelli on the LLeyn Peninsula. Happy travelling. 👍
Thank you for your nice comments! Yes that is on the list to do at some point, ideally before the new stock comes in!
I think the 7:55 departure is the classic Inverness to London, and we're glad to have it, particularly as the price is good value, compared to much shorter journeys. 2nd class is okay, (still better than a plane!) you can reserve a seat. Make a nice picnic lunch to avoid mundane at best onboard catering. Arrives before 5pm, so plenty of time to meet up, dine and go to theatre/concert/etc etc.
Yes the service I took was on Sunday which has a slightly late departure and a 12ish minute journey extension - even then the arrival isn't too bad (provided it's on time!)
Excellent video
I actually like the LNER Azumas, especially in first class. The service is very good.
"to the British capital London" - you're going to anger a few folk here as you've passed through Edinburgh 🤣
Growing up is realizing Scotland will never be fully independent.
@@Sir_David_BeattyI've never heard of Britain having a capital. The UK does. But not Britain.
Have you tried Cardiff to Penzance first class on GWR? No refreshments, let alone a first class host, for the entire journey. In contrast LNER London to Inverness is one of the best rail journeys in the UK.
I went on LNER Azuma Class 800 from York to London Kings Cross on The Highland chieftain in August 2024. On 15th August on Thursday. And it was great trip on that day. But the hold up at Peterborough was bit crazy. As there was a congestion and traffic jam. To many trains there.
I used to work this route first as GNER, followed National Express, East Coast, and finally, Virgin. I can travel from St Pancras to Osnabruck quicker and than this journey.
I'm not planning to do this journey but a similar journey in Aberdeen to Kings Cross the next time I holiday in London
Enjoy, even the route from Aberdeen is amazingly scenic!
I rode on both Azusa and class43 on the same day to and from Edinburgh in standard class. Both were acceptable. I think it has become fashionable to berate Class 800 trains
Dreadful seats, ride quality and ambience. What's to like about them?❤
Great video mate.
Still think the GWR IET's are way worse than LNER for me.
The internal ambience is awful in them.
It might have been more obvious that the hotel was so close to the station if it had kept its former name - the Station Hotel. I hadn’t noticed the name change until now, but apparently it happened 24 years ago!
Was on the train when you was doing your video ' it is hard work went all the way to King's Cross 'done it 3 time in standard ' spectacular scenery.
Yes the only reason this journey is still bearable - a brilliant way to see Britain by rail
Take the sleeper up ' and day train back .
More reasons why flying between London and the Scottish Highlands is better. It's faster, and thanks to easyJet, cheaper
Always wanted to do this journey
If this was the intercity 225 I would say it's 500% worth the price
100%!
566 miles/911km, 8 hours, 18 minutes = "High Speed Train"??😳 Try a true "HS train": TGV Paris - Bordeaux (560 km) travel time *2hr 10min* city center to city center. If you book your seat in advance it can be cheap: Tuesday 1st October Paris 9:04am - Bordeaux 11:14am. 45 euros.
Says it all.
Don’t forget to search for tickets to/from Finsbury Park to get those off peak tickets again.
The seats in standard class on the IC225 to Leeds on LNER are better than the first class seats on the Azuma.
Bad ride quality = track bashing
26 metre vehicles, 17 metre bogie centres and 80 cm wheels is asking for trouble. Apparently Network Rail is concerned about the damage thse trains are doing
They need to make a one way trip to Newport
Thanks for giving commentary! I hate watching these travel videos where people only show text on the screen and dont talk.
I, on the other hand, prefer them. Each to their own.
Thanks for the particular attention to the North East, I think the Northerly approach is the best I know, Durham is wonderful too, and Northumberland? Shhhh, don't tell anyone.
Please quote prices for Standard Class - we are not all rich (or subsidized by You Tube) so most of us have to travel in "standard" cass - which used to be known as 3rd Class!
The best Advanced single I could find a week in advance (Which is what he did). Was £53 with a railcard and £79.60 without.
But as he said in the video its worth paying the extra for such a long journey.
I'm far from rich and the channel doesn't make as much money as you think - I'll take the standard class price inclusion on board for the future, but it is rather unfair to make such assumptions.
you should try SWR
I am six foot six. Would I have trouble on the Chieftan?
