Economy Class & Beyond

Air France and SNCF Voyageurs add additional Train + Air services

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Air France and SNCF have offered Train + Air service for nearly 30 years with the network spanning 33 services. Well, it seems that this is growing further, with the additional eight routes. These include: Aix-en-Provence, Arras, Laval and Lille Flandre: to Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports. Perpignan : to Paris-Charles de Gaulle … [Read more...]

Heads up: No Elizabeth Line or Heathrow Express on the 25th and 26th of November to Heathrow Airport

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For those who use trains to get to London Heathrow Airport, it's time to make backup plans, as the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express will have no service on will have no services on the 25th and 26th of November.  None of these... During this time parts of the line will be closed on Saturday 25 November and Sunday 26 November as essential maintenance works are … [Read more...]

Gatwick Airport Train Station to fully reopen on 21st November

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For those of you who use London Gatwick  - either as a gateway to London or the South of England, there's good news as the refurbishment work to update hesitation will soon be completed, with the "new" station opening on the 21st of November. The station will feature a new second concourse and airport entrance which will double the space that passengers use. The new … [Read more...]

LNER taps CAF to build new trains for the East Coast Main Line

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There's movement in the rolling stock market as London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has tapped Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) for new trains. CAF was the successful bidder to deliver a fleet of 10 new tri-mode trains for LNER. Porterbrook has been chosen as the financier of the new fleet in a deal valued at £500 million. The trains will be able to … [Read more...]

Plans to close Rail ticket offices halted in England

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It seems that His Majesty's Government has done yet another U-Turn, with them pulling the plan to close Rail Ticket offices in England and redeploy staff onto the platforms.  Things that are staying - Ticket offices, rather than welcome points - Image, Economy Class and Beyond. If approved, it would have impacted over 1,000 ticket offices in England  The move comes … [Read more...]

Lufthansa annouces an Air-Rail tie-up with KORAIL

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The Air-Rail market is an important part of the multi-modal travel mix, as we continue to seek to reduce emissions - and yes, in some cases, reduce unrequired flying. Lufthansa has announced a tie-up with KORAIL- the national operator of South Korea. Lufthansa Group has partnered with KORAIL, the primary train operator in South Korea, to offer its passengers the … [Read more...]

Passenger Competition through the Channel Tunnel? Evolyn breaks cover

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Whilst in theory, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is open to anyone, in practice - only a few companies have ever run on it.  Could a new operator be going into the Eurotunnel - With  Franco-British sreet artist YZ's artwork "I will always see you" - Image, Getlink Well, that seems to be changing with a start-up called Evolyn announcing its intention to run … [Read more...]

Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry awarded contract extensions

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It seems that performance has improved enough for both Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry Trains have managed to retain their operations, and have been awarded new operating contracts. Avanti West Coast (operated by a partnership of FirstGroup and Trenitalia) has a long-term contract which will enable them to deliver improved services for passengers, after dramatically … [Read more...]

Stansted Express to go back to four-trains-an hour from December

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There's good news for those travelling back and forth between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport, with the Stansted Express rail service increasing to four trains an hour. The full timetable will be resorted from the 10th of December 2023 as the new train timetable is introduced across the network. The move follows the scaling up of the services in May to four … [Read more...]