east coast mainline in Enfield

De principio a fin, nuestra experiencia en la línea principal de la costa este fue excepcional.Elegimos la primera clase, y nos alegramos mucho de haberlo hecho. Acabábamos de abordar el tren en Retford y un encantador personal nos ofreció bebidas, y luego otro miembro del personal llegó para tomar nuestro pedido de comida.El carruaje estaba impecable y los asientos muy cómodos, el viaje a Kings Cross simplemente pasó volando. También fue agradable tener solo dos paradas en el camino.Definitivamente recomendaríamos la línea principal de la costa este, y esperamos viajar nuevamente.

The East Coast Mainline service is now operated by LNER. I recently travelled with family from Edinburgh to Stevenage. The service was good and ran to time and got to our destination on time. The seats are comfortable and if you have a window seat there is also a charging point for phones and laptops.There is also free WiFi so you can watch movies, listen to music and check your social media.The staff were friendly and professional and I would highly recommend travelling from Scotland to the south by train as it was very competitive in price and timing.

I travelled from York to London and Return on two occasions, and I managed to get each ticket for £16 Singles, so £32 Return. Excellent value, and services ran on time as well! Free WiFi on board too.

Viajé en primera clase de LNER desde Leeds a London Kings Cross y regresé. El viaje tenía un desayuno caliente que no estaba tan mal, pero el servicio fue terrible y grosero.Viajé de regreso el domingo y conseguí una opción de un sándwich poxy sobre otro sándwich poxy. Ninguna bebida alcohólica para elegir tampoco.El salón de primera clase en Kings Cross fue una verdadera desgracia. Aseos cubiertos de residuos humanos. Claramente no limpiado.El nivel de servicio y la atención al detalle no son tan buenos como lo fue Virgin.Muy decepcionado.

We travelled mid-morning first class from Kings Cross to Berwick on Tweed on what had been a Virgin train, which is now being run by LNER. The train was clean and tidy and the staff quite friendly and helpful. The food on offer was nothing special, I chose the large sausage roll, there was tea, coffee, juice or water and later on in the journey the drinks trolley came round. We arrived in Berwick 31 minutes late which the guard announced, as being over 30 minutes we could make a claim.

Mi esposa y yo usamos mucho Lner viajando de Wakefield a Londres. Reservamos con antelación y casi siempre viajamos primero. En general, encontramos que el servicio es bueno, con muy buena comida, vino y bebidas calientes gratuitas. Los asientos son cómodos y el personal en su mayoría encantador. El único problema es que muchos de los primeros asientos no permanecerán bloqueados en posición vertical y se deslizarán hacia adelante, no es bueno para comer. Es literalmente cierto que a menudo tengo que probar tres o cuatro asientos antes de encontrar uno que funcione correctamente, una pena cuando todo lo demás es bueno.

Due to problems on the line my wife and I were shoved out of our express 1st class seats and left standing in the corridor on a local train and treated like we were invisible without so much as an apology. If I wanted to be herded like cattle we could have flown. The idea was to have a pleasant trip into Scotland from London so we could enjoy the countryside in comfort. Instead we stood for over two hours bouncing off the walls. Avoid these people like the plague. Bring back Virgin.

Extremely poor service and food. Don’t bother upgrading if it’s more than £10 as it’s terrible. The food and service it’s really really poor.

Did the Edinburgh-London journey on Monday morning and returned Friday night. Limited breakfast on Monday morning as two staff failed to turn up but nothing was too much trouble for the staff that were on duty. Train arrived in London on time. Homeward journey on Friday was busier and we were delayed 20 minutes because of a broken down train - but again nothing was too much trouble for the staff. Well done LNER we will be back!

The journey itself was good- on time from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. I reserved a seat and got most of what I asked for- window/power socket, but wrong direction of travel (lot of free seats in other carriages).Went to the food car (as trolley service either not in service or only goes through at a certain time) ordered a hot drink, where I was told I needed to take a bag for health and safety...I asked if the train had recycling facilities for such a waste of paper- I was told no. Hopefully recycling or using less / better packing will be something LNER will be changing / getting better at in the future.

Dirty tables, someone else’s rubbish and dirty cups on the table when we got on. I had to ask for clean cups as the woman serving the coffee almost used them! (It was luke warm) She then just dumped everything on another table and made us feel as if it was all too much trouble. Still had a dirty sticky table.Nowhere to put the case either, all in all quite unpleasant!

Travelled from Kings Cross to Edinburgh as part of a journey to Dundee.

Terrible service, payed £90 for a return ticket where I had to stand for 2 hours!!! Called virgin trains to tell them about my experience and they said they can’t do anything. Very bad customer service

LNER have taken over the Virgin East coast route. There is no longer a quiet first class carriage, which means I have to listen to constant drivel, perpetated by cell phone users, on my train journey. No hot food due to a shortage of staff which is due to staff holidays. A total joke!

Viajamos en el recién tomada de la costa este de Virgin a L. Línea N.E.R., que es controlado por el gobierno. Por desgracia, nuestro tren que dejó en vez de Edimburgo el pasado viernes sólo consiguió que 20 minutos por la línea antes de que tenía que entrar en Dunbar, donde tuvimos que desembarcar y esperar otro tren. Para ser justos, esperar otro tren estaba a tan sólo 10 minutos o así y la mayoría de la gente nos las arreglamos para encontrar un asiento. Espero que el nuevo contratista le plancha estas fallas como L. N. E. R. es un nombre histórico. . .

