East Coast 1st Class Lounge Edinburgh

[Butts]

I was in the above yesterday morning - what a trail it was to find and then up all those stairs to ......

A Coffee Machine, a few biscuits and fun sized packets of crisps - didn't see any pop.

However there was a redeeming element an old lady of 80 who was the only "staff member" ( a cleaner)

"Help yersell son tae whitever yae like" - she was regaling me about the ills of working for her contract cleaning company-a real diamond.

Is this all there is on offer normally and is the Scotrail one any better ?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

What SR lounge? The closest SR lounge I think is Aberdeen!

 

[Mojo]

The ScotRail Customer lounge at Edinburgh station.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Where's that? That's news to me...

 

[Mojo]

A simple search on Google...

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/content/station-facilities

 

[All Line Rover]

The ScotRail Customer lounge at Edinburgh station.

Yes, the tiny lounge that's never open!


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Where's that? That's news to me...

Through the barriers, on the left. It looks more like a mini travel centre, to be honest!

 

[MidnightFlyer]

A simple search on Google...

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/content/station-facilities

Thanks - bit too complex to bring up parts of some websites on BB otherwise I would have done.

 

[wintonian]

Yes, the tiny lounge that's never open!

and when it is the staff are in there watching football and eating pizza thats just been delivered!

They also seemed a bit put out that a customer actually walked into the staff lounge. :roll:

 

[Butts]

Well aside from staff eating pizzas is there any fayre available for paying members of the public with 1st Class Tickets

Also is a new lounge on the cards within the current refurbishment taking place ?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Sorry, can see it now, I've seen that before but it completely slipped my mind.

Can I ask, why did you use the EC one and not the SR one, that's assuming you used SR to get to Leuchars? Further, if you were curious, why didn't you go and check the SR lounge too?

 

[scotsman]

The ScotRail lounge has always been open, bar one occasion, and it's quite nice

 

[Butts]

Sorry, can see it now, I've seen that before but it completely slipped my mind.

Can I ask, why did you use the EC one and not the SR one, that's assuming you used SR to get to Leuchars? Further, if you were curious, why didn't you go and check the SR lounge too?

Well when i got there the EC was open (think it opens at 0630) but the other one opens later. As I couldn't find either I asked a staff member and it happened I was closer to EC Lounge. My companion for the Edinburgh University visit arrived before I had the chance to find and utilise the SRL. I would have gone out of curiosity , but planned to check it out before going onwards to Leuchars on my return later.

When we got back her train was cancelled so I waited with her until the next one was due. As she didn't have a 1st Class Ticket it would have been ungallant to abandon her and head off in search of the SRL. By the time her next train left I had to catch mine to Leuchars. In theory I could have got the next one and sought the SRL but from the sound of it I made the right decision.

 

[wintonian]

Well aside from staff eating pizzas is there any fayre available for paying members of the public with 1st Class Tickets

Tea/ Coffee from the machine, biscuits and pretzels, with ghastly purple seats.

The ScotRail lounge has always been open, bar one occasion, and it's quite nice

When I was last up there I tried using it on 2 days morning and on return in the evening and only found it open once.

The website says it opens at 08:45 one morning upon asking I was informed upon asking it was 09:00 and at 09:30 it still wasn't open.

 

[Butts]

The ScotRail lounge has always been open, bar one occasion, and it's quite nice

Would you care to elaborate - is it better than the EC one?

Thanks Wintonian we crossed over !!
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Can anyone remember what the Edinburgh Lounges were like twenty or thirty years ago ?

Did you used to get decent fayre ie bacon rolls or the like ?

 

[wintonian]

Would you care to elaborate - is it better than the EC one?

Don't know didn't have a ticket valid on EC and in any case when I was wondering around the station the EC staff didn't like me on their platform and directed me away. How did they know my ticket wasn't valid on EC? Well I got stopped and asked where I was going to.

 

[Butts]

How many other Stations have more than one 1st Class Lounge provided by different TOC's ?

Did Edinburgh have three when the Virgin/Cross Country one used to be there as well ?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

No, there were no VT 1st Class lounges at VXC stations (or those with limited VTWC services like HYM and EDB were).

 

[Butts]

No, there were no VT 1st Class lounges at VXC stations (or those with limited VTWC services like HYM and EDB were).

Perhaps it was just a waiting room or enquiry place - it was opposite Costa Coffee if I remember rightly.

 

[wintonian]

How many other Stations have more than one 1st Class Lounge provided by different TOC's ?

Did Edinburgh have three when the Virgin/Cross Country one used to be there as well ?

Just Edinburgh I think.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Perhaps it was just a waiting room or enquiry place - it was opposite Costa Coffee if I remember rightly.

'Opposite' doesn't really help when it's in the middle of a massive concourse

You could be thinking of what would have been the GNER travel centre, next to the toilets and currently in the hands of East Coast.

 

[Butts]

'Opposite' doesn't really help when it's in the middle of a massive concourse

You could be thinking of what would have been the GNER travel centre, next to the toilets and currently in the hands of East Coast.

Well you have the enclosed quadrant with the ticket office etc in, to the left of that was a sort of alley it was down there. If you know where the pasty stall is it was just down from there. It may be inaccessible or knocked down by now with all the alterations.
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Just Edinburgh I think.

Begs the question why Glasgow hasn't got a "proper one"

Why has Edinburgh got two ? - You would think one of the London Stations would warrant this with their level of footfall !

 

[MidnightFlyer]

The 'alley' at the side of the booking office goes down to the toilets. Behind the wall on the right of there is the current EC 1st Class lounge, but I suspect it was the GNER lounge then, they must have moved the entrance since. Either way, it wouldn't have been VT-run.

 

[telstarbox]

Are the lounges a post-privatisation thing or did they exist under BR?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Begs the question why Glasgow hasn't got a "proper one"

Why has Edinburgh got two ? - You would think one of the London Stations would warrant this with their level of footfall !

Glasgow Central did, but it was closed by VT a while back when SR withdrew their funding to let Sleeper customers in there, yet they still wanted them to be admitted with VT not receiving any money for it, or something like that. edinburgh exists because both SR and EC have 1st Class lounge schemes, and only allow users of their TOC to use them. This situation is quite rare on the network.

 

[Butts]

The 'alley' at the side of the booking office goes down to the toilets. Behind the wall on the right of there is the current EC 1st Class lounge, but I suspect it was the GNER lounge then, they must have moved the entrance since. Either way, it wouldn't have been VT-run.

Thanks is Glasgow Central the biggest station (mainline termini) in the UK by footfall that hasn't got a First Class Lounge - why do people have to go to a Hotel its ridiculous !!

 

[wintonian]

Thanks is Glasgow Central the biggest station (mainline termini) in the UK by footfall that hasn't got a First Class Lounge - why do people have to go to a Hotel its ridiculous !!

and do people use the hotel?

I didn't as it seems rather strange and wasn't really sure if I would be welcome or not.

 

[bengolding]

I last used the EC Edinburgh lounge during the Festival. Very badly signposted, indeed so much so that I entered through the fire exit door directly to the stairs without having to get my valid ticket checked next door .

Nice spacious lounge but shame there is no longer an at-seat service.

 

[Butts]

I last used the EC Edinburgh lounge during the Festival. Very badly signposted, indeed so much so that I entered through the fire exit door directly to the stairs without having to get my valid ticket checked next door .

Nice spacious lounge but shame there is no longer an at-seat service.

So you could have blagged it......

I suppose a coffee machine and biscuits serve themselves - anyone who has to pay to get in will be disappointed

Its more of a Flybe Lounge than BA