Sheffield to London by train
Are East Midland Trains any better than Midland Mainline?
Having been a regular traveller for the last eight years on the train route between Sheffield and London, I watched with interest the impact the transfer of the franchise from Midland Mainline to East Midlands Trains (EMT) in November 2007 would have.
Recently it seems EMT has spent money updating the corporate livery on the outside of carriages, however it wouldn’t hurt to prioritise passenger benefits instead. The first thing that most regular travellers noticed after the change was the immediate withdrawal of free tea and coffee. What a warm welcome to the franchise!
I am writing this as I travel from Sheffield to London but will have to upload it later this weekend, as there isn’t a sniff of wi-fi on the EMT fleet. Never mind the livery; would the money have been better spent on installing a wi-fi network, at least on the trains that serve London?
It is good that the trains look smart and the branding is becoming more consistent (and less confusing) across the fleet, but EMT failed in an opportunity to put customers’ needs before corporate ones and match NX Trains in offering free wi-fi as standard across the whole train.
To be honest, I haven’t noticed any difference in punctuality or reliability since EMT took over. Some trains still arrive early, some are on time and there are still delays: on a recent journey I was stuck on a service outside Leicester for 2 hours, and in total arrived 4 hours later than scheduled.
I didn’t mind too much as I was in no hurry and knew I would get a refund on my ticket. However when I applied for my money back I was told that in accordance with their friendly passenger charter, as the delay was due to vandalised points and signals, I wasn’t entitled to a penny.
At least the beginning and end of the Sheffield to London journey is a pleasure. Sheffield station is looking really good (ignoring the well-documented traffic access problems) and St Pancras has gone from being the most run down major London station serving national connections to being by far the most spectacular. I am looking forward to doing a trip to France from Sheffield by train.
Next time I travel to London, due to timetabling and ticket prices, I am actually going via Doncaster, so can look forward to the free, unrestricted wi-fi access for everyone.
It’s also quicker to go via Doncaster, even though it’s further. I prefer the via Doncaster route, but it is more expensive.
Hello
This is an interesting review as I am likely to fly over England. Sheffield seems to be such a great town, might be the most interesting to me ever more than London… I read about its lonely chance to have more trees than inhabitants in the towns, five parks and a 138m² Peak District. I wish I could journey there. I wish I could see Saxon show at Sheffield Academy too.
Here (in France) the railway is a thing still out of mind, always 10mn later or often cancelled train etc etc… Birmingham – Manchester could be a good first trip to visit England by train!
Well, it’s April 2010 and we still don’t have on-train WiFi.
Nett result is that I’m increasingly travelling via Doncaster – sure, the trains are more crowded, but at least the WiFi is good and – unlike East Midlands Trains – I can leave London on a pre-booked ticket at 1830 or 1900 at SENSIBLE PRICES.