Este es bajo, así que supongo que los restaurantes de la comida.

Travelled to and from York/London Kings Cross. The train was on time and it was a relatively clean and comfortable ride.

Travelling from Edinburgh to Crewe and the whole train is packed, but the company never even checked or went to sort out reserved seats first before non reserved,really bad company to travel with.

Tuve que esperar media hora para mi tren virgen costa este de Leeds a Londres en 15 de marzo. En vez de estar sentado en un banco de la explanada que dirigimos a la Virgen de primera clase salón, esperando una experiencia de primera clase. Fue una vergüenza. Busca habitación desaliñada con mesas y sillas que son incómodos y más semejante a una sub-estándar de transporte cafetería. No hay wc en absoluto, así que tuvimos que pagar 40 p a utilizar las instalaciones de la estación, en el otro extremo del circuito. Aparatos de café/té parecía haber sido instalados a posteriori. Horroroso. Branson, lo puedes hacer mejor!

Fuimos a clase 1 calle Doncaster kings cross reservado con tarjeta de tren directivo y por adelantado. Muy barato, pero el personal era bastante lamentable. La puerta interior parecía atascado, así que conseguimos una bonita explosión de aire frío todo el camino. Cuando nos preguntaron si queríamos algo que era casi contra nosotros. No charlar. Ah, bueno. Volver al día siguiente el tren fue cancelado debido a "un fallo eléctrico". Así 3 mucha gente metida en una tren tren. Tuvimos la suerte de que nos dieron un poco más de información dentro antes eran conscientes y nos dieron en un asiento de clase 1 calle antes más dieron en. Como te puedes imaginar fue un squeeeze. No vienen con un poco de agua y luego si tenía un billete de 1 calle usted dieron un sandwich. No en todo genial. Luego de navegar por el sitio web duró una hora hasta que me pareció que tenía que escribir el camino viejo de todos modos. Así un 2 por ser barato.

My journey today up to Northallerton in First Class was fine and I made use of the lounge at Kings Cross. Breakfast never changes and my bacon sandwich was fine. The return a couple of hours later was awful. Again in first class which was FULL OF VIRGIN STAFF taking up many of the good seats. No food was offered to me and in fact the waiting staff spent more time chatting to their seated friends. Sadly there is no real alternative but they need to sort this out.

Return journey London to Leeds to find that the journey booked on Virgin East Coast was no longer. Instead they put on an East Midland train. Seemed OK but did not have WiFi or power points which Virgin advertise and take our money for. Complained to Customer Relations who appeared to think it was a bit of a joke and certainly did not appear concerned about their lack of customer service. Good thing they are pulling out of their franchise to run this route. Perhaps they will at last be allowed to return to the previous East Coast franchise which ran a perfectly acceptable service before the Government put them put of business and gave the route to this useless bunch

Was travelling alone to Kings Cross from Durham, standard class. Seat was airline type and I was sat next to a pillar rather than a window so I couldn't really see outside. The seat was comfortable and towards the end of the journey a trolley even came through the carriage. The train was on time.

All staff professional, train very clean, Great food selection in First Class. Daughters first trip on the route and staff made her so welcome.

Left on time, virgin staff very friendly and professional. Return could not connect to WiFi even after called and guy promised to re send a log on code as I had booked direct. Wakefield to Kings Cross.

The level of unreliability is deeply frustrating- out of 15 trips since Jan, 4 have been late leading to missed connections and long delays to work or home. I use this service not out of choice but reluctant necessity. My advice is to assume the worst and take any kind of reliability as a bonus

Es casi imposible llegar a su servicio al cliente. Ni siquiera me gusta escribir una revisión exhaustiva aquí y perder aún más tiempo con esto. Necesitaba reservar dos entradas para el mismo itinerario, porque no está claro si me recibirán un reembolso por uno de ellos después de tener que cambiar las fechas de viaje. Es imposible llegar a ellos por teléfono o por correo electrónico y no en contacto conmigo como lo prometieron en su forma basura de internet que necesitaba para rellenar.

Travelled in First Class from London to Perth, Perth to Newcastle and Newcastle to London in the past two weeks. On all three occasions the heating in the first class carriages we were in was substandard to deplorable. The crew suggested we move to another carriage if it was too cold. food was marginal. Unfortunately I don't think there is an alternative to Virgin Rail.

Nice empty Quiet Couch , lovely comfortable seating thats was the good part, service on the 24th December, was sandwiches for Lunch, half on what was on the menu did not exsist, it was the most dismal piece of food I have eaten, no wine, only hot drinks, this is on christmas eve? why not ? they said you can go and buy some, What? so if it is avilable on train why not service in first class , grumpy staff , what a horrible way of taking your money and offer nothing it return except for misiry...... bad bad bad

So booked first class to Edinburgh for our wedding anniversary.

