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‘Premium economy’ train travel launched on West Coast line

Rail chief says new three-class system will ‘set new benchmark’ for UK train travel

Matt Mathers
Wednesday 19 May 2021 07:33 BST
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(PA)

Domestic railway passengers are now able to choose from three different classes of journey for the first time in years under plans by an operator to "transform" services on the West Coast line.

Avanti West Coast, which serves customers from London and Birmingham all the way up to Liverpool, Carlisle and Edinburgh, is introducing a premium economy option in addition to its other services.

Under the premium economy option, West Coat main line travellers can expect wider seats, more leg room and will be guaranteed a table - extras which bosses say will "set a new benchmark" for UK rail travel.

The service is positioned between standard class and first class, meaning customers will not receive complimentary refreshments. The new class is initially only available to buy as an upgrade on the day of travel. Prices depend on the length of journey, ranging from £15 to £30.

AWC said 96 per cent of passengers who took part in a trial of its premium economy service said they were "highly likely" or "likely" to upgrade on future journeys.

FirstGroup, the majority owner of AWC, reportedly considered introducing three classes on West Coast services in an ill-fated 2012 franchise bid.

Third-class rail travel was abolished on domestic trains in Britain in 1956, and renamed second class before later being branded standard class.

A year later, the Department for Transport was forced to deny it was planning to require a "third-class service" to be introduced on the East Coast Main Line, after a three-tier system was included in a leaked franchise prospectus ahead of a return to private ownership.

AWC plans to launch an enhanced first-class offering later this year, which will include improved catering and more bespoke customer service.

This will be available seven days a week, whereas the existing first-class service is reduced at weekends. Work will begin next month on fully refurbishing Avanti West Coast's fleet of 56 Pendolino trains.

The firm's managing director Phil Whittingham said: "This is the first major step in our transformation of services on the West Coast.

"Together with our upcoming first-class service which will lead the industry, and the complete refurbishment of the Pendolino fleet, Standard Premium will set a new benchmark for UK rail travel.

"Our new class of travel will offer greater choice and provide a unique offer which meets customers' changing needs as they return to rail.

"This new feature is another step in raising the bar for excellence on the railway."

Earlier this year, in an article for Rail magazine, train fare expert Barry Doe, said the cost of trains had ballooned since the franchises were privatised in 1995.

He wrote that while overall price levels have doubled in some 25 years, some train fares have quadrupled.

He named Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway and Great Western Railway inter-city as the operations that “outstrip all others for peak fares”.

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