Has anyone travelled 1st class with midland mainline before? I'm travelling down to london from sheffield for a world cup party and it only costs a few quid more to go 1st class and i was wondering if it was worth it.

Also, do they have plugs for laptops / phones, like virgin do?

They don't have the plugs on the HSTs (dark blue in the timetable), they do on the Meridians (purple on the timetable)

conversly, the First Class service provided on the HSTs (high speed trains) is much nicer, in my opinion, than on the Meridians.

Ultimately its up to you, generally First Class means a couple of complimentary pastries, a newspaper (the times), free orange juice, at seat tea/coffee service and a much more relaxed atmosphere - I always pay the slight bit extra to go first class now :).

An alternative would be to go via GNER / Doncaster on a mallard train (timetables on their website) - these have cheap standard fares to London and feature onboard wireless internet (£2.99 for 60 minutes) and power points.

I travelled by train to a client meeting in Leicester on one of Midland Mainlines new trains. The Meridian service. Surfice to say, when I sat down, I had to double check that I was not in first class as the seats, decor etc was amazing. Really really plush... and this comes from a BMW driver. Just make sure that you journey on one of the new trains which are scheduled in amoungst the older ex-BR Intercity 125 fleet (as these are pretty decrepid but slightly faster than the Meridian service, by comparison).

I travelled by train to a client meeting in Leicester on one of Midland Mainlines new trains. The Meridian service. Surfice to say, when I sat down, I had to double check that I was not in first class as the seats, decor etc was amazing. Really really plush... and this comes from a BMW driver. Just make sure that you journey on one of the new trains which are scheduled in amoungst the older ex-BR Intercity 125 fleet (as these are pretty decrepid but slightly faster than the Meridian service, by comparison).
I'd only half agree with that - they look 'newer and shinier' yes, but the actual comfort of the seats and, as you said, speed of the service outweighs the looks of the newer trains...

I travelled to london on my birthday about 3 years ago using first class, due to a good on line offer. The seats were big armchairs, the carriage was much quieter (due to much better sound insulation) than the rest of the train and we had a porter bringing free coffee, and free glass of wine on the way back at night. Free Newspaper both ways it was heaven.

There were only 3 seats across the carriage and the seats all had a large table. With an aisle seperating 2 facing seats and a group of four on the other side.

i went to London first class last year with my ex and it was great, it was pretty empty, had two big armchairs each to ourselves, it was quiet (but so quiet if you're phone rang or anything, you'd get dirty looks).

I don't see why the whole train isn't like that, it'd be so much more relaxing.

There was some deal on where it only cost £60 return for both of us too.

Book as early as you can and travel outside the peak hours if you can and you will get a bargain in First Class on MML from about £12 each way.

i go first class every time i goto london for me now it's the only way to go

the staff serving first class are great very friendly and extremely efficient you have no need to leave your seat (unless you need the toilet of course!) they bring you what you want. The other bonus is no screaming kids. no chavs screaming down their mobile phones or drinking cans of carling and no crowding!

Thanks for all the advice and information. I've gone ahead and booked a first class return ticket for 28 quid, which i thought was quite the bargain.

I have a portfolio to hand in on the following monday and was pretty certain i wouldn't go down to london as i would be working. But its englands first match and theres a really big party to celebrate this and i couldn't miss it. From what you have said, it sounds like I should be able to get on with my work quite easily in 1st class.

How do you find out if its a meridian train?

meridians are shown in purple print in the timetables (not sure if this is the same on the internet www.midlandmainline.com but worth a look.. just a note of caution if you are travelling on a sunday you don't get the at seat service or complimentaries brought round. Free tea and coffee is available from the buffet for all customers first or standard class

I was travelling from Sheffield to London one evening with a standard ticket, pre-booked. My seat was in a strangely empty carriage on a packed train Eventually noticed I was in the middle of a sea of pre-booked seats....all Derby to London. This raised my suspicions and a quick check in the paper revealed West Ham were playing County. I would soon be in the middle of a carriage full of returning Hammers fans. The prospect of being surrounded by whining cockernee accents proved just too much and within seconds I was hammering the door of first class down clutching my fiver for the upgrade. Much as described earlier. Plenty of room, free coffee and The Times....although i didn't get the pastry. Perhaps that's a more recent innovation.

The other thing about First is the entertainment provided by standard ticket holders chancing their arm by taking a seat...the dirty looks from business types...whispers of horror etc ....and the inevitable ejection by the guard.

