Virgin East Coast Main Line - Working while commuting.
Discussion
Instead of driving to work to Peterborough area from Edinburgh (I stay in hotels once down there), I am thinking of using the train.
I was thinking of leaving my car at work and walking / taxi to the station and training it home. I would hope to leave the office mid afternoon and do some work on the train - so a couple of questions for anyone that has used that route, or commuted on a train in general and tried to work.
Is it doable? Would you need to book a table to work from with laptop, or are the normal seats OK to have laptop on knee or is the seat back table ok to work from?
TIA.
I was thinking of leaving my car at work and walking / taxi to the station and training it home. I would hope to leave the office mid afternoon and do some work on the train - so a couple of questions for anyone that has used that route, or commuted on a train in general and tried to work.
Is it doable? Would you need to book a table to work from with laptop, or are the normal seats OK to have laptop on knee or is the seat back table ok to work from?
TIA.
Tomo1971 said:
Instead of driving to work to Peterborough area from Edinburgh (I stay in hotels once down there), I am thinking of using the train.
I was thinking of leaving my car at work and walking / taxi to the station and training it home. I would hope to leave the office mid afternoon and do some work on the train - so a couple of questions for anyone that has used that route, or commuted on a train in general and tried to work.
Is it doable? Would you need to book a table to work from with laptop, or are the normal seats OK to have laptop on knee or is the seat back table ok to work from?
TIA.
You will need a table and a window seat for the charging lead. I was on this route and in the window seat at a table, passenger alongside me wanted me to have the lead in front of me for a 3 hour journey, told him that wasnt a good idea.I was thinking of leaving my car at work and walking / taxi to the station and training it home. I would hope to leave the office mid afternoon and do some work on the train - so a couple of questions for anyone that has used that route, or commuted on a train in general and tried to work.
Is it doable? Would you need to book a table to work from with laptop, or are the normal seats OK to have laptop on knee or is the seat back table ok to work from?
TIA.
Also the internet is terrible and the charging sockets dont always work in the older carriages.
Apart from that its bloody wonderful.
Robbo 27 said:
You will need a table and a window seat for the charging lead. I was on this route and in the window seat at a table, passenger alongside me wanted me to have the lead in front of me for a 3 hour journey, told him that wasnt a good idea.
Also the internet is terrible and the charging sockets dont always work in the older carriages.
Apart from that its bloody wonderful.
I guess thats why when I run a dummy booking and seat reservation, the window seats seem to be booked first.Also the internet is terrible and the charging sockets dont always work in the older carriages.
Apart from that its bloody wonderful.
As the laptop I use has a really good battery life, so less a need for a charging point, does that mean the individual seats are useable with the fold down tray?
I travel by train quite a bit for business, including the route in question - I did a return trip from Kings Cross to Edinburgh last week.
With a bit of planning and flexibility in when you choose to travel, First Class tickets can be had for good prices, with the benefit of free wifi (although, as mentioned, connectivity can be crap), plus free food and drink served at your table, including beer, wine and spirits - makes the journey much more enjoyable! First Class also give some you decent-size tables that make working a practical reality.
Standard Class is OK too, but I'd recommend looking at First (especially if it's going to be a regular event).
With a bit of planning and flexibility in when you choose to travel, First Class tickets can be had for good prices, with the benefit of free wifi (although, as mentioned, connectivity can be crap), plus free food and drink served at your table, including beer, wine and spirits - makes the journey much more enjoyable! First Class also give some you decent-size tables that make working a practical reality.
Standard Class is OK too, but I'd recommend looking at First (especially if it's going to be a regular event).
Hmmmm, not so sure train is the right choice.
It was either that or flying down - the advantage with the choo choo is that the return tickets are usable in 30 days for the return journey, so if I couldn't return on the day planned, I could swap easily enough, unsure that there is a cheap way of doing that via EasyJet or RyanAir.
Flying up and down, I would have to pay for car parking for the weekend (while I flew home), possible hire car to get home and then if i couldnt make the flight home as booked/planned, I would probably lose that flight and have to pay full price on the replacement instead of the advance book price of £30 to £40.
So, am i missing something - is there,
1. Cheap parking available near Stansted or Luton?
2. A cheap way of been able to cancel/move flights if I had to stay an extra day at the office
It was either that or flying down - the advantage with the choo choo is that the return tickets are usable in 30 days for the return journey, so if I couldn't return on the day planned, I could swap easily enough, unsure that there is a cheap way of doing that via EasyJet or RyanAir.
Flying up and down, I would have to pay for car parking for the weekend (while I flew home), possible hire car to get home and then if i couldnt make the flight home as booked/planned, I would probably lose that flight and have to pay full price on the replacement instead of the advance book price of £30 to £40.
So, am i missing something - is there,
1. Cheap parking available near Stansted or Luton?
2. A cheap way of been able to cancel/move flights if I had to stay an extra day at the office
I use Virgin EC regularly to travel down to Kings Cross. It's around 2hrs for me.
I tend to book 1st class but not always. I'd say you either need to be in 1st or at a table if in std. I've worked in both without too much trouble but obviously 1st is preferable. There are power points with the non-table seats in 1st, unless I'm mistaken?
