Well known people travelling standard class

[northwichcat]

I think everyone knows Michael Portillo regularly travels standard class on trains. How many other well known people use standard class? I know Kevin Bridges was recently spotted travelling in standard class to Manchester but then he got a taxi from there to Salford Quays rather than taking Metrolink.

 

[Vicpaul]

Dermot oleary standard on the sleeper. Spotted gazza and his Mrs getting on at berkhamstead travelling into london on standard

 

[GodAtum]

I was surprised that Portillo travels in standard in his shops but I guess the BBC cant justify paying the 1st class fare :P

 

[northwichcat]

I was surprised that Portillo travels in standard in his shops but I guess the BBC cant justify paying the 1st class fare :P

When he was a guest speaker at an event in Knutsford he was seem alighting a Pacer at Knutsford, in contrast when MP George Osborne visits Knutsford he travels by Pendolino First Class to Wilmslow and then gets a taxi from there.

 

[HowardGWR]

Who's Kevin Bridges? Who's Dermot O Leary? I thought this thread was about 'well known' people?

 

[W230]

Who's Kevin Bridges? Who's Dermot O Leary? I thought this thread was about 'well known' people?

Does Mark Little count then? probably not!

 

[northwichcat]

Who's Kevin Bridges? Who's Dermot O Leary? I thought this thread was about 'well known' people?

One has had his own show on BBC 1, the other is presenter of one of the most watched TV programs on ITV.

 

[GodAtum]

One has had his own show on BBC 1, the other is presenter of one of the most watched TV programs on ITV.

O Leary does the new Take Me Out show?

 

[northwichcat]

O Leary does the new Take Me Out show?

Not 'the most'

one of the most watched TV programs on ITV.

 

[gordonthemoron]

tube rather than train, but Jarvis Cocker

 

[dk1]

I did read a while back that the BBC had purchased 24,000 rail tickets for travel on the Euston/Manchester route since moving to Salford. Didn't specify but would assume standard class. Susanna Reid for one travels daily.

 

[Llanigraham]

Seen Simon Weston in Standard Class several times between Cardiff and Paddington.

 

[EM2]

Jennie Bond, until recently the BBC Royal Correspondent, was complaining at too much FC accommodation on VT as she can usually only afford Standard.

 

[Hyphen]

My sister has seen Prof Robert Winston in standard on a LM Liverpool-Birmingham service. She boarded at Wolverhampton, so wasn't able to tell where he got on.

 

[northwichcat]

I did read a while back that the BBC had purchased 24,000 rail tickets for travel on the Euston/Manchester route since moving to Salford. Didn't specify but would assume standard class. Susanna Reid for one travels daily.

Really? The first Manchester arrival from Euston is 08:28 and she's on air from 06:00. I seem to recall in a newspaper interview she said she planned to stay based in London when Breakfast moved and to travel up on Sundays and back down on Wednesdays and see how that went.

Jason Manford did the reverse regularly when he started presenting The One Show.

 

[Hyphen]

I know Kevin Bridges was recently spotted travelling in standard class to Manchester but then he got a taxi from there to Salford Quays rather than taking Metrolink.

In Friday's episode of 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Kevin produced his inbound train ticket as his 'mascot' and a joke was made that he has an STD.

 

[EM2]

Really? The first Manchester arrival from Euston is 08:28 and she's on air from 06:00.

Susanna travels daily, but to Manchester the night before, and back to London after the programme.
http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle...susanna-reid-im-a-super-commuter-8328348.html

 

[duncanp]

Susanna travels daily, but to Manchester the night before, and back to London after the programme.
http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle...susanna-reid-im-a-super-commuter-8328348.html

I hope she uses a season ticket then (£1313.70 per month, so £59.72 per return journey if there are 22 working days per month)

I thought one of the reasons for the BBC moving to Salford was to save money.

Back to the topic, my mother has seen Bob Crow travel in first class on South West trains from Bournemouth to London.

 

[Wolfie]

Back to the topic, my mother has seen Bob Crow travel in firstclass on South West trains from Bournemouth to London.

He probably got the "staff freebie" at the guard's discretion!!!

 

[Searle]

I hope she uses a season ticket then (£1313.70 per month, so £59.72 per return journey if there are 22 working days per month)

I thought one of the reasons for the BBC moving to Salford was to save money.

