The idea of a Ludlow train having dining is utterly bizarre - so used to being the rs end of the network. Used to make this journey a lot before moving and modern train fares. Always an interesting experience if Wales are playing at home.
Excellent trip report. Food looks well presented and good value for money. The first class carriage looks well maintained after years in service on the East Coast Main Line. I enjoyed your description of the scenery and landmarks. Thank you for sharing!
You make a very interesting and factful video. And I had no idea you could still get decent lunch on a train in Britain until I watched this. Well done you, and well done Transport for Wales! Could my home operator, Scotfail, please up your game!
Great Western Railway offers Pullman Fine Dining Mondays to Fridays in the First Class restaurant car aboard one return train service between Swansea and Paddington and two return services between Paddington and Plymouth. The restaurant car is available to Standard ticket holders subject to space being available, which it almost always is. The GBP 40 cost of lunch or dinner is usually the same (or less) than the cost of the First Class upgrade so effectively you are getting a three-course lunch or dinner for free. Check out the Trip Advisor reviews (several of them mine!) for GWR Pullman Dining to see what you're missing!
Enjoyable video Rory, many thanks. It’s great to see a railway company offering good food on longer journeys. I wish more railway companies would offer such good service. It’s also very good see the ex-LNER carriages being used rather than scrapped. OK, level disabled access is an issue, but in all respects these are much better carriages than the Azusa’s that have replaced them.
I need to give transport for Wales a try this is just wow this maybe better then the avanti west coast first class i went on a couple of days ago! great video i have subscribed.
i went on it last month with the family .. brough split ticket std class.. upgrade to 1st class ... so the end ticket was the sae price as a normal std class. we had lunch meal going and back from cardiff. Awsome. This service " Should" be 67 + MK4s but is normally a sprinter or a Marvin ( 197 ) 2 Cars so be careful !
I’m glad to see that TFW have started using the Mark 4 coaches on their Manchester to Cardiff route. I went on holiday to Cardiff the summer before last, and the journey from Crewe on a jam packed Class 175 with only 2 carriages was definitely one of the less enjoyable parts of the trip.
100% agree with everything you said. The first class seats are lovely. The countryside is brilliant. And the food? Definitely the best you will get on a train anywhere in the UK, for a very reasonable price! Keep up the good work 👍 ...oh and the video was well shot and edited too!
Yah video's are brilliant, especially this video. I sufder with anxiety and depression, i find train type videos so interesting and relaxing, and i thank you for posting the videos. Im a new subscriber and look forward to watching yah videos and future videos. Thanks for your essay listening comments throughout the video. ❤
Found your video thanks to TH-cams algorithms, I'm glad I did. Thanks for filming, I used to used Hereford quite a lot when I was at Worcester Uni and travelled via Chester. It certainly is a lovely line and Hereford is a nice small city to visit.
Enjoyed this video. Also I have seen this route before and love how they do it for first class. You still have your comp snacks and drinks. But thee option to pay for the meal is a good idea and not to pricey to as £22 for three course is pretty good.
First time watched your video and I thought Dylan has made another account. Not sure if it's just me but found canny similarity between your voiceover :) Must say it's a really well made video.
Another excellent presentation in which you capture the experience and help us feel your excitement. Those trains do set a standard that others should aim for, but the Welsh Govt subsidy is not available to all.
The lamb looked tasty but it was just like having two bowls of soup in a row. I'm going to try and get on this Gerald soon. Great video too and yours is the first I've found showing the menu and grub. 😊
I traveled on MANY of these class 91 trains when they ran on the ECML from my station in Durham to York and to Newcastle and a couple of times from Durham to London.. The seats are a bit poor in standard class ..But they did an OK job. They were far too good to be scrapped ... Pleased they got a new lease of life.
