Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas & a happy new year / decade.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas & a happy new year / decade.
Member since:29.07.2007
Reviews:208
Members who trust:103
I have to travel quite a lot in my job all over Scotland, North of England, Ireland & sometimes the south of England. Just like any other company I have a strict budget to keep to for traveling & for accommodation & I have to find the most cost effective methods. Around 80% of my traveling is by car with the remaining 20% by train, plane or ferry.
Travelling in modern day Britain is no fun, by car it isn't long before your stuck in a traffic jam, travelling from one town to another means jam after jam. I can't even remember that last time I completed a journey of more than 50 miles without seeing road works & if that's not bad enough I have to dodge the maniacs on the road, the speed cameras, the bus lane cameras, box junction cameras, the speed humps & the pot holes.
By air isn't much better, after the airline companies screw me for the ticket, plus the cost of booking a seat, plus the cost of using a credit card, plus the cost of taking luggage with me, plus the cost of extra charges & taxes, I have to put up with cancelled or delayed flights. I am practically strip searched in security, ripped off in the cafes & shops & then crammed into onto a plane with space barely big enough for a small child let alone an adult of modest dimensions. Oh the joy of flying!!
Then there is the train, in the south of England I have experienced over crowded & dirty trains, filthy toilets, grumpy staff, delayed & cancelled journeys. What incentive is there to use public transport
I ask?
In Scotland we are served by Virgin Trains on the west coast line from England & National Express on the east coast line from England (it was formerly GNER). However, within Scotland the main train franchise is held by First Scot Rail since late 2004. This is a subsidiary of First Bus, the Aberdeen based transport group who are now the largest ground based transport group in the world who even operate the yellow school buses in the USA. They are responsible for 342 stations & around 2200 train services on a daily basis just in Scotland.
I have used First Scot Rail for 12 journeys in the past 10 months, 11 for business & one for pleasure, all between major Scottish cities such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen & Inverness.
ROLLING STOCK All the trains I have used have the same livery as their buses, a mixture of purple & white on the outside with darker purple (seats & carpets), light green (hand rails) & light grey (panels & roof) on the inside. Okay, it's maybe not a colour you would decorate your bedroom with but it pleasant enough for a train.
They all have roof mounted screens informing passengers of the next stop should you miss out on the verbal messages. All the trains I have been on have a buffet trolley offering snacks & coffee but no hot meals. From the menu which they leave on the tables, here is a selection from their cart: Muffins £1.60 each, Choc chip biscuits 95p, Shortbread 90p, Salted peanuts 90p, Healthy bar 75p, 3 Jaffa cakes 65p, Mini cheddars 80p, Tomato & veggie soup £1.60, Ham salad sandwich £2.00, Coke, Fanta, Irn bru £1.00, Still water £1.20, 5cl Whisky, Gin, Vodka miniatures £3.60, 3cl Brandy £4.80, 18.75cl wine £4.40, Lager £2.50, Budweiser £3.00, Hot chocolate £1.60 & meal combos from £3.80.
If you travel first class the following is complimentary, fair trade filtered coffee, decaff coffee, tea, hot chocolate, still or sparkling water, orange juice, shortbread biscuits, muffin or pastry, fruit salad before 10am & a newspaper.
The carriages have disabled toilets which are huge on most trains but be aware that the electronic doors do not lock automatically & you have to search for the locking switch. I didn't find it the first time I used them & carry out my toilet duties unaware that the door was unlocked. Fortunately for me, my 'next weeks washing' was covered up before the door opened whilst I was washing my hands. Had it been minutes earlier it would have been an unsuspecting member of the public who would probably have been traumatised at the sight of me sitting on the toilet with my trousers by my ankles.
