Grand Central Rail Omdömen 

Absolute amateurs. Had “ staff shortages since December “

It’s totally basic to hire and have enough staff on duty.

Clean train on time, decent seats with plug sockets. My standard class journey (Doncaster to Halifax on the train from London Kings Cross) was actually better than first class, which was full whilst my standard carriage was virtually empty

Thirsk - Kings Cross
First class. Keep in mind - You are playing extra for better seats that’s all. Not like LNER - with included food and drinks service. You just get a bag of crisps and water and tea if you order with a QR code included in the price and little else available to purchase. However the ticket is usually cheaper than LNER and for me is a more convenient route.

Utterly awful service. Service cancelled. No information on noticeboards or company web site. Station staff couldn't care less. No ticket acceptance in place for alternative rail companies. The train I ended up on was cramped, with no facilities. To add insult to injury, this rail "service" only gives refunds for over 60 minute delays, even though 45 minutes is more than enough to wreck plans. Cannot see why they think twitter is an acceptable customer support channel. Avoid if you possibly can.

Booked return Kings Cross to Sunderland ,forced to stand in corridor of train with luggage red hot next to housing of exhaust of train from King's Cross to Thirsk all because overbooked train,nowhere to store luggage,we had 2 reserved seats that even if we wanted to use them they were already taken by another passengers bag or in my partners case another passenger!Had to stand all the way up to Thirsk when enough people had got off train so we could eventually put the luggage somewhere and sit down.This company is a joke,greedy packing trains with no disregard for passengers comfort.Even using a bidding site to upgrade to first class !!Dreading the return journey on 6th January

Really polite staff

What a disaster of a rail service.

From the seats to the staff, it all feels like non of it wants to be there.

The seats are tiny, uncomfortable and something better suited to a museum. The staff are extremely detached from their roles are simply exist, and refuse to move those that have taken reserved seats.

The WiFi is simply a connection to a router, with nothing coming inbound and thus a deadline.

Grand Central is a great train operator. With all the changes going on with the rail industry my family hope that GC continues to give good service as it always has. Its staff are always helpful and have a habit of smiling a lot which does them great credit !!! A smile doesn't cost anything and it brightens up anyones day !!!

Literally the worst rail operator in the UK. Rough, old battered trains. Overhead luggage space rubbish. Staff rude and miserable. Unreliable service regularly late or cancelled.

On 13 December took 10:48 Grand Central Train outward from Kings Cross to Bradford: smooth journey, arrived on time. Different experience for the return leg on Monday 15 December - 10:39 departure cancelled 'due to fault on train'. Not impressed! Thanks to prompt action of Interchange Station staff used (at no extra cost) a Northern Service to Leeds & changed for onwards to Kings Cross, arriving some minutes ahead of original schedule.

We went from Sunderland to rork and return 1st class. The sears were as stated. The buffet car wow only opened during the last 40 minutes of our outward trip. The return the buffet car didn't open. We did get a bottle of water. The staff were ok at best. WOW if this is Grand Centrals idea of 1st class... useless

Where do I start...I've taken many a journey with Grand Central and the majority have some sort of disruption, usually significant.

They have a habit of cancelling trains last minute but for some reason don't issue updates via app or text message, unlike any other transport provider in 2025.

So you arrive at the station to discover its cancelled.

The cancellation reason is usually "lack of staff" or some issue with the trains (they tend to use older trains and maintenance is an issue).

Given the frequency of these last minute cancellations I would strongly suggest its to consolidate passengers onto one train to try and save some money, which of course comes at the expense of passengers schedules.

They also do not permit you to take a train with another train operator, which is standard practice across most UK train companies, instead saying you can travel on their next service which is usually a few hours later, thus ruining your whole schedule.

Then of course when you board this later train you can't get a seat as they're already reserved for the passengers actually booked on that train, which is now filled with passengers from the cancelled train.

Onboard you'll find minimal luggage space (the overhead racks dont fit anything larger than a backpack). Old seats, small tables, lack of bins so rubbish ends up on the floor.

First Class is a joke - you can choose between water or instant coffee / tea and packets of crisps and nuts. You must order these via a QR code on your phone which seldom works.

Wifi is woeful. Good luck trying to conduct any sort of business!

In summary: you get what you pay for. Expect little to no support when things are disrupted or cancelled, which is frequent and last minute.

Reliable journey which left and arrived on time. Toilets stayed clean and usable for whole of journey

Excellent service all round.

I experienced significant disruption on 1st November when my 19:57 service from King's Cross to Doncaster was abandoned at St Neots due to an incident at Huntingdon. The train manager instructed all passengers to leave the train and find accommodation for the night.

I contacted Grand Central's customer support the following morning and they were incredibly helpful throughout the process. They clearly explained what I needed to do and guided me through claiming back my hotel costs, taxi fares, and replacement train ticket.

Kimberley and Kasey from their Customer Relations team were particularly excellent - they processed my claim efficiently and kept me well informed. When my ticket retailer (TrainSplit) refused to refund the unused portion of my original ticket, Grand Central stepped in and submitted it to their Charter Compensation system without any fuss.

Within a few weeks, I received full compensation for my additional expenses, plus a refund for the ticket. The whole process was straightforward and stress-free.

Their telephone support was also very helpful when I needed guidance on how to proceed the morning after the disruption.

It's reassuring to know that when things go wrong (through no fault of the operator), Grand Central takes responsibility and looks after their passengers properly. Highly recommended - this is how customer service should be done!

I will definitely be using Grand Central in the future :)

5 of us have just travelled First Class from Kings Cross, and found the food and complimentary options very lacking.
The complimentary options were a choice of crisps, shortbread, a cakes and a couple of oats bars.
Worse though was that with 2 children all of the sandwich (hot and cold) options were unavailable 5 minutes on to the journey.

In comparison to rival train services, Grand Central first class is just not worth it.

Grand central first class is not worth the money. You get far more on LNER

Left London on time. Comfortable journey. Full train, but no overcrowding. We were kept informed and had our tickets inspected. Only small flaw was that the arrival delay of 5 mins was not announced.

Completely rubbish, book a forward facing seat you don't get it, book a2 seats not on a table for 4 you don't get it. Book the quite coach they don't exist.
Won't ever book with them again, old trains, poor customer service, poor company.

15/11/2025 Hartlepool to London Kings Cross . Train left on time, nice clean carriage and happy train staff.

Good start to a weekend with family.

Ticket cost less than the taxi from Kings Cross to Hackney