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RailUK First Class Lounge Guide

Scotrail314209

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I think at stations, First Class lounges should be accessible to all long distance operators that serve the station. Such as Edinburgh Waverley should be accept CrossCountry, TPE and Avanti as well as LNER.

On another note, the Euston lounge is really unspectacular imo. Not many snacks on offer there.
 
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Merle Haggard

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I think at stations, First Class lounges should be accessible to all long distance operators that serve the station. Such as Edinburgh Waverley should be accept CrossCountry, TPE and Avanti as well as LNER.

Some time ago I used the Virgin lounge at Piccadilly having just missed an xx.15 to Milton Keynes. Because I had a ticket that was non specific to operator or route the host politely asked me to confirm the Virgin service I was using. The conversation developed and the host explained that Virgin had asked Cross Country whether they wanted to make the lounge available to their customers, too, by sharing costs, but the answer was a firm (and, bearing in mind XCs strategy, hardly surprising) negative.

Of course it would be great for lounges to be open to all first class ticket holders but one can hardly expect one operator to shoulder the costs if others decline to do so.
 

richa2002

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Some time ago I used the Virgin lounge at Piccadilly having just missed an xx.15 to Milton Keynes. Because I had a ticket that was non specific to operator or route the host politely asked me to confirm the Virgin service I was using. The conversation developed and the host explained that Virgin had asked Cross Country whether they wanted to make the lounge available to their customers, too, by sharing costs, but the answer was a firm (and, bearing in mind XCs strategy, hardly surprising) negative.

Of course it would be great for lounges to be open to all first class ticket holders but one can hardly expect one operator to shoulder the costs if others decline to do so.
If your ticket was not operator specific then I would suggest to the host that it is irrelevant which service you were planning to take. Virgin would get their ORCATS cut regardless from this fare.
 

VT 390

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If all operators tickets were allowed in Lounge would it not make them to busy and everything would run out almost straight away, so I think it is good that only certain operators tickets are allowed in lounges.
 

vlad

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I think at stations, First Class lounges should be accessible to all long distance operators that serve the station. Such as Edinburgh Waverley should be accept CrossCountry, TPE and Avanti as well as LNER.

When the lounge at Crewe opened it was accessible to all passengers with a first-class ticket, not that the station saw many trains with first-class accommodation that weren't operated by Virgin.

I suppose you could have used it on London Midland to Liverpool or EMT to Leicester....
 

ag51ruk

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When the lounge at Crewe opened it was accessible to all passengers with a first-class ticket, not that the station saw many trains with first-class accommodation that weren't operated by Virgin.

I suppose you could have used it on London Midland to Liverpool or EMT to Leicester....

The lounge at Crewe is not just funded by Virgin/Avanti, but also by the local councils, development agency and tourist board. Part of the deal is that it is available to all First ticket holders (LNW probably run as many trains with First at Crewe as Avanti these days, plus there are some XC trains that call at Crewe). It's also available to sleeper passengers in both First and Standard I believe.
 

VT 390

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The lounge at Crewe is not just funded by Virgin/Avanti, but also by the local councils, development agency and tourist board. Part of the deal is that it is available to all First ticket holders (LNW probably run as many trains with First at Crewe as Avanti these days, plus there are some XC trains that call at Crewe). It's also available to sleeper passengers in both First and Standard I believe.
So are London Northwestern Railway tickets valid in the Crewe lounge still as I thought it was just Avanti and Caledonian sleeper tickets which are valid?
 

BlueFox

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They should be, yes

The National Rail website says Avanti only:

"To enter the First Class lounge, just show your valid Avanti West Coast ticket (either Avanti West Coast Business, First Anytime or Advance First ticket) that's for travel along the West Coast Main Line."
 

Mag_seven

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What was the situation on BR days re use of say the Euston First Class lounge? Could you get in with say a first class single from Euston to Watford?
 

Butts

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What was the situation on BR days re use of say the Euston First Class lounge? Could you get in with say a first class single from Euston to Watford?

I'd be interested to know what Lounges were like in BR days - did they exist and if so were the nibbles and drinks superior to todays offerings ?
 

Wuffle

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VTEC did something similar with the Great Northern Hotel in Peterborough. Does LNER still do this? The lack of promotion will probably mean it’s withdrawn due to lack of demand. I can see the same at Stoke.

Used it last October while waiting for train to Edinburgh - You need to get a coupon from the customer service point as you exit - Coffee and cake - recommend the chocolate brownie
 
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47271

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Great news on York, it’s way overdue.

If all operators tickets were allowed in Lounge would it not make them to busy and everything would run out almost straight away, so I think it is good that only certain operators tickets are allowed in lounges.
Genuine question on this. I use First Class lounges for somewhere quiet and comfortable to sit and do some work while I’m waiting for a connection. A decent loo to use quickly is good too. If there were no drinks and snacks it wouldn’t bother me at all, I’d just go to Cafe Nero or wherever on my way in.

If I had a choice of, say, Edinburgh Waverley, being open to all operators’ ticket holders over getting a free biscuit, then I’d be happy to pass on the biscuit.

As it is I have to mess around going to the Apex Hotel if I’m on Virgin, Scotrail, or Transpennine. I haven’t mentioned Cross Country because I’d sooner go on my hands and knees than use them out of Edinburgh.
 

wellhouse

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The TPE Lounge at Huddersfield is still a pleasant enough place to wait, but the offer has become progressively more parsimonious.

No more newspapers, just a few copies of a complimentary Yorkshire business magazine (3 months old), coffee machine awaiting repair to provide hot chocolate, a few cans of San Pellegrino Limonata and milk for tea in the fridge, and a few packs of biscuits. No water, still or sparkling.
 

premier01

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I'd be interested to know what Lounges were like in BR days - did they exist and if so were the nibbles and drinks superior to todays offerings ?