BOOKING TICKETS You can book train tickets via various websites such as First Scot rail, Trainline or Virgin, I prefer the latter as they are competitive priced & reliable. If you don't have access to the web then tickets can be purchased at ticket offices at the stations, by phone or even on the train. The staff at the ticket offices I have sometimes used come over as grumpy to say the least, maybe it's a requirement of the job. I would imagine dealing with the general public every day contributes to the problem.
THE STATIONS The standard of the stations can make all the difference to a journey, here is a brief review of the stations I have used in the past 10 months.
GLASGOW QUEEN ST Excellent station, not too big or small, bright & airy even on a dull day, mixture of sandwich shops, Burger King, pub or café are available. There is a W.H. Smith for papers, books etc & clean toilets (20p to enter). The staff are very helpful; there is a large display screen for arrivals & departures & adequate seating close to the platforms. You can purchase tickets from machines & there is easy access to the underground, taxis & buses.
EDINBURGH WAVERLEY A pain to use because it's too big, I found 19 platforms at the last count scattered all over the place on different levels. If you don't have much time between trains & have a lot of luggage you won't appreciate running around this station looking for your next train climbing stairs & crossing bridges. Usual facilities are offered but don't even bother to ask the staff at the information desk about train times or which platform to use as they simply don't know. Silly me to ask for information at an information desk in the first place! Good location close to the south side of Princes St, Royal Mile, Parliament building, Holyrood Palace & the Castle with bus & taxi stops close by.
EDINBURGH HAYMARKET Located on the north side of Princes St & much more user friendly, it is smaller with fewer facilities but easier to navigate. Starbucks is located outside the main door along with a taxi rank & bus stop. You are unlikely to change trains at this station but its ideal for Edinburgh Zoo, Murrayfield (Rugby) & its closer to the airport.
ABERDEEN STATION Presently it is being refurbished & is quite user friendly with a decent ticket office, basic facilities & information screen is comprehensive. The drawback is the lack of parking spaces, you have to use a multi storey car park close by but if that is full & you're pushed for time you will find it difficult to find alternative parking.
DUNDEE STATION Small but easy to navigate, two main platforms split into two, 1 & 2 run south & 3 & 4 run north. In between is toilets, waiting area & snack/coffee shop, some car parking outside. It's okay for short waiting times but I wouldn't fancy being here too long.
INVERNESS STATION Like Glasgow it is bright & airy even on a dull day, ample seating for waiting, friendly staff & best of all its just yards from the main street.
RAIL COMPANY PERFORMANCE So how does First Scot Rail actually perform? Well I have to say that they are not too bad, despite one cancelled train which was replaced 25 minutes later by another, time keeping is quite good. It's not in the Japanese bullet train standards where by you can set your watch by them, but I have never arrived more than 3-4 minutes late.
On the trains the staff are quite friendly & helpful, there appears to be ample information between stops. They do have a habit of splitting a train in two (train not carriage!) at certain stations so it is important that you listen to all announcements or you could end up where you don't want to be!
The carriages are clean & tidy, toilets have always been left clean, in winter the carriages are warm & in the summer they are quite cool. I've never experienced over crowding, the Inverness trains can sometimes be limited to two carriages but more are used on the longer runs to Glasgow or Edinburgh, they appear to get the balance just right. Choice of seating is either 4 to a table or aircraft style facing forward or back with drop down tables. There is ample space up above for light luggage. In first class I am informed they also have electrical sockets for lap tops, portable DVD players, wider seats & more attentive service.
I have never paid more than £20.00 for a return ticket which I think is good value for money, its just a pity that Lord Beechham in the 1960s axed so many stations to save money (the usual short sighted politicians approved it) as it would really have helped solve the transport crisis we are in now. Travelling by train with First Scot rail is quite a good expierence for the moment, let's hope their standards are kept up.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Record Rent a Car is present in the main spanish airports and has a very wide fleet. We offer: exceptional discounts, free additional drivers,
unlimited mileage... subscribe to our Club Record and take advantage of special offers.
exceptional by (5%):
very helpful by (95%):