Travelled from Edinburgh to Aberdeen on a Wednesday evening 1st Class in the quiet coach. On taking my seat I observed litter all over the table from previous travellers. Having cleared this I settled down and enjoyed the hospitality consisting of food and drink of a good standard. Seat was comfy with plenty room and a power point adjacent. Actual ride of the train was less than comfy though, as I was thrown about like I was on “The Waltzer” for sections of the journey. I’m surprised that the so called “ Quiet Coach” (1st Class) consists of a section of the buffet car- all the noise of food preparation and staff back and forward with trolleys made this less than a quiet trip. I would certainly advise against this carriage if you are looking for a restful journey. I expected better and whilst I would use the service again it’s more to do with the poor competitors than the excellence on offer here

Viajé desde Doncaster a Kings Cross durante un período de pico de la tarde.

Soy un usuario habitual de ferrocarriles de la costa este y nunca pensaría usar cualquier otra empresa de Virgin. Hay molestias mínimas relativas a todas las demás empresas ferroviarias, la calidad y el confort de las colinas de pila os muy buena y si, como yo, utilizar 1 clase Street, luego la comida y bebida que ofrecen es insuperable! He tenido solo un problema con modo carrera (no como resultado de la Virgen, pero los problemas en la línea), y que - sin discusión me rembolsaron para que parte del viaje!

Este servicio es rápido y decaída al final de esta franquicia no puedo volver. A pesar de los precios cada vez más (a través de sigilo) el servicio es cada vez peor y peor. Viajamos de Edimburgo el 1 de diciembre en el tren 5:00 a Nueva York. Después de una hora esperando por algo para comer, nos dijeron que el servicio comenzaría en Newcastle, que está a 90 minutos de viaje desde Edimburgo (y los menús habían dado un viaje Edimburgo prometedor sabroso). Pedimos de nuevo después de Newcastle y nos dijeron que no había comida que es hasta después de Nueva York 2 1 / 2 horas de viaje y nada siempre salvo una galleta. Finalmente el miembro de la tripulación fue persuadido para conseguir unos sandwiches por otro pasajero, quien dijo que viajó a esta ruta y este estaba haciendo regularmente un evento ordinario de no hay servicio.

We often use this service for Peterborough to London trips, this time Peterborough to Edinburgh first class.

Travelled home first class in train number 1 E 29. Excellent food. Sue was very attentative to all our needs. Very polite and excellent customer service skills.

Recently traveled On Virgin East Coast from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh. Traveled in first class, plenty of food, drinks and a very scenic trip. Would recommend highly.

If I could leave a score of zero I would do! Booked to travel from Newcastle to London return to see a show in London. We had over 3 hours spare to make it, but the train broke down between Darlington and York, started and broke down again before it had reached York, started again but could only complete the journey to York at 15mph. Arrived at York and the train was cancelled with over an hour to the next train so that making the show was impossible before we had even got as far past York. There was a deafening lack of information given out during the delay which made any kind of forward planning impossible, no presence in the carriages to help with questions, the food was appalling and there was not a great choice. Claiming the delay compensation has been a nightmare, it is impossible to contact anyone other than through the web site, no option to discuss the problem or ask questions and it seems to take an age to get any replies with misleading messages when you are contacted. No semblance of any real consideration for the customer. They will be my last option behind taking the car for any future trips!

We travelled 1st class from Aberdeen to York recently and spent several days of leisure in the city before returning home. The experience was very comfortable, which made our train journey pleasurable and very relaxed. The service provided by the staff was excellent, they were very attentive and friendly. As a result we have certainly decided that although the cost is slightly more than a normal ticket price, the comfort, cleanliness and service means that future travel by train for us as a family will be 1st class with Virgin. Well done.

Very comfortable and good value having bought the first-class tickets well in advance. Food was fine, seats comfortable and good service. The staff in both directions London to Newcastle were very friendly and efficient.

Booked a first class trip to see family for my daughters and I. The Outbound trip was affected by an incident - not the fault of Virgin East Coast - but the information about what to do was conflicting and poor - at one point suspended the next late - so we made alternative arrangements. The Return trip was on time but the service for first class was very poor. We were offered one drink in an hour an forty minutes. Only other 'first class service' offered was a lady dumping a large box full of boxed sandwiches on the table and asking what we wanted after I'd just sat down and was taking my children's coats off. The wi-fi didn't work either.

Travelled 1st class from Kings Cross to Newcastle. The train shook so much that it was dangerous to have anything on my table. My glass (full of red wine) jumped clean off the table twice all over my lap. The coach is a nice place to be, it’s just ruined by the ride. Make it more like the Birmingham to London run!

We travelled from Aberdeen to London on Sunday 1st October and returned the following Sunday. In both cases the scheduled journey time was just over seven hours. The outbound journey was OK until Edinburgh but after this it was one delay after another. The corridors filled up with passengers and their luggage. We arrived in London just before midnight, five hours late, exhausted and frustrated.On the return journey, we were an hour late by the time we arrived in Edinburgh. We then had to get off the train and transfer to a bus and arrived in Aberdeen 1 hour 40 minutes late.We travelled first class. The catering was OK but nothing special. The toilet seat was just about falling off on the way out. On the way back the bin in the toilet was overflowing with used paper towels.The rolling stock felt old and tired. The ride was anything but smooth. On the outbound journey we were sharing a table with a Canadian golfer. This service is a national embarrassment!

Ah for the days of East Coast. Motivated staff. Great service. Great food in first. Now Stagecoach East Coast masquerading as Virgin. Staff pleasant but do the minimum and are not motivated. Usual hype and hot air from the top management but as usual the product lacks substance.