If you do use std class the wifi is still free as long as you book via Virgin rather than Trainline, etc.
I tend to book 1st class but not always. I'd say you either need to be in 1st or at a table if in std. I've worked in both without too much trouble but obviously 1st is preferable. There are power points with the non-table seats in 1st, unless I'm mistaken?
If you do use std class the wifi is still free as long as you book via Virgin rather than Trainline, etc.
I live in Newcastle and work a lot in London and fly down every few days, but it's BA only, tickets flex very little unless you pay nearly triple the price for the ticket so you would need to ensure you make your reservations ... I do a deal through BA with an Avis rental car as well which lowers the flight price and I rack Avios points like they're going out of style - all my spend is expenses though so doesn't actually cost me anything
Oh and a lounge membership is invaluable (free if you're a director and in the IOD via Aspire Lounges)
Oh and a lounge membership is invaluable (free if you're a director and in the IOD via Aspire Lounges)
First class for working. Booking a single seat so you have better elbow room. Free Wi-Fi, which is not brilliant but will suffice. Obviously being brought food and drinks helps because i always get a bit paranoid leaving work documents and equipment lying around whilst i make the 500 yard trip to the buffet car when i get stuck in Corbyn-class.
I travel 2+ hrs to / from London every week on east coast line.
I tend to (have to) work throughout the journey down and back. Wifi is OK. Lets me get email / chat with colleagues.
I find getting a table is much easier - the other seats o Virgin are too cramped and fold down table is not at a good height etc for me. (Grand Central is much better but no good for you).
I don't find the power a problem - occasionally they won't work in a carriage but not often and 2 hrs is no issue on battery so much so I tend not to even bother plugging in.
Only gripe is those sat next to / across isle from you can see your screen - so if your work is sensitive get a 3M screen guard that blocks the viewing angle to directly in front of the screen.
If you are not travelling at peak times you will be fine and on the plus side working throughout makes the journey fly by.
I tend to (have to) work throughout the journey down and back. Wifi is OK. Lets me get email / chat with colleagues.
I find getting a table is much easier - the other seats o Virgin are too cramped and fold down table is not at a good height etc for me. (Grand Central is much better but no good for you).
I don't find the power a problem - occasionally they won't work in a carriage but not often and 2 hrs is no issue on battery so much so I tend not to even bother plugging in.
Only gripe is those sat next to / across isle from you can see your screen - so if your work is sensitive get a 3M screen guard that blocks the viewing angle to directly in front of the screen.
If you are not travelling at peak times you will be fine and on the plus side working throughout makes the journey fly by.
I do Doncaster-KGX return every couple of weeks and never have a problem working onboard. I usually get a table; it can be a little cramped using a tray table but it's only a 90 minute journey so not insufferable.
Also as I leave the motor at home it's also quite a pleasure to tuck into a 4x330ml pack of Camden Hells Lager from the chiller at the front of the Little Waitrose in KGX on the way home after a day's graft!
Also as I leave the motor at home it's also quite a pleasure to tuck into a 4x330ml pack of Camden Hells Lager from the chiller at the front of the Little Waitrose in KGX on the way home after a day's graft!
Thanks all for the replies - it's probably worth a try one week.
After the first batch of answers, I took the notion to fly EDI to Stansted and then hire car (home to park&ride, bus to EDI) for the next few weeks - most the journey is out of office hours, so dont need to work on the journey - total journey will be similar to train but better than driving. Should be around the same price as train but will have one less overnight to pay for, so effectively slightly cheaper.
Least that way, I have the car at home for weekends.
After the first batch of answers, I took the notion to fly EDI to Stansted and then hire car (home to park&ride, bus to EDI) for the next few weeks - most the journey is out of office hours, so dont need to work on the journey - total journey will be similar to train but better than driving. Should be around the same price as train but will have one less overnight to pay for, so effectively slightly cheaper.
Least that way, I have the car at home for weekends.
I travel Leeds to London regularly on east coast. 1st class seems to be the only way to go, too cramped/busy in standard
Other thing to note is new trains are coming in 2018 so the whole of the east coast network is supposed to be getting faster journey times, which will be very welcome. Leeds to London supposed to drop from 2 hours 20 to 2 hours so I guess Edinburgh to Peterborough will drop from 3 hours 46 to 3 hours 20 ish
Other thing to note is new trains are coming in 2018 so the whole of the east coast network is supposed to be getting faster journey times, which will be very welcome. Leeds to London supposed to drop from 2 hours 20 to 2 hours so I guess Edinburgh to Peterborough will drop from 3 hours 46 to 3 hours 20 ish
The drive from Stansted to Peterborough probably means driving on the A14 between Cambridge and the A1, which I'm sure you already know is the definition of driving torture. At the moment there is a lot of roadworks in preparation for the new A14, plus there are frequent accidents that completely gridlock it for ages in the rush hours.
Is all that (plus the uncertainty of delay/cancellation with flying) really worse than using a B&B for four nights and getting the train down and back each week?
Is all that (plus the uncertainty of delay/cancellation with flying) really worse than using a B&B for four nights and getting the train down and back each week?
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