Grand Central Trains: The Worst First Class Service in the UK?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 20 лип 2024
- I travelled with Grand Central on their longest route from London to Sunderland and found it to be one of the worst First Class experiences in the UK. There were broken seats which were falling apart, recline functions that were not working, terrible food options that were very limited and trains so old that they were falling apart and actually hurt me. It wasn't good, but don't take my word for it, see for yourself.
This is the latest episode in a series of videos where I'll be reviewing EVERY First Class train in the UK on their longest routes. Watch the full playlist below and subscribe so you don't miss each episode as it drops.
WATCH THE FULL PLAYLIST HERE:
• Every First Class Trai...
You can follow us at the below places:
www.threads.net/@jessica.rain...
/ travelsogood1
/ travelsogood1
/ travel_so_good
🌐 www.franandjay.com
And don't forget to follow Drax on Instagram!
/ drax_the_shepherd
HELP SUPPORT OUR CHANNEL
You can support us in a number of ways.
Donate to us on Ko-Fi for as little as £1: ko-fi.com/travelsogood
Visit our website: www.franandjay.com
Music by Epidemic Sound. Get awesome music for your videos:
www.epidemicsound.com/referra... (*)
JOURNEY DETAILS:
Route: London King's Cross to Sunderland
Date: 29th May 2024
Departs: 1256
Arrives: 1640
Cost: This series was filmed using an All Lines Rover ticket which allows unlimited* travel on any train in Britain for 7 or 14 days. Standard class and First Class tickets are available. First Class tickets also allow you access to First Class lounges.
(*some restrictions apply)
(*) Any links followed by this symbol are referral links. By clicking these links, I may receive a commision payment at no additional cost to you.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Grand Central Trains in First Class from London King's Cross
0:51 Boarding Grand Central Trains
2:58 Grand Central First Class Seat Tour
4:58 Grand Central Route Map
5:33 Broken Seats and more seat tour
6:24 Grand Central First Class Food
10:14 Loo Review
11:34 Grand Central Prices
12:50 My Honest Opinion on Grand Central
16:56 Journey's End
It could be such a great service if they invested in new trains - crews are always brilliant but the trains are tired and unloved now! Apparently the 14:27 service to Sunderland M-F is the fastest diesel train service in the world!
Now that is a fun fact!
i mean at least the seat is different and you get complimentary food.....
which is more than can be said for Gatwick express
Haha! I suppose I should have specified that I think it's the worst first class that offers more than just a seat. The "seat only" first classes from the likes of Gatwick Express and Thameslink etc are worse than this! I'll get to those eventually in this series...
when those train worked on the cardiff - padd they were the same ...
Thankfully I missed that period! I can't imagine what it would be like through the Severn Tunnel...
The search for a good hand-dryer continues
🤣
Brilliant video Thank you 😀
No, thank you!
On the plus side I know where to go for Walkers Shortbread now, I've been missing them.
Sainsbury's 😃
www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/walkers-shortbread-fingers-x10-160g
@@TravelSoGood Ah, the only shop I have to go out of my way for, no wonder XD Thank you!
Great video that class 180 is speeding through them tunnels quick just think 125mph going through them tunnels at that speed the force is making ya ear pop but it’s pretty good if you wanna do less stops 😊keep up the good work 👍
I didn't experience that in the same line with LNER's Azuma trains or Hull Trains either. There's something about the 180s that's causing it
Thanks for the UA-cam. Your comments are not too harsh. These 180 units have a reputation for being unreliable and hence unwanted so they ended up with Grand Central (GC). The 180s started life with GWR who got rid of them to Hull Trains who then disposed of them to EMR who also didn't want them and so they ended up with GC. For how much longer I do not know.
There have been a couple of cases where these units have caught fire and passengers had to be evacuated. In 2019 one of the GC units caught fire near Wakefield but fortunately the train was empty.
The 180s are diesel-hydraulic which means there's more noise from the engine. FYI at times your voice was almost drowned out by engine noise.
GC will have a monopoly on the Sunderland-London route from December when rival LNER axes its (not so regular) service on this route.
I can see why no one wants these trains! It was very loud on board. I had a lot of audio issues and had to do a lot of work in the edit to tidy it up, even with a microphone attached to me!
Correction. Not sure whether or not one or two of EMR's 180 units did end up with GC. But GC is currently the only operator for the 180s. EMR no longer has any 180s in its fleet so any surplus units must be in storage.
@@TravelSoGood Indeed. I first viewed this on my Android phone and the audio was difficult tp hear but later, using my laptop, it was a little bit clearer. Anyway thank you for the trouble you have taken in producing another interesting video.
The 180 series of train has been a bad experience whoever ran them. Not shocked
They need to be scrapped like the Nova 3s
The 180s look like the 175s thoooo they so beautiful! 😍 If you ever do ride one again, check out standard class as they have funky seats with oranges on them 🍊😂
🤣🤣🤣 You're funny!
Shocking.
Just a couple of things ... I struggled to hear you before the opening title credit because you were competing with the intro music. Also at 11.45 you said the prices were from London to Sunderland (which I suspect is correct) but your sign says from London to Inverness. Otherwise I really enjoyed the video. I guess most foreign tourists would be getting off at York too!
D'oh, I'm usually so vigilant with my graphics! I used the same one as the LNER video and clearly forgot to update the headline. Oh well... can't change it now
And the opening audio levels sound ok to me, but I'll turn the music volume down in future videos if it's overpowering for some people.
Thanks for the feedback :)
Oki that is a lot of work to get the free refreshments.
Couldn’t imagine grand central first class couldn’t even imagine there standard class. If this is worser then the class 800 for GWR then I’ve gotta try this one out 😂
Seriously... don't. Unless you're a glutton for punishment, in which case, who am I to judge? 👹
@@TravelSoGood I may as well try them to put myself in the spot as I am a train reviewer my self 😂😂. After suffering myself on a pacer for a while I think I have got this 👊🏾😂
@@elijah_trains The 180s' seating ought to be okay in both classes. It's the onboard experience which is below standard. Yes thank goodness those Pacer units have now gone !
@@alexmcwhirter6611 yeah the pacers were a torment and ah I see lack of service now that makes sense
Nice honest review and looking forward to the rest of the series!
Thanks! Hope I didn't come off as a massive moaner... I always try to find the positives but in this case, it was hard...
Your experience was similar to mine, the air pressure changes in the tunnels really effects your ears. That’s a lot of work just to get a cuppa, and disappointing you are limited to 2 snacks the whole journey, cross country is snack only outside of breakfast but at least they make sure you’re well stocked and hydrated. / was higher than deserved.
I've never experienced air pressure like that in a tunnel before, and I've used really old trains before. Maybe I'm getting old? 🤣
I was offered sandwiches on CrossCountry, but I suppose it depends on where your journey starts/ends.
Shocking sound no good and totally disagree with your comments
Fair enough 👍