The online timetable doesn't seem to tell you what type of train it is.

Does anyone have a timetable that shows what the 9:27 to london on a saturday morning is?

The other thing about First is the entertainment provided by standard ticket holders chancing their arm by taking a seat...the dirty looks from business types...whispers of horror etc ....and the inevitable ejection by the guard.
I love that! One thing I do hate though is occasionally parents take groups of several young children in First Class and have obviously booked them tickets as a treat. That's fine if they're well behaved, but the moaning, noisy, crying children I've had to sit next to in First Class whilst trying to work on my way down are extremely annoying, especially when the parents refuse to ask them to keep it down.

Download a PDF of the timetable here (this shows which services are Meridians and which are classic high speed trains)
http://www.midlandmainline.com/mainpage.aspx?id=263

Looks like the 09:27 is a classic high speed train, the nearest Meridian is the 08:56 or 11:27.

Note at seat service in 1st class only operates on weekdays, weekends it's a bar service only.

i go first class every time i goto london for me now it's the only way to go

The other bonus is no screaming kids. no chavs screaming down their mobile phones or drinking cans of carling and no crowding!

There probably will be now you’ve mentioned it!

I always travel in First Class (at a tenner, I'm not going to refuse :)) - a few months ago, I went via GNER for £10 (usually £27) cos of a network rail problem, and found it to be even quieter. Had to laugh when the ticket man came round and two business types were charged something like £150 each for their tickets, 15x what I had paid for exactly the same service.

Trialling Virgin from Warrington to Rugby in a few weeks as well... I always find it funny when I mention (to friends) I'm going first class and they act like I'm all posh until they realise I paid £10 for my 1st journey which costs them £50? in standard

"Trialling Virgin from Warrington to Rugby in a few weeks as well."

I adore Virgin, cheaper than flying but feels just as good!

Note at seat service in 1st class only operates on weekdays, weekends it's a bar service only.

Are you sure? I've had sandwhiches etc brought to my seat on friday evenings for definate and i'm half sure they have on a sunday was a very quiet train so may have been to the attendants descretion

Trialling Virgin from Warrington to Rugby in a few weeks as well... The track quality is nowhere near that of GNER's East Coast service, so you can expect a bumpier ride ;) And lets face it - GNER's service is the best on the network. I've never once met any of their crew guarding the coffee caraffe as though it were their life blood, unlike on some Virgin services I've travelled on :suspect:

And an anecdote about 1st class ejections...
It isn't immediately obvious to the infrequent traveller that the Virgin 1st class is 1st class, so there are frequent 'infringements', which it is easy to sympathise with - unless there's a dyed-blonde chavette and her cronies barging you out of the way during boarding, racing to get the best seat :roll:

Having not made a fuss, and let her 'beat' me to the choice of seats, and not even responded to the smug glances she was aiming in my direction as she settled backside in the ample accommodation, I was able to smile sympathetically when she was ejected from 'her' seat for not having a 1st class ticket :D

Revenge? ;)

The track quality is nowhere near that of GNER's East Coast service, so you can expect a bumpier ride ;) And lets face it - GNER's service is the best on the network. I've never once met any of their crew guarding the coffee caraffe as though it were their life blood, unlike on some Virgin services I've travelled on :suspect:

And an anecdote about 1st class ejections...
It isn't immediately obvious to the infrequent traveller that the Virgin 1st class is 1st class, so there are frequent 'infringements', which it is easy to sympathise with - unless there's a dyed-blonde chavette and her cronies barging you out of the way during boarding, racing to get the best seat :roll:

Having not made a fuss, and let her 'beat' me to the choice of seats, and not even responded to the smug glances she was aiming in my direction as she settled backside in the ample accommodation, I was able to smile sympathetically when she was ejected from 'her' seat for not having a 1st class ticket :D

Revenge? ;)


the pendos on the west coast are a far better ride than gner... oh how they glide through warrington bank quay and past my house day in day out. quite a sight.

worth it to escape the peasants

Are you sure? I've had sandwhiches etc brought to my seat on friday evenings for definate and i'm half sure they have on a sunday was a very quiet train so may have been to the attendants descretion

At seat service operates in 1st class on every train Monday to Friday.

worth it to escape the peasants

Ah but the problem is that if you make first class too cheap you tend to attract the peasants. When I worked in MML's Customer Relations Dept we'd regularly get businessmen phoning to moan about cheap first class ticket offers attacting the riff-raff and meaning that first class was no longer the exclusive preserve of the wealthy and well-behaved..

