As of November 2002. Pricing, availability, and amenities subject to change.
The author did not receive compensation for this review.
Overall
Earlier this month during a trip throughout the United Kingdom we booked London North Eastern Railway's Azuma service for our trip from Edinburgh down to to London. This review spans multiple days and two trips as we stopped off in York along the way, however both legs were the exact same class of service.
Booking
Rail ticket pricing throughout Europe is very dynamic and can vary greatly between each country and the timing of your booking. LNER opens their timetable availability about 8 to 12 weeks prior to the dates you want to travel selling both their Anytime & Off-Peak tickets. Its a trap!!!! Generally it is cheaper to purchase tickets early in the process, however LNER's cheapest tickets, their Advance Tickets go on sale around the 8 to 10 week making it important to be patient for a couple of weeks. In our case, we purchased advanced single tickets for Edinburgh to York and then York to London. 1st class seat do include seat reservations and also allow the rider to choose their own seats. Price breakdown was as follows:
Edinburgh to York Advanced 1st Class: 30.80 GBP, 35.82 EURO, 37.19 USD
York to London Advanced 1st Class: 46.20 GBP, 53.72 EURO, 55.79 USD
A great value considering a quick look right now for a trip two weeks out is as high as 276 GBP (320 EURO, 333 USD) for the same level of service.
1st Impressions
Let me start by saying that 2nd class service on most European trains is perfectly fine and enjoyable and there is no need to spend the extra money unless the trip is long distance and/or overnight (Sleeper Cabin Time!!). LNER's Azuma 2nd class comes in a 2+2 seating configuration while 1st class is offered in a 2+1 configuration making 1st class roomier and providing for slightly quieter cars, wider seats and more legroom. At seat menu dining along with a drink service is also included in the ticket price. A dining car is also available for the use of both 1st and 2nd class passengers. Luggage space above your seat for small carry-on sized bags is readily available along with space for larger suitcases located near the ends of each car.
Seats
Seats in 1st class provide increased width and leg room. In seat power is available at every seat along with either a pull down tray or fixed table if you are sitting at a 4 seat or 2 seat full table set up. In our case we sat at a 2 seat facing each other table set up, that provided plenty of room for two people to eat and would easily make a good work space for the business traveler. Non table seats with the pull down tray provide good room for eating and are ok if using a smaller laptop or tablet for work purposes. Larger laptops will work, however you will definitely sacrifice tray space.
Food & Amenities
Azuma trains are equipped with both at seat catered service in 1st class and café car service. The café car offers hot and cold food options along with coffee/tea, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage options. At seat dining offers the same beverage options along with menu selected food options. LNER offer's three different time/length of trip dependent menus (Deli. Dish, & Dine) in 1st Class. They can be found here:
We had the dish menu for both trips, having the bacon roll for the breakfast journey and asparagus tortellini for the lunch journey. Sadly I forgot to take a before picture of the tortellini, but I can assure you it was great!!
Bathrooms
Bathrooms are typically available at one end or each end of the car depending on the consist of the train. Bathrooms are larger than the standard airline bathroom and were clean throughout the duration of the trip.
Final Impressions
Travel can come in many forms and often with too many options to choose from. Rail travel can provide a city center to city center direct route bypassing the extra coming and going required to the airport of air travel. In this case, traveling from Edinburgh Center to York and subsequently to London on LNER's Azuma service is a "make sense" option for most. Direct service to London's King Cross Station and quick taxi ride to the hotel! LNER's clean and comfortable Azuma service, coupled with their solid food options and direct service should make them your viable option for inter United Kingdom travel.
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