These trains are really good, I use them semi-regularly on the MML and they are certainly better than a 220/221. They are beginning to show their age however, which is probably why they are scheduled to be replaced by Class 810s in 2023.
The 810 interiors do look slightly better than its other Hitachi counterparts, so we're hopeful. Totally agree, despite their age, they are still really good trains.
NOOOOOOOO I LOVE THESE WHENEVER I GO OUT I GO ON THEM THEY CANT GO they should keep them so EMR can go to York or something life that or Birmingham new street
I remember as a teenager me and a friend would get the old intercity 125 train from Harborough to Kettering . Stickingt an arm literally out of the window to open the door was a bit of a pain so it was nice if someone else got to do that bit but I do have fond memories of getting the train from Harborough now and then Leicester and going London. Love St Pancras. The station there is stunning.
Regarding catering, I do have a friend who knows more of the behind-the-scenes with the Catering. For starters covid wasn't an excuse for non-availability. When covid 1st started, number of people travelling dropped by 98%. EMR as well as RG (who provides the catering) basically co-decided that business-wise it wasn't possible to provide Catering, so it got suspended during 1st lockdown. As Catering got suspended both EMR and RG's staff got furloughed etc. My friend overheard that Catering was meant to resume however the 2nd lockdown put a stop to that. Now as of the 4th August 1st class Catering is back as prepacked cold items + hot drinks, with a small number of services having standard catering. Also to your comment about 1st class catering being suspended and not being mentioned on their website, you are right if you was referring to the 1st class page as that was never edited to say it was suspended. However if you check the Covid dedicated page, it did mention until the 4th August that catering was suspended.
Thanks for the insight. I travelled in May - catering wasn't available with EMR then, but it was on many other operators at the time, which is why I was a bit disappointed. When I booked there was nothing clearly mentioned about the lack of catering on the booking - although I didn't check the covid page.
@@ItsAllAboutTheJourney The other operators would have an in-house catering system so they would have had brought their staff back from furlough quicker than say EMR (who uses RG). TPE pretty much brought catering back at the same time as EMR as they used RG too. I think that is the case with all TOC's, if catering has been suspended it isn't mentioned on the booking pages. Something I think should be mentioned especially if the journey is a long one (1+ hour).
The Class 222 Meridians are very nice trains. But East Midlands Railway are to replace the Class 222 Meridian and Class 180 Adelante with the new Hitachi Class 810 Aurora that is to enter service from next year.
I agree - will definitely miss the 222s when they go. Excited to see what the 810s will bring - the interiors of the Hitachi AT300 series trains have massively improved in later models.
i may be coming to england in the next few weeks *is this the train i'll be taking to leicester from st pancras? enjoyed the video rachel from queensland australia
Thanks for video. I’m travelling 1st class on EMR leic to St Pancras is their food ie catering available on the train now ? As your video was keeping to covid restrictions.
I travelled with EMR in Standard Class and they did at least provide a basic trolley service. I believe EMR also have started complimentary food in First Class too, although it’s much scaled down compared to before covid.
I did Leicester to London on a Meridian in first class and it wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. I only tried it out because the advance in 1st was cheaper than standard. I only got a free bottle of water as well. I personally found the seats on the ex LNER HSTs to be better.
Interesting. Did you travel during COVID? I like the meridian seats just as much as the LNER HST seats. A bit of a poor offering with the water, but it's more than I got!
@@ItsAllAboutTheJourney I travelled back in April this year. I was quite shocked at how poor the catering was as other TOCs had at least brought back snacks by then.
I used to travel on these units a lot four years ago and the interiors in standard were worn out and dirty back then, shame as they are nice trains, but as others have already mentioned they are due for replacement.
On my recent experiences of travelling on the 222s, I didn’t find them to be particularly dirty. Perhaps this was as I travelled during covid times they stepped up their cleaning. It’s good to hear that EMR have made an improvement to their trains, even when they’re due to be replaced shortly.
I love the Meridian too - the First Class on the Meridian is probably one of my favourites on any intercity train in the UK. It'll be a shame to see them gone even if EMR are running them into the ground a bit.
Yeah it is quite funny - I believe the wires go as far as Market Harborough now. They plan to extend further up through Leicester. Interestingly when the new Class 80xs first enter service with EMR they will still run on diesel for the whole journey due to power constraints
The only thing that I noticed is the horrible standard Class seats. They need a redo. The seats have met their day. They're outdated and look very awful. I like the 222's because of the comfort though.
I agree, the internal refurbishment of the 222s is long overdue. I think the Standard Class interior is still rather smart and relatively comfortable compared to other operators (particularly with the 80x series).
These trains are really good, I use them semi-regularly on the MML and they are certainly better than a 220/221. They are beginning to show their age however, which is probably why they are scheduled to be replaced by Class 810s in 2023.
The 810 interiors do look slightly better than its other Hitachi counterparts, so we're hopeful. Totally agree, despite their age, they are still really good trains.
