Great Western Coffee Shop

Anyone know which ones are the lucky HST service?  If any?

It is often completely random on Sat and Sun because of engineering works elsewhere in the country, however a start can be made by consulting the FGW timetable, because the traction type is shown as V or H as appropriate - the trains will mostly start in Plymouth.  XC don't provide that info.  However if you are travelling south TO Bristol on Sunday evening it won't be an HST, because the sets are all heading back north for Monday morning.

In the timetable that's just finished the theoretical HST services on Sat and Sun were:

Saturday
0600 Leeds-Plymouth
0632 Dundee-Plymouth
0900 Glasgow Central-Penzance

1223 Plymouth-Glasgow Central
1723 Plymouth-Leeds
2132 Penzance-Plymouth

Sunday
0810 Leeds-Plymouth
0850 Edinburgh-Plymouth
0900 Leeds-Plymouth
0905 Plymouth-Penzance

1125 Penzance-Edinburgh
1423 Plymouth-Edinburgh
1523 Plymouth-York
1823 Plymouth-Leeds

...but there are rumours XC are using fewer HSTs since the timetable change, as one set at a time is having wifi and PIS fitted...

Dates, times and destination would be helpful to provide a more accurate reply. That way the XC booking engine can be interrogated to see which services are allowing choice of seats on a 7 car train.

This saturday - the 17th - BRI to BHM - sometimes before midday

Sunday the 18th - Manc Pic to BHM - after 1700

timings flexible.  He who must be obeyed says we are getting the 0700/0800 - that is middle of the night for weekends for me!  If I can sway the domestic with a HST over a vomiter then so be it.

I'd suggest 'no chance at all' then - on a Sat am the HSTs are still heading south,  and there are no diagrams at all involving Man Picc...

Paul

Vomiters it is then. Sorry.

But don't forget your Weekend First upgrades for a little more comfort.

you can go for 22.50 and avoid voyagers .... if you go on the 0954 and change at newport  :P

Sadly my days of weekend first etc are over - don't think you can use staff boxes and upgrade!  and he who must be obeyed won't pay just to go first (even though I would).

vomiters it is then :-(

Good luck!

Don't know what the official policy is on that one, but approaching the TM and asking if you can upgrade to Weekend First on a Priv box can't do no harm. Worst that'll happen is you're told 'no'.

You can... But as with all staff travel benifits you must vacate a seat if the service is busy and a passenger paying normal fair is standing