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

[Leeds-lad]

Why would they have to prove anything?If they are savvy enough they will take the free travel and not lobby very hard for them.After all Nick Clegg said he wouldn't raise tuition fees.

[Leeds-lad]

Sorry I forgot Nick Clegg is not from Leeds.By the way leodian which Yorkshire MP's claiming these free rides are from Leeds.

[dogduke]

Leeds-lad wrote: Sorry I forgot Nick Clegg is not from Leeds.By the way leodian which Yorkshire MP's claiming these free rides are from Leeds. I seem to remember TV/Nespaper items mentioned18 MP's had taken up the offer which when you consider the routeBradford to Doncaster does go through a few constituencies

[cnosni]

Uno Hoo wrote: 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. Well someone seems to have rattled your cage here,must be me.A couple of points.The EC train from Bradford Forster Square leaves at 0630,it arrives in London Kings Cross at 0908,2 hours and 38 minutes.Indeed it is one service a day,exactly the same number of services that Grand Central deem to run to London Kings Cross.Grand Centrals journey time on their 0651 departure- 3 hours ,15 mins.The rolling stock they use may be new,but it is very very poor.We were going to get the rolling stock that Grand Central are using at the moment,thank god we didnt.This class of 125mph multiple unit rolling stock is prone to major failure every 3000 miles,considering the amount of mileage rolling stock is expected to do on the ECML in a day this does not bode well.You have clearly been fortunate in your train journeys to date.Grand Central,as you know,run sevices to Sunderland.Their policy in recent years has been to run their trains with one or more engines isolated on a set,to save fuel.This severeley increases the time in which their trains can reach line speed,thus holding up trains running behind them,and increasing the passenger journey time.Your points on the price of tickets is indeed valid,but Grand Central are not part of ATOC and as such are governed by the ticketing pricing policy,the one which is ripping everyone of on all railway franchises,not just East Coast.I would also like to point out that GNER/EC does not recieve any subsidy,it is in fact the second biggest monetary contributor to the UK rail infrastucture after Network Rail itself,whereas Grand Central and the likes pay nothing but access charges.I have no need to push any EC propoganda,i am a railway man and as long as the trains run and i get paid then i am happy.I think you have assumed a little too much with regards to myself,frankly im a bit dissappointed.I hope that the next time you are stranded in London when Grand Central have failed that you dont go and expect to travel on another rail operators service for nothing,something which Grand Central and Hull Train customers invariably do when their services are cancelled and there is no representative from the respective rail company on hand to ensure THEIR passengers get home.

[liits]

Thanks for that info, cnosni, but stable doors and horses come to mind. On the day in question I realised that my urge for pork pies and fish and chips over-rode my desire to stand and argue with some poor soul who didn’t even work for Grand Central. Hence, I bought myself a ticket for NE, wrote off the £28 I’d paid for GC tickets and trundled to York on an empty train leaving King’s Cross station full of angry punters all arguing about twenty eight quid refunds. Lesson learned.

[jim]

I hadn't realised that GC stock was new, I thought it was refurb!

[Uno Hoo]

Oh dear. I replied to cnosni at some length yesterday evening on my notebook, but am sorry to see this morning that for some reason it didn't post after I'd hit the button.I CBA to make all the points again. Suffice it to say that GC offer a real alternative for travellers from Bradford, Halifax, Brighouse (& Huddersfield), Wakefield, Pontefract., and particularly Doncaster. My experience to date is that it's OK. Door to door (for me) it's better than EC, with 3 departures, not one, per day. Even EC's 0630 is no better (again for me), as the extra walking time to Forster Sq deletes the time advantage of its slightly faster time. Pricewise it's still a no-brainer. On many occasions I use it one way owing to the limited departure options from Kings X, but I'm still well in pocket, even afterpaying through the nose to EC for the return. I can't usually take advantage of advance cheap fares as I usually have to travel at peak times. BTW, I don't believe it's any cage of mine that's rattled, cnosni. Methinks thou dost protest too much

[chameleon]

Uno Hoo wrote: Oh dear. I replied to cnosni at some length yesterday evening on my notebook, but am sorry to see this morning that for some reason it didn't post after I'd hit the button.I CBA to make all the points again. Suffice it to say that GC offer a real alternative for travellers from Bradford, Halifax, Brighouse (& Huddersfield), Wakefield, Pontefract., and particularly Doncaster. My experience to date is that it's OK. Door to door (for me) it's better than EC, with 3 departures, not one, per day. Even EC's 0630 is no better (again for me), as the extra walking time to Forster Sq deletes the time advantage of its slightly faster time. Pricewise it's still a no-brainer. On many occasions I use it one way owing to the limited departure options from Kings X, but I'm still well in pocket, even afterpaying through the nose to EC for the return. I can't usually take advantage of advance cheap fares as I usually have to travel at peak times. BTW, I don't believe it's any cage of mine that's rattled, cnosni. Methinks thou dost protest too much I think we're all being made a little uncharacteristically edgey Uno Hoo - so many deep breathes I'm hyper-ventilating, were's the paper bag gone.....

[Uno Hoo]

No need to be, chameleon. It's only a bit of debate. If cnosni and I were face to face in a pub we'd be buying each other drinks. I don't know yet whether I'll have the opportunity on Dec 4th.

[chameleon]

Uno Hoo wrote: No need to be, chameleon. It's only a bit of debate. If cnosni and I were face to face in a pub we'd be buying each other drinks. I don't know yet whether I'll have the opportunity on Dec 4th. Yup I know that's the case for most folk here - it's been a bit noisey of late though...