Operator: LNER
Headcode: 1S10
Route: PBO-EDB
Class: 1st Class
Seat: K30
Date: Wednesday 10th April 2024
April saw us starting another trip to Scotland at Peterborough station, waiting for an LNER service to the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. I’ve reviewed the trip to and from Scotland with LNER plenty of times, so you can check out those previous posts on the blog, but this time I’d be travelling with Beth and we’d upgraded via Seatfrog rather than buying 1st class tickets upfront.
I think I’ve covered Seatfrog before, but essentially its an app that allows you to bid for upgrades in auctions. There’s a number of Train Operating Companies (TOCs) that partner with Seatfrog including GWR, Avanti West Coast and LNER, some TOCs also allowing you to ‘swap your train’ when travelling on an advance ticket. For this trip to Edinburgh, we were able to upgrade to 1st class for £24 each (including admin fees), however this did end up with us sitting at opposite ends of the carriage.
Coach K on LNER’s nine car Azuma’s is half 1st class and half standard class and our upgraded seats, K03 and K30, were at opposite ends of the 1st class half. Seatfrog auctions off unsold seats and so upgrades are to whatever seats are left and, on this busy train, these were two of the only seats unsold through to Edinburgh. K30 is a bit of an odd seat as it would normally be one of the window seats at a table of four however, because of the adjacent connecting door to standard class, there is no adjacent aisle seat and as such the full-size table is only shared between three seats.
Departing Peterborough one minute late at 1019 and as we accelerated north, we passed the various freight yards that fill the space to the east of the East Coast Mainline (ECML) and are home to two of the big three rail freight companies, GB Railfreight (GBRf) and DB Cargo. These yards are a shadow of they used to be during the ‘glory days’ of the railways, however certainly GBRf have expanded their presence recently, with a new HQ, wagon maintenance facility and increased yard space all having been completed in the last few years.
With an 0930 departure from Kings Cross and 1413 arrival into Edinburgh, 1S10 falls firmly within the ‘Bruch menu timings and I was impressed with the choice available. Beth tells me she opted for a Bacon cob, which didn’t come as the concealed microwaved mess they used to, and I went for the vegetarian Friatta with ‘posh beans’, which was something a bit different and absolutely delicious.
On our journey to the Scottish capital there would be eight intermediate stops, with the first couple being Newark Northgate and Doncaster, meaning we would pass fast through Grantham and Retford. After Doncaster we would be calling at York (which the vast majority of LNER services stop at), then Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Morpeth, Alnmouth before finally arriving at Edinburgh Waverley.
Having enjoyed brunch not long after departing Peterborough, I decided to crack on with some writing, managing to finish off the blog post covering Split (read that here), from my Snoozing to Split trip back in January. Unfortunately, the onboard WiFi was a bit patchy on this trip, making it a bit harder to do the associated research, but the almost four hours of journey time meant I still managed to get the post finished.
As we travelled along the Selby diversion between Doncaster and York, passing the soggy fields that sat as evidence of the early April weather, I was able to see the remains of Ferrybridge Power Station C in the distance. Once home to two chimneys and six cooling towers, the power station was decommissioned in 2016 and has steadily been demolished since. As I’ve travelled across this section of the ECML over the past couple of years its been interesting to see the progress of the demolition in the distance.
Racing a CrossCountry class 220 also bound for Edinburgh into York, we managed to overtake it with a quick stop and despite being a few minutes late, we were back on time by Darlington. Approaching Newcastle, we crossed the King Edward Bridge which gives a great view each way down the River Tyne including of the other railway bridges, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge which carries the Metro across the river, and the High Level Bridge. The High Level Bridge provides a connection towards Heworth and Sunderland as well as allowing trains to complete a loop around the station and rejoin the ECML in the other direction.
As we departed Newcastle, a TransPennine Express (TPE) service was waiting to depart the northbound bay platform 1 and cross the High-Level Bridge as it started its journey to Liverpool Lime Street. I didn’t know it at the time, but between making this journey and writing the blog, I’ve booked and travelled on one of the Newcastle to Liverpool services from York to Liverpool. A review of that trip will be coming to the blog later in the year, but as a spoiler, it was fairly uneventful and didn’t stand out.
As we continued at speed towards the border, we had a new crew onboard, including the partner of one of my colleagues, and we had an afternoon offering of snacks and drinks brought around with me opting for some crisps, a raspberry mousse pots and a beer. For this part of the journey the ECML follows close to the coast, and I was able to see the famous Holy Isle. Lindesfarne, or Holy Isle, is a tidal island with a causeway that gets covered by the sea at high tide cutting it off from the mainland. We clearly passed whilst the tide was out as I could see lots of vehicles crossing the causeway in the distance.
Keeping an eye on Google Maps as we passed through Berwick, I was just about able to see the sign that marks the border between England and Scotland on the ECML, although had no chance of being able to get a photo. The last 40 minutes or so of the journey were uneventful, with me having finished the Split blog whilst still in England and catching up on some reading. I did take a look out the window as we passed Craigentinny depot to see what was about, with CrossCountry, LNER, ScotRail and TPE all having units stabled.
As we pulled into Edinburgh Waverley at 1411, two minutes early, I reflected on another journey in 1st class with LNER. Overall it was a good journey, with only the WiFi providing a slight hiccup, and whilst Beth and I ended up seated apart as a result of our Seatfrog upgrade, this wasn’t really an issue as we both had things we wanted to get on with during the journey.
Lounge 0*
Seat/Facilities 4*
Food 4*
Service 5*
Punctuality 5*
Overall Rating 18/25 (read about my rating system here!)
Flights & Times 
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