Train was on time- no problem there. The staff (mostly) were helpful. But the rolling stock was old. We were in the first class quiet coach which we think was converted from a former dining car. It had been refurbished and looked smart but nothing had been done to the suspension. Drinking anything was difficult and at times dangerous. Also there was very little luggage space.

I travelled on Virgin East Coast last evening in First Class from Newcastle to Stevenage. There was no hot food: The choice was between one round of a rather miserable cheese sandwich or one round of chicken sandwich, offered in a take-it-or-leave-it manner. Yet the advertised meals were actually on board, the kitchen was functional, and the menus (with their ridiculously elaborate descriptions of the dishes) were on the table. The train manager had a strange story about this being a recurrent problem and the preceding crew, from Edinburgh to Newcastle, not having begun the cooking. In the time he spent arguing (without apology) to customers, he could have galvanised his crew into serving hot food, even if he had to, say, give priority to passengers leaving at York. It seemed to be a personal dispute between him and the Edinburgh crew or between him and the company.

I regularly travel from York to London Kings Cross using Virgin Trains East Coast, and they are a good service. Always on time, friendly staff and a good service - weather it be Standard or First Class.

‘Virgin trains’ are Monopolists and they do what they want!!!Please avoid them, please use other travel option like flight’s or coaches. All business is designed to rip you off.They will take your trousers down and do not even apologize….

Ticket prices should not vary from £16 to £122 for the exactly same trip.Travelling from London to Leeds, missed my train, and had to pay 10x what I did on the original train.What a scam! A train services acting like an airline, let's hope they get taken over my Trenitalia.

We enjoyed the train trip from London to Edinburgh, very scenic, passes through lovely countryside and stone villages and towns. We chose 1st class where the seats were quite comfortable. The attendants came around offering food and drink quite often. Our main complaint is that there is no hot food on Saturday and Sunday! That was a disappointment to us since we had paid the extra to have 1st class seats.

We travelled on the East Coast main line service from Peterborough to Leeds. The trains were clean, on time and the staff very friendly. The service was first class. No problems at all.

I'm pleased that some reviewers had a good dining experience, only I paid lots for a first class ticket to be told that, due to technical problems, there was no food to be had on the train apart from a bag of crisps. Not good.

As we wanted a comfortable journey from London to Edinburgh, we accepted Virgin East Coast's advertising blurb for First Class as being accurate and genuine. Why then did they announce only 20 minutes after departure from Kings Cross that they had only 1 of 5 hot "meals" on the menu I.e. Sausage Rolls .That was no good for any vegetarian or indeed anyone not wishing to raise their cholesterol levels. We queried this with the train manager who was quite disinterested saying that he had no control over what meals were loaded and as the train was full, everything had gone to passengers in the other 2 first class coaches. Can Virgin not estimate the amount of food versus the number of tickets sold? The coffee was stewed and we can think of nothing good to say about the service ..... It was so poor that we scrapped our return journey and paid for a flight south

My first trip on the East Coast line travelling from Kings Cross to Edinburgh. The train left exactly on time at 10.00; coffee was served almost before the wheels turned. A first class full English breakfast came by 10.45. By 11.30 the Rest of the Day menu, with drinks, was available. I passed on that, being too full from the breakfast. The staff were up and down the whole trip serving coffee or whatever else you chose.Seats were comfortable and the WiFi was excellent. We arrived 6 minutes early so I was able to connect with the Stirling train which left 4 minutes after exiting the Virgin train. With a sunny day the scenery from Berwick on Tweed on was really nice. Having only driven before I was not aware of how pretty it was.Altogether a really enjoyable trip in 1st Class. My wife will follow in 4 days and I expect her to have the same pleasant experience.

We normally fly Edinburgh London but the train really did take the strain! Easy boarding , friendly Crew grabbed cases. First class a nice treat. Solo and pair seats great. Opted for lunch which was fine breakfast looked good though. Wine and beer got many top ups ! Crew very friendly, mostly Geordie and Scottish. Only downside was no charging tech, no power to sockets. Also booked on trainline website which I wouldn't recommend as couldn't work out how to change seats and one ticket has to be printed at home the other got tickets on platform. Will definitely use again. Arrived in central London relaxed and didn't miss the airport stress!

I booked a train trip from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh 1st class travelling with my family. This is my review.POSITIVE REMARKS1) The seats were comfortable.2) Because we travelled on a weekday the food was for free. And there was a good variety and volume of free snacks to choose and enjoy.3) The staff was smiley, and very enthousiastic to provide solutions to any issues.4) The journey lasted 4,5 hours. However is was quiet, and somebody could sleep even at the no-quiet wagon.5) The wifi is for free. (At first class)NEGATIVE ISSUES1) The seats were not clean, tidy as expected in a first class service.2) There were no monitors with neccessary information anywhere on the train, as in other train companies. Also no paper guide concerning the stops was provided. So any information was given only from audio announcements.OVERALLIf you can book in advance long time from your journey the first class is worth the small extra amount somebody has to pay.You can select beer, wine, soft drinks, beverages, nice food (for train service), biscuits, etc. I recommend 1st class.

