I am a bit of a rail buff and take trains trips annually in Britain. One line I haven't use is Hull trains. I was thinking of taking it from Kings Cross to either Selby or Hull and then connect to a Northern train on to York. I know I can take the NXEC direct, but looking for something different.

No experience, but looks like the trains run on the east coast mainline as far as Doncaster, so the scenic experience will be pretty much the same as on the NXEC or previously, GNER. The Hull franchise is owned by the First Group, so if you have travelled on Great Western, Scotrail or TransPennine Express, you probably have a feel for the service level.

Have you tried, on more or less the same route, Grand Central? It actually does London-York direct.

Or, on London to NW Britain routes, the Wrexham and Shropshire? Handy for your propsed Liverpool trip

Both are fully independent and, IMHO, high in the list of franchisees whose financial stabilty is most threatened by the downturn. Try them now while you can. W&S is especially weird, since it operates under extraordinary limitations, stopping at st stations where it's not allowed to pick passengers up. Sort of like the U-Bahn going through ghost stations in East Berlin during the Cold War.

Thanks for the information. Flanneruk, I went to the web site and after I checked out the timetable I then went to purchase a ticket just to compare cost. It showed only the normal NXEC schedule wherein their timetable of 8:47 wasn't listed. I only used from London to York, not to the end of the line so perhaps that was the problem. I will go back and try again, but should you have other idea's please let me know. I am now going to check out W&S

Hull Trains aren't particularly special, if you're looking for a good "train experience"

Thanks Dave. I think I have been on just about every line over the years and I am not looking for anything special, just different. I think the worst is still Northern, at least the one I took to and from Bridlington.

Hull Trains have little diesel trains, much like those of several other operators. They have very reasonable walk-up fares, and tickets from London Kings Cross are sold on the train, not at the ticket office. Standard tickets are valid on Hull Trains or National Express; Hull Trains' tickets are valid only on their trains.

Trains in Hull are pretty standard. I don't think there is anything unique about the trains in the area - but then again i'm not a train fan so I probably wouldn't know.

Roger:

I don't undersyand your point.

The National Rail site shows the 0847 York departure as a Grand Central train - and its fares calculator shows the Grand Central price as slightly lower than the National Express one.

I used the Grand Central web site, expecting to see only their trains. Guess they all show and book each others trains.