I wouldnt say they are bad (well at least more recently), just the scotland-london routes they operate is just prone to major issues. Which majority of the time its the scotland section that is the issue.
Exactly, they’ve refurbished the interiors from the slightly outdated Virgin interiors, and are slowly building up their reliability, like u said over the past couple of years.
Hard to argue with £30 for that level of service, seems quite reasonable. If you're going to any of the destinations on that route looks like a good deal.
Just started watching this channel and I am loving it! I am a first year student in the UK from the US and I love learning about the trains and your channel popped up and it is really cool. Watched your Eurostar video as it was a good shout to see it before I take it in June
I would love to try this, however sadly the cost of a return to Glasgow from Inverness makes it completely unviable, it’s cheaper to fly to London from Inverness than it is to go to Glasgow with ScotRail. Any bargain tickets are rare as gold dust
I live in Australia and I can go pretty much anywhere in the state for the $11 (~£5.50), or I can travel to the neighboring states capital cities (IN FIRST CLASS) for under £50. We do have problems with out trains here but at least the cost is somewhat reasonable.
I just got to that part of the video. Looks like an empty stock move I suspect to the depot from Euston, cant seem them going empty to watford juction as the platforms arent long enough to have both units and have room for them to seperate etc.
I think the refurbished seats are worse, the padding is very hard plus the high seat backs mean you do feel catastrophic in there. The toilet looks very worn out. I use this line often enough but the views are truly amazing.
I have ridden avanti a few times in the past year, I wouldnt say they are the worst train company, however they arent the most perfect company either, as they still got a bit to improve on, such as disruption and terminating at stations like Preston/carisle etc. However they have improved a lot compared to the driver/staff shortage that resulted in a reduced timetable around covid time. The only upside I find with avanti is that all of my journeys with avanti have always been delayed (due to the route they run). While I know delays will be a bit of an inconvenience to some people, my trips to glasgow arent time-restricted so I dont mind the delays as I know I get at least 50% of my ticket back, which I won't grumble about. My last one I paid £75, got £37.50 back and because at the time my bank offered cashback on the ticket purchase so I got an extra £7.50 as well so by being 30 mins late my first class ticket was only £30 overall which you can't grumble. And the one before I was 60 late so my £100 rfirst class ticket went to £0 with delay repay and then the bank giving £10 cashback so my ticket became MINUS £10. Something to point out with seatfrog, is its hit and miss with first class upgrades as you aren't always guaranteed an 1st class upgrade (unless you pay the £75 no auction option), and with the avanti superfares they give you the exact train you board 24 hours in advance, and I have seen a few seatfrog auctions close the auction the day before (or they sell out the no auction option and remove that service from sale). If someone is lucky and gets the seatfrog option and the superfare it is a good bargain (£30+£75) as the cheapest advance fare in the offpeak is £75 euston to glasgow, and thats usually booking as soon as the advance fares are available.
Whats so bad about it? My country hasn't got any major railways (never been on a train) so maybe theres something I'm missing? Throughout the whole video I didn't see anything that looked bad, except for the mention that there could be delays. The actual travel experience didn't look bad at all to me.
I enjoyed the video. I think the refurbished Pendolinos look much better but find the seats as hard as the much maligned seats on the Azumas over on the ECML. I really don’t know who decides the travelling public would prefer to have a numb bum at the end of a five hour journey.
Mad to think if you start in Birmingham it takes almost as long to get to Glasgow with Avanti, 4 hours as it does from London. Also I've clocked those trains going 140MPH
I am in disagreement that Avanti are the worst. Every time I've travelled with them from Euston to Birmingham, it seems ok. I always catch the fast service, which is 1 hour and 15 minutes. And coach A is comfortable, too.
I wish i knew about the superfare when booking tickets from the netherlands to holyhead. The train was pretty good, but man, the eurostar ticket to london was cheaper than the ticket from london to holyhead (booked over a month in advance). But i tought high prices was the standard for the uk, what makes avanti the worst? Their trains are not bad. And they are running on the single most overburdened railway line there is....
I wondered how they could get away with a £30 (or less) train ticket. Then I saw them charging £4 for a sandwich and £3.30 for _Malteasers._ I think I'll bring a pack lunch ta, Avanti.