We travelled first class from Peterborough to Kings Cross and returned a couple of days later. Setting off at Peterborough we found our reserved seats and the table was covered with stickiness, crumbs, dirty crockery and rubbish from previous passengers who had obviously left the train by then. I had to ask several times to get the table cleared, but no-one would wipe it for me. We were offered only a drink and a packet of broken biscuits during our journey. There was no-one to complain to. On our return, we used the first class lounge at Kings Cross which was full of weird furniture and not at all comfortable. We took our reserved seats on the train and although all other tables were cleared, ours had a half-empty cup with congealed tea or coffee in it and a spoon. As I had previously made a complaint, I wondered if it had been left there deliberately. We moved it to another table. This time we were offered a drink and sandwiches. The journey was not worthy of the standard fare, let alone that for first class.

London Kings Cross to Edinburgh. There are numerous negative points I could make, but for brevity I will concentrate on the worst part -the service, or lack of it. We had booked the 'quiet' carriage - it turned out to be the noisiest, not because of noisy passengers but because of a group of 4 crew members who sat at the end of the carriage talking about their working conditions. Instead of serving food and drinks, and keeping the carriage clean, they preferred to spend their working afternoon sitting chatting at the top of their voices. One elderly lady dared to go up and ask for a cup of tea, and was treated very rudely- 'A CUP OF TEA??? A CUP OF TEA??' in a very aggressive tone. Very begrudgingly one of them got up and served her tea. Other passengers had to go and ask them for food, but they said they only served food once (its a long way from Kings Cross to Edinburgh and having travelled down on the Western service on Tuesday I knew they were up and down with their trolleys several times throughout the route). Whilst they sat and talked very loudly, rubbish wasn't picked up, and the toilets were left in a disgusting state. I noticed towards the end of the journey one man got up and replaced crockery and placemats on the tables presumably for the next journey, but didn't wipe the the surfaces first, leaving crumbs and sticky surfaces for the next passengers. Lovely.Really truly shockingly bad - it would have been awful for the days of British Rail or for standard class, but even worse for Virgin first class, which is so inaccurately advertised. Bears no semblance to the marketing. Never again. Is Richard Branson in the dark about this? I'm sure he can't think it is acceptable. As I said there are numerous other negative observations I could make, but I want to put this appalling experience out of my mind.

I frequently use Virgin Trains East Coast to travel between York and London Kings Cross. Fast, frequent and great service on the trains. The best way to travel.

We took morning train leaving around 9.30 am from Kings Cross to Peterborough. There were some problems with opening the doors at Kings Cross but eventually it was sorted out. There were very little choice for vegans but we managed to have bread and butter with jam and nice cup of tea. The staff were excellent and polite but they were limited in what they could offer as everything was pre made and they just heated the trays. Even then the journey was smooth and very fast compared to driving down in car. There was first class waiting room at Kings Cross and at Peterborough ( they use next door hotel) and we thoroughly enjoyed our day trip. Well done Virgin East Coast service. We would have given full score but for lack of choice.

Virgin advertises "Curry Night" with James Martin endorsed food. Well they have run out of curry, and there are another 44 people after me who can't have it either. A beer would help, complementary as long as you don't mind waiting 50 minutes from setting off.........and still no sign of any drinks now. Deliver what you promise or don't promise it. Shambolic.

I am a regular First Class traveller on the Virgin East Coast Train from London Kings Cross to Aberdeen, however I have just done my last trip. I travelled up from London to Aberdeen on the 14th of April. There was no hot food and no alcohol available. The excuse was that it was the weekend. No it wasn't it was Friday. In addition the website gave no indication that no food would be served or a glass of wine available with a snack. The most annoying thing was however that after paying nearly £350 for a First Class return ticket the staff were offering standard Class customers an upgrade from Standard to First Class for £25.00. I have in NO WAY any objection to people accepting this deal because it was brilliant, I do however object to Virgin ripping regular First Class passenger off by charging them so much and delivering a very poor service. The fact that the train was so busy that people had to stand in the aisles thus preventing the compartment doors from closing with the result the coachs were very cold and noisy was annoying but even worse for the people who had paid money and ended up standing. Terrible way to treat people Virgin. Anyone considering this trip should be aware that Flybe are now flying from London Heathrow to Aberdeen for about £120 return. A far quicker and better service than Virgin East Coast are offering.

MAGIC FM blaring out of the TV. Not what is expected or required. Totally unnecessary. A hugely missed opportunity.

BEWARE don't expect breakfast every time. We booked Durham to Edinburgh, No breakfast, no Hot food at all, due to fact we were told, no cooking staff on board, and hostess who was very nice and apologetic, was unable to operate the ovens. Complaint result was breakfast is "complimentary" and if staff shortage of no products you just out of luck. First class is for seat comfort not food guaranteed

We recently travelled by Virgin East Coast Rail from Grantham to King's Cross and return, and have to say it was a superb experience. We paid the extra and travelled First Class, which for a special occasion is well worth the additional cost. We were served breakfast on the way down (which was delicious), and an evening meal on the return trip - again very nice, with a choice of drinks as well as food.The carriage was clean and comfortable, and the staff attentive and polite. So well done Virgin - we will do this again!

