How much extra would you pay for First Class on the Train

[boogeewoogee]

For travel in the UK on a GWR service. I have to travel fairly long distances by train on GWR every couple of months. Have a railcard so get 1/3 off.

I often do London-Pembroke Dock and London-Penzance. It just so happens that my family have decided they like living at the very end of train lines... Both of these journeys can take around 5 or 6 hours. That's without delays.

If a standard class single was £20 and first class was £40, would you pay the difference? I much prefer travelling in first as I can work, or relax a bit more. But I constantly feel guilty for 'wasting' money.

i am never going to travel standard class on the train again. Nope. Had sooo many miserable journeys pressed up against some random fat rugby fans or the cast of shameless allowing their kids to run riot fuelled by fizzy drinks and chocolate it’s worth whatever it costs for the calm of 1st class.

Definitely. I came back from Devon a couple of weeks ago and GWR services were a shambles and overcrowded (so much so that they switched off the reservation system), so decided to use First on my train and pay the extra (£ 25). It's like flying business - do it once and you never want to fly economy again.

Now budgetting for it whenever I go away by train.

Yes definitely (though sadly railcards don't give you discounts on first class tickets)

I'm in London, adult D.C. in Scotland for 4-5 hours on LNER, always first class. Even as a student in the north of England D.C. tried to book far enough in advance to make first reasonable. If they come down on the spur of the moment they may travel LUMO or standard.
If you can easily afford the £20 then it is not a waste it is a treat.

Is it only £20 extra? When I check it always seems at least £100 more than second class.

I always travel first but tbh for a £20 fare I'm not sure I would, that can't be much distance. I do 6 hour journeys, no experience at shorter ones but I possibly wouldn't pay an extra £20 for a small journey. I would pay an extra £100 for a king one though...

I use my railcard monthly for discounted first class tickets.

For only £20 difference I would. If it were £50 difference I'd think about it and possibly only go first class one way.

Extra on top of your standard class - i.e I paid £ 109 for a return to N Devon and £ 25 for the First Class bump up. Ir depends on how many zones you go through.

IWhen I was in the position to do train journeys I alway got a discount on 1st class. Senior railcard.

Im in London and my parents are in Yorkshire. We used to ALWAYS go first class until DC started to be more mobile (and noisy!) We now go standard so that we dont disturb everyone in first but once she's old enough to be quieter and calmer on the journey, hopefully we can go back.

How did you do it?

if you’re not too bothered about getting first or not, (and doing the journeys you say where you’re joining at the start of the line rather than a mid point then I wouldn’t be too much, just walk to the very end of the platform and those carriages tend to be significantly quieter) then seat frog is a good way to upgrade. You bid on a first class ticket up to about an hour before the journey. I’ve had upgrades for £10/15 pound.

How did you do it?

You just use your railcard the same way you do when buying a standard ticket?

If you have a reserved seat they have to give you a seat. If the train is busy this is often in 1st.

If they turn off the reservation just head to first and when questioned ask them to find you a seat.

OP
I would op fir first even on short journeys, sometimes the price difference is the same price as a coffee, which you get for free in 1st

It wouldn't even occur to me to travel first classtbh. I certainly wouldn't pay £20 extra.

I travelled first class once about 15 years ago and found it quite underwhelming tbh. Maybe things have improved

*If you have a reserved seat they have to give you a seat. If the train is busy this is often in 1st.

If they turn off the reservation just head to first and when questioned ask them to find you a seat*

Yes, I know, heading to first was what I decided to do once I knew the trains were delayed and full. And you can say 'they have to give you a seat' but if it's so full there isn't one that's academic. I didn't have to ask for a seat in 1st because there were plenty.

Ds and I did Paddington to Swansea and back a few weeks ago. I’d pre-booked both ways and the price difference between standard and first was tiny. Just a few pounds each, each way. And it was such a nicer journey. I made the money back twice over in free coffees, apple juices and snacks.

I'd pay £40 if standard was 20, but if standard was £80 I wouldn't pay double that.

I do it so I can book a single seat.

Many railcards do save you one-third off standard and first.

In some trains the difference may not be all that much. We booked Standard on Eurostar to Paris once and found our seats already occupied by an elderly couple. When we said they were reserved, the man looked us up and down and said 'this is first class, you know'. I showed him our tickets with coach and seat numbers showing. He triumphantly produced his. Wrong coach. They stalked off without a word, and I called out 'Thanks for the apology!' The back of his corpulent neck went a rather satisfying red colour.

There's an immense amount of satisfaction to be gained from a) being in the right and b) being able to prove it.

I always travel first class on the train - single seats; somewhere to charge your phone; complimentary drinks.

it’s so much nicer than battling a busy general carriage