NOOOOOOOO I LOVE THESE WHENEVER I GO OUT I GO ON THEM THEY CANT GO they should keep them so EMR can go to York or something life that or Birmingham new street
Nice :) The DART service hasn't yet replaced the bus service, it's not complete yet, expected to be in December 2021
Thanks for the info - I saw an article mentioning the DART had come into operation in 2021, I'd probably misread it
@@ItsAllAboutTheJourney Yeah, most likely
I remember as a teenager me and a friend would get the old intercity 125 train from Harborough to Kettering . Stickingt an arm literally out of the window to open the door was a bit of a pain so it was nice if someone else got to do that bit but I do have fond memories of getting the train from Harborough now and then Leicester and going London. Love St Pancras. The station there is stunning.
Regarding catering, I do have a friend who knows more of the behind-the-scenes with the Catering. For starters covid wasn't an excuse for non-availability. When covid 1st started, number of people travelling dropped by 98%. EMR as well as RG (who provides the catering) basically co-decided that business-wise it wasn't possible to provide Catering, so it got suspended during 1st lockdown. As Catering got suspended both EMR and RG's staff got furloughed etc.
My friend overheard that Catering was meant to resume however the 2nd lockdown put a stop to that.
Now as of the 4th August 1st class Catering is back as prepacked cold items + hot drinks, with a small number of services having standard catering.
Also to your comment about 1st class catering being suspended and not being mentioned on their website, you are right if you was referring to the 1st class page as that was never edited to say it was suspended. However if you check the Covid dedicated page, it did mention until the 4th August that catering was suspended.
Thanks for the insight. I travelled in May - catering wasn't available with EMR then, but it was on many other operators at the time, which is why I was a bit disappointed. When I booked there was nothing clearly mentioned about the lack of catering on the booking - although I didn't check the covid page.
@@ItsAllAboutTheJourney
The other operators would have an in-house catering system so they would have had brought their staff back from furlough quicker than say EMR (who uses RG). TPE pretty much brought catering back at the same time as EMR as they used RG too.
I think that is the case with all TOC's, if catering has been suspended it isn't mentioned on the booking pages. Something I think should be mentioned especially if the journey is a long one (1+ hour).
The Class 222 Meridians are very nice trains. But East Midlands Railway are to replace the Class 222 Meridian and Class 180 Adelante with the new Hitachi Class 810 Aurora that is to enter service from next year.
I agree - will definitely miss the 222s when they go. Excited to see what the 810s will bring - the interiors of the Hitachi AT300 series trains have massively improved in later models.
i may be coming to england in the next few weeks
*is this the train i'll be taking to leicester from st pancras?
enjoyed the video
rachel from queensland australia
Glad you enjoyed! Most likely it will be the train you will take.
Thanks for video. I’m travelling 1st class on EMR leic to St Pancras is their food ie catering available on the train now ? As your video was keeping to covid restrictions.
I travelled with EMR in Standard Class and they did at least provide a basic trolley service. I believe EMR also have started complimentary food in First Class too, although it’s much scaled down compared to before covid.
Leicester is my Hometown and I’ve been there my whole life
I did Leicester to London on a Meridian in first class and it wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. I only tried it out because the advance in 1st was cheaper than standard. I only got a free bottle of water as well. I personally found the seats on the ex LNER HSTs to be better.
Interesting. Did you travel during COVID? I like the meridian seats just as much as the LNER HST seats. A bit of a poor offering with the water, but it's more than I got!
@@ItsAllAboutTheJourney I travelled back in April this year. I was quite shocked at how poor the catering was as other TOCs had at least brought back snacks by then.
I used to travel on these units a lot four years ago and the interiors in standard were worn out and dirty back then, shame as they are nice trains, but as others have already mentioned they are due for replacement.
On my recent experiences of travelling on the 222s, I didn’t find them to be particularly dirty. Perhaps this was as I travelled during covid times they stepped up their cleaning. It’s good to hear that EMR have made an improvement to their trains, even when they’re due to be replaced shortly.
nice!
Thank you!
hi
@@traintobeckton262 hi
hi@@CoolTransport
Class 222 Meldan is kinda good , the first class kinda amazing for me ❤❤
I love the Meridian too - the First Class on the Meridian is probably one of my favourites on any intercity train in the UK. It'll be a shame to see them gone even if EMR are running them into the ground a bit.
It’s mad how EMR use dmus but the majority of your journey looked electrified 🤔
Yeah it is quite funny - I believe the wires go as far as Market Harborough now. They plan to extend further up through Leicester. Interestingly when the new Class 80xs first enter service with EMR they will still run on diesel for the whole journey due to power constraints
The only thing that I noticed is the horrible standard Class seats. They need a redo. The seats have met their day. They're outdated and look very awful. I like the 222's because of the comfort though.
I agree, the internal refurbishment of the 222s is long overdue. I think the Standard Class interior is still rather smart and relatively comfortable compared to other operators (particularly with the 80x series).
Im a british
Im a british