My wife and i traveled with Virgin trains from Kings Cross to Edinburgh on our way to Dundee, i have to say the journey was what it said 4 hours 21 mins and the train left on time and arrived on time for our connecting train, the food that was served in first class was very nice as was the coffee and drinks during the journey, staff were very helpful, our return journey was a little different as only one staff member serving on the 9am train from Edinburgh, and he did have a little moan saying that his job is going and their will be no more food will be served in 1st class like it is now as this service will soon stop he say's, so there you go, staff changed at Newcastle and lot more of them and all returned to normal and foods was good as was the drinks again, we left Kings Cross on 3rd Feb 17, and returned from Edinburgh 7th Feb 17, would i travel by train again yes more so than flying to Scotland as takes about same time as flying with all that hanging around airports and so on, and you can take lot more things with you and buy loads of goodies to take home on the train.

I travel regularly on this service between Peterborough and London, First class provides comfortable seating, complimentary snacks and drinks, as well as lounge access at Kings Cross both before and after your journey.Most services depart on time, they lock doors prior to departure so long gone are those last minute scrambles to boards as the train departs. On board staff are friendly and efficient, making this an enjoyable journey.

Travelled on the 13-55pm York - Inverness, the train was on time and the service in first class started within minutes of boarding. The team to Edinburgh were brilliant, looking after everyone .The staff from Edinburgh to Inverness were just as attentive and it made the 6 hour journey pass quite quickly.The new leather reclining seats are very comfy and the whole experience was superb. Well done Virgin East Coast.

I travelled First Class from Morpeth to Edinburgh, 08.56 train Wednesday 4th January 2017. It was such a pleasant journey. The train was on time. Breakfast was good and served efficiently, and as well as being professional, the staff were really pleasant and helpful. I think that included Lee, Yvonne, Richard and others whose names I could not catch. Just wanted to note this nice positive experience because everyone, me included, is quick to jump to negative feedback on occasion. Thank you to Virgin staff for making my journey a nice start to my short Edinburgh break.

Reading previously written reviews about the Virgin east coast mainline train I was either very unlucky or they have never travelled before! This service is a total disaster from beginning (Newcastle) to the end (Kings Cross). At Newcastle there is a nice new first class lounge for passengers travelling at this grade but is it manned by strange low level staff who are not suitable in customer facing work. No comparison at all with the equivalent at an airport and this is the same market place, you either fly to London or take the train. This experience is not even similar to Ryanair or Easyjet let alone British Airways.The train we had contained numerous faults in first class, the sliding door between carriages did not function so we had howling cold wind blowing through the compartment for over 2.5 hours. The food looked old and tired, plus was fairly tasteless. A leak started from a kitchen area between the carriages and gallons of water leaked onto the carpet the entrance areas.Not good and never again. I will fly for the same price!

First class from Peterborough to London Kings Cross. Seats were nice. On the way out we got served soon as we got on the train with drinks and food. Limited as weekend service. On the way back we got a drink probably half hour into the journey and the food arrived 5 minutes before the train got to Peterborough which was very disappointing.

I travel between Wakefield and Kings Cross frequently and always have the pleasure of the complimentary first class food. It is always very tasty and I have never had a problem with the quality or service. My only grumble is there are never any plain sandwiches they are always with a sauce, salad cream or relish type of dressing, no good if allergic. please cant you put a few plain chicken or something on board.???The banana toffee muffins are really to die for so is the caramel poporn. Sod the calories !!

Used Virgin East Coast to travel from Inverness to Newcastle. Choice of seats, nice clean bright & airy carraiges. Very polite crew & and amazing on line price - whats not to like. Even the pre packed bacon roll that I purchased on board was edible, real roll & loads of bacon - quite surprised at how good it tasted.

Travelled return from Aberdeen to London in first class.. Good comfy seatd in a bright and airy carriage. Food and drink was plentiful and of a good quality. Price was good also. No complaints.

I regularly travel between York and London Kings Cross on Virgin Trains East Coast, and they provide a great service. If you book in advance, then you can get some great deals and the trains are regularly on time. Well worth travelling using them.

Nice train journey to edinburgh in just over 4 hours 30 mins. Choose quite coach, 1st class and when travelling with 2 makes it so nice to have a table for 2. As travelling on weekend there was no hot food on offer however sandwiches and cake were very nice indeed and the staff come round at regular intervals to offer drinks. Train even mange to arrive 5 mins early, which for british train must be almost unheard of !!. Having the 2 together train card certainly helps to save a bit of cash as this ticket was only booked with a few days notice.

We traveled First Class to Leeds from London in the quiet 'K' car. There were only 3 people on the whole car. The Virgin First Class Lounge at Kings Cross was so nice. Complimentary hot and cold drinks along with a supply of newspapers laptop workstations and lots of charge ports. First Class on the train included huge seats with lots of leg room, included a light meal and drinks. The meal is well cooked and served promptly. The service was very pleasant and prompt.We look forward to our return journey.

I exchanged airmiles for a Virgin East Coast evoucher. The voucher wouldn't work (showing up on my account but grayed out) so I emailed customer service (journey I was trying to book was for the upcoming weekend). Received a vague automatic replay that didn't really indicate whether or not they intended to reply to my query in person. Waited nearly two days with no reply so I phoned (as suggested in the automated email) their 0345 customer service line where I was on hold for 10 minutes before finally getting through to someone who said I'd come through to the wrong department but she would transfer me. After another 10 minutes she came back to me saying that they were really busy and she was (finally) mindful of my telephone bill (no mention anywhere as to what they will be charging me) so she will give me another 0345 number to phone the people (who gave me her number in the first place) web team directly. Regretting exchanging my miles now and still can't book a ticket.

