The Cardiff to Holyhead 'Gerald' Dining Train
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- There's a Premier Service train running between Cardiff and Holyhead at breakfast and dinnertime. We were invited to go ride the evening service, and experience one of the few dining trains that run in Britain.
Named '“Y Gerallt Gymro" (Gerald of Wales) the namesake was a 12th Century clergyman and historian who roamed far and wide - this service does just that.
This was filmed in September 2018 when the franchise was still Arriva Trains Wales. A few weeks later, it changed to Transport for Wales Rail Services operated by KeolisAmey Wales Cymru. The Dining 'Gerald' Train still run and hasn't changed.
It's officially known as 'The Premier Service' : en.wikipedia.o...
Guardian Article : www.theguardia...
TrainLine (Tim Dunn) Blog : www.thetrainli...
Thanks hugely to ArrivaTW (Now Transport for Wales) for having us along!
9:10 We would like to apologise for this train being five minutes late. This was due to a delay at Hereford while someone enjoyed slamming the doors. (Evidence provided at 6:02).
Don't like the music in this one Geoff - I LOVE IT !!!
(¿¿¿ʇuǝɯɯoɔ ,,ǝuo sᴉɥʇ uᴉ ʇuǝɹǝɟɟᴉp sʞool ᴉʞɔᴉΛ,, ǝɥʇ s,ǝɹǝɥM)
Yes, even the remaining HST's are being fitted with automatic doors now.
The real star of the video here is Gary, who was an absolute mega-star and brilliantly helpful and fun guard, thank you!
Most Gary's are nice and helpful people
And really cute
I noticed he got off with a polystyrene container. It'd be great if the on-board chefs prepare staff a meal to take home with them - that's lovely!
I have met Gary a few time he is a fantastic train gaurd also Geoff the Arriva 158s was refurbish a few years ago
All The Stations you need to the heart of wales line to Shrewsbury
A) there should be a "love" button, instead of "like" for this video, and B) I just had lunch, and now I'm hungry again!
Wow...this was a really great video Geoff and Vicky...!!!
I didn't realise we still have trains like this, which offer fantastic customer service, amazing locally sourced food and top staff like Gary!
We have a lot to learn from the Welsh...!!! 😁🔝👍
what did i say about emojis anton
@@MikeHunt420 enlighten me...! 🤔
Oh Mr Anton :D u watch this channel too? NIIICE :), I'm watching with a nice fruit cake and hot coffee, it's great and relaxing :D
Sadly I think the buy out by the nationalised TfW has killed it. Though I will enjoy the new teens price or free railcard, like my Welsh 16-23 bus card.
@@emjenkins464 in what way has it been killed...? Also, TfW contract out to a private company (KeolisAmey)
The phrase "How was your sausage" makes me snigger more than it should"
I travelled on this service last week from Newport to Shrewsbury, and have to say it was really good value for money (£15 upgrade from Newport to Shrewsbury normally - £9.90 with my railcard) - especially with the included 3 course meal. Food was really good and the service was very quick also as stated in the video. I’d recommend it to anyone who happens to travel on that route.
Did you get a chance to use the Wrexham and Shropshire before, in the opinion of many, the big boys saw it off, that was quality that was just too good!!!!
I did not sadly
@@folksinger2100 - I did! I use a photograph of my good self enjoying lunch on the train from Telford to London for my Facebook page!
It's great to see some light shined on the North Wales Coast, TFW have redone this line by this point and I'm always seeing the train go through Bangor, not only is it lovely to ride on but it's lovely to look at too
I wasn't expecting Deutsche Bahn train to roll up.
SMIFFY Arriva are owned by DB
In my opinion I think DB was one of the companies that knifed Wrexham and Shropshire.
John John More likely to be Virgin offering a faster and more competitive service
@@agent_605 Virgin cut the price of the services either side of Wrexham and Shropshire's. So low in fact that it was clearly designed to kill it off. DB washed their hands of it in an obscenely short time afterwards; but if open access train companies are to be allowed then revenue abstraction protection should work both ways. The Open Access not allowed to cherry pick times and routes; but the franchise operator not allowed to run loss making trains in competition.
@@agent_605 - no they did not duplicate the route but I do recall that Wrexham and Shropshire trains on route to London were held in sidings while the Virgin went past, saw that out of the W&S window, also W&S were banned from picking up and setting down at stations after Wales, even when they were stopped at the platform. Not really a level playing field.
Wow, you actually went on the train. Looks like a great experience! There should be more dining trains in Britain.
Especially the long distance services
Hello again Avery Lopez-Baines xD
You can find dining trains on amtraks overnight routes.