When I worked in MML's Customer Relations Dept we'd regularly get businessmen phoning to moan about cheap first class ticket offers attacting the riff-raff and meaning that first class was no longer the exclusive preserve of the wealthy and well-behaved..

I assume that this is the reason that they introduced the bizarre Premier First Class, which in turn is the reason why I always drive to London now.

Midland Mainline will have to have improved a lot to entice ME back onto it's slow, late, dirty, unfriendly trains complete with drunk vomiting passengers and staff that hide in the kitchen rather than removing them from First. :gag:

Funnily enough, I don't get that too often in the car.

Ah but the problem is that if you make first class too cheap you tend to attract the peasants. When I worked in MML's Customer Relations Dept we'd regularly get businessmen phoning to moan about cheap first class ticket offers attacting the riff-raff and meaning that first class was no longer the exclusive preserve of the wealthy and well-behaved..

Good point...Perhaps a background check before being allowed to buy a first class ticket..

I like that idea.

Good point...Perhaps a background check before being allowed to buy a first class ticket..

I like that idea.
I usually upgrade to weekend first at the weekend, last time I used it was £6 extra, sometimes the conducter says, Oh I'm not collecting today its too full in standard. A lot of people dont realise of course and end up standing or sitting in the aisle, they ought to be told!

Tony
MML has been voted the most punctual long distance service operator for the last consecutive 15 months (GNER and Virgin nowhere near) Last month MML broke punctuality records setting the highest recorded figures since figures began.

And they topped the survey of railway passengers customer satisifaction too.

Must be arriving pretty much on time (aside from occasional blips) and pleasing customers.

Well semperus to be fair it's longer than that since I last used it.

That said, customer rankings don't mean much if the baseline is so low. They may have apparently improved, but isn't "on time" now a 20 minute arrival window as opposed to on time?

On that occasion, I pre-booked 2 first class tickets on the Friday Master Cutler at the station booking office. Cost £360 (ish) :wow:

It arrived 15 minutes late. Because I'm not a mind reader I asked for a 1st class ticket which last time included a proper breakfast, metal cutlery, a properly reserved seat, a tablecloth and a paper. You know - like you expect in 1st. Nobody told me there was now a 1st Class Premier.

So, I ended up in 1st Class Cattle.

So after tipping somebody out of our seats that which didn't have a proper table (just a pull down airline style jobby) I eventually got coffee in a paper cup (which was horrible) and a slimy Danish pastry (which I don't eat) with plastic spork and paper napkin in a plastic wrapper instead of a proper breakfast! Heck, the MC used to be silver service!

Anyway, the train pulled in to London over 90 minutes late. So I got there hungry and very angry and didn't get any work done because I had no space on that useless airline style table.

St Pancras was in chaos. The Tube signs gave the wrong info so instead of heading towards Kensington I ended up God knows where in Zone 2. Result, 2 hours late for a meeting.

That meant that I broke my Golden Rule of Trains, and got on one back from London later than 4.30pm. Result - I was directed to the wrong train by the Guard, who only had a choice of 2 on the platform. How hard is could it be for him to correctly answer the tricky question "which one is the Master Cutler to Sheffield?"

Grrrr... it was riddled with drunks of all descriptions. The staff hid. There was no service unless you went to the buffet window. 1st was full of anyone and everyone, and the 'lady' at the end of the carriage vomited down herself in her sleep an hour before we got back in. She never woke up so I assume she ended up in the sidings, stinking of her partially digested lunch.

Is it any wonder that I vowed never to grace a train ever again?

the pendos on the west coast are a far better ride than gner... oh how they glide through warrington bank quay and past my house day in day out. quite a sight.
No they aren't :confused:

The East coast is a much straighter route, so you don't get slung round, and the whole point of a pendelino is to tilt round bends to enable the train to take them at higher speeds - more spilt coffee :roll:

Well semperus to be fair it's longer than that since I last used it.

That said, customer rankings don't mean much if the baseline is so low. They may have apparently improved, but isn't "on time" now a 20 minute arrival window as opposed to on time?On Time is now within 10 minutes on intercity services, I think. From personal experience, I haven't had a train late in my last 15 or so journeys (as far back as I can remember in the 'good' days). They had a management and culture change a few years ago, and the result is that the staff and the trains are looking better than ever. Fares have been reviewed and are (generally) cheaper - staff are usually at their best (although I did experience a 'bad' train, service was quite slow and unpolite a few weeks ago, but thats one out of quite a few journeys).