We returned to the UK after a month's cruising and caught the 1400hrs Virgin East Coast train from Kings Cross to Leuchars on Tuesday 10th May. We had reserved first class seats and had a great team looking after us. Crew Leader was Carol Fradley, helped by Paula, David, Jamie, Cheryl and Cathy. They all delivered exemplary service - we enjoyed the food and the wine and the journey passed very quickly and enjoyably. The only problem was that the relief catering team did not board and so the buffet was shut at Edinburgh. Shame for the Aberdeen passengers! On leaving Edinburgh, my wife asked if I could find her a bag of crisps from the Buffet Car. The Buffet was completely closed, but next to it was a Buffet Trolley with crisps on it. I picked up two packets and at that moment, the new Guard appeared and he was quite objectionable, accusing me of stealing. His name was Derek and he was odious, refusing to acknowledge my request for crisps for my wife. He took the two packs I had taken from the Trolley and gave me two packets from inside the Buffet. What was his problem? All the euphoria of our excellent journey with Cathy and her team evaporated, so I hope Derek can be sent on a Customer care course. Regardless of this, well done Cathy Fradley!!

After a long haul 'red eye' flight, we opted to travel First Class back t the north of England. The Virgin First Class Lounge at Kings Cross is an island of tranquility on the first floor, overlooking the hustle and bustle of the platforms below.Complimentary hot, cold and alcoholic drinks along with an abundant supply of newspapers help to pass an hour or so as we waited for our train. The 'designer' furniture is not the most comfortable, I guess it was chosen more for its looks than its practicality.The First Class fare includes a light meal and drinks on the journey. The meal is well cooked and served promptly. Overall, an excellent experience and worth the extra fare.

I travelled to and from Leeds in Virgin first class. Very, very disappointed and the food in the picture is nothing like the food I was served. Shepherds pie, on both legs of the journey, which look as if it had been brought from the cheapest supermarket possible and heated in the microwave. A green and cream coloured slice of cake. The food was so poor, and I thought at least I can have a few drinks, but they seemed to be rationed by the staff. On the journey up I had cheese and biscuits which were nice, but they are not on the return menu. So a lot of money for some slices of cheese and a tab of butter with come cream crackers.

A new experience for us, not wishing to drive to Edinburgh (have you seen what hotels charge for parking) we thought we would try Virgin East Coast First Class.First we got a Two Together travel card, which we saved with on the first trip. Automatic reservation of seats as well. The train arrived on time, and within minutes were offered refreshments. The food and wine was freely available, with the trolley passing many times, A pleasant white wine, by the tumbler full! There was a choice of sandwiches which were excellent, served by friendly staff.The return journey was similar, we also enjoyed the First Class lounge in Edinburgh, a quiet place to await your train, sadly, at the weekend, no wine on the return journey.In all a great hassle free way to travel to Edinburgh

There is something magical about a long-distance train journey. The magic starts with the cathedral-like surroundings of King’s Cross Station. The redevelopment work has all finished and the station is clean and airy. It took me ages to find a toilet, but otherwise all the facilities you would expect are on hand. With Platform 9 3/4 nothing more than a Harry Potter-themed retail outlet offering its own brand of magic, we boarded our train from Platform 0 instead. Walking along the platform we pass carriage after carriage, each with large windows clean as a whistle interspersed periodically by wide doors open and welcoming. The standard rule of thumb applied: if you buy your ticket in advance, you will get a discounted fare and you will get a seat as far away from the entrance barriers as is possible.Then the magic continues with the effortless glide out of the platform and into and out of the tunnels beyond.The first of many tinny announcements breaks the spell. This one to welcome us on board and something about hand-held devices we couldn’t quite understand. There will be many more announcements before we get to York. Before each station stop; Another welcome after each station stop; The buffet is open and situated in the centre of the train; There’s a trolley service of light refreshments making its way through the train; the buffet will be closing in 10 minutes; etc, etc. Information overload? Much better than no or insufficient information, I’d say.Leaving Peterborough, our carriage is full. 100% full. By Grantham, the sandwich wrappers, empty juice bottles, tops from the hot drinks containers and a lot more have found their way off the tables and onto the floor along the aisle. Passengers getting off and on at Grantham crunch their way along to their seats. Only another hour to go! Someone comes to collect the rubbish, but not from the floor. Then they came back and cleared the floor. The back of their uniforms proclaiming “committed to enhancing your experience”. Having had our experience suitably enhanced, we settled back to enjoy the rest of the journey. Fast and smooth. But with seat only slightly softer than the wooden slatted benches in your local park, you couldn’t ascribe the word “comfortable” to the journey. (This train was made up of relatively old stock and the newer Pendolinos are a massive improvement).And so to York. From one magnificent station to another and a real sense of arrival to match the magical sense of departure earlier. How would I rate this journey? Compared to a drive up the M1 - relaxing. Value for money - you bet! I paid £20 pp for advance tickets. For Customer Service- all it needed to be on a trouble-free journey. Refreshments - the coffee was good, the snacks looked Ok but none were known to be gluten free and therefore off limits to me, but not my wife.My tips? Board as early as you can, particularly if you have luggage. Storage space for cases and coats get used rapidly.If you have dietary requirements, bring your own snacks, etc.Book as far in advance as you can to get the best value tickets. Bring some headphones and listen to your favourite music, not the incessant chattering of fellow passengers and repetitive PA announcements.Would I do this trip again? You bet I would. Well done Virgin, your on the right track.

