Grand Central Discussion

[DaveNewcastle]

I can't say I find these fares to be high.
Sure, we don't have the joy of a mix of super-cheap fares on selected services if booked in advance, from limited quotas which progressively dissappear a la East Coast. But for return journeys booked less than a week in advance, they seem to be competitive with EC without being unreaslistic. And of course, they are providing a service which simply isn't there at the moment, so its hard to make a good comparison.

I guess the question will be, after a few months of operation, have they attracted the business? With the nice 20 - 30% discount on return tickets, I'd feel optomistic at those prices.

 

[David]

Doncaster - London compares favourably against the Hull Trains only SVR which is £59. nearly half the price of the Any Permitted SVR, and is still £11 cheaper than the very restricted SSR.

The Doncaster - London compares even more favourably, as GC only is £100, compared to £119 (Hull Trains only), £172 (EC only), or the any permitted SOR at £185. The only way to beat the GC only fares is to book 10-13 weeks in advance and get 1 of the extremely rare super cheap AP tickets.

 

[paul_l]

just noticed a couple of things with the new fares

all single & return fares on london - sunderland route are up £4 single /£8 return, which is over 10% increase on the off-peak returns

senior discount is reduced from 50% to 25%, which presumably makes it cheaper to hold a senior railcard now

also, overhead from one of the GC staff yesterday on the way to london that the 50% refund on a GC-only ticket if you can't get a seat will end at the timetable change as well, due to it being impossible to process when the trains are packed

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Well spotted, Paul!

The increases are disappointing, of course, though I had thought the 50% senious discount was a tad on the generous side.

. . . . . the 50% refund on a GC-only ticket if you can't get a seat will end at the timetable change as well, due to it being impossible to process when the trains are packed

That committment was a good marketing angle for the company and must have been a real incentive to pax who've strugged to find a seat on EC or XC. Its a sensible offer too. But I have to agree that it beggars belief that they actually introduced the scheme which would require the processing of payments and refunds at the one time when the service was at its busiest!

 

[Sir_Clagalot]

the refunds were never done on the train itself, but handled via head office.

 

[yorkie]

there is a 2125 additional tonight from king's cross to york. not advertised but WILL run.

 

[tynesider]

Unadvertised 2125 is to Northallerton, calling York and Thirsk.

 

[BOSCH]

Unadvertised 2125 is to Northallerton, calling York and Thirsk.

And is HST not 180

 

[wensley]

Here are the allocations for both operational Grand Central Rly. HST Sets for TUESDAY 18th MAY 2010 as things stand at 1718hrs on MONDAY 17th MAY 2010.

THESE DIAGRAMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

43084 (S) + 4 TS + 1 TRUB + 1 TF + 43067 (N)

1N25 0804 KINGSX - SUNDRLND 1152
1A26 1230 SUNDRLND - KINGSX 1605
1N29 1918 KINGSX - SUNDERLND 2254

43123 (S) + 4 TS + 1 TRUB + 1 TF + 43065 (N)

1A60 0641 SUNDRLND - KINGSX 1031
1N26 1127 KINGSX - SUNDRLND 1453
1A63 1730 SUNDRLND - KINGX 2109

Copied From Grand Central Rail Gen

 

[96tommy]

As a Grand Central 180 had an interior refurbishment???

 

[Crossforth]

Probably part of your question 96tommy but if they have had an internal refurb, do they have the game boards on the table like the HSTs? As I am taking a trip on one with a mate from Bradford to Pontefract in June and we may need something to do part the way.

 

[GNERman]

As a Grand Central 180 had an interior refurbishment???

GC 180's still have the original FGW interior, although on all the sets these are in very good condition. Tables have been fitted the Playing Boards and there are also Marilyn Munroe images at the end of the coach.
The buffet area has also been covered with GC information on the Buffet service.

 

[96tommy]

Thanks, I have been on all of the Grand Central 180's a couple of times but have never seen any refurbished. The last time I went on one was about a month ago. Thanks for the information!!!!

 

[Sir_Clagalot]

They have all been reliveried and fitted with wifi/sockets, but I don't think anything was done internally, other than some GC info labels and a clean, as the upholstery is in quite good condition IMHO, and wouldnt as such warrant replacement.

 

[BOSCH]

An interior refurbishment is on the cards by all accounts

 

[Techniquest]

Anyone got the gen on what's going on with 43065 now then? Heard she suffered a failure yesterday

 

[Lampshade]

Traction motor failure apparantly, 123 limped home on low power.

 

[David]

Wonder if the TM is still in 1 piece, unline the TM on 60040 ....