So me and my mate did a superfare trip to Glasgow in November and we only ended up paying £15 after delay repay (1st journey 55L and second journey cancelled)
Why can't train operators have a full hot food buffet car and do away with ordering via an app for those like me who don't own a smartphone or would not normally have my Laptop with me if a leisure trip. I do need some hot food on a long Journey as station fast food is rubbish food from rubbish fast food outlets. Also means one has to arrive at station at least 30 minutes before departure of one's train to allow time to buy and consume it, longer if station busy. Personal contact is important in this ever decreasing human contact world. Yes we did all moan about curly sandwiches at station buffets in British Railways/BR days and when run by BTH (British Transport Hotels, a division of British Railways) but that was an urban myth, the BTH run buffet cars and Stewards/Stewardesses were excellent, friendly and one could get a Guinness or a G&T with a real glass with one's egg on toast, fried, poached or scrambled, or toasted bacon sandwich on a china plate. Tea and coffee in a real cup and saucer. Service seems to be a naughty word nowadays. Full dining cars on many trains open to all but first class seated and served first. Late arrival or departure of trains not always the operators fault as timetabling is a nightmare on busy lines with multiple operators and one train running late or having a problem and delays escalate for following services.
I used to travel weekly on Virgin and then Avanti. Virgin were significantly better (even though it was the same staff at first). After Covid, Avanti fell apart and they have not really recovered. Fortunately, I no longer have to use Avanti that often. When I do, I have to put so much padding into my timetable to accommodate the frequent delays. Seast: Anyone sitting in those concrete seats for 4 hours deserves a medal. The LNER IC225 and Lumo services are the only decent standard seats these days with the LNER 225 far superior to every other offering these days.
An on time arrival with Avanti? Had to check this wasn't an April Fools Joke! In all seriousness, Avanti may be nowhere near as good as Virgin were back in the day but the new refurbed Pendolinos and brand new Evero's (yet to travel on one myself) mean that the comfort of travel is pretty decent (if you can actually get a seat!)
I have to disagree that Avanti is the worst in the UK. I've always found them excellent when I've travelled with them. Maybe its just luck on my part. I'm a disabled traveller and find Avanti staff up there with the likes of GWR and LNER who are also amazing with disabled travellers. I love the refurbishment on Avanti but not a fan of the Evero trains. Cross Country is by far the lowest of the low. I'm sad you've had bad experiences with Avanti.
How does flying compared with the train, can you fly from the city airport or do you have to use Stanstead or Heathrow? Is the cost similar with advanced booking. I'd personally prefer a short flight even if I had to wait at the airport. Modern trains are uncomfortable after an hour or so, due to the thin padding, European ICE trains being the worst.
I had a Standard Premium ticket from Euston to Edinburgh. I was going to get Lumo back to Kings Cross. The train out of nowhere for unknown causes got cancelled at Preston, (they said points failure but it was fixed so wasn't that). I think it was train crew for mine, here's why. There was a cancelled Euston train going South, which I think was where the train crew was mean't to swap to my train, and my crew took the Euston train. Instead they switched the Guard from mine onto the Glasgow train behind and the driver from the down train did turn up so it went empty stock to Edinburgh! I ended up going to Manchester, (I ain't going on a 5 car TPE train to Edinburgh, as the Glasgow train infront was cancelled ahead of me too!), where I got there on a Northern train, then took XC home to Bournemouth, (which had to waste on First Class because I had a seat but the reservation system was broken and fill the lines...). Someone actually had to stand from Manchester to Southampton!
Is Avanti really the worst? I enjoyed my time on a Pendo even if it was brief. Mind, loads of people hate the TOC they use regularly so it probably speaks for a grander sense of dissatisfaction
@ they will come to the end of their operational life in the next 20 years and the. We will have a choice, to keep a new title train or revert to not tilt and I have my concerns the government will opt for the latter
@@damcoentertainment3956 They're quite capable of that speed. Level crossing are along most of the routes and can't go more than 160km hr (77 mph) through them and the passenger trains also run with slower freight which gets priority.
Warning! do not ever travel with avanti west coast in the future be prepared for bare delays crew & driver shortages causing severe cancellations no excuses. Travel with award winning LNER.
The border on the WCML is the River Sark that the train passes over and you can see in the video. It’s more of a stream than a river as can be seen. Some folk assume the border is a little to the south at Metal Bridge where the line crosses the much wider River Esk.
Without really wanting to disrespect or trivislise your point of view - is it really Britain's worst train company? Or does the fact that Virgin Trains, who were widely regarded as the best perhaps highlight the fact that like most other rail companies Avanti simply don't care. I have certainly heard that a lot of people, both those who worked in West Coast mainline stations and trains say that Virgin Trains are definitely missed.
