Operator: TransPennine Express
Headcode: 1M80
Route: CAR-MIA
Class: 1st Class
Seat: E08
Date: Tuesday 25th June 2024
Day two of my mini-tour of the north-west started bright and early at Carlisle station where I’d arrived less than 12 hours earlier onboard an Avanti West Coast Pendolino (read about that here). Now it was time to head back south, although this journey wouldn’t be with the West Coast Mainline’s (WCML) primary operator, as I would heading to Manchester Airport with TransPennine Express (TPE). This leg of the trip would be in 1st Class with me getting to try out TPE’s premium offering once again, this time on one of their flagship WCML routes.
Just before 0630 my train arrived from Glasgow Central, operated by 397010, a class 397 ‘Nova 2’, built by Spanish manufacturer CAF. Carlisle was this service’s second stop on its journey from Glasgow’s second city, with Lockerbie having been paid a brief visit about 20 minutes earlier. During my ride onboard, we’d be making another six intermediate stops at Penrith North Lakes, Oxenholme, Lancaster, Preston, Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Piccadilly, before arriving at Manchester Airport about two and a quarter hours later.
1st Class was in coach E which turned out to be at the front of the train, resulting in a quick walk along the platform to get on board. We departed Carlilse on time at 0630 and as I settled into my seat I thought there was a high risk I’d be falling back to sleep as the heating had been turned up for this early morning journey. Thankfully within five minutes of us departing, I was offered the complementary food and drink and ended up opting for the ’Highland Breakfast’ and a strong cup of coffee.
The ‘Highland Breakfast’ was excellent with a nice ‘twist’ on the classic cooked breakfast and quite possibly outranks the ‘LNER Breakfast’ that competes in 1st class on the East Coast Mainline. The journey south was fairly uneventful with some blog writing interspersed with additional cups of coffee, leading to a productive morning finishing my blogs on Dublin and our flight from the Irish capital to Birmingham. You can check those out here and here if you haven’t already!
The Lake District passed by in the early morning light and it didn’t feel like that long before the stops at Penrith, Oxenholme and Lancaster had all been ticked off. Preston was the first stop note on the journey with a change of both driver and conductor as our Scottish crew swapped for a Lancashire based one. Not long after leaving Preston we left the WCML at Euxton Junction and started making our way south-east towards Manchester. ‘Fast’ runs through Bolton and Salford reminded of my first time ticking off this bit of route, when I headed from Manchester to Preston and back in my “There and back again” blog.
As we caught up with a stopping service just before Salford Crescent I was concerned we were going to lose a bit of time, however our pathing along the Castlefield corridor to Manchester and Oxford Piccadilly was clearly relatively slow as well as we only ended up losing a couple of minutes. Our penultimate stop at Manchester Piccadilly is a station I’ve visited on numerous occasions, including to try out Transport for Wales’ loco hauled services, one of which was awaiting departure as we called at the station. The final run through the southern Manchester suburbs was uneventful and we pulled into the platform at Manchester Airport at 0846, four minutes late.
My early morning journey with TPE from Carlisle to Manchester Airport was certainly pleasant enough and the onboard offering for 1st class was excellent. The class 397 ‘Nova 2’ provide a smooth ride and the seating onboard in 1st class is comfortable enough although still doesn’t meet the benchmark set by the leather seats on LNER InterCity 225s. As with the vast majority of railway staff, all the crew I interacted with on this journey were pleasant and helpful and we arrived within the five minute delay threshold that I accept on my travels. All in all a good journey!
Lounge 0*
Seat/Facilities 4*
Food 5*
Service 5*
Punctuality 5*
Overall Rating 19/25 (read about my rating system here!)
Flights & Times 