Taking advantage of LondonMidland's Great January Sale, I travelled up to London on Tuesday using the 0753 service from Birmingham New Street for the princely sum of £11.20 (First Class Advance Single).
As I have noted before, the 0753 is actually a service from Crewe. On Tuesday, it arrived and departed from the newly re-opened Platform 1a. Fine for those joining from the main concourse but a real nuisance for those of us who use the Victoria Square entrance as there is no direct access to this platform... nor currently are there signs explaining how to get to it!
The First Class compartment was quiet so no problems getting a table seat and setting up my laptop to use the 2 hour 27 min journey productively. The Class 350 electric trains that run this service offer power points but not WiFi so it is a good chance to immerse oneself without the interruption (distraction?) of email.
A recent Tweet from LondonMidland seemed to suggest that the catering trolley now offered complimentary refreshments to First Class passengers on this service BUT I was assured by the attendant that this was not yet the case - perhaps end of January he suggested...
Apart from that disappointment, the journey was fine. The compartment remained quiet throughout even though there was only one ticket check, and arrival was on time at London Euston. So for £11.20 (£16 normally), good value...
But not as good as Chiltern, especially on return fares! The £11.20 / £16 fare is an Advance, travel on the specified train, single fare. For £33 walk-on return, one can travel out on the 0815 from Birmingham Moor Street and get into London Marylebone for 10.29. Chiltern Clubmans are genrously fitted out with tables, power sockets throughout, and there is a catering trolley (though, of course, no promise of complimentary refreshments in the near future!).
On Tuesday, I returned on a Super Off-Peak return ticket using the 14.50 from Marylebone for a fare of £19.50. No catering trolley and WiFi but access to a table to myself and power sockets... As ever, Chiltern delivered an on-time arrival at Moor Street and an 'early' arrival at Snow Hill (when will they drop the pretence of a 10 min journey between the two stations?).
So, for me, Chiltern still have the upper hand over LondonMidland.
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