Lumo (West Coast) - passenger experiences

[lrbvoyager]

Hi, has anyone been on the service? If so what was the dispatch process like? Overall how has it been?

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Hi, has anyone been on the service? If so what was the dispatch process like? Overall how has it been?

Dispatch process is the same as on Lumo East Coast, driver controlled.

 

[lrbvoyager]

So the station staff dispatch the train to the driver not the customer experience host?

 

[HamworthyGoods]

So the station staff dispatch the train to the driver not the customer experience host?

Neither, the dispatch process is carried out by the driver alone. This is as per Lumo East Coast.

 

[lrbvoyager]

Neither, the dispatch process is carried out by the driver alone. This is as per Lumo East Coast.

That’s not possible at avanti stations.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

That’s not possible at avanti stations.

It is exactly how the train is being dispatched, both on the press run last Thursday and the first passenger service today from stations such as Carlisle and Preston.

 

[transportphoto]

That’s not possible at avanti stations.

Have you a citation for this claim?

 

[lrbvoyager]

It is exactly how the train is being dispatched, both on the press run last Thursday and the first passenger service today from stations such as Carlisle and Preston.

I was told it wasn’t possible for insurance reason but if that’s not the case then my bad.

 

[LowLevel]

I was told it wasn’t possible for insurance reason but if that’s not the case then my bad.

Nothing to do with insurance. Avanti do normally dispatch all trains at their stations but they don't have to any more than anywhere else on the network. Anyone quoting insurance over most operational issues usually hasn't got a clue about the fine details of their employer's insurance and is probably best ignored.

 

[liamw35]

Hey, is anyone onboard? Ive left my lens cap in coach B in the little secluded zone with the toilet and doors. Would be funny if someone could send a picture

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 May 2026 ==

additionally, heres my experience Preston -> Crewe.

Never ridden a 222, was very very busy even outside of railfans so I ended up using the chair near the doors. Found it comfortable and the AC was cranked up so was great in this heat. Onboard staff reported the services destination and updates on speakers apologising for the very slight delay. Overall very excited to take it properly as a commuter.

 

[lrbvoyager]

Which seats are better, the new ones or the original ones?

 

[43102EMR]

Which seats are better, the new ones or the original ones?

Personally I’d say the newer ones, being currently sat in them and having spent years on the old ones when they were in the East Midlands. The new ones also have one power and 2 USB sockets per passenger, whereas it seems they’ve done the bare minimum for the legacy standard class coaches since they left EMR.

 

[lrbvoyager]

Personally I’d say the newer ones, being currently sat in them and having spent years on the old ones when they were in the East Midlands. The new ones also have one power and 2 USB sockets per passenger, whereas it seems they’ve done the bare minimum for the legacy standard class coaches since they left EMR.

Do you know which coach has the new seats and which are the old?

 

[43102EMR]

Do you know which coach has the new seats and which are the old?

B and G on most, mentioned in the Lumo WC rolling stock thread that some units have Coach C additionally.

 

[lrbvoyager]

what is the catering situation on board?

 

[HamworthyGoods]

what is the catering situation on board?

At seat service

 

[route101]

Is the 0850 from Stirling to London operating this Saturday? No mention of engineering works on Lumo website but not show when go to book.

 

[RAPC]

Is the 0850 from Stirling to London operating this Saturday? No mention of engineering works on Lumo website but not show when go to book.

They are phasing in more services to the timetable over time. Looks like the current schedule doesn't see weekend services running until Saturday 13th June.

 

[D1537]

Booked for five and a half hours from Motherwell to Euston? That's not a great path for 1M01. One of the upsides of Lumo East Coast is its speed...

 

[Bletchleyite]

Booked for five and a half hours from Motherwell to Euston? That's not a great path for 1M01. One of the upsides of Lumo East Coast is its speed...

Lumo West Coast could never be fast due to using units that are only capable of 110mph on much of the WCML. It'll compete much more on price, while Lumo East Coast is usually quite close in price to LNER.

It's maybe more comparable to the West Midlands Trains services.

This takes into account I guess that the end to end market is quite small whereas Edinburgh-London is one of the larger ones. Preston I would expect to be the busiest station? I believe it is on the Avanti Scottish services.

