February 3rd, 2009
With the weather having turned very cold and snow being forecast I decided to get the train from York to Reading today, instead of driving, as has been the norm for the last two weeks. Paul dropped me off at York station just after 8am and with my train due at 8.27am I was pleased to see it being reported on the information boards, as on time. I had therefore had a little time to sit down in the Costa Coffee bar for a medium Americano. The lady serving, well girl, was on her own and a little underwhelming with her friendly personality and broad smile.
Anyway as indicated, the Cross Country train from Newcastle to Reading via York, Doncaster, Sheffield, Birmingham New Street, Leamington Spa, Banbury and Oxford was on time. I took my seat in carriage A. The carriage was clean and quite warm but the seats were a little more suited for short commuter rides than long distance inter city journeys. There was also not a great deal of luggage space and had the carriage being full this would have been a problem. As it was for most of the journey I had the carriage more or less to myself.
There was a power point for my laptop and each seat had either its own table or a shared table. Being the miserable sod I am, I always try and get a seat on my own. There is no free wireless access though and if I didn’t have my own mobile wireless network card, this would have been a big problem. As we pulled out of York I immediately noticed that this wasn’t going to be one of the quieter train rides I had. I am not saying it was noisy, but the rumbling that was immediately evident would no doubt start to annoy me after about an hour of my four hour journey that lay ahead.
The train offers up light snacks to keep you going and where I was sitting, complimentary drinks and Bacon Butty’s were a very welcome treat. The service from the young lady was attentive and regular. With a genuine warm smile on her face as she asked if you needed any more refreshments, I compared her with the cold hard faced witch that I so often came across on the National Express East Coast mainline train service.
The toilets were those that come with an electric door, which I hate. You never quite trust these things and I have seen a number of people suitably embarrassed because of the inadvertent opening that continues to be a high risk. As for their cleanliness, it left a little to be desired and I will even more fervently follow the rule of no number twos in a public loo!
A good thing about this journey is that it is certainly more scenic than the usual East Coast main line which I know so well. This line trundles through many a town and village offering the bored commuter, who has finished doing any preparation for work and exhausted the morning paper, a chance to see other parts of old blighty. With much of the country being covered in snow today, this is quite a treat. The only slight problem is a pretty poor wireless network signal as you travel across the countryside.
There was of course a momentary panic as we pulled out of Birmingham New Street train station. The journey up to that point had me facing forwards in the direction of travel. For a brief moment, I panicked that I was on the wrong train as upon leaving Birmingham New Street, we suddenly started going backwards and continued to do so for the rest of the journey. I could have just moved seats, but this one by now had taken the shape of my cheeks and was nicely warmed through!
Anyway we are now nearing the end of this journey and while it has been a long one, it has in the main being comfortable, relaxing and on time.
Pryordurkin rating 3 stars.
Posted in Transport