Back to the topic, my mother has seen Bob Crow travel in first class on South West trains from Bournemouth to London.

I'm sure the savings from being in Salford rather than London are more than the train tickets that they're buying.

 

[northwichcat]

He probably got the "staff freebie" at the guard's discretion!!!

After he promised the guard a guaranteed 8% pay rise?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I'm sure the savings from being in Salford rather than London are more than the train tickets that they're buying.

What gets overlooked when the BBC claim gets made is ITV pay a lot for people travelling from other parts of the country to London. They've used both Cardiff and Manchester based newsreaders as relief newsreaders, a Bristol based weather presenter as relief weather presenter and have used a Manchester based one in the past and they have a news editor who is Preston based. They paid for someone to relocate from the North West to London to be Daybreak newsreader, while they pay to transport Paddy McGuinness to and from Kent for recording 'Take Me Out.'

 

[LWB]

Long before most forum members were born I suspect, I once sat next to Dennis Healey on a Keighley-Bradford train. This was 1969 and he was Secretary of State for Defence at the time. I lacked the temerity to grill him about TSR2 so we talked about Keighley's textile and machine tool heritage.

As a corollary, 30 years later I met Jim Callaghan whose daughter is a neighbour of mine and on whose land my daughter kept her pony.

Quite a bookend of Labour stalwarts to have bagged!

 

[Universediver]

David Dimbleby can often be seen catching a train from my local station to London (Std)

 

[DarloRich]

Many companies pay people to travel - why should TV production companies be different?

I am sure in the case of the BBC they have put in place arrangements to help their staff during a relocation transitional period - that help often extends to flexible working and travel support

As for "famous" people i once shared a carriage between MK and Manchester with John Inverdale who was trying to phone some copy through for almost the entire journey and chuntering about the poor wifi and phone signal!

 

[starrymarkb]

I don't celebrity spot so probably wouldn't notice a celebrity if they were sat opposite! (Except possibly Dita Von Teese )

Speaking of Dita I remember there being shock in some sections of the media when she was Flying Southwest Airlines* for one of her tours. Her response was that she wanted to keep the costs down for her fans.

*Southwest is the US equivalent of Easyjet.

 

[user15681]

Ann Widdecombe sat next to me on a rail replacement bus once a few years ago in Kent. A person got hit by a train, so it was buses only. She could well have been in first class on the train until it terminated, but was then promoted to have the privilege to sit next to me on the standard class only bus.

 

[Taunton]

Good old Sir John Betjeman made a BBC TV programme back in the 1960s where he travelled on the old S&D branch from Evercreech Jc to Highbridge, two old compartment coaches and probably about two other passengers on the train if it was like normal. He very eloquently made the point, in the shot of him boarding from a deserted platform, "notice that, as I am on expenses, I am travelling first class".

 

[ModernRailways]

I've saw David Miliband and his kids on East Coast. The kids were loud, but were having fun on the train. Some other chap had a seat reserved at the same table and him and David had a chat about football before he delved into his kindle (the other chap, not David :P).

I've also seen one of the actors from Coronation Street - he's ginger but I don't know who he is since I don't watch it, but he was in the news for something - on a Southern train to Brighton. He was asleep for the whole journey until the announcement to say we were arriving into Brighton.

 

[6Gman]

When he was a guest speaker at an event in Knutsford he was seem alighting a Pacer at Knutsford, in contrast when MP George Osborne visits Knutsford he travels by Pendolino First Class to Wilmslow and then gets a taxi from there.[/QUOTE]

Since he's probably travelling from London that seems to make a lot of sense!

 

[trainophile]

Had Nick Robinson across the aisle on his way from Ludlow (where it sounded like he'd been for a weekend break) to the Tory conference at Manchester last year. As it was ATW, 1st Class wasn't an option, so I don't know what he usually does.

He didn't have a ticket, but showed the guard an A4 sheet of printed paper which seemed to be allowable, although I think I heard the guard say "so you'll get a ticket at Manchester?". He was travelling with the Ludlow MP, and also a (very) big bloke who was presumably his minder, as he sat opposite him reading a book the whole way and never spoke.