LNER Azuma First Class | London - Edinburgh

LNER Azuma First Class | London - Edinburgh
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a British train operating company. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT). The company's name echoes that of the London and North Eastern Railway, one of the Big Four companies which operated between 1923 and 1948.
These days, they operate a fleet of these modern Japanese manufactured high speed trains across the length of Britain and even feature a First Class cabin. I get on board one of these services to experience how it is like, and get to experience some fantastic scenery along the way.
Please enjoy the video.
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[@paulineparsons9399]

As always your vlogs are a JOY to watch..been so looking fwd to this next video....thanks so much .😅👍

[@ryansofly]

You're very welcome, thanks for your constant support!

[@jamesbedford7327]

In regards to the food menu, LNER has 4 different menus, which operate on different services (you can find this on LNER's website. The 07:30 train has the Dish Menu, where as the 07:00 and 08:00 have the Dine Menu, which has more options

[@ryansofly]

Good to know, thank you.

[@ABTrainsYT]

Aaand the moment we’ve been waiting for :P

[@ryansofly]

Hope the wait was worth it! 😜

[@michaelmacdonell4834]

"Let's get our bladders ready" is now A Thing. Thank you.

[@ryansofly]

Hahaha indeed it is.

[@ryansofly]

When I get faced with these kinds of road bumps, my first thought is "YES! Extra content!" 😅😅

[@jacquisenior6811]

Absolutely brilliant and great funny review. Having travelled from the GNER and LNER line to Dundee for many years since moving to London, this will be my first time travelling First Class! Thank you for your honesty and humour. I'll be in the Gin instead of tea 😁

[@ryansofly]

Glad you enjoyed it! Hahahaha why of course... Gin it is then! Shaken, not stirred. 😏

[@lindseyrea9237]

We did that journey in reverse in late 2019 on a Virgin train - second class. We were quite comfortable with Second Class, - booked early with a 2 together Railcard so had a cheaper journey. It was a long day - but we enjoyed the ride. Scenery was great.

[@ryansofly]

I'd like to return and try LUMO and see how it differs.

[@Maduraapiit]

Thank you for recalling my memories. I would love to see more and I wish I was there to share the LNER tea cup.

[@ryansofly]

Haha so much tea to be had...

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

Thank you for the video

[@ryansofly]

You're welcome!

[@gram1608]

Great video... thanks again

[@ryansofly]

Glad you enjoyed it... Thanks for watching!

[@jasongarufi8187]

Great video Ryan your review of LNER is similar to what Train vloggers say about the service.

[@ryansofly]

Yes indeed... I found that an overall enjoyable experience.

[@_Tripsandtips101]

Good trivia along the way. It's tempting to fly London-Edinburgh as a plane ride is faster and can sometimes be cheaper. So the additional train fare on that day will be for those who love the views.

[@ryansofly]

Suppose it depends on which part of London you live in. Train or plane is more convenient to different people. Next time I'd wanna try LUMO between London and Edinburgh.

[@jonjohnson2844]

Good stuff mate, I love travelling on long distance trains in the UK but it's so expensive, it's cheaper to hire a car and drive!

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

Not all UK trains are "so expensive" it really depends on the route, the operator and ticket type. For example budget rail firm Lumo operates London-Edinburgh with keen fares.

[@ryansofly]

I did not wish to fly Ryanair or EasyJet. BA was fairly pricey during the times I needed to fly so LNER worked out to be more reasonable. Also I wanted to film the train for this review 🤣

[@jonjohnson2844]

@@ryansofly totally get that mate, it's for the content, just saying for most people in the country the trains aren't good value...I live 38 miles from Manchester, it costs me £40 to get there and back and I don't even get a seat!

[@jonjohnson2844]

@@alexmcwhirter6611 that's good if you live in London or Edinburgh - it's literally cheaper for me to fly to Berlin than it is to go to Manchester 40 miles away (assuming a friend gives me a lift to the airport lol)

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

@@jonjohnson2844 I hear what you say but you cannot compare Ryanair with rail travel. Both modes have different pricing models. I mean if you turn up at the airport and buy a ticket to Berlin the cost will be higher than any 40 mile train ride.

[@Andrewjg_89]

You should also do Lumo that also goes from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley and to see what Lumo is like compare to LNER.

[@ryansofly]

When I do that journey again, I'd definitely try LUMO.

[@richardcaldwell9160]

Great review Ryan. What, no Full English eecads !! Back in the late 70's I bussed it with National Express o/night -I am sure it cost me Five Pounds, but I could be wrong

[@ryansofly]

There is an overnight train - Caledonian Sleeper, between King's Cross and Waverly. That costs about AUD500 one way. It travels a lot slower so that gives you a comfortable journey of about 7 hours, enough to sleep 😴

[@LukeCrisp]

Information packed! Would be keen to try this at least once to see a bit more from the land rather than drive… price seems a little steep but I suppose taking a day away from the airport hustle and bustle… Nice one 👍

[@ryansofly]

Transport options are all pretty dear in the UK. Although there is a budget version of this service operated by LUMO. They use the same model train with services unbundled. That seems popular too.

[@LukeCrisp]

@@ryansoflyGood to know, thanks!

[@johnlastactor]

You could have asked for another bacon roll. I often find the catering staff and guards are ameniable and happy to offer another extra bit of something in First - especially if you ask for it politely. Also, they can only say no.