I believe that quite a lot of work was needed to get the Class 67 Diesel-electric locomotives and the ex-LNER Mark 4 Driving Van Trailers to talk to one another, but obviously it was all sorted out in the end! We really need something like this on the route between Cardiff Central and Portsmouth Harbour! Did your travel ticket allow you to use the First Class Customer Lounge at Manchester Picadilly? I've done Cardiff to Bangor a couple of times on the "Gerald of Wales" luxury dining train - heavily subsidised for the benefit of members of the Welsh Assembly Government with constituencies in the north of the Principality - but not, as yet, Cardiff to Manchester. Hereford Station is well known to me as I've been going to the annual Beer, Cider and Perry Festival every July at the Rowing Club for many years now. Seeing Shrewsbury Abbey brought back happy memories of having attended Midnight Mass there on Christmas Eve, 2006, on my one and only visit to this Shropshire market town. Keep up the good work. I look forward to watching your video diary from Hereford, hopefully including a visit to the Cider Museum as well as the lovely Anglican Cathedral.
Thank you so much! Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to use the first class lounge at Manchester so I’m not sure if TfW first class ticket holders are allowed to use the lounge there. I’d definitely like to do the route from Cardiff up to Holyhead to get more time on the train and explore more of north wales. Hereford cathedral was amazing as well, definitely enjoyed the visit and hope to go back soon!
@ravels - The First Class Lounge (Lolfa Dosbarth Cyntaf if you prefer the Welsh language version) at Cardiff Central is open to TfW Business Class ticket holders as well as passengers travelling First Class with GWR. Not that it's got much to offer, being very small and cramped, but probably better than nothing.
We travelled to Torquay in June by GWR 1st class from Paddington....it was awful.....perhaps TFW could give them some advice on how to run a decent service...?
Great Video & I entirely agree with you, This TFW service with a Class 67 & DVT from Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff is the Best Service on the BR Network, even the normal Seats are Comfortable Large Seats & the 1st Class is Un-real, Seats has to be 100% Perfect & Ultra Comfortable, although Tea & Snacks are Free on this service you can purchase a 3 Course Meal for £22 extra on1st class which is Just Superb & compliments to the Travelling Chef who cooks with Fresh Ingredients', TFW First Class at its Best.
Thank you! I’m pretty sure that full dining is offered on all service, both weekday and weekends. Obviously there are less services on the weekends than between Monday and Friday so make sure to check out the diagrams online!
This is what all long distance train services should be. Comfortable, non vibrating/rattling, non plastic carriages with comfy seats and proper food options. LNER and especially Cross Country could learn a thing or 10 from TFW....
Unfortunately, the food is not included in the price, however, it is £19 for two courses or £22 for three which I would say is reasonably priced for the quality of it. In addition, the difference between standard and first can be minimal on TfW services so it is definitely worth it.
@@RorysTravels thank you for the reply, that's what I thought after watching other other videos and content creators that have experienced the journey on the tfw locomotive services. Definitely is reasonably priced. Can I ask what you use for filming and editing your videos please. Nope all is well, take care
TfW seem to be trying hard. "RESTAURANT" antimacassars & linen tablecloths would bring the Mk4 more in line with the proper Railway Restaurant Car environment. Shame about the "graffiti" onbthe DVT!
TFW should have exactly this direct service on SailRail between Manchester Victoria via Piccadilly to Holyhead - TFW and all the other rail regulators, Network Rail, etc, please stop with all the lame, nonsensical excuses that no one is interested in hearing and just get it done - and as for the trade unions, just shut up whinging and moaning with your negative attitudes, stop feeling sorry for yourselves, stop going on strike every other week, stop wallowing in self pity and just do your job that we the travelling public are paying ever increasing fares for an ever worsening standard of service, punctuality and reliability
You are aware that TfW drivers and guards have not been on strike at all as being a devolved matters, the Welsh government agreed a suitable deal that did not require industrial action. The ones who have been taking action are those regulated and controlled by Westminster government and not Wales.
