Midland Main Line > Reviews

Advantages: Frequent trains, free tea and coffee
Disadvantages: Frequent delays, high ticket prices, uncomfortable Turbostars

I have been travelling on Midland Mainline almost every working day for over five years from my home in Leicestershire to work in London. I have seen it all. When the service works well, and you are aboard one of their High Speed Trains (HSTs) as opposed to their Turbostars, it is a good way of getting about. For the occasional journey to the Midlands, and now to Manchester, I would recommend it. But sadly, a lot of the time it is a complete ... Read review

Advantages: Fast service, complimentary tea and coffee
Disadvantages: Can't use Saver tickets from London until after 7pm on a Friday

I use Midland Mainline frequently, on average every other weekend, to travel from London St Pancras to Derby. On the whole I find the service they offer to be acceptable, it is certainly not the worst train company I have travelled with and generally the trains are pretty much on time, or only slightly delayed. They offer complimentary tea and coffee to customers which is a nice touch more train companies should consider (however I often find it difficult ... Read review

Advantages: At-seat complimentary refreshments; clean toilets.
Disadvantages: No onboard Wi-Fi; no power points for laptop computers

...to a high standard by Midland Mainline, the eight-coach trainset still displays the livery of the former Train Operating Company which set such high standards of customer service. There is no First Class Lounge at Nottingham, although it forms the hub of a rail network stretching from London in the South to Scarborough in the North, and from Norwich in the East to Liverpool in the West. I wonder if EMT plans to provide a First Class Lounge in future? ... Read review

Advantages: reliable
Disadvantages: lack of room, leaning out of windows!

...westgate, where in fact some midland mainline trains do stop, but as there are very few that run from leeds, or run at the time I get the train, my journey usually starts with a ride on virgin. This is often a very uncomfortable ride, with me standing next to the toilet with another 50 people, feeling very crushed. Thankfully this journey ends at Sheffield, so I only spend 30mins usually on the train (although due to delays etc this can be longer) ... Read review

Advantages: Fast, complimentary tea/coffee, efficient, good booking system,
Disadvantages: More leg space on class 170

...reasonable price. Yes we travelled by MIDLAND MAINLINE. A rail service which travels from London St.Pancras to Sheffield etc. The midland mainline trains call at stations to: London St.Pancras, Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Long Eaton, Beeston, Derby, Nottingham, Chesterfield, Sheffield, And other stations. So we travelled to Leicester. There are two type of trains available ... Read review

Advantages: helpful staff, generally clean reliable service
Disadvantages: expensive complicated ticket pricing

...quite well acquainted with the Midland MainLine train services. Despite being an avid who-dunnit fan there are a number of mysteries I have yet to solve about their services. Mystery of the Twin Trains Midland Mainline cover a large part of the country from Leeds (and recently Manchester) Sheffield through Nottingham Derby and Leicester and the smaller intermediate towns to Luton and London (St Pancras). Leicester has a very frequent service ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap and relaxing
Disadvantages: comfort of the new rolling stock

Midland mainline is owed by the national rail express group, which was founded after British rail underwent privatisation back in 1996. The mainland mainline organisation is based in Derby and in 2006 midland mainline won the award for Passenger Operator of the Year at the national rail awards. Routes Midland main line takes the route as in its title, the midland main line. This runs from Sheffield to London. Although the highest point on the ... Read review

Advantages: Punctual (most of the time). Comfortable. New rolling stock.
Disadvantages: The PA system (words cannot express how much I hate it)

...into somewhat frequent contact with Midland Mainline. I do, obviously, have the option of using the National Express or the bargain no-frills Megabus service, but since I don't like sharing a coach station with the world's largest indoor collection of pigeons - as you have to do when travelling with National Express - and don't particularly consider a comfortable seat a 'frill' (no thanks Megabus), I have practically no other option than to travel ... Read review

Advantages: Free Drinks, Good Trains, Regularish.
Disadvantages: VERY poor punctuality, unfriendly staff sometimes

...of 10 I get a Midland Mainline train. Although they have improved somewhat recently, (this review is of the IMPROVED service, not the older, poorer service) my experiences with them have not always been good, however, I will try and keep this review as positive as possible. POSITIVE The free tea and coffee is a great idea as it costs the company very little but tends to make customers very happy! THE TRAINS The fleet of trains is now ... Read review

Advantages: Free Tea and coffee, cheap 1st Class upgrades
Disadvantages: Mucky trains :-(

...have been a user of Midland Mainline trains for a few years now and have seen them go from strength to strength. Recently, I have been taking advantage of cheap 1st Class tickets and have been thoroughly impressed. Standard Class is nothing special really. It is much the same as other operators who use HST 125 units (Virgin, First Great Western, GNER...) except that the outside is green (and most times, pretty mucky at that). 1st Class is slightly ... Read review

Advantages: pretty much everything
Disadvantages: some train journeys slow(but free tee and coffee make them more bearable)

Midland mainline or MML is part of the national express group, a firm that run coaches throughout the UK. The Route... The route consists of two main runs:- the first from Sheffield, via Derby to london St Pancras. The second from Nottingham to London St Pancras. The route that I use regularly is the Sheffield to St Pancras route. Generally speaking the routes are not the most extensive in the world but take you from where you are to where you ... Read review

Advantages: I didn't actually die
Disadvantages: Very poor service, very poor indeed

...but after my experience with Midland Main Line, I feel compelled to share, to save other travellers the nightmare I went through recently. I'm a frequent visitor to London, and usually I'll take advantage of Virgin's cheap tickets, which I buy two weeks in advance, but for my last trip I was offered Midland Main Line as an alternative, which turned out to be a summer promotion, costing me only £10 return, which I thought was an excellent deal at ... Read review