Recent content by williamn

Yes its a very poorly constructed scheme, though I'm not complaining about my free standard premium and first class tickets. Of course with split ticketing I got there rather faster than planned! But yes, there's little point in retaining a status when there don't seem to be any benefits other...

At least there's some historical reason to call it that! Makes me feel a bit better towards the name.

Why does the new station have to be called 'Grand Central' which feels very American, rather than retaining the current name?

Nice to see a thread on train interiors, which always seem very neglected compared to the exteriors! I find it jarring that so many heritage lines use non-standard fabrics now for refurbs. You wouldn't paint the exterior in any old made-up ivery, so why is the interior any different? I am sure...

Great, thanks. I have a 90 min cross Paris connection and I know how hideous the queues at GDN can be!

Does anyone know if Eurostar still sells Paris Metro tickets on board?

Well I guess I will find out! I shall take some snacks in case... Will report back. In the end my intinerary will be: London - Paris - Hendaye - San Sebastian (overnight) San Sebastian - Madrid - Vigo (overnight) Vigo - Porto (several nights!) Porto - Vigo - Santiago de Compostela (overnight)...

I think it’s an Alvia if it makes a difference.

Thanks, used Paypal in the end which worked. Further question (as I think I've only used RENFE once before!). My train is marked as 'Sin Restauración', which I presume means no catering? Is this likely to be absolutely zero catering (5 hour trip from San Sebastian to Madrid)?

I'm finally getting around to booking my trains on RENFE but every time there's an error after I submit credit card details. Are there known issues with RENFE and UK cards?

Though to be fair, the quality of VIA long distance far outstrips Amtrak for comfort, food and service. Food on Amtrak in particular is dire.

Will be interesting to see where this leads. Massively expensive and it's mostly (but not totally) a tourist service, at least The Canadian. I guess this would also cover the Ocean and the trail to Churchill too though.

How do you know earlier and later trains wouldn’t have turned a profit unless you try it? As a trial, the second year of it should, as others have said, tried different service patterns to the first.

I used the service last year and while I really enjoyed a trip to Swanage I wouldn't have done otherwise (as a non driver) there were a number of obvious flaws, including the lack of period returns for what is a short break destination, poor revenue collection on the train, and quite long...

Brill, thanks so much. The Montpellier option looks good!