The place to plug your earphones is a relic of the previous operators( Virgin trains) it used to be a radio When virgin ordered their voyagers they requested this. It's obviously not used anymore because of free wifi but it's a nice relic of older times. Or just a permentant reminder that those trains are 20+ years old and in desperate need of replacement
I recon you should go all out, get LNER to Aberdeen then Cross Country to Penzance. For a First Class ticket on this route you could fly (in economy) across the Atlantic.
Sadly XC is not operating that Aberdeen-Penzance direct train right now. The through service is currently suspended while driving training takes place. The railway press has details. Check RAIL.
@@alexmcwhirter6611 It's back on now. 08:20 Aberdeen to Penzance. Goodness knows how much it could cost though. (And that's said by myself- I have a Priv card so I'd get 75% off the Standard Off Peak/Anytime fare.)
Last year I had a day trip to Durham from Newcastle and having never been on a CrossCountry train decided to book advance tickets with them. The train there was jam-packed and somebody was in my reserved seat. I just sat somewhere else, after all, it was only a 15 minute journey. If I had been asked to move I would have done. The train arrived at Durham and there seemed to be folk everywhere .. some sitting on the floor and a couple of passengers were even sitting on the luggage rack. It was going to be a long journey to Plymouth for some. Somehow, I had actually booked an anytime return ticket, so I was able to come back on any train. I had a great day in Durham then made my way to the station. A TransPennine Express train turned up, a company I had heard bad things about. It was empty, clean and bang on time. So my marks are XC 4/10, TPE 10/10
I’m guessing you won’t be trying CrossCountry again in a hurry after that? I wonder if there had been a few cancellations or something going on for it to be that busy
That does not surprise me at all and it has been like it since the Voyagers were introduced. At least you have a choice of operator for such a short journey unlike those who have probably had to suffer it for a couple of hours. The galling thing is that Arriva have done nothing to deal with the issue apart from to try and price people off their trains. Cross Country is the only major operator that has not introduced new trains on their services. Their routes badly need 7 or 8 car Hitachi trains but we are not going to get them. Instead they prefer to stick with what they have got hoping to mop us the redundant Voyagers from Avanti which won't solve the overcrowding issues. Having done a journey across the Pennines to Leeds via Manchester the difference between Cross Country and TransPennine was striking with TransPennine offering a far superior experience by far.
The reason you're not getting any refreshments is because you're travelling a very short distance where a service isn't feasible. Crew changes happen at Newcastle, which means catering crews starting from Newcastle are preparing the trolley for service and may not be able to do a service in the 10 minutes it takes to get to Durham. For the TPE train, the crew would be cleaning up at that point meaning no service. This is coming from someone who does catering for a different TOC who runs on this same line
I used Cross Country twice last month to Manchester from Newcastle and LNER to Doncaster from Newcastle all in first. LNER is definitely the better with its food and beverage choice. Saying that the onion Bhaji wrap with Cross Country was tasty. But back to LNER..you have first class lounges on their routes.....the Edinburgh LNER first class lounge is pretty nice and relaxing. Have you tried Cross Country West Coast first class?...now that's a world apart from the Newcastle to Liverpool service for food.
The place to plug your earphones is a relic of the previous operators( Virgin trains) it used to be a radio When virgin ordered their voyagers they requested this. It's obviously not used anymore because of free wifi but it's a nice relic of older times. Or just a permentant reminder that those trains are 20+ years old and in desperate need of replacement
I recon you should go all out, get LNER to Aberdeen then Cross Country to Penzance. For a First Class ticket on this route you could fly (in economy) across the Atlantic.
One of the barriers to zero emissions travel is train pricing!
I have been on TransPennine Express and CrossCountry and both of their trains are still the best despite the seats that aren’t as comfortable.
I'd definitely like to see you take the Cross Country train all the way to Penzance. Good video, thanks for sharing this one.
Thanks, maybe I’ll try out the full journey from Aberdeen to Penzance some time!
Sadly XC is not operating that Aberdeen-Penzance direct train right now. The through service is currently suspended while driving training takes place. The railway press has details. Check RAIL.
Thanks, good to know!
@@alexmcwhirter6611 It's back on now. 08:20 Aberdeen to Penzance. Goodness knows how much it could cost though. (And that's said by myself- I have a Priv card so I'd get 75% off the Standard Off Peak/Anytime fare.)
Last year I had a day trip to Durham from Newcastle and having never been on a CrossCountry train decided to book advance tickets with them.
The train there was jam-packed and somebody was in my reserved seat. I just sat somewhere else, after all, it was only a 15 minute journey. If I had been asked to move I would have done. The train arrived at Durham and there seemed to be folk everywhere .. some sitting on the floor and a couple of passengers were even sitting on the luggage rack. It was going to be a long journey to Plymouth for some.
Somehow, I had actually booked an anytime return ticket, so I was able to come back on any train. I had a great day in Durham then made my way to the station. A TransPennine Express train turned up, a company I had heard bad things about. It was empty, clean and bang on time.
So my marks are XC 4/10, TPE 10/10
I’m guessing you won’t be trying CrossCountry again in a hurry after that? I wonder if there had been a few cancellations or something going on for it to be that busy
That does not surprise me at all and it has been like it since the Voyagers were introduced. At least you have a choice of operator for such a short journey unlike those who have probably had to suffer it for a couple of hours. The galling thing is that Arriva have done nothing to deal with the issue apart from to try and price people off their trains. Cross Country is the only major operator that has not introduced new trains on their services. Their routes badly need 7 or 8 car Hitachi trains but we are not going to get them. Instead they prefer to stick with what they have got hoping to mop us the redundant Voyagers from Avanti which won't solve the overcrowding issues. Having done a journey across the Pennines to Leeds via Manchester the difference between Cross Country and TransPennine was striking with TransPennine offering a far superior experience by far.
Whether Turbostars or Voyagers, there never seem to be enough coaches on XC trains!!!
The reason you're not getting any refreshments is because you're travelling a very short distance where a service isn't feasible. Crew changes happen at Newcastle, which means catering crews starting from Newcastle are preparing the trolley for service and may not be able to do a service in the 10 minutes it takes to get to Durham. For the TPE train, the crew would be cleaning up at that point meaning no service. This is coming from someone who does catering for a different TOC who runs on this same line
A very interesting video Charles, New subscriber here
Thanks very much!
I used Cross Country twice last month to Manchester from Newcastle and LNER to Doncaster from Newcastle all in first. LNER is definitely the better with its food and beverage choice. Saying that the onion Bhaji wrap with Cross Country was tasty. But back to LNER..you have first class lounges on their routes.....the Edinburgh LNER first class lounge is pretty nice and relaxing. Have you tried Cross Country West Coast first class?...now that's a world apart from the Newcastle to Liverpool service for food.
No, not tried Cross Country West Coast yet
I’m showing my age, the headphone socket was for when there was music available on the trains.
As far as i know its never really been Aberdeen to Penzance, as a Dundee lad its always started from Dundee itself to Penzance taking just under 14hrs