Very nice touch to call it the "Gerald". The manager was right- the original Gerald (a genuine Cymro) went on a tour around Wales raising money for a Crusade (maybe the 3rd) and his account tells us so much about the characters and topography of a country which he truly loved.
The music, the trains, the stations. All the stations yay!!
They need to do all the premiere inns.
Hey, I love your “The Londonist” videos but I was very pleasantly surprised when I found that, in this video, you have travelled on one of the trains that I travel on everyday and have gotten off at my local station, Hereford!
I travelled with my mother on the exact Cardiff to Llandudno years ago and we both thought the food and the journey were great.If you have not tried this it is well worth doing. Ashame other train operators do not offer something similar.
Just discovered this one looks fabulous and there is nothing better than being on a train and having restaurant quality meals. Have done it twice here in Australia The Ghan and The Indian-Pacific
In a world of multiple units this is a real gem, the class 67 is a great loco, pulling spacious carriages and room for bikes and prams in the DVT. I wish all cross county services were like this. Living in Shropshire I love seeing it. I hope our new opperator, Transport for Wales builds on this.
you must be happy now with the rollout of more regularmark 4's. soon to be 5 carriages too
2:11 the women next to Geoff: why are you filming yourself
I recognize that book. A copy arrived for me in an Amazon box this week. Now I need time to read it.
Why didn’t have this train going from Cardiff to North Wales 17 years ago when I needed it? Still it’s a great reason to go back home ❤️😀
Wish more people knew about this service. Taken it twice now over the last two summers. As a trainspotter it's one of the few things you know that the general public don't, but would presumably appreciate.
Little plug for a new book I see. “The Railway adventures”. I will have to add this to my collection 😺
www.septemberpublishing.org/product/the-railway-adventures/
All The Stations OMG OMG OMGI HO
wow - slam door trains?! I remember them from when i was a kid!
Fascinating video. Glad to hear the new franchisee is keeping "Gerald" going. I can see this going on a lot of bucket lists.
I love Vicki's excitement shes fab
Simply the BEST! Absolutely fabulous train, staff, and FOOD! The service is the best in Britain and long may it continue. We travel from Cwmbran to Chester or Llandudno - JUST for the dinner! Thank you ARRIVA and Welcome to TFW!
Great video, I have rode from what some call it The WAG (Welsh Assembly Government) from South Wales, did one trip to Hereford and the other at Shrewsbury, never done the full journey, but them MK3 coaches with the slam door will be replace because they will have 12 MK4 coaches (3 sets of 4) from LNER so it be a DVT, few MK4 Coaches and a locomotive.
There is also a service which is standard only that starts a Crewe and goes to Chester i think, then to Manchester, after that travels to Holyhead and then back to Manchester, then does a Manchester to Llandudno and then I think it does a Llandudno to Crewe. Sadly that have no dining experience.
I also like trains with Buffet cars, always like to walk up to the buffet car or the shop and not fond of the trolley service it just blocks the aisle, even know some like it because it at seat service.
I now have the All the Stations Book! Found it at my local Waterstones- a happy surprise :)
Mouth watering food and the staff trimmings comes at an absolutely eye watering subsidy for this train from the Welsh Assembly 😏
BusAndTrainUser do we know how much? FOI request?
@@tonyjones9442 £1.7 Million per year
You Should have visited Conwy Station. The Station is underneath Conwy Castle and i know Vicky likes castles.
I remember when ONE ran restaurant services on there loco hauled services between Liverpool Street and Norwich, I can clearly remember having bbq ribs on trip which were absolutely delicious.
Plus I used to love the travelling chef on first great Western High speed services, I always had a full English breakfast on ex London Paddington to Penzance via Bristol Temple Meads, which I would usually get on at Bristol Temple Meads going down to Totnes, I remember walking through the train and seeing everyone looking at me and thinking how lovely the smell was.
You are right Geoff and Vicki. There is something magical about dining on a train. I don't mean a sandwich and a latte but real quality food and real quality service. I used to love the proper restaurant cars on GNER where it was all silver service and meals prepared freshly from the extensive menu. The breakfasts were fantastic and the evening meals were what you would expect to find in a high class restaurant. Standard class passengers could dine in there as well (if there was seating available - often it was full) at no extra cost. Breakfast was about £15 and a three course evening meal with half a bottle of something nice was about £40 but you did get to sit in first class....
GNER treated food provision very seriously. They employed the best chefs who competed with each other to be the best.
