First class Rail..
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Try booking though the EC site, http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/, often a discounted price. Don't know the date you're travelling but I get £44.95 on EC vs £50.50 on the national rail site for the same journey 1st advance.
Ye, I see now, thought he meant £40 extra for a single.[TW]Fox;17929407 said:
I stopped short of saying that for fear of getting flamed but that MP who got into trouble for saying he should be allowed to use First Class as you can actually get some work done was spot on
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Train prices are utterly ridiculous tbh 
Whilst I'd agree with Fox I'll also disagree. £40 extra for me would be a no no, even for a 6 hour trip.
I used to regularly get first class from Plymouth to London when I studied there and whilst first class is very nice I only ever got it when it was cheaper than/a similar price to standard (used to be able to get them reasonably regularly for £20 each way). As long as you go at a reasonable time (not peak) so you can get a decent seat in standard before the crowds and take a laptop/book to keep yourself occupied it's fine.
Having said that when/if I get a decent job I will probably buy first class quite a lot on lines like FGW and East Coast. Both are quite nice to spend a few hours and FAR better than being stuck in a car/bus/aeroplane.
So yeah, bit mixed here, if you're a student/not much disposable income then standard. If you're not really going to miss the £40 then go first class.
I used to regularly get first class from Plymouth to London when I studied there and whilst first class is very nice I only ever got it when it was cheaper than/a similar price to standard (used to be able to get them reasonably regularly for £20 each way). As long as you go at a reasonable time (not peak) so you can get a decent seat in standard before the crowds and take a laptop/book to keep yourself occupied it's fine.
Having said that when/if I get a decent job I will probably buy first class quite a lot on lines like FGW and East Coast. Both are quite nice to spend a few hours and FAR better than being stuck in a car/bus/aeroplane.
So yeah, bit mixed here, if you're a student/not much disposable income then standard. If you're not really going to miss the £40 then go first class.
Make sure you have a first class seat booked and not just a first class ticket. My Dad did some work for a company who paid for him to travel to London from Preston first class, but didn't book him a seat. There were no spare first class seats so he had to stand all the way to Milton Keynes where he managed to get a vacated seat in standard class. The mind boggles really at how stupid some TOCs are.
Train prices are utterly ridiculous tbh
Why? Cheaper than cars a lot of the time for the same distance when travelling alone or with 2 people. Then also a similar price to a lot of europe for cross country (bearing in mind most of europe have two classes of train where you pay a lot more for the fast one).
Not that bad if you go at the right time.
5pm and you're asking for it, later and earlier are usually fine.
I was thinking the extra £40 was good for a 1-2 hour trip!
6 hours in standard class would kill me, £40 is worth every penny for a journey that long and IMO offers good value for money!
Thats return - so its a 12 hour trip?
How is it the TOC's fault if there are no seats, what did he expect if he didnt book
Reservations are compulsory with advance tickets anyway.
Not if you don't go at peak time it isn't. Yes the seats are a bit bigger but get a table seat in standard class and the only real difference is the number of people around you. Leave london outside peak times and you'll regularly (read most) of the time have at max only one other person on your table.
How do you complete a journey of 6+ hours without involving at least some peak time?
I don't mean to sound rude, but I don't want anyone at my table and most 1st class carriages allow this.
[TW]Fox;17929631 said:
Peak time near a big city. Try not to leave on a train that hits a big city at peak time and you're fine.
I've done not only Plymouth to London but Plymouth to Bangor (via Birmingham) and also various routes out of Bristol and from near London to Edinburgh etc. and can always swing it that I have very few people on the train.
Just need to make sure you don't leave or hit at a peak time (which is pretty simple, leave at around 11 most days and you're fine, or just after lunchtime as well is a good one, or a train after 6 from a maor city, which are usually empty).
You can quite easily end up with another person at your table in first as well so the potential for one extra person isn't much of an issue to me. Although a large amount of the time I'm on my own.
I don't particularly mind people opposite me but beside me is quite invasive, especially when I'm using the laptop.
It's better because most people think it isn't, that's why it's better. I don't want tish tish tish from some spanners head phones, I've come to blows before over this and I don't want people all around me making a noise and generally being annoying. Though first class doesn't always mean you remove this from the equation, it usually does and you get more space and at seat service. Cross country trains are less good however, but still worth it in my book.