FIRST CLASS on Britain's High Speed Train - The AZUMA
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- Опубліковано 20 лип 2024
- Check out the High Speed Rail Alliance here: www.hsrail.org
What do you think of the New LNER Azuma train?
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The irony is that the lockdown has made your content so much better, it's hard to find people who produce the kind of stuff you do on a local level, and I think you're so much better for it. I kind of reminds of Rick Mercer, when he would go around Canada and do the same kind of random and wholesome things.
Thanks Jordan. I kind of see a bit of Rick Mercer in my videos as well. I used to watch him as a kid, so maybe I was inspired? 🤷🏼♂️
I'm getting all sorts of ideas of where I want to travel after the pandemic.
You’re going to have LOTS of time to decide :’)
Looks like you've got yourself another year to decide...
@@seamusmckeon9109 Sadly, that does seem to be the case.
@@fairyhanny I don't think it will ever be over they're using this, now it's monkeypox (ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻(┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻
I'm lucky enough to drive high speed trains in the UK. I LOVE my job.....
What?!!
Can I come ride with you one day?!!
@@DownieLive Once this virus has been kicked into touch? Why not.....
I'm a guard, on High-speed trains! They are really quiet in my part of the world at the moment (Bristol) But hopefully, it'll be back to normal in a couple of months
Wow! Will a railway in the UK hire an American?
@@matthewbratton1478 I imagine so. There are people from almost every other nationality on the railways of the UK so why not an American, our closest cousins..
I just wanted to let you know how comforting it is to watch your videos. It reminded me how much I loved train travel and trains, period. Thanks for doing what you do!
Nothing suspicious it hadn't posited yet and I decided to make a general comment. I still at this point haven't seen this video. I normally stay away from posting on social media and this is reason why. You need to go find something else to do!
i commend you for your choice of criteria at the end, when you offer your summation of the ride-experience. In some "rail reviews" I think the reviewer is asking for the impossible; you've evaluated the trip based on its reality ... an inter-city commuter train that doesn't require being noticed. Well done!
I like the idea of it being seen as an inter-city commuter train - frequent, fast and efficient. In the UK, there are many who compare the LNER Azuma and its exact equivalent on GWR with the older High Speed Train that used to run on those routes - and the new train gets marked down for ride comfort and seat comfort. Some train companies have recognised this and are specifying better seats on later batches from Hitachi, but we may have to live with the ride characteristics of the bogies for a long time to come.
As a journalist working overseas, I was one of the few lucky ones to board the maglev between Tokyo and Nagoya. It's quiet and stable, and when I closed my eyes, I really could forget that I was moving at 500km per hour.
If you go to St Pancras they have a high speed train that runs on a line with a MUCH higher speed limit. You can get the train to Ashford in like 20-30 minutes, a journey which if you take on the slow line takes like 2 hours!
I hope this finds you and your family safe and well. My parents and sister (all passed now), travelled to Leeds from London in 1976. My sister met a young woman there and they became penpals for many years. We actually met the gal and her husband in Orlando years later. Traveling is a great way to meet people and experience new things.
You guys stay safe and whatever you give us next, we'll be with you.
Too bad your travel is on pause but I’ll still look forward what ever comes next ! 😎
Honest but brutal. Gotta love having Mike as a friend! For whatever, I'd bet your channel will never be "average", because you'll never, ever, never let it get boring!
I thank you again for a wonderful, adventurous, and honest train review. I also appreciate how you characterized the Azuma as being a commuter train with a practical purpose as opposed to a luxurious or tourist route that accentuates the amenities. We often overlook the value of what we use in our daily routines. Stay safe as well and I look forward to the next adventures.
Live in England born in Canada stay safe will be back home when all this is over great videos
London to Leeds in four hours with traffic? More like 6-7 hours! Used to hate driving between East London and the Northwest. Trains are the way to go.