Things started to deteriorate under National Express East Coast's franchise and got a bit worse with East Coast. Then, under VTEC, first class ticket holders got a "complementary" offering. At breakfast, it was usually a small fry-up but with scrambled egg, not fried and in the evening, you could choose between a couple of small main courses. Not a patch on the old days.....
I have not yet tried the LNER offering but, as the restaurant cars have been "modified" to exclude fresh food preparation of the kind needed, I do not expect any improvement.
We should remember here Paul Taylor, the GNER chef who sadly lost his life in the tragic incident at Great Heck on 28th February 2001. Paul had won the GNER Chef of the Year competition for 2000 just six months before his death.
You two light up my life. I loved all the stations, then the documentary followed by your mini adventures; such as this one. Simply fantastic! I look forward to your next adventure. If you ever make it to Palm Springs, California, you two will have a place to stay. ( no, I'm not an internet nutter) xoxo
Loved this train when I travelled from Shrewsbury to Holyhead, an route to Ireland. Glad to see it's still going strong!
In terms of traction, it is also one of the few services outside of London mainline trains that uses a Driving Van Trailer or DVT to enable it to reverse at Chester. Prior to the 67+DVT being introduced with the mk3 carriages, the service was mk2s topped by a 57 and ran via Crewe between Salop and Chester, meaning Wrexham was missed out on the route.
Cannot get enough of watching these videos
01:20 Here's another fun fact: The red/white logo on the loco is that of the "Deutsche Bahn" (Arriva belongs to the German National Railway Company, of course.) In Germany, the logo is fondly called the "DB-cookie", for it resembles the shape of a very famous German biscuit.
But who'd think to find it on a Welsh train?!
Normanusrex i think some of the Class 67s are in ATW livery
We see DB in a lot of places, mostly on shipping trains
My first on-train meal was on a steam hauled all-Pullman Bournemouth Belle back to London in the 1950s. We went up to 70 mph at times which was very exciting!
My favourite meal on a train was first class on Eurostar Waterloo to Paris. Great service and treated like royalty. All for valentines
Nice that there are still dining trains on the network! As an ECML fan, I'd contend that the LNER Gresley Dining articulated stock was the apogee of UK train dining stock , but, for opulence, the pre-WWI years saw the height of such services.
the EUS to FTW Caledonian Sleeper felt like 2 hours to be honest. Mainly because tired me went to sleep about half hour after departure and woke up an hour before arrival.
Another great train dining experience , although more expensive is GWR Pullman dining, done over 20 times, a great way to spend couple of hours on a train,
I never knew this existed! I would frequently travel from Bristol to Chester via Newport in the evening and this would have been a lovely way to get home :(
All the videos on this channel make me smile broadly while watching them but for some reason this one included warm fuzzy feelings too...what a wonderful journey and something i will definitely try one day if i can make it out of Essex ;) ....oh and Gary likes that shift the best because he gets a nice take home when he finishes :D
As Im A "Nerd" in many things, I also am so, when it comes to staff/schedule planning. Must be quite challenging making this work on say, trains. Thanks for including this in the video! (And plz do more of this in the future :)
I tried to have a ride in the 1st and have a meal back in December. Unfortunately the dining car and first class seating was out of the formation for maintenance. I've been told this isn't the norm, and I hope to try again at some point in the future.
Vikki is the star here. Happy, enthuthiastic, clever, articulate funny girl. You were ok as well Geoff. Love your work!
You two seemed to enjoy the food, and you both dressed up for dinner clean shirt and Jeans Geoff, while for Vicki denim jacket, print top, black trousers and converse trainers very elegant
GWR still have Pullman dining cars (proper cooked meals) on the London/Wales and London/West Country routes. Huge fan. And if there is space, standard class ticket holders are allowed to dine (but you do have to pay for the meal!).
Good evening is Noswaith Dda Vicky. Lovely video and makes me want to do the trip. I have only been from Newport to Shrewsbury when I was still greeted by steam locomotives at Shrewsbury.
Great video! And I’m glad I got the Iceland palm oil advert before it
If you loved this service, you should set up crowdfunding and get yourselves on to the Royal Scotsman. We had a cracking weekend on it :)
This is AMAZING! As a Foodie and Cardiffian now I HAVE TO DO IT !!!!
Why didn't you go all the way to Holyhead? Sorry if you've been asked this before!
the food on this service is really good also on the breakfast train. had my own trips on this service.
Great to see my old Director, Tom Joyner, coincidently on board that service in his final days of been MD at the now-defunct ATW. And catch the MK3s whilst you can as they'll become MK4s in a year of so
WUT
@@DENPTrains WUT
@@RWL2012 m k 4
Love the class 67s! With the mark 3 stock being replaced on the Norwich to Liverpool Street Line I hope those trains find use around the country so we can have more trains like this!
