Economy Class & Beyond

LNER Commences Azuma rollout

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London North Eastern Railway - or LNER - has begun the formal rollout of the new Azuma (Class 800/801) trains on the East Coast Main Line LNER Azuma at London Kings Cross - Image LNER In the first instance, the Azuma fleet will be assigned between London Kings Cross and Leeds and London Kings Cross and Hull.  A total of 65 train sets will enter service (split in a … [Read more...]

Accessibility on the Rails in the UK – There’s a map for that

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A lot of us take it for granted we can access rail services with ease. For those who have different requirements (such as wheelchairs, parents with babies) sometimes using the trains can be more unhelpful than not. Thankfully the UK Rail Delivery Group acknowledges this, and have developed a new map to help those who need to travel independently. The map is at … [Read more...]

Easter Rail Works in the UK

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If it's coming up to a public holiday (or series of them), you can lay money that the UK Railway will have some closures on it. Suprisingly, there's not a lot that's affecting travellers to and from the London area airports. Let's take a look at what's affected on the upcoming weekend: Heathrow Express Heathrow Express Service at Heathow - Image, Economy Class and … [Read more...]

Stagecoach Group looses rights to operate trains – Virgin Trains West Coast, East Midlands Trains will change hands

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In an announcement today, Her Majesties Government has disqualified the Stagecoach Group from taking part in further franchise competitions and instead is in the process of re-letting rail franchises that it operates or has a hand in. Virgin Trains Pendolino at Birmingham New Street - Image, Economy Class and Beyond The disqualification is due to the company not meeting … [Read more...]

FirstGroup orders five Hitachi AT300 Trains for London-Scotland route

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FirstGroup last year won paths on the congested East Coast Main Line to launch it's own "Open Access" service between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh. Well, it seems the company is pressing ahead, with orders for five Hitachi AT300 trains. FirstGroup Hitachi AT300 trains planned for its London to Scotland service - Image, FirstGroup  The deal worth … [Read more...]

First new Stansted Express train arrives

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Stansted Express is taking a big leap forward, with the arrival of the first of the new trains that will replace existing units. New Greater Anglia Stadler Class 755 Stansted Express train being delivered - Image, Greater Anglia.  The train is manufactured by Stadler of Switzerland. This is a 12-car train - and the first of ten that are being delivered to Greater … [Read more...]

Getting to and from Heathrow Airport from Central London (2019 Edition)

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Getting to and from Heathrow Airport from Central London (2019 Edition) Continuing on from yesterday where I showed you free or cheap ways of getting around Heathrow Airport, I'm going to show you the ways of getting out of the area, and the costs attached to them. This guide focuses on public transport options between Heathrow and Central London. It does not look … [Read more...]

Heathrow Express to accept Contactless Payments and Oyster Cards

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It's taken long enough, but Heathrow Express will start to accept Contactless Payments and Oyster Cards for use on its services from the 19th February 2019 Heathrow Express Train at London Heathrow Terminal 5 - Image, Economy Class and Beyond.  So that's the positive news - you can use a contactless card on Heathrow Express. The bad news? It's going to set you back the … [Read more...]

REMINDER: UK Rail ticket prices go up today

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For those of us who are heading back into work, dreading buying our commuter passes today, or looking to buy that reasonably priced ticket - it's a reminder that the rail ticket prices that fall under regulated regimes are going up by an average of 3.1% today. Oh yes, rail ticket prices will shoot up on Virgin Trains too - Image, Economy Class and Beyond. Regulated … [Read more...]

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