This is a short post to reflect that this was a short journey, however, that does not take away from the fact this was a very good trip, miles better than LNER.

When the train arrived in York it was busy, however most people were ending their journey here rather than the final destination, Redcar Central.

Despite this the train was immaculate inside, no rubbish lying around and no signs of long term wear and tear. My seat was a standard class, airline style seat in the middle carriage, I will say now, I was not expecting much from it. However, the seat was surprisingly comfortable with a soft cushion and plenty of legroom.

The crew passed through quickly checking tickets and had a small conversation with people whilst doing this rather mundane task, take notes here LNER!

This however was not the amazing part of this journey, that came in the form of the information displays next to each vestibule. Not only did these give route updates and calling points, they also provided onward travel information for each station, including taxi phone numbers which is something I have never seen before in the UK.

WiFi is available for free onboard and allows movies to be streamed through the TransPennine app. Charging points are also available onboard these trains which are 14 years old, the oldest in the companies fleet by 12 years.

Overall, this is how short journeys should be done, and I am confident this is similar to the experience on their cross border services from Manchester/Liverpool to Scotland on the new Nova fleets.