1st Class Train Travel
22 09 2006When I booked my train ticket to SETT back in August it was only about £5 more to travel first class, so I thought why not.
On my way up to Glasgow I was pleasantly surprised by the hospitality on the Virgin train, when I boarded the train I was offered a drink (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and choice of a bacon or sausage sandwich – what a great start to the trip. After I changed trains to finish my journey I was served with fresh sandwiches, fruit, flapjacks and again more drink. Throughout the rest of the journey the train staff moved through the carriage refreshing my drink and generally being very pleasant and helpful, even bringing a warm facecloth. The train was a Pendolino.
The journey back, however, was a different story – it was a direct train to Crewe. This time I was on a Virgin ‘Voyager’ train. On leaving Glasgow we were informed that we could go and collect a snack box from the on-board shop, according to the brochure on my table the snack box might contain ‘a roll filled with brie & grape or chicken & bacon, Penne State sour cream & chive pretzels, Lily O’Brien’s Chocolati Chocolate & mixed fresh fruit’, you can imagine my disappointed when I opened it to find 2 Tuc cheese sandwiches, a snack sized kitkat, a slice of fruit cake, a bag of dried mixed fruit and a carton of orange juice ☹ There was no complimentary alcoholic drinks only hot and soft cold drink.
How can the services be so different?
Even though they carried the same branding, they were two separate rail franchises: Intercity West Coast and Intercity Crosscountry. Consequently the service levels varied between them. Of course, with the 2007 refranchising process, the former remains in Virgin’s hands and the latter is now operated by Arriva.