So, today I start on a new #Interrail ticket, in a new modality for me: the one-country ticket for Great Britain.
It turns out to only be available as a flex pass, which works out for me as I’m not travelling on Monday.
I picked the one-country ticket because I knew there was little to no chance of getting a Eurostar off this island on an Interrail with so little notice. So I’m flying in and out.
I looked. My train today (Malvern-Durham) is roughly half the price of the pass that I bought. And that was in second class. In first, the one train was pricier than my first class pass. So I effectively get 5 days travel for free.
And I have long distance (for the UK) travel plans in mind. It’s a no-brainer
And, what better way to inaugurate a new #Interrail than with massive disruptions to trains in the area I want to travel to: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service-disruptions/newcastle-20250810/
What is the UK equivalent of getting Bahned? (Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments)
From Malvern Link, a very pretty station with an old station building that has been repurposed into an Airbnb, I took a class 196 train to Birmingham New Street, earlier this afternoon.
The class 196 is a nice enough single class regional DMU made by CAF, based on the Civity platform, but it is distinctly British in the styling and way it is designed. That being said, the seat back tables are tiny, and the full size tables are barely wide enough for my laptop. It did have sockets in every pair of seats, both AC, and USB-A.
It was nice enough for an hour, but it felt distinctly strange to be on a Diesel train on a mostly electrified line.
Brum, I was (briefly) in you!
And from Birmingham to Durham, I am taking a class 220 Cross Country DMU. It’s somewhat stunted, with only 4 out of the 6 cars, and no catering car, but otherwise seems to be powering along nicely.
First class is comfy, but the 2-person side of the 2+1 configuration is staggered differently to the windows. Also, the overhead racks are barely large enough to fit my backpack onto, and there is very little luggage space.
On the upside, there is a wheelchair space in First Claas, which is far from commonplace.
And I’ve been Bahned (or rather, according to the earlier poll, Nationally Railed) in Darlington, where the Train manager made an announcement about 5 minutes out saying the train will terminate here. We’re now waiting for the next train on the same platform, which is about 5 minutes away, which will continue on to Glasgow via Durham and Newcastle.
…oh, wait, we’re now doing a mass move to platform 1
And I finally made it to Durham!
Now to spend the evening with family, likely explaining what #JetLagTheGame and #Interrail are all about…
Moof! 🔜
T3chFest