Great North Eastern Railway

Advantages: Reliable, relaxing, excellent food
Disadvantages: Truly dreadful staff

...and a restaurant car. First Great Western aren't much better and then when you start to hit some of the smaller operators, it's like something out of the Third World. There's no doubt, therefore, that GNER sits way ahead of the competition in terms of style and standards and this is a key contributor in the regulator's decision to renew their operating licence. Network and Destinations The GNER network essentially connects London and Scotland with ...
...East. In old money, GNER operates an Intercity route, only stopping at major destinations along the way. You can get from London to Leeds in around two and a quarter hours, with trains running at half-hourly intervals at peak times. London to Newcastle can be down in three to three and a half hours with similar regularity. Obviously, the Scottish destinations take longer. The average journey time to Edinburgh is about four and a half hours; Glasgow ... Read review

Advantages: Fast and Efficient
Disadvantages: You are trapped with a group of people who can be a challenge to say the least

...Containers under the guise of Great North Eastern Railways (GNER) and things became to change. The Trains themselves were given a mid life upgrade both internally and externally including a smart new blue livery. The crest of GNER appeared on all the carriages and the logo the route of the Flying Scotsman was added as a touch of well perhaps not nostalgia but a ploy perhaps to add romance to the railways again. Speed was never the issue this time ...
...three main reasons, one the track wasn't up to it, two the signaling system was old and wasn't fast enough to cope with speeds in excess of 125 mph and three congestion especially in the London area. As publicity stunt G.N.E.R ran a special train between Newcastle and Peterborough in May 1996 for the press and a speed of 156 mph was attained. Next G.N.E.R realized that the customer needed pampering and looking after so they looked at car parking ... Read review

Advantages: Comfortable trains
Disadvantages: delays, breakdowns, customer service

GNER (or Great North Eastern Railway) operates the main route from Glasgow to Kings Cross. A quote from their web site “Punctuality, reliability and safety remain our top priorities, underpinned by a firm commitment to customer service.” In my opinion they have some work to do! I’ve used GNER a fair bit as I used to live in Peterborough and would travel home to Newcastle and have only ever suffered minor delays (around 20ish mins). ...
...to make the journey from Newcastle to Slough for a job interview. The journey should have gone something like this: leave Newcastle at 11am, arrive London at 1.50pm, tube to Paddington then train to Slough, arriving at 3pm. WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED? Well, I started out on the 10.57 from Newcastle. All seemed to be going well, apart from for those poor people who were travelling to Darlington having to go to Northallerton to go back to Darlington due ... Read review

Advantages: Relaxing, simple, comparatively cheap.
Disadvantages: Occasional delays, buffet still not exactly brilliant.

Why fly to London? Ok, well maybe you're located in Scotland and need to visit England for work on a regular basis. Most business peeps here in Edinburgh can regularly be seen dragging their mini trolleys and their laptops out to the airport - convinced that the one and a bit hour flight down to London town is going to save them time, money and hassle. Oh - and make them look prestigious too. As if! I have been a frequent flyer on the Edinburgh ...
...BA, British Midland, Easyjet and Go. All of them are ok, but none of them are or ever will be perfect. Now it is time to confess my weakness - lately I have become a bit nervous of flying. My fear began way before 11 September last year, but let's face it - recent events haven't exactly inspired confidence in airline safety. So when it came to booking my recent travel arrangements down to London for a meeting - I booked the train. THE TRAIN????? ... Read review

Advantages: Quicker than the coach/car
Disadvantages: Where do I start?... See op

I live in London but grew up in the north-east. I travel home to see family about four times a year and have done so for the past eight years on the only train company that goes to Darlington from London (Kings Cross): GNER. I have had cause for complaint so many times in the last few years, I couldn't tell you, due to the frequent delays, dirty trains, and rude staff and have often received vouchers to contribute towards my next journey as a result. ...
...op as it would make it too long by far. I should mention at this point that GNER have a monopoly on train services to and from the north-east from London, and my only other choices are: *** to fly from Heathrow to Teesside (this would actually take longer as travel to Heathrow takes at least 1.5 hours, and then there are check-in times) *** to take a coach (much cheaper but alas takes 5/6 hours and apart from the time this eats into an already ... Read review