Any time ticket is well over Hundred pound can't see it being 30 pond whish it whos that are not bad as tpe and northern with miserable rude staff Liverpool Manchester 12 pond a day gust for day trip that's with any time ticket the ticketing system is too complicated you only get deal if you're student or in the know if have learning disabilities is gust bawhildering this componeys don't care about pasingers is all about how many tricks that can pull to get money out of you and you have to pay a primum gust for counfert
Avanti are just comically bad at this point. It's a shame because they have probably the best intercity trains in the UK
I wouldnt say they are bad (well at least more recently), just the scotland-london routes they operate is just prone to major issues. Which majority of the time its the scotland section that is the issue.
What is so bad about Avanti except the reliability? Which has gotten significantly better in the last two years.
Anything NOT a Hitachi is better. Pre-Mark 1 coaches would be more comfortable than the Class 801/802/803s.
Exactly, they’ve refurbished the interiors from the slightly outdated Virgin interiors, and are slowly building up their reliability, like u said over the past couple of years.
Hard to argue with £30 for that level of service, seems quite reasonable. If you're going to any of the destinations on that route looks like a good deal.
Just started watching this channel and I am loving it! I am a first year student in the UK from the US and I love learning about the trains and your channel popped up and it is really cool. Watched your Eurostar video as it was a good shout to see it before I take it in June
BTW what is the app that you use for the Speedometer when you do that? Would love to have it for my trips
I would love to try this, however sadly the cost of a return to Glasgow from Inverness makes it completely unviable, it’s cheaper to fly to London from Inverness than it is to go to Glasgow with ScotRail. Any bargain tickets are rare as gold dust
Avanti is such a good train company all the staff are so friendly and there trains are really nice
another amazing top quality video! Keep up the good work ♥
Glad I came across your presentation as I did not know of the superfare web site.
I live in Australia and I can go pretty much anywhere in the state for the $11 (~£5.50), or I can travel to the neighboring states capital cities (IN FIRST CLASS) for under £50. We do have problems with out trains here but at least the cost is somewhat reasonable.
05:22 why is no one talking about the double class 378?
lol
I just got to that part of the video. Looks like an empty stock move I suspect to the depot from Euston, cant seem them going empty to watford juction as the platforms arent long enough to have both units and have room for them to seperate etc.
And also 745103 next to the og 321 siblings
I think the refurbished seats are worse, the padding is very hard plus the high seat backs mean you do feel catastrophic in there. The toilet looks very worn out. I use this line often enough but the views are truly amazing.
I didn’t actually know about this. As someone who goes and comes back to Manchester from London this is very nice information! Thank you!
I have ridden avanti a few times in the past year, I wouldnt say they are the worst train company, however they arent the most perfect company either, as they still got a bit to improve on, such as disruption and terminating at stations like Preston/carisle etc. However they have improved a lot compared to the driver/staff shortage that resulted in a reduced timetable around covid time.
The only upside I find with avanti is that all of my journeys with avanti have always been delayed (due to the route they run). While I know delays will be a bit of an inconvenience to some people, my trips to glasgow arent time-restricted so I dont mind the delays as I know I get at least 50% of my ticket back, which I won't grumble about. My last one I paid £75, got £37.50 back and because at the time my bank offered cashback on the ticket purchase so I got an extra £7.50 as well so by being 30 mins late my first class ticket was only £30 overall which you can't grumble.
And the one before I was 60 late so my £100 rfirst class ticket went to £0 with delay repay and then the bank giving £10 cashback so my ticket became MINUS £10.
Something to point out with seatfrog, is its hit and miss with first class upgrades as you aren't always guaranteed an 1st class upgrade (unless you pay the £75 no auction option), and with the avanti superfares they give you the exact train you board 24 hours in advance, and I have seen a few seatfrog auctions close the auction the day before (or they sell out the no auction option and remove that service from sale). If someone is lucky and gets the seatfrog option and the superfare it is a good bargain (£30+£75) as the cheapest advance fare in the offpeak is £75 euston to glasgow, and thats usually booking as soon as the advance fares are available.
Every single avanti service I’ve been on is late
avanti is so reliable for me. i've been on avanti services 0 times and it's never been delayed or cancelled
I haven't used the Super fare before but I have rode Avanti west coast on the full Glasgow to London and found it to be speedy and pleasant
Whats so bad about it? My country hasn't got any major railways (never been on a train) so maybe theres something I'm missing? Throughout the whole video I didn't see anything that looked bad, except for the mention that there could be delays. The actual travel experience didn't look bad at all to me.
The WCML is a very busy line with a lot of junctions. Give Avanti a bit of slack!
