chris1979

had a quick search and saw lots of comments re reliability.

assuming it operatines, fine, how easy is it to get to the train station, how long does it take, any other points to consider?

have to go to Halifax with work from London. Never been. never intended to go. and never thought it would take 3 hours 15 mins on the train.

having done quick maths (45 mins to LHR, 45 mins there before dept, 1 hour flight, 20 mins to station, 30 mins train from Leeds to Halifax vs 30 mins to station, 15 mins early, 3 hours 15 min train), timings are nearly the same. Train probably a bit easier / more comfortable in terms of not relying on so many means of transport and so many changes etc but part of me thinks, "why not bag some TPs and Avios" especially if this becomes a regular thing.

So, any regulars' views on train vs plane & train and ease of getting from my seat on the a/c to my seat on the train to Halifax?

Thanks in advance.

shorthauldad

Looking at the map, LBA to Halifax by rental car/taxi might be better (=significantly quicker!) than getting to Leeds station and taking the train. Central Leeds is not on the way from LBA to Halifax!

http://goo.gl/maps/D69pM

Land-of-Miles

You could also fly to MAN and drive/taxi from there. The drive on a reasonable day will probably not take an awful lot longer than from LBA (since it would be mainly motorway), albeit a taxi would cost a fair bit more. MAN does give you significantly more flexible timing options however and considerably more chance of your flight operating in winter months.

knifeandfork

Definitely take a cab from LBA to get to Halifax. Less than £30, will take about 25-30 minutes. Be advised that the roads around there are crawling with speed cameras so cab drivers will be keeping it neat and tidy.

If you can be finished in time for half three then you'd be a fool not to take the Grand Central train service home to London. There's three a day each way, but the first one from London doesn't get into Halifax until 2pm

http://www.grandcentralrail.com/tick...ter-timetable/

Weekdays, Halifax to London direct in about 2h50m.

If your business is with Halifax/LTSB in their enormo building, be advised that it is outside Halifax, on the road between Sowerby Bridge and Elland/Huddersfield.

If that's the case, another viable route would be LHR-MAN, Trans Pennine to Huddersfield and then a cab from there.

I've had sick relatives in hospital in Halifax and Huddersfield and have done trains and LBA and MAN. From LAX, obviously I flew. From London, to be honest, I'd take the train both ways. At the best of times LBA is a pain to get to. It's like someone built an airport at the end of a warren of 1950s cul-de-sacs.

Yorkshire Traveller

Might be worth looking at the Grand Central train service from London Kings Cross to Halifax.

Two or three trains a day, no need to change, cheaper than East Coast, free wifi throughout the train. About a 3 hour journey station to station.

Don't pay extra for First Class - not worth it.

Highly recommended if the the train times suit.

[just seen knifeandfork beat me to it!]

chris1979

many thanks - will have a look at all of those options.

Was planning on taking the 15.52 back to London though it says it takes 3hrs 13 mins which is the same as other trains though doesn't involve changing.

Yes, it's business with Halifax / LTSB / LBG so will bear in mind what you said as well as location of the office.

Oh, how times change. Once upon a time, it was LAX to MIA or JFK.

Now it's LON to HFX.

layz

What is the Grand Central first class offering like? I know when they launched London-Sunderland Grand Central made a big deal of having better than average legroom in standard class so I hope that's still the case.

In my case I sometimes use the train London-York so in theory could use GC or EC on that route. Despite always meaning to try GC I always end up on EC just because the frequency on that route is so much better with EC. With Halifax of course your direct options are more limited.

If you ended up going East Coast I'd say there's a large enough difference between first and standard to consider first if it's in your budget. If your plans are rigid enough that you can book cheaper non flexible advance tickets then I'd say go for first class if travelling East Coast.

For me the individual table seats are great if travelling alone.

Yorkshire Traveller

First Class is nice on Grand Central - though for me, not worth triple (or more) the cost of Standard. The Standard class has much more room than that of East Coast. Whenever I travel down to London I seem to be able to get a 4 seater table to myself. Perhaps I've just been fortunate.

Private Pyle

First class on the train. Much easier, no messing about.

FocalLength

A local speaks:

If you're still keen to fly, perhaps as you hint because you'd like the extra points and avios, or just for a change, take your taxi to Bradford Interchange station rather than Leeds (infrequent but decent services also available on bus routes 737 and 747). It's a shorter ride and you'll end up on the same trains but only one 12-minute stop away from Halifax.

rienniste

As another local, this was exactly what I was going to suggest doing!
Travelling to Leeds station and taking a train from there would add unnecessary time and cost to the journey as the trains from there pass through Bradford Interchange enroute to Halifax. Thais said, the trains on that route are pretty grim and packed-out 2 or 3 carriage Northern Rail services... so I would avoid them at peak times!

layz

I've just looked at the ticket prices and GC First Class seems to be keenly priced (if you can be sure you can catch the GC train):

Off peak return: Std: £72.10 1st: £127.70
Anytime return: Std: £123.60 1st: £194.60
Note: it looks like all three daily GC services are classed as 'off-peak' so I'm not sure the point of the anytime return.

The 'Any Permitted' tickets are more expensive but allow you to travel on both Grand Central and East Coast + connections, they're a safer bet if you're not sure whether you'll make your intended train because if you stick to GC only you'd have a long wait until your next train.

chris1979

Sadly I have to jump through corporate hoops even if a first class ticket is cheaper than a standard class ticket so it's standard class (at any cost - they don't really look at that) rather than first for me.

knifeandfork

I'm from Todmorden originally. I hope I count!

Behindthecurtain

LBA Get taxi to Bradford and jump the train, its the fastest simplest way.

MAN can be done by train, but not sure if the Halifax trains still go from Vic as opposed to Pic, as a long time since i have done it