How much is the train ticket, both first class, and economy
I used to live in Leeds for university and had to take this same journey for like 3 years, seems like a massive difference from the old trains they used to use! I hope you enjoyed your stay in the UK and I hope you looked around Leeds it’s a great city!
The “leather” seats are found in the old train carriages, the fabric seats belong to the new Azuma carriages.
In general, the food and drink service is better on a weekday, while weekends have a reduced service.
Damn the new national rail fire safety guidelines
Prefer the old first class. Love the comfy seating and food was better.
6:50 I have never heard a more perfect narration and compliment of something that's so ordinary that it just blends in. That's a perfect tagline for a commercial for Azuma: Azuma, a train that's so unnoticeable that it blends in perfectly into your life. LOL This is what makes your videos so enjoyable. You notice the little things and showcase them in ways that we have never noticed before.
Wow, thank you!
Thanks for this! Interesting observation that it is a "commuter train" and practical . It looked quite nice and comfortable for a 2 hr. trip. Glad to see you again and to hear your positive attitude in our challenging times.
The Class 800! What a lovely train.
I haven't been on the LNER Azumas yet, but I certainly have been on the GWR IETs and they are great to ride!
Gosh Mike I love your videos! So energetic and personable. No pointless narration... and great vocal modulation. Fine camera work and terrific editing. You're a joy to watch AND to listen to! Thank you so much!
lnteresting to see the newer trains. I used to do the trip from Milton Keynes to Aberdeen and back again 13 years ago, with three kids, every school holiday for two years. One time as a treat we took the Caledonian Sleeper from Watford to Aberdeen, first class so teenager had a room to herself and middle child and I had interconnecting rooms, with the baby in the single bunk with me. I forgot the pop up cot! I loved it. We all slept reasonably well and I woke to views of the Firth of Forth.
AZUMA means EAST, INAZUMA means thunder in Japanese!
very exciting movie😻😻
A year ago I was riding the trains you review in this series, the LNER, ScotRail, and the Caledonian Sleeper. The rolling stock has changed on two of them, much to the better, but the experiences are similar. Thanks for your reviews and stay safe at home for the time being.
Great video! I love the Azuma and travel on it regularly when travelling to England for work (never on 1st class though - the Civil Service won't go for that). We still occasionally have to travel on the diesel 225s, and there's a huge difference in comfort!
Hope you're coping okay with lockdown, and hope to see you out and about in the world again soon. Stay safe.
It is a great honor to have Japanese cars running in England, the birthplace of railways.
When traveling in the UK, I want to ride an "Azuma" and also an old traditional vehicle!
I love it UK!
I appreciate you posting this and the sweet message towards the end. Hope you and yours are doing well. I am patiently waiting for more vids!
As for North America (especially the USA), which desperately needs an European/Asian world class regional, intercity and long distance high speed rail system, you guys should get the Class 801 (same as 800 but electric only) one day! Ideally, the Class 801, with its great fast acceleration (but only a 225 km/h or 140 mph top speed) would be suited to medium distance intercity rail services (I'd say up to a 500 km / 300 mile radius) with frequent stops. For example: an intercity Amtrak service from Chicago, IL to St Louis, MO. Or the Acela Express. Or an intercity Amtrak fast train service from Los Angeles, CA to San Diego, CA! Outside of the Acela Express and the NEC (Northeast Corridor), the Class 801 would be a huge step forward in improving rail services in the United States.
Channels like yours are so helpful right now. I can't travel myself, but I can vicariously enjoy your previous adventures. Stay healthy!
I’m glad you are home and being safe....but I do so love your train travels....until next time stay safe 😘
Thanks, Mike for your video and the effort you put in it. I hope you and Nicole are still safe and healthy and can enjoy the Easter days in sunny weather as much as possible in these times. Happy Easter
I'm so pleased to have encountered your channel, as I too love train journeys. Your style and presentation are a joy to watch, so thank you, truly, for that. I hope that when things return to a semblance of normalcy, you might consider visiting us here in South Africa, so I can - in my capacity as a South African travel industry planner and writer - show you some of the highs and lows of our train offerings, including Rovos Rail, arguably the most luxurious train in the world...
