...
The journey provider was Wales and Borders Trains and I rang them direct to book my ticket as it was almost £10 cheaper than booking via www.thetrainline.com. I was very impressed with the booking procedure, which was handled quickly and efficiently, and the ticket arrived in the post two ... Read review
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.
Advantages: Clean train, efficent booking, on time Disadvantages: No refreshments on a five hour journey
.../>
The journey provider was Wales and Borders Trains and I rang them direct to book my ticket as it was almost £10 cheaper than booking via www.thetrainline.com. I was very impressed with the booking procedure, which was handled quickly and efficiently, and the ticket arrived in the post two days later.
This was a good start – an efficient member of staff in a railway booking office – not a common species at the best of ... ...at 1440 hours and I made a beeline for the nearest café and ordered a pot of tea!
Having said all that, I would travel with Wales and Borders again, but I would certainly make sure I took plenty of drinks with me next time.
... more
As you will know if you have read my opinion on The Train Line (and, if not, why not?) I have just travelled from Birmingham New Street to Tenby by train to join Dave, who was working in Haverfordwest, so I thought I should tell you what it was like.
The journey provider was Wales and Borders Trains and I rang them direct to book my ticket as it was almost £10 cheaper than booking via www.thetrainline.com. I was very impressed with the booking procedure, which was handled quickly and efficiently, and the ticket arrived in the post two days later.
This was a good start – an efficient member of staff in a railway booking office – not a common species at the best of times.
The train left Birmingham New Street exactly on time at 0930 hours on Tuesday morning. This almost caused a problem as the bus that I had taken from home should have got me to Birmingham with almost an hour to wait (in the buffet with a pot of tea!) before the train was due to depart.
I’m one of these people who would rather be an hour early than a minute late.
Unfortunately the bus was caught in a huge traffic jam caused by a high volume of traffic due to an accident on the motorway and I arrived in Birmingham with about 5 minutes to run across the city to the station. I literally stepped onto the train as the doors closed behind me and it pulled out. I said a little prayer of thanks I can tell you.
The travelling time to Tenby was 5 hours and 10 minutes as the train stopped at almost every station from Cardiff onwards. Still, never mind I didn’t have to change trains and I do enjoy travelling by train so that was all OK.
The train itself was just two carriages long and it had lovely, unvandalised (is that a word?) seats upholstered in shades of blue and turquoise with a carpet to match.
There were some seats set in two sets of two facing each other across a table and some were just two seats side by side facing the backs of the seats in front.
My reserved seat was as I had requested – front facing in a non-smoking carriage.
The carriage was very clean, with nice big clean windows through which I could appreciate the beautiful Welsh countryside and a surprisingly clean toilet too!
The seats were comfortable with moveable armrests although they did not recline at all.
I was very impressed, but as the journey wore on I realised that there was one big disadvantage with this company. There was no buffet car and no trolley service! Luckily I had taken something to eat and drink with me, but I had hoped to get a cup of tea at least, especially on such a long journey.
The carriage that I was in wasn’t very well ventilated so the air was quite stale and dry and I really needed a drink by the time I reached Tenby.
The train stopped for 30 minutes in Cardiff and again for 20 minutes in Swansea, and both times I considered getting off and nipping to the station buffet for a bottle of water, but I decided against it. I thought that, knowing my luck the train would pull out without me!
We did arrive in Tenby right on time at 1440 hours and I made a beeline for the nearest café and ordered a pot of tea!
Having said all that, I would travel with Wales and Borders again, but I would certainly make sure I took plenty of drinks with me next time.
Advantages: Usually clean, efficient and good staff Disadvantages: Could do with a couple more nice new trains
...at least partly justified. Now, Wales and Borders may not be perfect, but I'm still impressed.
Up until late 2001, the lines from Birmingham to Mid Wales were run by Central Trains. They did the job and were better than pre-privatisation "Regional Railways" but not quite well enough. Trains were usually filthy inside and out. Reservations were never there and they'd put on just about whatever old train they could get away with.
Since Wales & Borders ... ...themselves aren't bad at all. Wales & Borders upgraded the line to "Alphaline" standard which means that all our trains are now nippy, modern things with air conditioning (actually works now, too), a payphone, comfy seats and most of the day a refreshment trolley. Fares are very reasonable. Indeed, cheap day returns for the 3 hour journey from Aberystwyth to Birmingham are only about £16. Not bad for a day out over that distance. And during the summer, ...
AlexWales 17.01.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Wales and Borders Trains
Frequency of trains
Reliability of trains
Comfort of trains
On-board facilities
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Wales and Borders Trains"
Advantages: You eventually get to your destination. Disadvantages: Over crowding, often late, difficult staff.
I have recently had a VERY bad experience with Arriva trainsWales, so I am sorry if this review sounds a little "ranting". I will try and deliver a fair and balanced review of their services.
Firstly a little information about Arriva trainsWales. Arriva trainsWales took control of the franchise previously operated by Wales & BordersTrains on 7 December 2003. They have a fleet of aprox. 116 trains. Their route covers over 2,600 miles and they employ 1,860 members of staff. They also operate around 780 services a day on weekdays.
Their website states that they are trying to achieve reliable train services, clean, attractive stations, good quality levels of information, local, effective, caring management and helpful, friendly employees.
The URL of their website is: http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk. The website is in both Welsh ...
Advantages: Prettier and nicer than other towns nearby Disadvantages: Those hills!!
Having been there on a number of occasions for holidays, I thought it was time I reviewed Harlech, a pretty town full of character on the west Wales coast.
You may be wondering at the title of this review. Well, Harlech is certainly a nice place, but it's made to feel all the nicer because of the grotty towns nearby (Portmadoc and Barmouth being the main culprits).
We always go there by train, and if you plan to, then be prepared for a long and achingly slow journey. The leg of the journey from Bimingham New Street alone takes something like four hours, and it doesn't help that Wales & BordersTrains (I believe they still have the franchise for that region) only put two carriages on the trains, making journeys quite cramped a lot of the time. So after hours spent in the company of screaming kids whose parents can't be bothered ...
bagoproverbial 12.12.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Harlech (Wales)