On our last trip to UK (2014) we did over 140 train trips using a mix of BritRail Pass and Senior Rail Pass. I have not calculated how much we saved, but probably in the region of £800.00 each.
Many people I met couldn’t believe we were using public transport!
I can honestly say that most of the trains were punctual, no more than 5 mins late the one exception was Bodmin Parkway to Truro, a local lady advised us “…this train is always late!”
As we were on holiday the 25 mins late made no difference.
The HST’s were very good, they still had Travelling Chef etc on First Great Western. The 159s and SWT were spot on. The best train for luggage security was the Scotrail 170’. The rack is in the centre of the car. On all other trains ‘er inside had me check our gear at every station stop! We did Shrewsbury to Llanelli and Swansea on the Mid Wales Line, but sadly missed the Settle and Carlisle. Too many other highlights to mention, you will have realised I am an unrepentant railway enthusiast!
Your video was very good, I’ll try to see your other work.
PICTON, South Island, New Zealand.
I’ve never ridden first class on the Azumas but I did once ride in standard class. While the seats aren’t the best I found them to be manageable for a short journey at least. I was only on the train from Newcastle to Edinburgh I might not say the same if I was on the train for the entire journey. To be honest I don’t think I’ll ever do the Highland Chieftain as I don’t think I could manage a train journey of that length even with comfier seats
The class 800 just can't get a break 😅
They need a break Sims Metals, Newport.
What is the app you used for the speed?
Wait in Uk is 8 hours to trave in part of the country to another?
In Romania that will take 22h for 700km
Where the hell is Sterling is that not a currency . You need to edit your vlog otherwise very good
Yes it was a typo - this was written correctly in the originally uploaded subtitles. Happens to everyone!
Have you tried the devon/scott Aberdeen to Exeter which takes about 10 hours well it did in 2000 and goes via Edinborough and Glasgow and down the west coast line.
Looks like the Azumas are no better than the GWR trains. Truly dreadful trains, how did we get stuck with trains like this?
The Department for Transport got involved. Civil Servants
DfT penny pinching sadly, which is a shame as later models are nowhere near as bad.
@@OMtheRails
There is nothing penny pinching about these trains - at almost £3 million a vehicle, they cost big bucks. For comparison, a mark 1 vehicle cost £5000 in the 1950s, and you can allow a factor of 50 for inflation. If you think that is an unfair comparison, then use the mark 3 stock, which would have cost about £500,000 apiece in the end of the 1980s - lightweight steel bodies with air-conditioning and separate power cars. The efficient steel construction system was abandoned when the mark 4 was introduced, with a resulting increase in mass. The intention was to continue with the mark 3 construction system, and that became the International Train, of which only a prototype was built, plus thousands of vehicles in China when Britain Rail Engineering Ltd sold an entire factory to build the design under licence.
A mark 3 vehicle was dismantled and surveyed around 2010 in a joint exercise by Porterbrook Leasing who owned most of them, and IMeche. At that time they were known to be good until at least 2035 ie they had another 25 years of potential service. The main weakness was corrosion at certain points, mainly associated with the toilet areas and around the vehicle ends, and these needed to be monitored and attended to as required. There was also a need to fit retention toilets and reinstate internal door handles.
Unfortunately the civil servants at the DfT stuck their noses in, were in love with Hitachi, decided to go for the absurdity expensive, overweight and inefficient bi-mode and a 26 metre vehicle, and we got the dreadful 800 series. 26 metres is too long for Britain as there is a 4.5 meters overhang at each end. Reduce the wheel diameter to 80 cm and you get a rough riding track basher. You also get a vehicle which is difficult to get on and off,; goodness knows how many trips and falls these trains are responsible for.
The story doesn't even exist end there. Once the decision to replace the mark 3 feet was made, maintenance was reduced and corrosion allowed to set in, and by 2018 renovation would have been expensive.
For from penny pinching, money has been splashed up the wall to get these trains inflicted on the hapless public.
@@OMtheRails
YT lost my carefully composed comment. I am not going to spend another half hour. In short, everything about these trains was the result of a series of bad decisions by the Civil Servants at the Department for Transport. The Mark 3 fleet was known to be good until 2035 - 2050, based on a tear-down survey of a vehicle in 2010.