RIP Arriva Trains Wales. 🏴🚆
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Fun fact: in the past when the engine and coaches have been "unavailable" for whatever reason, it has been substituted by almost everything from a 175 to a 150. In fact Gerald 2, the other subsidised semi-fast HHD-CDF service, used to be a 175 with a trolley which had a built in microwave on board. Nowadays it's just an ordinary trolley, although it still runs semi-fast and is one of the few trains to be scheduled to leave Newport Platform 4 in the Cardiff-bound direction; although this does mess up the GPS-triggered auto announcer which announces the next station is Newport when the train is running over Gaer Junction.
MY83 sod paying all that money to barely be able to harm yourself think for however many hours on a 150
@@Robbins996 Needs must in times of crisis!! As a trolley dolly I once worked a 150 from Newport to HHD on the 0921 morning service. It kept its timings mostly although on the route back we got given a 175 at Chester to complete the journey (it was rush hour). As it had no disabled toilet facilities we had to schedule loo breaks at Shrewsbury and Chester for a passenger in a wheelchair. It was also problematic for me to do my job as some of the seats; namely the ones by the doors with the extra legroom, don't have tables (either actual tables or foldy-downy seatbacks) in front of them so people who asked for tea/coffee had to sit it either on their laps, the seat next to them, or the floor.
Talking of being physically and legally unable to do my job, once a Pacer turned up on the Fishguard Flyer (ex 11am CDF-Fishguard nonstop to Llanelli, Whitland and Fishguard). Bear in mind the booked stock was a 150 anyway.... They have no tables at all so they are officially trolley exempt. I went home after doing 3 hours of an 8 hour shift.
I've seen 150s working Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff trains instead of the usual 175 or 158 many times. Just feel sorry for those who are travelling most of the way!
Meengineer100 agreed. Thankfully when I lived that way I only had 150s once or twice. Though I did have to do oxford to Hereford on GWR once. That was pretty miserable
@@Robbins996 I've done a couple of journeys on 150s where they shouldn't really be. Thankfully only had about an hour on them which is like on the Conwy Valley Line. Sometimes on the NWCL, if they're on services timed for higher speeds they just lose time, but I think most of the service are timed within their range.
Great show on Arriva Trains Wales for 1. keeping proper loco-hauled trains alive, even if only on limited services, and 2. keeping proper on-train dining alive. I really do thank and praise ATW for operating a service like this. I hope it continues to be a success and perhaps that they consider more limited services like this; perhaps a Holyhead-London return service, revive the long dead Irish Mail, maybe even as a sleeper? It seems to have worked nicely for GWR with the Night Riviera and First Scotrail with the Caledonian Sleeper. I know, silly dreaming, but all the same it does my heart good to see proper fresh-cooked meals being served on a proper loco-hauled train. The DMU's may dominate, but the older, better ways of running passenger trains aren't dead yet. Now, if they could only bring back proper luggage vans...
Edit: Sorry, didn't notice until the end that there was also a Mk.3 DVT on the end. Now that's what I'm talking about! The benefits of DMU stock, being able to reverse direction without fuss, and still allow a place for long distance passengers to stow their stuff. More of this, please, Britain's railways!
Arriva Trains Wales no longer exists
That's GOT to be a bucket-list job!
Great video and looks great and I would like to go on this one day.
Geoff is drunk! It's hilarious!
We need to bring back restaurant cars across the intercity network. I remember the GNER ones used to be excellent on a return from Newcastle to King's Cross and back in the early-mid 2000s, and Deutsche Bahn in Germany still operate them on most of their ICE trains and they're rammed most of the time from my experience.
Looking forward to you doing a ‘special’ on the Ghan in Australia!
Brings back happy memories. The first time I ate on a train was on the Cornish Riviera Express behind a Western diesel and tuther time was the Flying Scotsman behind a Deltic. I soooo miss real trains!
I miss real trains too, i never saw one but i would like to!
What a lovely couple you make and Vivki is a super, charming and naturally beautiful young lady.
I assume the MD of Arriva trains Wales got his P45 a few weeks later?
Stephen Dines A top gear joke?
Has anyone else done the GWR Pullman from Paddington to Penzance - it's an awesome experience
Geoff, thanks for the advice on the Gold Card the other day.
