Daughter new job in Manchester

[fowler9]

Given that this has been the case every single time I've used the 1607, 1707 or 1807 from Manchester Piccadilly then I would doubt that. You clearly haven't ever used a transpennine train leaving Leeds in the evening peak either as almost all of them are represented by the conditions I have described. The key point I made was that it is quite possible for all of the seats in First Class to be taken as there are very few of them. Just because you haven't experienced First Class being full that hardly means that it isn't common.

The OP isn't talking about their daughter travelling from Leeds and when Trans Pennine services pass through South Parkway first class is normally totally empty. Anecdotal admittedly but I get them several times a week and wouldn't be worried about getting a first class seat from Manchester to Liverpool.

 

[mmh]

The elephant in the room is there's no sensible reason to buy a first class season ticket if you're commuting to Manchester from anywhere

 

[fowler9]

The elephant in the room is there's no sensible reason to buy a first class season ticket if you're commuting to Manchester from anywhere

Like London or Dubai or Singapore?

 

[cuccir]

First Class is going to be an issue. Chester to Manchester trains don't have first class and only some Liverpool to Manchester trains have it. Warrington would sound like a suitable place but as of next month it'll lose it's hourly Manchester train which has first class.

To throw a random idea in to the mix - what about Hartford - a village just outside the town of Northwich. It has two stations - one on the Birmingham to Liverpool line (which has first class) and another (Greenbank station) on a Chester to Manchester line (no first class or high quality trains but from Greenbank you won't have any problem getting a seat as it's far enough out from Manchester that you'd board before the train starts to fill up.) Annual season ticket from Greenbank to Manchester would be £2484.

Just to add a note to this one - my brother-in-law and his wife live in Hartford. She works in Liverpool, he works in Manchester, and so their life is split between the two. It's a pleasant enough place and as well as the train journeys, it's relatively handy for the M6 south and hence the A500/A50 to the East Midlands: my parents-in-law live in Derby and they find it a relatively easy drive across to Hartford as it avoids the majority of the North West conurbations and can be done without the M6 if traffic is busy on there.

 

[AllWork]

I commute nearly daily from Chester to Manchester and I'd say that (tatty seat fabric aside) the journey in is better than some first class journey's I've had. Getting on at Chester means that there's no issue with getting a seat at a table and the commute is quite pleasant until Newton-le-Willows where it's full and standing and more for those poor souls.

Now, I do take the 6.40am train which means that I get in just before 8 but even the later trains have seats at Chester.

The way back is more stressful - the scrum at Platform 14 in particular but I've never had an issue with getting a seat on the Chester/North Wales trains.

As has been mentioned previously, it's possible to make a connection at Crewe which is Virgin-[Change at Crewe]-Virgin and has first class. A longer (by 10 mins or so) journey but you can use the break in Crewe to pop in to the First Class lounge, grab a coffee and pastry, and be on the next train to Manchester.

Chester is a lovely city (although I don't live there) and if a longer but more luxurious commute is what she's after would suit well. As others have said, she may regret not moving to Manchester centre on the cold mornings despite all the free coffee.