Virgin Trains, UK: Very bad or very good—a first-hand report
Virgin trains are infamous among Brits for their delays and diversions. I can now confirm this from personal experience. My Liverpool - London train, last week, got diverted to Coventry, clipping the time I got to spend in London. That’s the bad news! Then, though I’d booked a regular ticket for the return to Liverpool, I somehow ended up in a First Class carriage (not that there was anything wrong with Second Class—every seat has its own electrical outlet). That’s the good news!
What a treat first class was—or would have been, had I known in advance, and not slipped into Marks and Spencer to buy refreshments. (M and S has become so user-friendly, with mini-stores at train and gas stations, throughout Britain, you know you can pick up a decent snack from them almost anywhere anytime.)
First Class Virgin passengers are served unlimited meals and drinks (including wine and alcohol), and are offered an array of complimentary reading materials and other resources. The tableware and accessories aren’t paper or plastic, the seats comfortable, and crew very friendly. The journey back passed so fast, I wasn’t ready to get off the train! There’s also First Class Lounges at key stations. Had I known…!
In the little red book placed on every table on the train, there’s a note on the front page, with an e-mail address. If you’ve been "particularly impressed" with the service received by staff on the train, they want to know at feelgood@virgintrains.co.uk.
I think about my Amtrak experiences on the Boston - New York route, when living in Boston. Performance, or lack of it (as well as train station food and other compensations) don’t compare!