Have you done a vid on the Marches line yet? Pontypool & New Inn (previously Pontypool Roads) used to be one of the UK's major stations - now just a humble island platform, with a service every two hours.
always wanted to ride an overnight train serving dinner, just like James Bond and Tatiana Romanova in "From Russia with Love" - and so this is where Hereford is! I only know Hereford from the movie "My Fair Lady", when Dr. Higgins teaches Eliza how to speak proper English "In Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire hurricanes hardly ever happen"
Loved the vlog , food sounded great , and Gary was a great quest guard , seconds please !
A proper train, slam doors, yes, love the double clunk as they close, just like the clunk on the doors of a Morris Minor, a similar lock bolt and double catch, catch plate arrangement. Oh how I wish that modern trains had similar dining cars rather than just a buffet car ( if lucky, it's manned ) or that bloody trolley. I would much rather eat during the journey than try and find a place at destination and lose an hour or so dining, unless that was the reason the journey was made to visit a dining establishment.
Hello There, I love this video, it looks like a very luxurious service :) Cheer Peter
I have to agree with you Geoff, a proper train indeed - loco at the end, just coaches in between. Shall miss them once they have all been replaced with multiple units that house the engines and motors underneath the coach itself - the old 'proper' type of coach were always a much quieter ride well away from the loco. Great to see an episode of All The Stations covering this great train.
1d
I know the operator has changed for this service but I am such a fan of dining on trains I thought I'd check out the service today. Yes it is still running but WOW! a fare between £89 and £110.....er no thanks but.......
Thanks for sharing! I will hopefully one day have the privilege to encounter you on a train somewhere, even if it's a Thameslink, LOL. Bon voyage, toujours!
If you like this, try the GWR Pullman services! You'll want to make sure that you do it now, because after March the HSTs will not be bookwd for the run
For future use, Llandudno is pronounced Clan-did-no.......not dud-no....... And the town itself (rather than the junction) has some great real ale pubs!
I was super surprised when I saw that Deutsche Bahn locomotive, then I noticed that it's an Arriva servicr And that really explained everything
It's basically a Pullman-style service, but in standard coaches.
I enjoyed watching your video I use the Premier Service both ways from Shrewsbury when I visit Cardiff
omg if only you had stayed for a hot minute in Hereford as that's where I'm from! Would have brought you a cuppa to the train doors haha
Great video Glad you both enjoyed it
You had 67029 ‘Royal Diamond’ Which is ex Royal Train
_"And because it's Friday and we've all finished work, they sell alcohol aswell."_
Surprisingly funny, for an Arriva service staff member.
5:07 Thinking about how to get their staff home, and be nice to them. Again, surprising, for Arriva.
Interesting foot note is that the service was originally tendered for by the Wrexham and Shropshire Railway company: the company that after less than two years' operation, registered a 98% satisfaction rating among users - the highest in the Satisfaction Survey's history. Incidentally Arriva scored 82% spring 2018. Yes Wrexham and Shropshire Railway truly the one that got away and as it set the standard we are all losers!!!!
You’d have been disappointed with the 90 to Norwich last week. First class was a box of crisps and stack of water dumped at the end of the carriage.
Business class tickets, but "First Class" written on the side of the train. Consistency eh? ;)
Long wanted to do the Pullman dining train to Cornwall myself, although now I'm wondering if I could combine the two for a longer trip!
Years ago they had 37's on compartment mk2's which were great on the Marches in summer. Anglia will get their new trains before Wales so why not get DRS on the case to help out, if only temporarily? They have extra bike & luggage space compared to units.
You two make me want to take a train trip with you both!
Same here!
Brilliant video guys!
Many of the heritage railways (e.g. Swanage at swanagerailway.co.uk/events/detail/wessex-belle) offer dining services on "proper" trains, albeit at premium prices. Great Central, Bluebell, North Yorks etc all offer Steam pulled dining services
Fantastic. More dinning on trains
I have been known to go all the way to Cwmbran on the 1716!
Great video nice people on it 👍
"Chomping at the bit" nice pun
Wonderful this service exists. Must try it before the slam doors go.
My farther drives the Gerald and loves driving it..... only from the DVT end, he says the 67 is nice to drive but is really loud and shaky compared to the dvt
Aircmdr a DVT is not a "Class 82" - 82xxx is the vehicle number (similar to 52xxx and 57xxx on a 2-car Class 15x unit). The Class 82 is an electric locomotive built from 1960 to 1962.
@@RWL2012 Ahhh It is dont know why I randomly put that will remove it now Thanks for pointing it out
Ilandundo what a nice place
I assume this is the only service in britain now which serves real food.
You didn't mention that, as many people don't know, especially tourists from abroad who have much deeper culinary traditions.
That was a great video as usual. Look so relaxing.