Recent content by dvalts

Yes the seated area is a lot shorter due to the brake van compartment. Passengers booked on the full journey through to London had to get up and change seats at Edinburgh as the coach is detached here.

Yep - it had tables all the way through with 2+2 seating and fixed armrests. I was only traveling for a few hours to Edinburgh but it didn't look the best layout for a kip along the full route...although I suppose you change coaches at Edinburgh anyway.

Was in the seated sleeper coach from Fort William southbound on Sunday - I noticed it was in the InterCity 'swallow' livery (or very similar to it?). All the rest of the coaches were the standard green/teal colour. Is it normally this or was it a spare filling in that night?

Never really found the ramps particularly interesting architecturally, save for a few details. They're both so cluttered with railings/barriers/other assorted street clutter anyway. Would prefer a much revamped station over a couple of listed ramps!

Allocating them by random ballot would have seemed a simpler and fairer solution in hindsight, if it's genuinely intended as a trial before wider release.

I have bought these at Manchester Victoria too (on the special ticket stock too)

This is what puzzles me as well, presumably they had enough data from this successful trial to extrapolate whether it would be successful nationally? Otherwise what was the point of the first trial.

They've all gone now

Didn't surprise me much that it crashed - I don't know the exact demographics for the Greater Anglia trial area, but wasn't it the same number of trial railcards for something like ten times(?) the population? One of the news sites reports the Railcard site was about 12 times busier than usual...

Anyway, it just seems strange that they feel another trial period is necessary to 'gauge demand' and to see 'if the product is valuable for our customers'. Were they not expecting that offering a substantial discount to a group of people would be hugely popular...

I don't think it's an absurd argument really, but how many of the railcards make 'business sense'. i.e. do they all attract more passengers that would otherwise not chose to travel by rail if the railcard did not exist?

Perhaps they should do away with some of the other railcards then...? I don't think the issue is totally about 'business sense', but making sure your product is fully accessible to people, even if they are in a minority.

I still really hope a physical card is available after the trial period. I know supposedly "everyone has smartphones" these days, but I would expect occasions where the app crashes or doesn't work leaving people without valid tickets. The physical card is just easier to use. There are presumably...

We were told at Preston (by Virgin Trains staff) to go either via York, Manchester, or via a replacement bus to Glasgow. Only one bus so not an option for all passengers to take this.

Terminating at Preston now.