Thanks for finishing off your UK journey. Stay safe back home in Canada.
I’m catching up on your earlier work from before I subscribed.
Take care. 😊👍🏻
Yess I wish they would bring high speed rail to the USA, I would still use Amtrak. It’s just some times I want to get somewhere quick, because I won’t have a lot of time in some cases. 🥰🥰
I must admit it gave me a giggle when you did the whole "WassSSShhhRRRoooomm Tourrr" - it made me subscribe.
Yay! Thanks Julia! There are a few washroom tours in my train videos
@@DownieLive I'm just trailing through your videos now! The Caledonia Sleeper looks amazing. Would love to see you experience the FirstClass/Business Class of the Eurostar from London to Paris. I was upgraded on my last Journey back from Paris and let me tell you.... lowkey ruined me for other trains haha
Thanks for sharing. This morning my partners asks "is there a new DownieLive" ? We love the trains and have been a big advocate for bringing high speed rail to the United States. Actually just medium speed would be better then what we have now. We are lucky to live in Oregon and take Amtrak up to Seattle from Eugene, Oregon. Stay safe and we look forward to the next video. Great job on the channel. Cheers.
Great video! I found your site only recently and enjoy it tremendously! I will be right here catching up on you previous trips plus whatever you get to post through the pandemic. Glad you are staying healthy. Thank you so much for the enjoyment you post!
You can be forgiven for thinking Kings Cross & St. Pancras were one entity, after all they're labelled as a single entity on the Tube/Underground map; enjoyed your honesty. You might be interested to read about how St. Pancras was threatened with demolition back in the 1960s, if you don't already know about that. So pleased it never happened!
Yes among those who campaigned to save St Pancras station was the Poet Laureate John Betjamin whose statue
graves the station today. Sadly the quite wonderful neo-classical Euston station and its famous arch were demolished in one of the great acts of architectural vandalism in the 1960s.
This is so cool. Thanks for the tour. Fast trains are nice. But I so love the pitter-patter of the tracks at 50 mph.
Can't be a better place to end this season of your travel videos in Leeds. Wonderful city to live, work and play in. Come and visit when we get through this.
Thank you for posting this video! I saw the St. Pancras Station sign and thought it quite awesome to see a place that brings back great memories! My sister and I took the train from Paris to St. Pancras Station - staying in the hotel while touring various places. One of the best trips of my life♥️
Hey Mike, your videos came in my recommendation this week and I love your train journeys. I am a train enthusiast and a vlogger myself and can so relate to your excitement on these journeys. We are all stuck at home now for some time, but I do look forward to your videos. Stay safe. Love from India :)
Watching you go past the houses I also go past on my way to and from London was rather surreal. 😁 I love going on trains, although I haven't been on any since last November. I'm going to London soon, and I'm half excited, half scared, because I'll be the first time I'll have been on public transport since the pandemic started.
Great video, still love those leather seats on the '225' train sets (the older train), so comfortable.
Amazing video … thanks so much for sharing your travels.
Stay Safe!
I think that a fast train will be a great idea. Stay Safe and God Bless You Mike and your family.
Your editing is the best I have ever seen in the "train" genre.
Awesome vlog. What ever you post in the coming weeks will be awesome also. Keep smiling and stay safe. From a fan in Ontario Canada.
Unfortunately the original Euston Station was torn down in the 1960’s & replaced with the modernist black box which is in turn being redeveloped for the HS2 line up to Birmingham. Leeds is a beautiful city, you missed out in not staying longer & the large Armouries Museum at the canal dock is worth a visit. LNER 1st Class is pleasant, but Caledonian Sleeper is in a class all of its own.
