South West Trains First Class

Teledude

Teledude

Teledude

Soldato
Joined
4 Dec 2003
Posts
2,847
I'm trying to work out if you actually benefit from going first class like you do on FGW and VT - looks like you still have to pay for all refreshments and there is no WiFi onboard?! :confused:

Specifically thinking of the Waterloo to Poole service.

Thanks in advance :)

ps - in before the.... worst I travel first class thread etc etc :p
 
It's not worth it on the Class 444's you will almost certainly be on from Waterloo to Poole. First Class on non-ex-Intercity-routes is rarely worth the bother as its little more than a slightly nicer seat.

It's only on ex-IC routes where you get things like big comfy leather seats, at-seat service, etc etc.
 
I'd be surprised if first class doesn't offer you WiFi and even complimentary tea and scones!

On the East Coast Main Line 1st class gets you those.

Edit: Ignore me, read above. More useful advice there.
 
Ricochet J said:
I'd be surprised if first class doesn't offer you WiFi and even complimentary tea and scones!
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Then you should be suprised :p

On the East Coast Main Line 1st class gets you those.
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Because the ECML is a proper Intercity service. Waterloo to Poole isn't.

As a rule of thumb if you are travelling with First Great Western (On a longer distance service), East Coast, Virgin Trains or longer distance East Midlands Trains services then its worth it if you get a good deal. For everyone else - including Cross Country - its not worth the bother unless its really cheap.
 
[TW]Fox;21968256 said:
Provided it's not super-busy its actually not that bad. The trains are reasonably new so they've yet to be trashed by morons.
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The only thing I'm worried about - its the 18:05 on the Friday before bank holiday.... might be worth the upgrade thinking about it like that!!
 
I once got a free upgrade to first class on the Bristol to London FGW route. It was not worth it at all. The seat was slightly better with a bit more leg room but not to the level where I'd pay extra.
 
I travel by train a lot and the difference between standard and first class is usually whether you get a seat or not. I regularly do the south wales to cambridge and wouldn't think about doing it cattle class after doing it once.

It may be a bit more but if you are traveling at 6pm on a Friday and don't mind standing them go for it but booked in advance first class aint a whole lot more expensive :)
 
you should see First Class on Southeastern, its just a diffrent colour seat, the size/shape of the seats are the same, theres no wifi or food/drink on the trains.
 
The SWT service from Waterloo to Poole is ok, it's not worth the upgrade to 1st though really. There's no WiFi for instance. The time you are leaving is a 10 carriage service with two 1st class coaches. These have two seats down one side and one seat down the other. It should be an at seat buffet service throughout the train, but given the time you are travelling it might be buffet car instead.

The train will leave from platform 7,9 or 11 provided there are no issues, and the 18:05 should arrive at Poole around 20:05. After Southampton, it will become a ghost train. Provided you are at Waterloo by 17:50, you'll get a seat, sometimes, this service is standing room only and will be busy especially before a bank holiday.

In slum class, sit in any of the seats which back onto the bulkheads (the main sliding doors into each carriage), these have more legroom than any of the other seats in the carriage. The 2nd and 7th carriages (from Waterloo) have one single seat in the isle which are often highly desirable in cattle class. This is because the disabled toilet is also in this coach.
 
Lucero said:
The SWT service from Waterloo to Poole is ok, it's not worth the upgrade to 1st though really. There's no WiFi for instance. The time you are leaving is a 10 carriage service with two 1st class coaches. These have two seats down one side and one seat down the other. It should be an at seat buffet service throughout the train, but given the time you are travelling it might be buffet car instead.

The train will leave from platform 7,9 or 11 provided there are no issues, and the 18:05 should arrive at Poole around 20:05. After Southampton, it will become a ghost train. Provided you are at Waterloo by 17:50, you'll get a seat, sometimes, this service is standing room only and will be busy especially before a bank holiday.

In slum class, sit in any of the seats which back onto the bulkheads (the main sliding doors into each carriage), these have more legroom than any of the other seats in the carriage. The 2nd and 7th carriages (from Waterloo) have one single seat in the isle which are often highly desirable in cattle class. This is because the disabled toilet is also in this coach.
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Thanks :D

You clearly get that train too often ;)
 
Lucero covers most of my knowledge of the service (I take it on Saturdays to football as you can do Waterloo to Southampton on the Pool service for £2.50 each way).

The regular class seats are perfectly nice (much nicer than my local first capital connect services) and the 1st class really doesn't look much of an upgrade.

Only real downside is my 3g cuts out on my phone on parts of the route killing that as a decent option for browsing the web, best to take a book and listen to some music.
 
He can't count though as a 10 car formation has the equivalent of just over 1 coach and not two, its made up of 2 units and each one has just over half of one coach as First Class not the whole coach :p
 
SW Trains 1st class is not that much different from normal class, if you get a set of 4 seats to yourself its even better, why pay more
 
Djwayne said:
I travel by train a lot and the difference between standard and first class is usually whether you get a seat or not.
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Not a problem if you reserve seats. Out of the 8 or so trains i've been on in the past couple of weeks all but 2 have been full to capacity yet i've sat at my reserved table seat every time :D Same again on wednesday no doubt.
 
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