Well it is called transport for WALES 😑🤣 Seeing as it’s a Welsh TOC owned by the Welsh government. The Welsh language is obviously a crucial part of the Wales and borders network. It’s more or less of like it or lump it tbh👍
Of course I understand that. I'm not knocking Wales, it's just I want to feel welcomed when I visit a country. Growing nationalism in the UK has the opposite effect, especially as the English are not permitted to do the same. The Welsh and Scots don't appreciate how lucky they are in this sense.
It’s not nationalistic to have Welsh announcements on a Welsh operated train service. Nor is use of the Welsh language a device to alienate English passengers. Make sure you tell Air France staff to stop speaking French too!
The idea of a Ludlow train having dining is utterly bizarre - so used to being the rs end of the network. Used to make this journey a lot before moving and modern train fares. Always an interesting experience if Wales are playing at home.
Good to see TFW getting a good review Da Iawn Rory 👍
Excellent trip report. Food looks well presented and good value for money. The first class carriage looks well maintained after years in service on the East Coast Main Line. I enjoyed your description of the scenery and landmarks. Thank you for sharing!
You make a very interesting and factful video. And I had no idea you could still get decent lunch on a train in Britain until I watched this. Well done you, and well done Transport for Wales! Could my home operator, Scotfail, please up your game!
Great Western Railway offers Pullman Fine Dining Mondays to Fridays in the First Class restaurant car aboard one return train service between Swansea and Paddington and two return services between Paddington and Plymouth. The restaurant car is available to Standard ticket holders subject to space being available, which it almost always is. The GBP 40 cost of lunch or dinner is usually the same (or less) than the cost of the First Class upgrade so effectively you are getting a three-course lunch or dinner for free. Check out the Trip Advisor reviews (several of them mine!) for GWR Pullman Dining to see what you're missing!
Enjoyable video Rory, many thanks. It’s great to see a railway company offering good food on longer journeys. I wish more railway companies would offer such good service. It’s also very good see the ex-LNER carriages being used rather than scrapped. OK, level disabled access is an issue, but in all respects these are much better carriages than the Azusa’s that have replaced them.
I need to give transport for Wales a try this is just wow this maybe better then the avanti west coast first class i went on a couple of days ago! great video i have subscribed.
i went on it last month with the family .. brough split ticket std class.. upgrade to 1st class ... so the end ticket was the sae price as a normal std class. we had lunch meal going and back from cardiff. Awsome. This service " Should" be 67 + MK4s but is normally a sprinter or a Marvin ( 197 ) 2 Cars so be careful !
I enjoyed watching this video,,ive subscribed. Thank you 😊😊
Good job. Interesting. Meal look great!!
I’m glad to see that TFW have started using the Mark 4 coaches on their Manchester to Cardiff route.
I went on holiday to Cardiff the summer before last, and the journey from Crewe on a jam packed Class 175 with only 2 carriages was definitely one of the less enjoyable parts of the trip.
Well done TFW, showing everyone else how to do it.
Exactly!
100% agree with everything you said. The first class seats are lovely. The countryside is brilliant. And the food? Definitely the best you will get on a train anywhere in the UK, for a very reasonable price!
Keep up the good work 👍
...oh and the video was well shot and edited too!
Thank you so much! I love watching your channel so it means a lot to me. I definitely think that it was the best train I’ve been on in the uk!
Yah video's are brilliant, especially this video. I sufder with anxiety and depression, i find train type videos so interesting and relaxing, and i thank you for posting the videos. Im a new subscriber and look forward to watching yah videos and future videos. Thanks for your essay listening comments throughout the video. ❤
Thank you for such a kind comment!
Found your video thanks to TH-cams algorithms, I'm glad I did. Thanks for filming, I used to used Hereford quite a lot when I was at Worcester Uni and travelled via Chester. It certainly is a lovely line and Hereford is a nice small city to visit.
Excellent video. Very well presented and voice overs were appropriate and informative. Keep up the good work.
Enjoyed this video. Also I have seen this route before and love how they do it for first class. You still have your comp snacks and drinks. But thee option to pay for the meal is a good idea and not to pricey to as £22 for three course is pretty good.