 

[tutacre]

Controversial perhaps, but it is good to see that this is driver only operation in my view. The Lumo staff are excellent and are fully concentrated on helping customers and won't be affected if station staff at other operators go on strike etc - the train can still call and depart as normal. Also glad to see that the RMT trade union can't bring the service to a standstill by a guard strike. I was talking to one of the staff who said they are not "safety critical" - and meant the training was a lot more relaxed but that they have a general awareness of railway safety.

I find it fascinating that I am sure many people claimed this would be impossible with 222s. Wonder what East Midlands makes of it all now!

I actually think there is more staff on a Lumo train than an East Midlands one too, so driver only operation (D.O.O.) clearly doesn't result in just no staff at all.

 

[hexagon789]

Booked for five and a half hours from Motherwell to Euston? That's not a great path for 1M01. One of the upsides of Lumo East Coast is its speed...

I understand they wanted better paths, but it was what was available.

 

[87015]

Controversial perhaps, but it is good to see that this is driver only operation in my view. The Lumo staff are excellent and are fully concentrated on helping customers and won't be affected if station staff at other operators go on strike etc - the train can still call and depart as normal. Also glad to see that the RMT trade union can't bring the service to a standstill by a guard strike. I was talking to one of the staff who said they are not "safety critical" - and meant the training was a lot more relaxed but that they have a general awareness of railway safety.

Who's operating the CD/RA dispatch at Euston then?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Who's operating the CD/RA dispatch at Euston then?

Are they even using it?

 

[tutacre]

I think Lumo have some station staff there.

 

[LowLevel]

Controversial perhaps, but it is good to see that this is driver only operation in my view. The Lumo staff are excellent and are fully concentrated on helping customers and won't be affected if station staff at other operators go on strike etc - the train can still call and depart as normal. Also glad to see that the RMT trade union can't bring the service to a standstill by a guard strike. I was talking to one of the staff who said they are not "safety critical" - and meant the training was a lot more relaxed but that they have a general awareness of railway safety.

I find it fascinating that I am sure many people claimed this would be impossible with 222s. Wonder what East Midlands makes of it all now!

I actually think there is more staff on a Lumo train than an East Midlands one too, so driver only operation (D.O.O.) clearly doesn't result in just no staff at all.

It may well have been impossible with more than a 6 car 222 looking at how they've squeezed the screen into the cab, there appears to be no room for a second monitor as appears on other stock.

For the most part the customer focus in the East Midlands hasn't been particularly different - going back 20 plus years I would say it has always been known for having at times indifferent rolling stock and challenges linked to that, but generally excellent staff and a company ethos that genuinely empowers them to do the right thing by the passengers.

So the answer to your question of "what does East Midlands make of it all now?" is probably not much. It's an operation that is built around using guards and I don't see that changing.

Lumo function like a budget airline on rails and with a relatively small number of mostly prebooked passengers it obviously usually works well for them.

 

[D1537]

Lumo West Coast could never be fast due to using units that are only capable of 110mph on much of the WCML. It'll compete much more on price, while Lumo East Coast is usually quite close in price to LNER.

It's just 1M01 that is very slow, though - 1M02 for example is 40 minutes quicker.

 

[tutacre]

It may well have been impossible with more than a 6 car 222 looking at how they've squeezed the screen into the cab, there appears to be no room for a second monitor as appears on other stock.

For the most part the customer focus in the East Midlands hasn't been particularly different - going back 20 plus years I would say it has always been known for having at times indifferent rolling stock and challenges linked to that, but generally excellent staff and a company ethos that genuinely empowers them to do the right thing by the passengers.

So the answer to your question of "what does East Midlands make of it all now?" is probably not much. It's an operation that is built around using guards and I don't see that changing.

Lumo function like a budget airline on rails and with a relatively small number of mostly prebooked passengers it obviously usually works well for them.

Thank you for the useful background information! Very helpful to set the scene.

 

[voyagerdude220]

This evening's Lumo 1S03 16:36 London Euston to Stirling running about an hour late at the moment, presumably because of the several different infrastructure/Signalling issues along the West Coast today. It's still a decent distance ahead of Avanti's 16:30 London Euston to Glasgow (which left London 46 late).

 

[lrbvoyager]

Those who have tried it, would you say the new seats on the meridians are better than the seats in the pendolinos?