Great videos, thanks!
Nice video. Actually booked an advance first single from Glasgow to London for £90 in the summer. The lounge in GLC is crap and not a patch on Euston.
They have just opened a new Avanti first class lounge at Glasgow. I don’t know if it is an improvement or not but I’d hope it is.
I enjoyed the video. I think the refurbished Pendolinos look much better but find the seats as hard as the much maligned seats on the Azumas over on the ECML. I really don’t know who decides the travelling public would prefer to have a numb bum at the end of a five hour journey.
Thank you for sharing.
Quality matey 👌🏾
12:20 most impressive thing that happens in preston is when a tpe actually shows up
As someone who has had connections via carlisle sometimes using TPE, that’s relatable 😭
Excellent video
Mad to think if you start in Birmingham it takes almost as long to get to Glasgow with Avanti, 4 hours as it does from London. Also I've clocked those trains going 140MPH
I am in disagreement that Avanti are the worst. Every time I've travelled with them from Euston to Birmingham, it seems ok. I always catch the fast service, which is 1 hour and 15 minutes. And coach A is comfortable, too.
I wish i knew about the superfare when booking tickets from the netherlands to holyhead. The train was pretty good, but man, the eurostar ticket to london was cheaper than the ticket from london to holyhead (booked over a month in advance). But i tought high prices was the standard for the uk, what makes avanti the worst? Their trains are not bad. And they are running on the single most overburdened railway line there is....
I wondered how they could get away with a £30 (or less) train ticket.
Then I saw them charging £4 for a sandwich and £3.30 for _Malteasers._
I think I'll bring a pack lunch ta, Avanti.
So me and my mate did a superfare trip to Glasgow in November and we only ended up paying £15 after delay repay (1st journey 55L and second journey cancelled)
Why can't train operators have a full hot food buffet car and do away with ordering via an app for those like me who don't own a smartphone or would not normally have my Laptop with me if a leisure trip. I do need some hot food on a long Journey as station fast food is rubbish food from rubbish fast food outlets. Also means one has to arrive at station at least 30 minutes before departure of one's train to allow time to buy and consume it, longer if station busy. Personal contact is important in this ever decreasing human contact world. Yes we did all moan about curly sandwiches at station buffets in British Railways/BR days and when run by BTH (British Transport Hotels, a division of British Railways) but that was an urban myth, the BTH run buffet cars and Stewards/Stewardesses were excellent, friendly and one could get a Guinness or a G&T with a real glass with one's egg on toast, fried, poached or scrambled, or toasted bacon sandwich on a china plate. Tea and coffee in a real cup and saucer. Service seems to be a naughty word nowadays. Full dining cars on many trains open to all but first class seated and served first.
Late arrival or departure of trains not always the operators fault as timetabling is a nightmare on busy lines with multiple operators and one train running late or having a problem and delays escalate for following services.
Nice one 🎉
I used to travel weekly on Virgin and then Avanti. Virgin were significantly better (even though it was the same staff at first). After Covid, Avanti fell apart and they have not really recovered.
Fortunately, I no longer have to use Avanti that often. When I do, I have to put so much padding into my timetable to accommodate the frequent delays.
Seast: Anyone sitting in those concrete seats for 4 hours deserves a medal. The LNER IC225 and Lumo services are the only decent standard seats these days with the LNER 225 far superior to every other offering these days.
An on time arrival with Avanti? Had to check this wasn't an April Fools Joke! In all seriousness, Avanti may be nowhere near as good as Virgin were back in the day but the new refurbed Pendolinos and brand new Evero's (yet to travel on one myself) mean that the comfort of travel is pretty decent (if you can actually get a seat!)
Great video, I like Avanti though, I find Crosscountry the worse constantly running 4 car trains on 5hr routes!
I've not used cross-country in a while but their prices seemed extortionate compared to
Other operators
Ngl the only part i liked abt avanti is the pendolino not the service i was going
I have to disagree that Avanti is the worst in the UK. I've always found them excellent when I've travelled with them. Maybe its just luck on my part. I'm a disabled traveller and find Avanti staff up there with the likes of GWR and LNER who are also amazing with disabled travellers. I love the refurbishment on Avanti but not a fan of the Evero trains. Cross Country is by far the lowest of the low. I'm sad you've had bad experiences with Avanti.
How does flying compared with the train, can you fly from the city airport or do you have to use Stanstead or Heathrow? Is the cost similar with advanced booking. I'd personally prefer a short flight even if I had to wait at the airport. Modern trains are uncomfortable after an hour or so, due to the thin padding, European ICE trains being the worst.