Wow. Such a flashback. I first discovered your videos when the UK was is lockdown. You visited Fort William a few weeks before I did on a road trip. If I visited a week later restrictions would have made it impossible. I still sense the emotion in your message at the end. However it was great to see you back in the uk visiting our canals! We are still with you. Even if we don’t know where you are going next either 👍🏻
I recently subscribed and started watching your videos. Have to tell you I love them! I love to travel. Your videos are an escape from all that’s going on. Thank you for this channel.
Another good vlog!! I enjoy going on these trains. Your description of these Zumba trains was perfect. I look forward to seeing the return trip. The price of the ticket was really good I thought.
Thank you for this great video of a train lover! If you're enthusiastic about high speed rail I'll be glad to welcome you to Germany and
France to experience real high speed services in ICE 🇩🇪and TGV 🇫🇷. All my best wishes to 🇨🇦, hope we'll be able to visit Vancouver in summer again .
The best first class seats are on the older class 91 trains, they are leather and very comfy with better tables
Another awesome video!!! Lol the train looks like a huge caterpilar from the front 😜
You make learning about the high speed trains so very enjoyable. I love the trains in the U.K. , I hope they will soon be available in the US, I live in Northern Virginia Amtrak is with in walking distance. Safe travels to you and may God Bless
I hope so too!
Wow I get this train all the time and I never realised it goes so quick! Inside you would never know.
The Azuma's only get up to a maximum of 125 mph at the moment. I believe 140 mph is planned though as an upgrade.
Reuben Lee never heard this news as rail infrastructure would have to be completely replaced
@@lukewheeler6726 Correct. the Azuma trains are limited at 125mph due to the lack of in-cab signalling. A complete overhaul of the existing signalling system is required before this can be achieved.
The previous trains on the East Coast line were also capable of doing 140 mph but never ran at that speed in service because of the signalling system. The new Azuma trains may never reach that speed either. However we may get a genuine high speed line on a new route from London to Leeds, called HS2. That should get people from Euston Station to Leeds in about 1 h 30 minutes at speeds of around 200 mph. Sadly not for another 10-15 years or more.
High Speed 1: Am I a joke to you?
The British Citizen Literally what i thought 😂
Mike - great video (as always). I still think you need to highlight areas around your neighborhood, and/or around the city, there in Vancouver. We all tend to forget what we have in our own areas.
Keep up the grate job! I have been binge watching all your videos and love each and every one! You are a fun host with great insight. Can’t wait to see what’s next!
Thanks Alena!
Mike, thank you. I rode the London to Leeds train, twenty years ago for a business meeting in the North. You definitely highlighted a much needed upgrade for highspeed commuter trains. As you suggested, I signed the USA Congress petition, as the USA must improve mass transit. Thank you for all you are and all you do.
First time watching your channel. I've watched 3 videos so far and really enjoyed them. Really good work. I can't wait to go through your back catalogue and watch your old stuff.
Thanks Gavin. Welcome aboard
They have a max speed of 225, but following tests in the 1980s under British Rail at 225km/h with the Class 91 Intercity 225, the HMRI said only trains with in cab-signalling could operate at that speed. This is present on HS1, where Eurostar services operate regularly up to 300km/h(186mph), but not on the ECML. Network Rail, however, intend to install it in the next few years.
Love travelling along on your videos! It's a great escape. My work is put on hold too and it stinks. I want our old normal back, you know.
I live in Suffolk in the UK, however I'll definitely take the train when travelling around the country and to Scotland and Wales with my kids, my youngest loves trains
I really enjoyed your video, very cool! Thanks for sharing!
So glad I subscribed after watching just one video (a rare thing for me) this channel is comforting to watch. Thank you for making these videos
Wow, thank you!
Nice to see. Will take the train trip from London, when i go over to the UK from Ireland in the future.
A tour of King’s Cross without mentioning Harry Potter…well done, Michael!
Not sure what a Downie is but I enjoy your down to earth travel videos - makes me feel like I am coming along for the ride. Cheers from Connecticut!
Half of an adventure is better than no adventure ! Looking forward to when you can do another one . Your ending was right on be safe be apart but stay connected.
