East Coast

I’ve always had something of a love/hate relationship with the East Coast mainline. I love telling everybody how much I hate it. In recent years, the line has passed through three pairs of hands. Initially the franchise was awarded to Great North Eastern Railways (GNER), but was eventually rescued by National Express East Coast after GNER got into trouble, only for NX East Coast to go the same way, leaving the line to fall into the hands of a government-run group called East Coast. In essence, my complaints about the service have remained almost entirely consistent throughout the life span of ... more

The east coast mainline is one of the major rail links in the UK, linking London with major cities in Yorkshire, Northumberland and Scotland. Previously operated by GNER, the franchise passed on to National Express in 2007 after GNER’s parent company filed for bankruptcy protection. It was felt that National Express had paid way over the odds for the franchise and sure enough as the recession began to bite, they found themselves in a perilous financial predicament, and upon failing to renegotiate the terms of the franchise with the government, it was announced in June 2009 that the government ... more

I generally do not like travelling by train thanks largely due to South West Trains. South West trains have a tendency to treat their customers like cattle, seeking to fit as many people on the trains as they can whilst at the same time removing basic conveniences and facilities in an effort to reduce costs and increase fares. So, when I had to make a journey up to Leeds from London's Kings Cross, I was not particularly excited. In this review, I talk about my experiences onboard, encounters with staff and comparison to other train companies. WHO ARE THEY East Coast operate high speed ... more

Never had any problems with East Coast, prices are reasonable. I usually purchase tickets through thetrainline.com. But i bought a ticket recently. I didn't sign in and went through to the last page where it asks you to sign in, i encountered problems and therefore had to sign in on my partners account. It then redirected me to the home page and i went through with the journey again. Purchesed my tickets and just after i hit the 'buy' button i noticed it had also saved and purchased the previous journey. I instantly phoned up East Coast to ask them to cancel one of the tickets but they refused ... more