+1..... were there 1st class lounges in BR days does anyone know?
 

Starmill

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If your ticket was not operator specific then I would suggest to the host that it is irrelevant which service you were planning to take. Virgin would get their ORCATS cut regardless from this fare.
Not in their assessment.

In one case a passenger had a First Class ticket from Rugby to Birmingham which was valid on Avanti West Coast. The customer boarded the first available train and, when they arrived in Birmingham, the lounge host asked about their journey. They weren't admitted, because they didn't travel with Avanti West Coast. That's the policy.
 

Starmill

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Hard luck if you’re travelling up on the west coast and making a connection at Edinburgh :( .
First Class waiting area used to be available to such passengers at Edinburgh, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, and Coventry. But not any more.
 

Butts

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In the Edinburgh Waverley and Newcastle Lounges today.

Edinburgh - Hot Drinks Machine, Crisps and Biscuits plus OJ and Water and Newspapers

Newcastle - As above , yes they actually had crisps and biscuits a first in my experience. No check on tickets.

If the crisps get any smaller they are going to transform into the size of peanut packets !!! - Oh for the day's when Virgin had "grab bag" sized crisps.
 

Merle Haggard

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Hexagons remind me of bees - and bees for a reason I've never really understood are a symbol of Manchester.

That could be why they've put all the hexagons there.


Rather belatedly to reply with thanks (and thanks also to Marton); there does seem to be an attempt by the railways at Picadilly to have a Bee theme. The Network Rail running in boards at the country end of the platforms have an insect on them. I chickened out of attempting to photograph them (walking to the end of the platform; carrying a camera; two reasons for attracting the interest of Security) but I've just noticed that there are similar designs hanging from the roof, so I risked a photo.

Manchester Bee.jpg

I did refer to insect because I'm not convinced that it is a bee; perhaps drawn by someone who confuses wasps and bees...
 

Deerfold

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Rather belatedly to reply with thanks (and thanks also to Marton); there does seem to be an attempt by the railways at Picadilly to have a Bee theme. The Network Rail running in boards at the country end of the platforms have an insect on them. I chickened out of attempting to photograph them (walking to the end of the platform; carrying a camera; two reasons for attracting the interest of Security) but I've just noticed that there are similar designs hanging from the roof, so I risked a photo.

View attachment 74678

I did refer to insect because I'm not convinced that it is a bee; perhaps drawn by someone who confuses wasps and bees...

That looks very like a honey bee to me.

https://images.theconversation.com/...xlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=926&fit=clip

A wasp would typically have more wings.
 

Merle Haggard

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That looks very like a honey bee to me.

https://images.theconversation.com/...xlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=926&fit=clip

A wasp would typically have more wings.


Thank you for that; every year my garden is host to a bumble-bee nest (the sort with the light grey rear end) and these seem a lot chubbier than the NR illustration and don't have such prominent stripes, and I (obviously wrongly) thought that all bees were similar in this respect. It's surprising how difficult it is to recollect what something you see frequently (at least in Summer) looks like, or at least I find it so. I was also probably thinking of a hover-fly rather than a wasp, too.
 

Y Ddraig Coch

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Rather belatedly to reply with thanks (and thanks also to Marton); there does seem to be an attempt by the railways at Picadilly to have a Bee theme. The Network Rail running in boards at the country end of the platforms have an insect on them. I chickened out of attempting to photograph them (walking to the end of the platform; carrying a camera; two reasons for attracting the interest of Security) but I've just noticed that there are similar designs hanging from the roof, so I risked a photo.

View attachment 74678

I did refer to insect because I'm not convinced that it is a bee; perhaps drawn by someone who confuses wasps and bees...

Sorry for going off topic briefly. But to explain the Bee theme in Manchester.

The bee is on Manchester's coat of arms and has been since 1842 , it was used in a few places but not so prominently, but then after the Manchester Arena bombing back in 2017 of which my daughter was luckily a survivor by a couple of seconds due to a door and another person landing on top of her rather than the shrapnel flying her way the bee came back to prominence as a symbol of the amazing worker bee type attitude, solidarity and defiance from everyone in Manchester from emergency services to random acts of kindness from members of the public, taxi drivers, shop keepers to make sure everyone who needed help got it and got home or wherever they need to be. It was a wonderful thing to see from such a sad set of circumstances.

The Bee will always be a reminder to all who had anything to do with that fateful May 22nd 2017 and is why it has made a much more prominent comeback all over Manchester.
 

trainophile

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Sorry for going off topic briefly. But to explain the Bee theme in Manchester.

The bee is on Manchester's coat of arms and has been since 1842 , it was used in a few places but not so prominently, but then after the Manchester Arena bombing back in 2017 of which my daughter was luckily a survivor by a couple of seconds due to a door and another person landing on top of her rather than the shrapnel flying her way the bee came back to prominence as a symbol of the amazing worker bee type attitude, solidarity and defiance from everyone in Manchester from emergency services to random acts of kindness from members of the public, taxi drivers, shop keepers to make sure everyone who needed help got it and got home or wherever they need to be. It was a wonderful thing to see from such a sad set of circumstances.

The Bee will always be a reminder to all who had anything to do with that fateful May 22nd 2017 and is why it has made a much more prominent comeback all over Manchester.

That's very moving (won't attempt your name here!), thank you for explaining something I have often wondered about. What an awful shock for your family, thank goodness your daughter survived. I guess you never look at anything in the same way again after that, and the current health crisis is just another thing to take in your stride.
 

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