Bye bye Midland Mainline, bye free tea & coffee

[ara01jbb 10]

As you probably know by now Midland Mainline have lost the franchise to operate the intercity services. From 11 November 2007 they'll be run by Stagecoach, trading as East Midlands Trains. Some friends of friends have been poking around, and have found out more (shocking, soul destroying and heart wrenching) news...

 

...no more free tea and coffee in standard class.

 

The entire buffet car will, in fact, be removed from all HST trains, replaced by trolley service. The older HST trains will be concentrated between Nottingham and London. Sheffield-London will be exclusively operated by the newer Meridian trains (aka the Virgin Voyager mark 2).

 

Insider and trainspotter gossip here:

http://www.railwayscene.co.uk/showthread.php?thread=3052

 

and the official website of East Midlands Trains (and a mock-up of the rather, er...., interesting new train colours) here:

 

http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/

 

If you're a cheap-ass student like me who enjoys a free cuppa, be sure to enjoy them while they last.

 

*j*

[spyro2000 10]

Fantastic news.

[Dozy 11]

As you probably know by now Midland Mainline have lost the franchise to operate the intercity services. From 11 November 2007 they'll be run by Stagecoach, trading as East Midlands Trains. Some friends of friends have been poking around, and have found out more (shocking, soul destroying and heart wrenching) news...

 

...no more free tea and coffee in standard class.

 

The entire buffet car will, in fact, be removed from all HST trains, replaced by trolley service. The older HST trains will be concentrated between Nottingham and London. Sheffield-London will be exclusively operated by the newer Meridian trains (aka the Virgin Voyager mark 2).

 

Insider and trainspotter gossip here:

http://www.railwayscene.co.uk/showthread.php?thread=3052

 

and the official website of East Midlands Trains (and a mock-up of the rather, er...., interesting new train colours) here:

 

http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/

 

If you're a cheap-ass student like me who enjoys a free cuppa, be sure to enjoy them while they last.

 

*j*

 

Eeeek - with that colour scheme, they should be obliged to provide free aspirins to the passengers

[Mathom 10]

No more first class brekkies on the Master Cutler?

 

I'll miss Midland Mainline, they were always the most reliable of all the trains, and nice staff too!

[04jessops 10]

That's what's wrong with this government. OK, they have a fair franchise system, but wouldn't the country's train system be so much better if they held on to good operators who didn't raise prices to a ridiculous amount and whose trains mostly run on time?

[andco 10]

As I'm not a tea or coffee drinker that was a £1 increase in my fare so I'm not sorry to see it go. & Glad to hear we're getting the new meridian trains which is a definite improvement on the service and hope that we dont see a massive fare hike as a result.

[Mathom 10]

If the new trains will be like the Virgin ones does that mean they'll come with the same eau de urine from the bogs and the worse than useless luggage racks?

 

I will miss those £6 standard and £20 1st class fares!

[dosxuk 10]

As I'm not a tea or coffee drinker that was a £1 increase in my fare so I'm not sorry to see it go. & Glad to hear we're getting the new meridian trains which is a definite improvement on the service and hope that we dont see a massive fare hike as a result.

 

Say hello to a massive fare hike:

The Government will continue to limit annual rises of regulated fares in line with national policy, which is currently RPI+1%. As with all franchises, unregulated fares will be the responsibility of the operator. Stagecoach Midland Rail Limited have indicated they may wish to raise unregulated fares annually by an average of 3.4% above inflation.

 

http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=293825&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False

 

In good news though, hopefully the free tea & coffee will move to the Doncaster-London route, as National Express (who run MML) have been awarded that franchise.

[04jessops 10]

In good news though, hopefully the free tea & coffee will move to the Doncaster-London route, as National Express (who run MML) have been awarded that franchise.

 

Haven't they been told off for wanting to increase fares as well?

[banesmabes 10]

Why did they lose the franchise? I thought they were one of the most reliable train companies in the country?

 

Have Stagecoach announced any fare deals yet - like MM's Sheffield to London for £6 deal? I'm looking to get the train to London and back in the new year, but a standard return seems to be about £55.

[Berberis 10]

It was like stepping into the past when you got on a MML train a lot of the time. Their new roling stock never really arrived fully and 9 times out of 10 if I was using a MML train, it was one of the old trains. GNER where the same. Maybe that’s one of the deciding factors on awarding the new franchises. MML & GNER (I thought I heard GNER had lost its franchise too) have both lost their franchises because they failed to invest back in their trains.

[dosxuk 10]

The Sheffield to London route remained on the older (smoother & quieter) trains, while the shorter services (leicester / nottingham) almost entirely went over to two different fleets of new trains. I'd much rather a comfy 30 year old HST than a noisy new meridian.

 

MML lost out because the government redrew the lines for the franchises, lumping it with half of Central trains (also run by NX, not exactly as successfully). GNER lost because they couldn't afford to pay the government the £1.3bn they said they would. All it takes to get a franchise now, is to promise the government you'll give it lots of money. Customer services / new trains / better facilities / cheaper fares don't come into it.