Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a very satisfied user of the 'First Class' service that is the 0753 slow train from New Street to Euston. Two recent trips have confirmed my view that LondonMidland is giving travellers who don't need to be in London before 1030 a good value alternative to Virgin's ridiculous £254 'peak' fare.
Now that Virgin have bagged Platform 1 for their 0750 Pendolino service, the 0753 departs from Platform 3A - good news for those of us who use the Navigation Street entrance to New Street. The Desiro set comes in from Crewe and empties at New Street meaning that the First Class compartment is clear for passengers boarding. Clearly, the competitive pricing of the LondonMidland service is sinking in as there has been a noticeable increase in the number of passengers starting their journey at New Street and travelling through to Euston. However, as yet, I have not had a problem getting to a table and being able to use the power sockets for my laptop...
Both journeys recently have ridden smoothly and run to time, and I have had plenty of time to catch up with work on the journey. Naturally 'free' meals, 'free' newspaper and 'free' WiFi could be useful but with a walk-on First Class return fare over 5 times cheaper than that of Virgin's equivalent, these are 'luxuries' that I can work around...
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