Midland Mainline also are the only train operator to achieve 100% punctuality (yes, within 10 minutes, but thats still better than BR days) on a single day, and have repeated this feat a few times since.On that occasion, I pre-booked 2 first class tickets on the Friday Master Cutler at the station booking office. Cost £360 (ish) :wow:

It arrived 15 minutes late. Because I'm not a mind reader I asked for a 1st class ticket which last time included a proper breakfast, metal cutlery, a properly reserved seat, a tablecloth and a paper. You know - like you expect in 1st. Nobody told me there was now a 1st Class Premier.

So, I ended up in 1st Class Cattle.

So after tipping somebody out of our seats that which didn't have a proper table (just a pull down airline style jobby) I eventually got coffee in a paper cup (which was horrible) and a slimy Danish pastry (which I don't eat) with plastic spork and paper napkin in a plastic wrapper instead of a proper breakfast! Heck, the MC used to be silver service!
I'm not quite sure how you managed to get airline style seating - there is none in first class, certainly on the (all of them now) refurbished trains, and I don't remember there being airline style on the old first class. Breakfast can be purchased by FC ticket holders for £15 (full english) - yes its expensive, but its an option that most people don't want, or need to pay for.
Anyway, the train pulled in to London over 90 minutes late. So I got there hungry and very angry and didn't get any work done because I had no space on that useless airline style table.

St Pancras was in chaos. The Tube signs gave the wrong info so instead of heading towards Kensington I ended up God knows where in Zone 2. Result, 2 hours late for a meeting. The punctuality issues have pretty much disappeared at both ends of the line, so I don't imagine you'd have similar experiences if you travelled tommorow say. St Pancras is a mess, but thats not down to MML its down to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project, and is a lot better these days than it used to be. The interim station is a big improvement upon using a building site as a station. Signage is also much more adequate these days.That meant that I broke my Golden Rule of Trains, and got on one back from London later than 4.30pm. Result - I was directed to the wrong train by the Guard, who only had a choice of 2 on the platform. How hard is could it be for him to correctly answer the tricky question "which one is the Master Cutler to Sheffield?"Whilst I can't excuse that member of staff, its likely they were retrained or sacked :) under the change program they had. Platform information at both ends is also a lot better, again.Grrrr... it was riddled with drunks of all descriptions. The staff hid. There was no service unless you went to the buffet window. 1st was full of anyone and everyone, and the 'lady' at the end of the carriage vomited down herself in her sleep an hour before we got back in. She never woke up so I assume she ended up in the sidings, stinking of her partially digested lunch.I know the phrase a leopard never changes its spots applies, but MML really have improved.

some of this may not be relevant, started typing it about 90 minutes ago, then the fire alarm went off and I got evacuated :P

Well, as I said it is a couple of years since now, but that experience was so bad I've just got used to using the car and combining meetings over a couple of days, and usually take my wife. The result is a lot less stress for me, no missed appointments, and an all round nice time. The worst that can happen is that we sit in a traffic jam, which is no great shakes.

It's people like me that MM should be finding ways of attracting back to the train, but I still need convincing. I've now found a happy routine that works really well for me.

Maybe I'll give them a try one day but I'm struggling to see why I should change my newly established and well liked routine.

well with one way fares starting from £6 (£3.75 if you use a rail card) its not really worth taking the car.

My work life doesn't really allow me to plan so far in advance that I can take advantage of the cheap deals. I rarely know more than a day or three if I'm nipping down town. Trains just don't seem to work for me. I can just jump in the car and book a hotel anytime though.

My wife works for MM as a member of the 'on - train' crew. With the exception of a delay two weeks ago at about 1am (someone tried to jump in front of an earlier train), I can't remember the last time there was a dely - and her lack of overtime payments is testament to this! I really think you should try the train again, Tony, as things have greatly improved in the last few years. I use the train quite often on trips to London and the staff don't know me - but i am amazed by the service and attention that is given, not only in 1st but also in standard. I think MM have taken to heart the criticism's levelled at them a few years ago and made the changes. My wife thoroughly enjoys her job and, with others, prides herself on the customer care that is given. Yes, you will always find an example of poor service but that is true of any industry. Equally, you will always find an obnoxious customer - and they are usually in 1st Class.