Inverness - London Kings Cross with LNER
Jan 25, 2023, 9:14 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bridport, Dorset
Programs: Mucci, BA Bronze, Hilton Gold
Posts: 2,130
Inverness - London Kings Cross with LNER
It's been a while since I have travelled anywhere, and I had a lovely trip with LNER from Inverness to London.
The flight takes about 60 minutes so am usually happy to fly economy, but with the train journey taking 7hrs 55 minutes I decided to treat myself to First Class. Standard class seats on LNER have been referred to as "ironing boards" so I opted to pay the extra for a guaranteed* First class seat, where the seat configuration is 2+1. Seats have charging points and the WiFi was perfectly OK although not super fast.
* you can also buy standard class seats and use SeatFrog to bid for an upgrade, although I didn't fancy taking my chances. As it happens the bid price for the day I travelled was £19!
As usual I will let the pics do the talking.
DATE: Thursday, 19th January 2023.
DEPARTURE FROM INVERNESS: 0755hrs
ARRIVAL AT LONDON KINGS CROSS: 1550hrs (actual: 1547hrs)
FARE: GBP 134.50
LNER Azuma
On boarding the "Dish" menu was handed out - which disappointed me as I was looking forward to the upgraded "Dine" menu. Thankfully this was an error.
Tea and soft drinks were served within about 10 minutes of departure, and breakfast orders taken.
Orange juice and apple juice, as well as tea and still water were offered.
I ordered the Full LNER.
This was an excellent breakfast, the perfect way to start the day!
There were frequent tea/coffee runs, and, apart from admiring the lovely scenery, it was soon lunch time!
I ordered the roast chicken.
Like the breakfast, this was a very tasty dish - perfectly cooked and seasoned.
I of course had the Sticky Toffee Pudding, and what it lacked for in looks it made up for in taste.
The price also includes complimentary alcohol, and there was a wide choice. I haven't had Budvar in a long time so jumped at the chance to try it again.
Service continued and I was offered another main meal, which I declined, opting for the vegan sandwich instead.
The staff on board were excellent, and made frequent trips up and down the carriage offering top ups of teas, coffeees or alcoholic drinks.
Arriving at Kings Cross early was the icing on the cake. All in all, a very enjoyable, relaxing journey, avoiding airports which, as I get older, my patience for using has run low!
Incidentally. LNER was taken "in house" by the government after the previous incumbent, Virgin Trains said they could no longer afford the premiums to operate the route. This was after they took over from East Coast Trains, a government owned operator after the previous operator, National Express East Coast said they could no longer afford the premiums to operate the route. This was after they took over from GNER, an operator who... could no longer afford to operate the route. Anyway, although most railways in the UK are now directly operated by the government, they are still "arms length" private companies. LNER could teach all of them a thing or two about running a railway...
The flight takes about 60 minutes so am usually happy to fly economy, but with the train journey taking 7hrs 55 minutes I decided to treat myself to First Class. Standard class seats on LNER have been referred to as "ironing boards" so I opted to pay the extra for a guaranteed* First class seat, where the seat configuration is 2+1. Seats have charging points and the WiFi was perfectly OK although not super fast.
* you can also buy standard class seats and use SeatFrog to bid for an upgrade, although I didn't fancy taking my chances. As it happens the bid price for the day I travelled was £19!
As usual I will let the pics do the talking.
DATE: Thursday, 19th January 2023.
DEPARTURE FROM INVERNESS: 0755hrs
ARRIVAL AT LONDON KINGS CROSS: 1550hrs (actual: 1547hrs)
FARE: GBP 134.50
LNER Azuma
On boarding the "Dish" menu was handed out - which disappointed me as I was looking forward to the upgraded "Dine" menu. Thankfully this was an error.
Tea and soft drinks were served within about 10 minutes of departure, and breakfast orders taken.
Orange juice and apple juice, as well as tea and still water were offered.
I ordered the Full LNER.
This was an excellent breakfast, the perfect way to start the day!
There were frequent tea/coffee runs, and, apart from admiring the lovely scenery, it was soon lunch time!
I ordered the roast chicken.
Like the breakfast, this was a very tasty dish - perfectly cooked and seasoned.
I of course had the Sticky Toffee Pudding, and what it lacked for in looks it made up for in taste.
The price also includes complimentary alcohol, and there was a wide choice. I haven't had Budvar in a long time so jumped at the chance to try it again.
Service continued and I was offered another main meal, which I declined, opting for the vegan sandwich instead.
The staff on board were excellent, and made frequent trips up and down the carriage offering top ups of teas, coffeees or alcoholic drinks.
Arriving at Kings Cross early was the icing on the cake. All in all, a very enjoyable, relaxing journey, avoiding airports which, as I get older, my patience for using has run low!
Incidentally. LNER was taken "in house" by the government after the previous incumbent, Virgin Trains said they could no longer afford the premiums to operate the route. This was after they took over from East Coast Trains, a government owned operator after the previous operator, National Express East Coast said they could no longer afford the premiums to operate the route. This was after they took over from GNER, an operator who... could no longer afford to operate the route. Anyway, although most railways in the UK are now directly operated by the government, they are still "arms length" private companies. LNER could teach all of them a thing or two about running a railway...
Last edited by Sealink; Jan 25, 2023 at 9:21 am
Mar 23, 2023, 12:44 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: West of CLE
Programs: Delta DM/3 MM; Hertz PC; National EE; Amtrak GR; Bonvoy Silver; Via Rail Préférence
Posts: 5,384
Apparently, the for-profit operators can't make money on the East Coast Main Line, because it doesn't serve the large cities in the north of the country (Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool), but rather only Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh as well as smaller cities like York, Durham, Doncaster and Peterborough. Starting at York and up into Scotland, the ride is fantastic. The LNER has introduced new rolling stock (I think Hitachi built these trains at a factory in northeast England); the right of way is rated for as high as 125 mph. Whenever I go to the UK to see Celtic play, I take the train up to Glasgow. Based on my last couple of trips, I enjoy the LNER more than the west coast operator, which was Virgin Trains and now is Avanti west coast, which has taken over since my last such trip. There are trains every 15 minutes or so between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street, as well as other services which run through Motherwell and into Glasgow Central.
Apr 4, 2023, 9:43 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bridport, Dorset
Programs: Mucci, BA Bronze, Hilton Gold
Posts: 2,130
Apparently, the for-profit operators can't make money on the East Coast Main Line, because it doesn't serve the large cities in the north of the country (Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool), but rather only Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh as well as smaller cities like York, Durham, Doncaster and Peterborough. Starting at York and up into Scotland, the ride is fantastic. The LNER has introduced new rolling stock (I think Hitachi built these trains at a factory in northeast England); the right of way is rated for as high as 125 mph. Whenever I go to the UK to see Celtic play, I take the train up to Glasgow. Based on my last couple of trips, I enjoy the LNER more than the west coast operator, which was Virgin Trains and now is Avanti west coast, which has taken over since my last such trip. There are trains every 15 minutes or so between Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street, as well as other services which run through Motherwell and into Glasgow Central.
I don't think I could do standard class all the way to Inverness in the Hitachi trains - so I'm all about getting the best deal in First.
Avanti on the West Coast seem to be improving slowly, but their food offering is no where near as good as LNER.