LNER 0957 York Kings Cross {ASLEF 1st March)

[wellhouse]

We have reservations on this service, which RTT is showing is running despite the ASLEF O/T ban, while some earlier services are cancelled. Can anyone with experience of LNER on previous ASLEF action days offer an informed assessment how overcrowded this train is likely to be, as reservations are not much use when the aisle is rammed with standing passengers?

We're starting from Huddersfield to connect with Eurostar on Interrail, and as I can confirm whether the train is running with a 9-car set before boarding at Huddersfield, we have a plan B option to travel via Manchester with Avanti, but I'd prefer to avoid walking with luggage from Euston to St Pancras.

 

[yorkie]

Edit: I believe I have caught this train on a strike day, when it started at Newcastle (for an example see this timetable from 4 months ago), and it was pretty dead in 1st class.

I see your train runs from Edinburgh as normal, so it may be different for you; furthermore, people are slowly getting more used to limited timetables and planning around them, whereas a while back people often used to cancel their plans entirely. It also may make a difference which other TOCs are/were affected on any given day, so it is difficult to do direct comparisons. Also the day of the week may be different; my experience would have been a Thursday or a Friday, but I can't remember which.

 

[rg177]

The 1st is a strike day. Its the first service from Edinburgh but from experience, strike days aren't overwhelmingly busy. Certainly not the ghost town they used to be, but trains shouldn't be packed.

 

[wellhouse]

So the service was comfortably busy departing York, and our reserved seats were unoccupied. First Class passengers joining at Doncaster were unable to find seats together, and horror of horrors, as there were no more clean mugs, our hot drinks were served in paper cups.

Thanks both for the feedback.

 

[ainsworth74]

and horror of horrors, as there were no more clean mugs, our hot drinks were served in paper cups

I hope that you've recovered from this horrific incident and it won't cause lasting psychological trauma

 

[wellhouse]

Well I just about coped, but my dearly beloved is still recovering from the absence of fritatta

 

[jkkne]

So the service was comfortably busy departing York, and our reserved seats were unoccupied. First Class passengers joining at Doncaster were unable to find seats together, and horror of horrors, as there were no more clean mugs, our hot drinks were served in paper cups.

Thanks both for the feedback.

My thoughts and prayers are with you. I was on the 14.30 ex Edinburgh and they swapped Dine for Dish due to shortages then…brace yourself…they ran out of tea cakes and the New York deli sarnie so I had to have that awful vegetable massala thing.

Train was also pretty dead until we got to Newcastle but it appeared lots of reserved seats simply weren’t been taken up