Excellent videos, well produced and presented. really enjoyable to watch. looking forward to seeing more. thank you..
I used to take that route many times in the 60s and 70s but never got my dinner on it!
Great video Rory, food looked amazing!
Now that's a real railway trip.
First Class!
First time watched your video and I thought Dylan has made another account. Not sure if it's just me but found canny similarity between your voiceover :) Must say it's a really well made video.
Wonder what the route will look like in future and our food
Hi great report. Keep making the videos and good luck with the channel. But show us who you travel with (unless they're shy).
Excellent video! Thank you. Really interesting - factual stuff and also a good flavour of the journey.
Well done Transport for Wales! Also one of the few decent liveries in UK.
Good video. Very informative. Looking forwaed to seeing more.
So, I've just booked this trip based on your video. Fingers crossed!
Great video Rory.
Another excellent presentation in which you capture the experience and help us feel your excitement. Those trains do set a standard that others should aim for, but the Welsh Govt subsidy is not available to all.
Thank you so much! I think a company like LNER could definitely learn a thing or two from Transport for Wales’ first class offering.
Very well made Rory.
안녕하세요 ㅎㅎ 😊
친구가 되었네요
만나서 반갑습니다
응원합니다 😊
The lamb looked tasty but it was just like having two bowls of soup in a row. I'm going to try and get on this Gerald soon. Great video too and yours is the first I've found showing the menu and grub.
😊
Excellent video
Really enjoyed the video Rory. The food looked amazing! Looking forward to the next video 😀
I traveled on MANY of these class 91 trains when they ran on the ECML from my station in Durham to York and to Newcastle
and a couple of times from Durham to London..
The seats are a bit poor in standard class ..But they did an OK job.
They were far too good to be scrapped ... Pleased they got a new lease of life.
I believe that quite a lot of work was needed to get the Class 67 Diesel-electric locomotives and the ex-LNER Mark 4 Driving Van Trailers to talk to one another, but obviously it was all sorted out in the end! We really need something like this on the route between Cardiff Central and Portsmouth Harbour! Did your travel ticket allow you to use the First Class Customer Lounge at Manchester Picadilly? I've done Cardiff to Bangor a couple of times on the "Gerald of Wales" luxury dining train - heavily subsidised for the benefit of members of the Welsh Assembly Government with constituencies in the north of the Principality - but not, as yet, Cardiff to Manchester. Hereford Station is well known to me as I've been going to the annual Beer, Cider and Perry Festival every July at the Rowing Club for many years now. Seeing Shrewsbury Abbey brought back happy memories of having attended Midnight Mass there on Christmas Eve, 2006, on my one and only visit to this Shropshire market town. Keep up the good work. I look forward to watching your video diary from Hereford, hopefully including a visit to the Cider Museum as well as the lovely Anglican Cathedral.
Thank you so much! Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to use the first class lounge at Manchester so I’m not sure if TfW first class ticket holders are allowed to use the lounge there. I’d definitely like to do the route from Cardiff up to Holyhead to get more time on the train and explore more of north wales. Hereford cathedral was amazing as well, definitely enjoyed the visit and hope to go back soon!
@ravels - The First Class Lounge (Lolfa Dosbarth Cyntaf if you prefer the Welsh language version) at Cardiff Central is open to TfW Business Class ticket holders as well as passengers travelling First Class with GWR. Not that it's got much to offer, being very small and cramped, but probably better than nothing.
Epic.
We travelled to Torquay in June by GWR 1st class from Paddington....it was awful.....perhaps TFW could give them some advice on how to run a decent service...?
Great Video & I entirely agree with you, This TFW service with a Class 67 & DVT from Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff is the Best Service on the BR Network, even the normal Seats are Comfortable Large Seats & the 1st Class is Un-real, Seats has to be 100% Perfect & Ultra Comfortable, although Tea & Snacks are Free on this service you can purchase a 3 Course Meal for £22 extra on1st class which is Just Superb & compliments to the Travelling Chef who cooks with Fresh Ingredients', TFW First Class at its Best.