I had a Standard Premium ticket from Euston to Edinburgh. I was going to get Lumo back to Kings Cross. The train out of nowhere for unknown causes got cancelled at Preston, (they said points failure but it was fixed so wasn't that). I think it was train crew for mine, here's why. There was a cancelled Euston train going South, which I think was where the train crew was mean't to swap to my train, and my crew took the Euston train. Instead they switched the Guard from mine onto the Glasgow train behind and the driver from the down train did turn up so it went empty stock to Edinburgh! I ended up going to Manchester, (I ain't going on a 5 car TPE train to Edinburgh, as the Glasgow train infront was cancelled ahead of me too!), where I got there on a Northern train, then took XC home to Bournemouth, (which had to waste on First Class because I had a seat but the reservation system was broken and fill the lines...). Someone actually had to stand from Manchester to Southampton!
Operating the class 390 and being the worst is a let down for the trains themselves
Is Avanti really the worst? I enjoyed my time on a Pendo even if it was brief.
Mind, loads of people hate the TOC they use regularly so it probably speaks for a grander sense of dissatisfaction
There is border marker but it’s on the other side of the line.
If they ever replace the pendolinos with everos, it will be a disgrace…
They ain’t gonna replace them they’re like the high mile of the company
@ they will come to the end of their operational life in the next 20 years and the. We will have a choice, to keep a new title train or revert to not tilt and I have my concerns the government will opt for the latter
I thought TPE was the worst?
Its suprising how they are crap when theyre operated by the government
You got robbed on the fare. If you split the journey at Crewe, Preston and Carlisle it would only be £8.95 with a rail card
On 30th June 2024, I am riding Class 390138 *City of London* from Glasgow to London with my family in vacation
Cross country is a worse operator than Avanti who are only noticed because they operate out of London unlike cross country.
"Britain's Worst Train Company"
Second worst, the worst clearly goes to Transport for Fails!
5:25 Why is a 745/1 at Wembley sidings 🤣
I tried it got dumped out at Preston as no train crew to go further and had to go back home as no trains for hours afterwards.
Is Glasgow Central a though station?
Partially. It is mainly a terminus but there is a low level commuter line with through trains running beneath the mainline platforms.
@ Caledonian sleeper has to back in or out out of Glasgow Central?
worst train company? someones never used or relied on northern
How much did it cost you to return to London?
The fastest intercity trains in Canada are limited to 77.6 mph so ... lucky you! :)
That’s tuff
I thought they went 100 mph?
@@damcoentertainment3956 They're quite capable of that speed. Level crossing are along most of the routes and can't go more than 160km hr (77 mph) through them and the passenger trains also run with slower freight which gets priority.
Where is Virgin Trains when you need them!!!!!!
They are coming back in the next few years
@harrisonsnazel7482 by then, Avanti would have sunken into the Northern Sea
@spottymaxy1628 well also every operater would be nationalised and then become British rail
London northwestern is worst
looks ok to me . Maybe the network fails them
The worst operator? At least on Avanti you can get a seat....
*Looks at XC*
Warning! do not ever travel with avanti west coast in the future be prepared for bare delays crew & driver shortages causing severe cancellations no excuses. Travel with award winning LNER.
Who would pay more.
Avanti arent the uks worst train company
According to Google Maps, the England/Scotland border is over a river, but a little bigger than what you showed in the video.
The border on the WCML is the River Sark that the train passes over and you can see in the video. It’s more of a stream than a river as can be seen. Some folk assume the border is a little to the south at Metal Bridge where the line crosses the much wider River Esk.
Without really wanting to disrespect or trivislise your point of view - is it really Britain's worst train company?
Or does the fact that Virgin Trains, who were widely regarded as the best perhaps highlight the fact that like most other rail companies Avanti simply don't care.
I have certainly heard that a lot of people, both those who worked in West Coast mainline stations and trains say that Virgin Trains are definitely missed.
Any time ticket is well over Hundred pound can't see it being 30 pond whish it whos that are not bad as tpe and northern with miserable rude staff Liverpool Manchester 12 pond a day gust for day trip that's with any time ticket the ticketing system is too complicated you only get deal if you're student or in the know if have learning disabilities is gust bawhildering this componeys don't care about pasingers is all about how many tricks that can pull to get money out of you and you have to pay a primum gust for counfert
X countrie are the worst in the UK
WORST VIDEO
Why
@Rotterdamseovspotter He Said Avanti West Coast Is The Worst TOC In UK
@ ok