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I need to be in London by 9am tomorrow morning. Travelling from Manchester. If taking the train, first class only. Flexible fare (Anytime/whatever) is fine, but neither Avanti's website nor National Rail Enquiries offers any first class fares. Pls explain? Surely this can't be intentional? If...

Avanti's website is unreliable and various features that Virgin used to make available online now require a phone call. Expecting people to call in the 2020s to resolve basic queries is bad enough. Worse is for an advisor in India to say "sorry, I can't help, my computer's not working and I...

This Saturday morning, a Southern/GTR train from Epsom Downs to London Victoria, after skipping all calls between Sutton and Balham, departed Balham and each subsequent station (such as Clapham Junction) about 5 minutes early. https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P52096/2021-01-16/detailed...

Avanti no longer operates its early morning Voyager service from Lancaster to Birmingham New Street, arriving 07.55. Is this a permanent change? This means that the first train, by any train operator, from north-west England (Lancaster, Preston, Wigan and Warrington) to Birmingham New Street is...

(This is the same as my earlier thread, but for m-tickets) Are there any TOCs, third-party retailers and/or call centres that continue to offer m-tickets as a fulfilment method for certain journey + ticket type combinations? If m-tickets are still in limited circulation, why? Why have they not...

Are there any TOCs, third-party retailers and/or call centres that continue to offer self-print tickets as a fulfilment method for certain journey + ticket type combinations? By "self-print tickets", I'm referring to the older standard that prints on A4 paper, not newer e-tickets which do not...

Had I seen this (now deleted) tweet on the constabulary's Twitter account, I would have assumed that the account had been hacked: Transcript: "We are appealing for help to identify a man who kissed a woman on the cheek to thank her for helping when his lorry became stuck under a low bridge...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-52662171 Why not let TfL and associated entities go "bankrupt"? It could be a prime opportunity for a replacement organisation to cut staffing costs, cut rolling stock costs, etc. Regardless of whether employees are unionised, and regardless of...

I noticed this quote on an ASLEF-related website (https://www.aslefdistrict8.org/post/special-lu-company-council-meeting-update): Additionally, there is the following quote in a TfL press release...

One of the fastest and most reliable ways of making an inter-London journey such as Mill Hill Broadway to West Ham is to travel via Stratford International, using HS1 to/from St Pancras International. I base journey time and reliability on a combination of (1) punctuality and (2) factors such as...

I am pleased to see, following a trial run earlier this summer on the WCML (West Coast Main Line) which I highlighted here*, that Virgin Trains has decided to remove Friday afternoon / evening peak restrictions "for good": https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/tickets/friday-off-peak. This is welcome...

Here's some good news. Virgin Trains' Traveller loyalty scheme (offering limited free first class at weekends, priority parking at stations, etc), which previously was only offered to passengers booking a minimum number of moderately or very expensive First Anytime and/or First Advance tickets...

https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/summer Rather than stemming from generosity of spirit, I suspect the decision to allow London to Manchester ticket holders (for example) to travel on any train on the afternoons of Friday 20/27 Jul and 3/10/17/24/31 Aug has more to do with this: Virgin's...

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/govia-thameslink-boss-in-first-class-row.166990/page-3#post-3544961 If the only purpose of first class seats, on commuter trains where the first class 'accommodation' has identical seating and facilities to standard class and no partition door(s), is to...

According to page 7 of this West Midlands Trains track access application, Willenhall and Darlaston stations are to re-open / be re-built. I've not seen any mention of this on this forum. Is this the first time, since the withdrawal of non-stop Wolverhampton to Walsall services, that passenger...

Some welcome proactivity on the part of VTWC of late is the laying on of 'football specials', most recently this (Saturday) evening for the FA cup final. Additional services for football supporters are interweaved with scheduled services and further additional services (21:21 and 21:34 Euston to...

On weekdays, the 19:43 London Euston to Crewe via Birmingham New Street VTWC service has been modified, from 21 May 2018, to run via Stoke-on-Trent rather than non-stop from Stafford to Crewe. The arrival time in Crewe changes from 22:16 to 22:30. I believe this is the first time an 'Inter City...

From 21 May 2018 the 07.00 from Manchester to Euston has been retimed to depart both Manchester and Stockport 2 minutes earlier, at 06.58 and 07.05 respectively vice 07.00 and 07.07 respectively. The arrival time into Euston remains 09.00. I can't imagine Virgin's revenue and marketing teams...

What's going on with Virgin Trains West Coast's Anglo-Scottish Sunday timetable from May? At present, there are departures from Glasgow to Birmingham at 11.55, 13.55, 15.57 and 18.37. From May, there's a single departure at 18.31. In the other direction, there are at present departures from...

Owing to problems with the station lighting at Stockport this evening, the current West Coast Main Line long distance operator (Virgin Trains West Coast) has been using the Styal line to divert Manchester Pendolinos between Manchester and Wilmslow. Delays are almost non-existent. An impressive...