First class from London to Edinburgh. Well worth the first class. Did not expect food but it was very good. Drinks available. All included in the ticket. Will do this again.

We travelled first class from London to leeds. Fantastic service from all the staff drinks were freely flowing and the food was generous portions. We had the cottage pie which was lovely and more than filling. Followed by orange and pineapple cake which was moist and tasty. The staff were very attentive too and quick to bring tops. Train was clean and most importantly on time .

We travelled in First Class on a weekday to enjoy the food! The train had orriginated in Glasgow. Travelling to London the toilets were clean and dry but the reverse journey they were wet, despite a much shorter journey time. As the time we travelled south was late morning, we had a Bacon Sandwich but could have had porridge or Muahrooms on Toast with Creme Fresh. The sandwich was delicious and the bacon very lean. Travelling back it was dinner time and we both had Steak and Spitfire Ale Pie on Mash which was delicious as was the Cheese and Biscuits that followed. The staff were all friendly and chatty and could not be faulted inany way. Although Virgin have taken over this Franchise the rolling stock needs to be improved/replaced quicker than it seems to be happening!

Went on a weekend trip to London from Newcastle on the Virgin East Coast service. Train on time at both ends on both journeys with information about each stop given over the train loudspeaker system. Train was very clean and drinks served from a trolley if you didn't want to go to the buffet car. Very polite and helpful staff through out the journey and at both stations.Free WiFi for 15 minutes not the greatest value on a 3 hour journey and nearly £5 for 4 hours not a very good offer. With the price of rail journeys free WiFi should be complimentary!!

We went on a London day trip from York, first class & excellent! Great service on outbound and return. Very relaxing and spacious. Definitely worth the extra money

We travel up/down to London frequently.I am always surprised by the smiley staff on the east coast services, never rude and always pleasant despite long hours and difficult customers, they remain pleasant and efficient.Food and drinks are served quickly and as efficiently as they can on a moving train.Weekend service is different to midweek, with Croissants and muesli for breakfast being adequate.Return trip sees corn beef and cheese sandwiches, again adequate for a train journey.

The trip to London was quite good but the return trip was poor. I've rated the return poor because one member of staff was just down right rude and abrupt. However, the other staff were great and was a pleasure to have been served by them. Food was great and carriages clean. It's always my first option of travel as train travel is a more civilised way of traveling.

I'm in the middle of researching my family history and am spending quite a lot of time at Kew and the British Library. Other than coaches, I do not have much choice than to travel by train. I have travelled quite a few times over the last couple of months and found first class to be excellent which is more than can be said for some of the people. There has been some complaints on this site about the toilets - all I can say is that I cannot believe people leave the toilets in the same disgusting way at home. I have experienced clean and acceptable toilets at Kings cross and by Peterborough, they resemble a battle ground with floors awash. I find i'm having to clean the seats of urine - totally unacceptable behaviour - people should be ashamed of themselves.My limited experience is that East Coast seem to be putting in the effort but passengers have a responsibility as well. I will continue to use East Coast and travel first class. Lets see how things go with the new owners from March.

Travelled from Newark Northgate to Kings Cross in First Class. the toilets were a disgrace. They were wet, not paper, no paper towels and a dodgy lock on the door. I cannot wait until some investment is made on this line and the rolling stock moves into the 21st century and the toilets are kept clean and tidy. The breakfast at weekend was a disappointment as was the afternoon/evening meal. Not hot meals is not good enough in this day and age. On a positive note the wifi works fine!

Journey from Edinburgh to Kings Cross 11:00 Saturday 24th January.Carriage very clean, and very quiet as I travelled first class the coffee started flowing as soon as we left Edinburgh and kept coming all the way on the journey as it was a Saturday only sandwiches and snacks available and again the snacks kept coming all the way.Staff very friendly.Left on time arrived on time.My only regret that the government has turned the service back to the private service (it was one of the train services that made a profit) so who knows what the future will hold.Above all a big well done to East Coast Trains for their sterling service you will be missed.

On time, clean and efficient. Good value for money. Can't ask much more. We went from London Kings Cross to Darlington for the weekend.

Journey to London on Friday 16th 12.03 from York Return from London 14.00 Saturday 17th.Busy carriage on the way there. Staff were helpful and polite. We wished we had bitten the bullet and travelled first class as we normally do. The return journey was great except our reserved seats were facing backwards and separate despite us requesting forward facing seats together. So we went to carriage D and found some unreserved seats of which there were plenty. Carriage was quiet, seats comfy, ticket collector friendly and polite.A great journey, but much prefer travelling first class!

If you travel first class on East Coast you will be offered a huge quantity of food and drink. You can opt for a hot meal from a menu containing 3 or 4 choices. This has ranged from salads and pies to the excellent hummus on my most recent trip. Usually very good, sometimes a limited choice if there is one popular option and they run out!