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Would like to know train class before booking

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weeman0

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Hi I hope someone can help me out here. Is it possible to find out in advance which class of train will run on which service, specifically on the Ecml. My autistic son is a class 91 junkie and he gets upset if I drag him onto an Hst. I've looked on open train times and have a rail guide book but I can't seem to get a class Number from a head code or service Number, is this doable? Thanks. Ian P
 
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yorkie

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I've looked on open train times and have a rail guide book but I can't seem to get a class Number from a head code or service Number, is this doable?
The open data does not have allocation information, however it does have timing load data (click the "more" button on OTT) which, for some train companies such as VTEC can be a very good indication.

If you book through the VTEC website, the seat selector will reveal almost* definitively what is booked.

*I say almost because there are a few occasions when I have seen it is wrong e.g. 1900 EDB-DON on Saturday evenings
 

jopsuk

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There's some guarantees:
If the service is headed to or from Inverness, Aberdeen, Stirling, Sunderland, Harrogate, Hull or Lincoln it is definitely an HST.

So, a Leeds, York, Newcastle or Edinburgh terminator is more likely to be an electric set- but not guaranteed.
 

yorkie

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So, a Leeds, York, Newcastle or Edinburgh terminator is more likely to be an electric set- but not guaranteed.
Still plenty of HSTs on those!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Thanks Yorkie, I think I need to work on it for a bit. Cheers
No worries. Do you have a particular itinerary in mind?
 

43074

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This document lists all the HST diagrams: http://www.125group.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/HST-Diags-VTEC.pdf
... every service not on the list should be a 91, although sets can and do get swapped during disruption or for maintenance requirements.

Those which are more likely to the 91s are the xx:30 and xx:35 departures from Kings Cross, and departures from Leeds at xx:15 and Edinburgh at xx:00 (Newcastle at xx:25), although that can (and does) change if there is disruption. I'd say there's a roughly 50/50 split on services which are non-stop between Kings Cross and York, those which are to/from Stirling, Aberdeen or Inverness are guaranteed HSTs so are ones to avoid if you're after 91s.
 

47271

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In hundreds, if not thousands, of East Coast bookings I've never been booked on the wrong train type by the online seat selector so it's pretty reliable.

Things have gone amiss subsequently and I've been bumped onto a different service which is the other type of train, but that's not quite the same thing.
 

weeman0

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A big thanks guys, that's been really helpful, we only do six or seven trips a year but getting the right train is a huge factor.

P.s. apologies to any Hst fans.
 

168lover

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If a HST turns up try and ask staff if you could be transferred onto a different service. They probably won't let you but if you don't ask, you don't get:D
 

fireftrm

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The seat selector is presently broken. I have had the other set a number of times - ie 225 when booked HST and vice versa. Best bet it to buy an open and turn up - the next train will only be 30 minutes later.

PS Inverness and Aberdeen services are always HST
 

yorkie

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Realtimetrains usually says whether it is HST or electric under more information
Not quite. As mentioned earlier...
The open data does not have allocation information, however it does have timing load data (click the "more" button on OTT) which, for some train companies such as VTEC can be a very good indication.
 
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