 

[BOSCH]

Anyone got the gen on what's going on with 43065 now then? Heard she suffered a failure yesterday

On wednesday evening 065 suffered problems,losing time all the way from kx.On A60 yesterday the set came off heaton with 065 giving ets only as problem with TM's,123 providing power,left s/land 60+ late and struggled for power all the way indeed needing noth 4 to get into hartlepool after being stopped to allow a down unit to come out of station ! struggled manfully all the way to york wherre decision was made to terminate and return empty to htn via ecml(managed 90mph at one point !!),thursday was a bad day all round for GC I'm afraid !!

 

[Techniquest]

Ouch! Sounds very bad.

Ho-hum, looks like it's unlikely I'll get any Valenta action tomorrow then.

 

[Snapper]

On wednesday evening 065 suffered problems,losing time all the way from kx.On A60 yesterday the set came off heaton with 065 giving ets only as problem with TM's,123 providing power,left s/land 60+ late and struggled for power all the way indeed needing noth 4 to get into hartlepool after being stopped to allow a down unit to come out of station ! struggled manfully all the way to york wherre decision was made to terminate and return empty to htn via ecml(managed 90mph at one point !!),thursday was a bad day all round for GC I'm afraid !!

The sooner you get the damned things MTU'd the better. TC was reckoning that it'll all be over by Xmas...

 

[yorkie]

Ouch! Sounds very bad.

Ho-hum, looks like it's unlikely I'll get any Valenta action tomorrow then.

The 0804 London - Sunderland is a HST, 067 is on the North end.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Traction motor failure apparantly, 123 limped home on low power.

The Valenta engine is to blame for everything, including if an AWS fault occurs, or if a traction motor fault occurs. It's always the Valenta engines fault. You are not supposed to reveal the reason of delay is not a Valenta engine (the reasons I have been given are very rarely the Valenta engine) because it may destroy the myth that some people have! And we can't have that, can we?

The wiring isn't good on the GC power cars. That's the Valentas fault.
They've been in store for a while. That's the Valentas fault too.
The AWS sometimes fails. That's the Valentas fault.
CDL may fail on the Mk3s. That's the Valentas fault.

 

[Techniquest]

Ta for that yorkie, now to decide tomorrow whether to take a Rubbishante on 1N26 to York and scoop 43084 for my final farewell to the Valentas.

Can I put up with a Rubbishante for 2 hours though...Shall find out what I do in just under 12 hours!

And good point there!

 

[Lampshade]

180s are excellent units I think you'll find!

I still need 067 and 123 but as long as 084's in service I won't get 123 :?

 

[yorkie]

180s are just boring, like any other modern unit. No point travelling on them just for a bash. If you just want to go from A to B, then fine, no problem.

I've only ever had about 3 180s and it wouldn't bother me if I never travelled on one again. If it goes where and when I want to go then I won't avoid it, but I won't go out for one specifically.

 

[theblackwatch]

180s are just boring, like any other modern unit. No point travelling on them just for a bash. If you just want to go from A to B, then fine, no problem.

I've only ever had about 3 180s and it wouldn't bother me if I never travelled on one again. If it goes where and when I want to go then I won't avoid it, but I won't go out for one specifically.

The same could be argued about HSTs. Around 25 years ago, you could count the number of people who went out specifucally for them on one hand. And they were classified as units back then.

 

[Techniquest]

Shows how much things have changed then!

Agreed again with yorkie, 180s are boring. Except I would add they're just rubbish in general, no matter what GC do with them. As the saying goes, you can't polish a turd!

 

[wensley]

SATURDAY 22nd MAY 2010
43067 & 43084 on lodge and to work:

1N25 0757 KINGSX - SUNDRLND 1150
1A62 1230 SUNDRLND - KINGSX 1607
1N29 1907 KINGSX - SUNDRLND 2254

Then ECS to HTONTMD

EXPECTED diagram for 23rd May:

SUNDAY 23rd MAY 2010
43067 & 43084 to work:

1A60 0910 SUNDRLND - KINGSX 1251
1N26 1345 KINGSX - SUNDRLND 1726
1A62 1842 SUNDRLND - KINGSX 2217

Information from GC Rail Gen

 

[BOSCH]

43065(repaired) & 43123 working 1A63 this evening by all accounts

 

[jon0844]

As the saying goes, you can't polish a turd!

It seems GC has managed to turn the 180s into a pretty reliable train, which is at least one positive thing for the average passenger that doesn't care about much more than getting a seat and maybe a view - and being on time.