Amazing video as usual bro. Looks like a simple yet fun experience.
Here's hoping that you're back on the rails soon! Enjoy your videos!
I hope so too!
I truly enjoyed your video . I have traveled on a few trains but have been limited to travel in the states, Great Britain and Australia. Thanks for sharing your journeys in such an informative manner.
Glad you enjoyed it!
WOW, I just found your channel and love it! I am now going to binge like crazy on all your past videos. We love to travel and I have always browsed travel videos for ideas and advice. We are a couple who enjoy train travel so these last few videos only make us long to travel again. We are staying inside and safe but once all is well with the world we'll be back out there traveling. THANK YOU for these wonderful fun videos, they are making the time inside less boring.
Awesome! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the trains and travel, and I hope we can all get back out and explore again soon.
Thank you so much - I love all your videos!
That was great! Can’t wait to see more
You gave me a needed laugh today when I saw your click for my favorite underwear link lol. You looked so sad when you announced you have no more from your trip. This will all end eventually, my friend, and like you said we're all in this together. Stay safe ..
You really have a great channel Mike, and that fare seemed a really good value. Thanks for using the term physical distancing, it’s so much more accurate. This is no time to tune out. With all the footage you have, maybe you could do a montage video of all the trains you’ve ridden, with a little commentary. Could be fun.
Love the Azuma! Such a nice train.
Hardly!
They're awful, cheap in feel, zero ambience, poor ride
The trains they replaced were much better
The only people who like Azuma's are the bloody hipsters 😔
you passed through my hometown at 5:46! i just discovered your channel your videos are awesome! subbed!
I'm still sitting on my plane tickets to the UK purchased right before the pandemic & SIP kicked in. Definitely part jealous & part grateful I got to do my trip vicariously through your videos... so thanks! 😂 I love trains & have done many long Amtrak trips but didn't think of doing that in UK. Definitely will suggest train rides to my ex/tour guide who lives in Liverpool when this pandemic is over. Thanks, again, you'd make one hell of a travel companion :)
I love your videos! I look forward to all of them!
Hope you are back on the road! Thanks for great videos!
Another awesome content thanks for quarantine content.
Kings cross is legit one of my local stations! :D great vid by the way!
good luck mate thanks for all your vidios you kept an Aussie bloke amused
Your videos are the best quarantine material. Take care dude, hope you're well.
I enjoy your videos because of your kind and welcoming personality. Looking forward to whatever you have next.
Thank you so much!
There was a high speed train prject between Montreal and New-York city back in the 90s.
Just signed the petition! Thank you for the great videos. Makes me want to travel more...when we can.
Awesome! Thank you!
Mike! I feel less isolated and dream of the time when I can hop on a train to see everything!
Taking Amtrak from Miami to Portland in August via the zephyr. Love your videos
If we can travel freely again, you're most welcome here in The Netherlands! I've got some fun things to show ya 😄😋
Yes! I really want to go to the Netherlands!
@@DownieLive Great! It's a fun country, with more to see than only Amsterdam 😅
I second this offer!
Found your page in my suggestions, Love it, I also traveled via Amtrak lots B4 Covid :(
Welcome aboard!
Now it's time for a comeback!
You're welcome to our trains👍👍👍
Excellent video! Thanks
I really like your channel man. Keep up the good work. Would love to see any videos you post about developments in the US on High Speed Rail (where we are sorely lagging). :)
Form a uk rail enthusiasts POV the older trains are deffo better than the new ones. They have a really cosey charm to them :-)
I very much enjoyed this vidieo it's a great insight to what other people from different countries think of our trains 😁
New subscriber here, ( was drawn in by the azuma video) impressed with your presenting and video editing skills was certainly watch the whole back catalogue during this lockdown and look forward to catching up with new material once everything is back.
Welcome aboard!
Beautiful train travel video thanks.
I was surprised after supporting the High Speed Rail Alliance in the US then you went to the loo and said washroom. Welcome home to Canada.