Bristol - York in Jan/Feb 2012

[mozzer]

hi all,

I am looking to go to york in jan or feb 2012. Leaving on a sunday & coming back on the following tuesday.

Would really want to avoid the cross country services as never seem to read good reviews on the trains.

Any other suggestions?

MTIA.

gary

 

[yorkie]

You could get an FGW Advance to Newport, then you may be able to get a through Advance on ATW & TPE via Hereford & Manchester, but you may need to 'split' at Manchester.

I find it cheaper to go via London but only if the London <> York section is booked as soon as tickets go on sale to get the cheapest fares.

 

[ValleyLines142]

It is cheaper to go via London but adds an extra 1 - 2 hours. XC aren't that bad. I had a good journey on the 1840 Newcastle to Bristol Parkway service.

 

[Greenback]

It is cheaper to go via London but adds an extra 1 - 2 hours. XC aren't that bad. I had a good journey on the 1840 Newcastle to Bristol Parkway service.

It is possible to experience a pleasant journey on XC if avoiding peak times, which seems to include most of the day and almost all of the weekend. It is also possible to experienc e ahorrible joureny on ATW, FGW, EC or even TPE, depending on the time of the journey and the traveller's likes and dislikes!

In this instance, if I were the OP, I would take a look at the fares via London and via Newport, and make a decision which might well include travelling on two of the three routes to see what they were like. Maybe XC will not be as bad as some of the reports!

 

[ValleyLines142]

It is possible to experience a pleasant journey on XC if avoiding peak times, which seems to include most of the day and almost all of the weekend. It is also possible to experienc e ahorrible joureny on ATW, FGW, EC or even TPE, depending on the time of the journey and the traveller's likes and dislikes!

In this instance, if I were the OP, I would take a look at the fares via London and via Newport, and make a decision which might well include travelling on two of the three routes to see what they were like. Maybe XC will not be as bad as some of the reports!

But what about hitting London at peak times? Surely that isn't great?!

 

[yorkie]

But what about hitting London at peak times? Surely that isn't great?!

Depends. What's a peak time anyway? The 1819 ex-KGX has cheap tickets if you book far in advance, Off Peak return portions are valid on it, but Off Peak outward and Super Off Peak are not, and it's nowhere near as busy as the 1900 which is valid on all tickets, Off Peak and Super Off Peak.

 

[ValleyLines142]

I suppose London is always peak time!

 

[YorkshireBear]

XC get a lot more stick than they deserve, if you book and get a seat XC is fine. Travel early on sunday and avoid peak times tuesday and you will have a pleasent journey with XC i have from leeds to plymouth newcastle to plymouth and bristol sheffield on many many occasions

 

[firespire]

If you did decide on the longer journey via London and want Advance tickets, this offer might be of use, depending on availability-
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=898718&postcount=213

 

[mozzer]

Many thanks for all the info, much appreciated. Quite fancy the routing via london, so will investigate prices etc.

Cheers.

 

[crosscity]

The reason for Cross Country trains poor reputation is their short and cramped Voyager trains which are designed to cram in as many people as possible. There is serious overcrowding at times. To provide more seats they introduced re-furbished HSTs (125s) and these are longer and more spacious than the Voyagers and very pleasant to travel in.

Up until 10/12 there were three trains each way from Bristol Temple Meads to York each way each day operated by 125s. According to another forum, this is reduced to two each way in the new timetable. It would be nice if someone could corroborate this or even give the actual train times.

 

[yorkie]

It would be nice if someone could corroborate this or even give the actual train times.

Mondays-Fridays
0600 [stn]LDS[/stn]-[stn]PLY[/stn]
1223 [stn]PLY[/stn]-[stn]GLC[/stn]

0608 [stn]EDB[/stn]-[stn]PLY[/stn]
1523 [stn]PLY[/stn]-[stn]LDS[/stn]

Not sure about weekends but someone told me that the 1703 & 1803 off [stn]BHM[/stn] were HSTs on a normal Sunday timetable, so that'd be around 1530/1630ish from Bristol.

 

[Deerfold]

The reason for Cross Country trains poor reputation is their short and cramped Voyager trains which are designed to cram in as many people as possible. There is serious overcrowding at times. To provide more seats they introduced re-furbished HSTs (125s) and these are longer and more spacious than the Voyagers and very pleasant to travel in.

They are also very short on luggage space.

A suitcase which easily fits in the above seat space on EC doesn't stand a chance on XC. Unfortunately there's also less space for luggage at carriage ends. So it's common to find large cases on the tables and in the gangways.

 

[D6975]

Pre privatisation I wouldn't even have considered going via London to the North East, nowadays it's the other way around, I wouldn't consider via Brum.
Bristol-Padd is £10 single off peak advance and KX-York is £12-£15.