[@ryansofly]

@@johnlastactor besides doing videos about trains and planes, I also do foodie videos. And I had a SLEW of restaurants lined up on arrival in Edinburgh. So yeah, that's why I had to pace myself. 🤣

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

I have been on LNER and their Azuma trains are quite nice. Have you tried Lumo. Maybe you should try Lumo.

[@ryansofly]

No I haven't, my first time in Scotland. Next time I head back there, I will definitely try out lumo.

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

⁠Ok 👍😄

[@FromtheWindowSeat]

Nice one Ryan! My big question is how do you get so much leave? 😅 You two seem to travel an incredible amount (not that I’m jealous or anything 😂).

[@ryansofly]

It does seem like we travel a lot. We got the invite to this wedding in Scotland AFTER we planned our last EU trip, that's why these slew of EU videos haha. These 2 trips were really 6 months apart... Haha. My video series stretches over a period of a few months that's why it seems I'm always travelling. 😉

[@FromtheWindowSeat]

@@ryansofly Ah, I see. Now I don’t feel so jealous. 😂

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

Hello Ryan, thanks for such an objective review. 'Azuma' was the brand name thought up by previous operator VTEC and it's really the same mainline trains which all mainline train operators have been/are getting. Most are manufactured by Hitachi Rail which built a new plant in the UK. Only some originated from Japan and Hitachi's Italian plant. Yes their ride quality is not that good even when compared to the older LNER stock ! The meagre breakfast I can't understand as Avanti (which operates London-Glasgow) serves a full breakfast. So maybe there was a catering issue when you travelled or maybe you travelled at a weekend. However the public have warmed to the LNER product and more and more travellers now take the train on this route which contrasts with British Rail days and its declining passenger traffic. It helps that LNER operates every 30 mins throughout the day. Main advantage of air is that London is so spread out that, for many people, air is more convenient. Consider there are flights from five London airports (LHR/LGW/LTN/STN/LCY) whereas the train departs only Kings Cross. Fares vary a lot as the operators use dynamic pricing. Interesting LON-EDI is also served by Lumo a rail operator whose business model is akin to budget airlines. Lumo has found favour with travellers who like its different product (as an aside Lumo's Hitachi trains came from Italy)

[@ryansofly]

I found out about LUMO when I was in London. Perhaps this is an excuse to head back there to do a comparison review. I was dead set on including a train review for this travel series. Otherwise there was the EasyJet/Ryanair option from LGW (no no) or pricey BA from LHR. Nah, I chose the train.

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

@@ryansofly You were right to choose LNER first class for comfort and service and the price was a bargain, really. Lumo has a similar business model to a budget airline but its product has found favour with those often younger travellers who would have taken EZY or Ryanair.

[@colin5373]

OMG - Greggs, why do we not have them in Oz?

[@ryansofly]

Ha my thoughts exactly!

[@josephphillips9243]

Heck yeah Jaffa cakes!!!!! Enqueue the high speed rail debate for Australia..... again.....

[@ryansofly]

I should've bought more than 1 bag. So good...!

[@jonjohnson2844]

Not gonna happen mate, Australia is bigger than Western Europe and it's almost always far cheaper to fly than get the train (I've no idea why)

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

@@jonjohnson2844 It's to do with 'economics of scale.' I mean how many trains operate Sydney-Melbourne compared to the number of flights ? For the London-Edinburgh trip LNER operates every *30 mins* throughout the day and then there's another rail firm called Lumo which probably operates four or five trains a day.

[@scottsimpson9659]

What’s the journey time London to Edinburgh

[@ryansofly]

A little under 5 hours.

[@steve3291]

The big bacon roll question - Brown sauce or Tomato Ketchup?

[@ryansofly]

I'm a tomato sauce guy. I can't do that brown sauce, not a fan. Hubby prefers the brown though.

[@cheryll8008]

You can do some accents pretty well ah Singapore kia

[@ryansofly]

Hahahaha I try... 😉

[@chrissaltmarsh6777]

It was known as Late and Never Early Railway

[@ryansofly]

Hahahaha.... Suppose I should be thankful the train was on-time?

[@CharlesMolan]

I'm sorry, but you cannot POSSIBLY think Aus bacon is good, that's wild.

[@ryansofly]

Mate, let's just agree to disagree. Otherwise we'd start WW3. 🤣

[@davidcartwright5591]

Gawd Blimey Guvnor … did I hear right , 4 cups of tea . That’s disgraceful , as an expat Brit I would have had at least 6 in that time , and I agree, Aussie needs Greggs. I reckon their Steak Bakes and Sausage Rolls would go a storm in Gawler 😀😀.

[@ryansofly]

You have no idea how much I had to pee after I arrived in Edinburgh! Hahahaha... Yeah Greggs... I've never really been a fan of sausage rolls until I went to Greggs. I had 3 in the UK, once in London and 2 in Edinburgh. So good.

[@strongbow310]

OK CLEVER CLOGGS WHO MADE THESE AZUMA TRAINS

[@strongbow310]

Not English people 😂😂😂 Google it at come back with your comment

[@Diane-ft5zj]

I agree with the bacon i love ours better ( Aus style), i think it is how it is cured, and i love those Jaffa cakes, can get them here but not Waitrose brand.

[@ryansofly]

I'm heading to woolies tmrw, think they sell the McVites version of Jaffa cake. 🤤

[@paulineparsons9399]

Lol ..x

[@strongbow310]

Sorry but your commentary is stupid have you looked at the crime rates Good luck