MPs get free first class rail travel between Yorkshire and London.

[Leodian]

It is reported on page 8 of the YEP today (Nov 11 2010) that some Yorkshire MPs have accepted free first class rail travel from Grand Central that is worth up to £6,000 a year.In the article the YEP reports "Reforms introduced after Westminster's expenses scandal mean that MPs are only allowed to claim the cost of an anytime standard open ticket on their taxpayer-funded expenses". A Grand Cental spokesman is reported to have said "Our view is that it keeps our MPs informed of what we do and also saves the taxpayer money. Travelling first class allows the MPs to work en-route".I wonder just how much work they will do? To me it just seems like another perk for MPs.

[cnosni]

More of a punishment actually,Grand Central take a long time to get to Kings Cross,they go via Askern (tumbleweed railway,50 mph max) they have limited rolling stock that invariably breaks down.Soon they'll be shelling out from their own pocket for standard on East Coast.

[Lego_man]

But Grand Central is a complete PRIVATE railway company, meaning that NO money from the tax payers goes into their coffers. Who Grand Central give free tickets to is up to them, and at the end of the day its them that losses money and no one else.    

[raveydavey]

Lego_man wrote: But Grand Central is a complete PRIVATE railway company, meaning that NO money from the tax payers goes into their coffers. Who Grand Central give free tickets to is up to them, and at the end of the day its them that losses money and no one else.     Well said - if it was the publicly owned East Coast then it would be a different matter, but GC are a private firm who receive no subsidies for their services and can therefore dish freebies out to whoever they like as far as I'm concerned. Anyone at fault here is the MP's who haven't declared the perk (I know, I'm shocked too)Oh, and it's good to see the Yorkshire Morning Post getting indignant about this today - it was in the Mail on Sunday last weekend....

[Leodian]

It seems that I am in a minority of one for thinking it is another perk. It is a private company but the deal is saving the MPs a lot of money. No doubt Grand Central will be wanting something in return.

[jim]

They've already got it Leodian - free advertising.

[Trojan]

cnosni wrote: More of a punishment actually,Grand Central take a long time to get to Kings Cross,they go via Askern (tumbleweed railway,50 mph max) they have limited rolling stock that invariably breaks down.Soon they'll be shelling out from their own pocket for standard on East Coast. I was speaking to someone who used Grand Central, he said he wasn't sure where he was half the time. Apparently it takes 4 hours to London, but it is cheap.How long does it take by coach? Can you still get to St Pancras from Leeds without changing at Sheffield? That used to be quite a long journey too if my memory is correct.I was looking at Grand Central when I went to Wembley, but it was cheaper to drive.

[liits]

The last time I came up to Leeds (York, actually) I booked my tickets with Grand Central (via some cock-eyed internet train seat booking thing). Upon arrival at King’s Cross – half an hour early, all was fine, within fifteen minutes the departure board went from “On Time” to “Delayed” and then “Cancelled”. The supposed Customer Service desk in the middle of the concourse (operated by, and solely for East Coast railways) had their pre-printed, pre-laminated signs ready, to the effect of “East Coast Railways cannot answer queries regarding Grand Central services”. They’ve obviously seen this before! It turns out that GCR do not have staff on the station – don’t have staff even, other than on the trains themselves, so if it all goes wrong, you’re stuffed!East Cost Railways may be slightly more expensive but at leat they work (and if you book your ticket far enough in advance- as I've done for the Christmas get-together, it can be quit cheap).

[Uno Hoo]

H'mmm,cnosni works for EC (I believe), that well-known provider of quality travel to Kings X that I've put up with for years. If I have to travel to arrive in time for a day's work EC charge me £230 to ride in clapped-out old rolling stock, which may, or may not get me there on time. It deigns to serve Bradford once a day in each direction, so I have to risk Northern Rail with its many delays and overcrowding (no guarantee I'll be able to get on at New Pudsey), so even the slightly faster travel time doesn't compensate.Or, I can arrive at Bradford Interchange at 0651, climb aboard a new GC set with clean seats and working toilets, and arrive in Kings X at 1010. That's not bad cnosni - it's as good a door to door time as EC & Northern can manage. I've used GC a good few times now with no problems whatever - invariably breaking down actually means that according to you GC trains fail on every journey. Well, you may take it from me that they don't - it's never happened to me. GC are no more responsible for the state of the infrastructure around Askern than you are, and you're forgetting to add that its time to London from Doncaster is actually pretty good. And they're not snotty like EC is about walk-on tickets. And they're not costing the taxpayer millions in subsidy. And it's going to get better in a year or two when GNER start operating via Halifax & Manchester to Euston. (I'd have chosen a better name as the original GNER were the [edited for content]-poor greedy chancers who started the rot on the ECML). Not all travellers to London live in Leeds, and GC serve the bits that EC hasn't given a toss about. I suspect your EC propaganda comments are really sour grapes now that passengers from Doncaster are voting with their feet and getting a non-stop fast service at a much better price.Oh, I almost forgot the fare from Bradford. £69 single at peak, so almost half East Ghost Train rates. A no-brainer really. And I,ve got Marilyn to look at all the way as well.

[Bramley4woods]

Leodian wrote: It seems that I am in a minority of one for thinking it is another perk. It is a private company but the deal is saving the MPs a lot of money. No doubt Grand Central will be wanting something in return. Surely, I've got this wrong !I thought MP's already got re-imbursed for their travel expenses for going back to their constituencies. With all the recent furore about MP's expenses it would take an MP with a brass neck to accept train travel free of charge from a train operator and (presumably) "trouser" the expenses.Another thing, I just don't know how they would ever be able to prove that their decision making had not been influenced by this inducement.