These trains should not exist. A £2.7 million apiece, there is nothing penny pinching about them. That is three times what they ought to cost.
What railcard did you use?
The East Coast Mainline and Scotrail do not have the smoothest track in the country so don't put all the lumpy ride onto the Azuma. Diversions over weekends and speed restrictions for and after reballasting are almost constant over sections. Last year's very dry weather combined with this year's very wet have worsened the maintenance load. Network Rail is having a struggle to keep up and keep lines open and safe.
The trains are bad for the track That is why it has got rough. Small wheels, 26 metre cars with bogies at 17 metres centres is asking for a bad ride quality and damage to the track.
Dunfermline also used to be Scotland's capital
Azumas. The fastest park benches in the UK
I've seen those plaques loads of times while passing through Inverness station but never realised they had originally been on the Orton viaduct (which is not far away from where I grew up). I wonder why they were moved to Inverness and not to either of the nearer stations at Elgin or Keith. It's a shame that the Highland Chieftain just appears to use the standard Azuma trains, I'm fairly sure that the on the older trains the Azumas replaced, the Highland Chieftain (and also the Flying Scotsman) was an actual dedicated train with a slightly different interior.
No, the Highland Chieftain was a standard HST before the Azumas, nothing different about them.
@@markwringe2826 could it have been the Flying Scotsman? I can definitely remember going on a GNER train back in the day (maybe around 20 years ago) from Kings Cross up to Scotland that was a named service and the interior of the train being slightly nicer than the usual GNER trains.
What do you mean, a lack of power for the electric trains?
How is that even possible, given that lines use 25kV?
Usually one power station is enough to power 30km of high speed line. Even if you let a high speed train run every 5 minutes.
Try driving from fort george in Inverness to folkestone in a 30 year old landrover..
I rode an LNER one from Peterborough to King Cross last year, it was my first time on one. Very poor. Cheap and nasty interior, crappy seats, not a patch on the HST or loco hauled Mk 2 aircons.
why am i this early
Nice video.... only oddity, the slightly wonky pronunciations and a whopper of a spelling mistake. Stirling isn't Sterling, tho' not that far away from Stirling is a link to "sterling" and silver that was found in the Ochils. Chieftain is cheef'tonne, Moray is sounded like Murray (as the in the mints). It's a lovely journey across Scotland, have done this trip too many times to count.
What the song called at 15:30 ?
Are they getting this on the west coast main line as well?
Yes the Avanti Evero - already posted a video about this a few months ago :)
@@OMtheRails thanks :) will watch it but that's sad news though, replacing the awesome class 390 with something that isn't an improvement.
@@threesixnine369sixThey're replacing the Voyagers (221s) not the Pendos.
Technically theres two lner services a day from Aberdeen, one goes to London for sure though
There are four LNER services per day from Aberdeen. Three go to London and the 4th terminates at Leeds.
The GWR first class isn't great either on the class 800's why I've stopped upgrading on weekends just ain't worth the money. Either seats in 1st or Standard aren't the most comfortable from when we had HST's. Saying that I've found the GWR reservation system hit or miss only the other day i got on a train from Paddington and the system wasn't working on a packed train.My seat was taken by another traveler who didn't want to move and because the system was out was told to find another seat. Also find the water sensors in the toilets are hit or miss on these, which isn't great for long journeys.
95quid in first class is not bad at all.
LNER operate on the ECML not the WCML as shown on the map at the start of your video
See pinned comment
I would not do the highland chefitan because for 8 hours and 7 minutes is very expensive in first class with LNER onboard the AZUMA trains
Worth noting this fare can be cheaper - I think I saw around £71 with a Railcard for first when booked at the right time. LNER's new fare trial extension sadly does remove the flexibility with off peak fares, but hopefully sooner rather than later this will be resolved.
I struggle with these reviews. The journey looks great, especially the Highland bit. But I have never found these units uncomfortable. And the service is brilliant. The staff really do shine. And that makes LNER my favourite journey to London from my home town of Rochdale. I have absolutely no complaints. I seriously think ride issues may be track. I also think some people moan about them because they think they're supposed to.
Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions at the end of the day, but I personally think they’re trash compared to what they replaced. There are some positives of course, but the DfT really screwed over the design specs with the seat comfort amongst other things in my opinion.
England's most northernly town is Edinburgh 🌞🌞🌞
Are you ok?
@@OMtheRails Quite. Was only joking though as Edinburgh falls into the Old English section of Scotland (Lothianshire being the northernmost But).
11 minutes 34 seconds. “STERLING” really? 😅🤔
If you look at the uploaded subtitles, it was spelt correctly… I just made a typo on the location slide. Happens to all of us 🙃
I think you need to get a better map. The one you show 20 seconds in does not show the East Coast Main Line!
See pinned comment
Nightsleeper
The class 80X is the best train ever
You're joking right?
@@saturnsandjupiters358 no
😂😂😂😂😂😂
LOL, complaining about rattle-y trains and arriving 11 minutes late. Try taking a 23-hour Amtrak journey and then arriving four hours late. Then you will appreciate your dainty little trains.
Here we go again from our elitist RUclips presenter who thinks all travellers have buckets of money.
How about doing the vast majority of viewers a favor and travel like the rest of us and show what that is like.
Until then this video gets a thumbs fown and a channel skip.
Ever heard of cheap advance tickets?
He has literally said nothing to make you think that all travellers have buckets of money lol 😂😂
Also, he has done plenty of standard class trip reports on his channel. So how about you stop getting mad over him doing a first class trip report.
Also, what's the point in telling him that you disliked the video and used channel skip?.. like are you trying to hurt his feelings or something, it's pretty childless if you ask me 😂
@@Greggs30806 For an 8 hour trip it's worth having a bit of 'luxury'. If I ever travel up to Glasgow from Cleethorpes/Grimsby I'll always book first class which is about 6/7 hours. Worth it just in case there's any cancellations so you're not panicking to get a seat on the next train and get to use the first class lounges during the delays. The 'free' beer is nice too 😁.
Let's be honest if you're doing that length in journey there's an airport in Aberdeen - you'd be faster/cheaper booking a flight unless you've tons of luggage.
It is telling if even first class is poor.
With plenty more standard class trips to come too... ;)
On the topic of the relatively rough ride of the 80x stock, compared with the old Mk3 & Mk4s, there is an interesting article about this in the October 2024 issue of Modern Railways. “Who cares about ride comfort”, by Roger Ford. A lot of detail about the historic development of the Mk4 bogies, modern standards, design by committee etc. Well worth a read.
How tolerant 80x s are with the state of maintenance of the permanent way I don’t know yet, but wait and see. The old Mk3s were pretty good at ironing out the odd rough patch, as it were. Top quality maintenance helps a lot, and it’s occasionally noticeable on a through service across from one railway to another. I can remember one like that a long time back, through Poland, Germany, to Brussel Midi. The best ride, on a pretty curvy route, was from Hamburg to Köln Hbf, notwithstanding the fact that DB allow a relatively high amount of cant deficiency. Just that DB track maintenance was spot on.
Have u travelled on cross country? I think u need to reassess your video title after trying them
I made the trip on HST leaving Kings Cross at 1200 and it was wonderful in First class good food and wonderful scenery
I don’t mind LNER and I have been on some of LNER Azuma trains to Leeds, Edinburgh Waverley, Newcastle, York and Doncaster. And I also have been on Lumo as well which their trains are also very nice.
Bizarre that Dickie Pickle's Spinsters bought such rubbish kit! Hopefully LNER will be able to improve them during refurbishment at some time soon.
Hey Man Nice Video. I was expecting more from a 1st Class ticket. Looks more like a premium economy 😀 I always thought there was only 7 Scottish cities…then I find out Dunfermline is the 8th. Must be a new entry.
Looking at some of your footage either passengers are terribly dirty and messy or the clean staff are useless or LNER are making cutbacks because the carpets on that drain were disgusting. The seats not worn out and yes, they are very uncomfortable only marginally more comfortable than Thameslink is 700s. I intend to go to Scotland very soon but I will be using other methods of rail travel to get up there. Great video thanks for sharing.. 👍