Delightful videos, thank you. What is the music please?
great video fella how much did the whole experience cost keep up the good work
Thank you, all details of the pricing are in the comments :)
We might be getting the Nova 3 MK5 sets once their lease with TPE expires...
wont
Interesting how well the old VTEC livery actually works with the TFW branding , if you didn't know you might easily think it was pure TFW
Well done TFW but it begs the question of why all first class services cannot be this good. If you can do it on a plane why not on a train?
Good review. Question, do you know if this full meal service happens at weekends too or is it only weekdays?
Thank you! I’m pretty sure that full dining is offered on all service, both weekday and weekends. Obviously there are less services on the weekends than between Monday and Friday so make sure to check out the diagrams online!
This is what all long distance train services should be. Comfortable, non vibrating/rattling, non plastic carriages with comfy seats and proper food options. LNER and especially Cross Country could learn a thing or 10 from TFW....
LNER IS NOT PLASTIC TRAINS !!
@@Fedderchini ok, calm down.... But you are wrong, the Azuma's are some of the most uncomfortable and rattly pieces of crap ever...
Gladys Pugh on the PA was a scream 😁
Brilliant video. Is the food included in the price of the first class ticket or is it extra??
Unfortunately, the food is not included in the price, however, it is £19 for two courses or £22 for three which I would say is reasonably priced for the quality of it. In addition, the difference between standard and first can be minimal on TfW services so it is definitely worth it.
@@RorysTravels thank you for the reply, that's what I thought after watching other other videos and content creators that have experienced the journey on the tfw locomotive services. Definitely is reasonably priced.
Can I ask what you use for filming and editing your videos please.
Nope all is well, take care
I just use my iPhone and then iMovie to make all of my videos, nothing professional at all :)
No USB port
They’re actually ex-VTEC coaches but great video nonetheless 👍🏻
X🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
I was a bit dismayed, I found my self searching mileage and times rather than a history lunch!
TfW seem to be trying hard. "RESTAURANT" antimacassars & linen tablecloths would bring the Mk4 more in line with the proper Railway Restaurant Car environment. Shame about the "graffiti" onbthe DVT!
Transport For Wales trains are a joke! Clapped out, rickety, 2 carriage trains, abound! 😡
TFW should have exactly this direct service on SailRail between Manchester Victoria via Piccadilly to Holyhead - TFW and all the other rail regulators, Network Rail, etc, please stop with all the lame, nonsensical excuses that no one is interested in hearing and just get it done - and as for the trade unions, just shut up whinging and moaning with your negative attitudes, stop feeling sorry for yourselves, stop going on strike every other week, stop wallowing in self pity and just do your job that we the travelling public are paying ever increasing fares for an ever worsening standard of service, punctuality and reliability
Totally agree with you!
You are aware that TfW drivers and guards have not been on strike at all as being a devolved matters, the Welsh government agreed a suitable deal that did not require industrial action. The ones who have been taking action are those regulated and controlled by Westminster government and not Wales.
I think £98k for a train driver is scandalous. Wake up!@Rufus_the_Red
Excellent route and journey, but the Welsh language announcements and 'nationalist' propaganda would stop me using it
racism in a nutshell
Well it is called transport for WALES 😑🤣
Seeing as it’s a Welsh TOC owned by the Welsh government. The Welsh language is obviously a crucial part of the Wales and borders network. It’s more or less of like it or lump it tbh👍
Of course I understand that. I'm not knocking Wales, it's just I want to feel welcomed when I visit a country. Growing nationalism in the UK has the opposite effect, especially as the English are not permitted to do the same. The Welsh and Scots don't appreciate how lucky they are in this sense.
It’s not nationalistic to have Welsh announcements on a Welsh operated train service. Nor is use of the Welsh language a device to alienate English passengers. Make sure you tell Air France staff to stop speaking French too!
@@GarethLedshamand to stop using French on the Eurostar