'I paid £15 for First Class train upgrade - there was one huge drawback'

25 July 2023 , 18:00

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I tried First Class for just £15

Train journeys can fill even the most stoic of people with dread. Yes, we’re very lucky to have such a huge network of trains, reaching to almost every corner of the country.

But there will be few regular rail users who haven’t been trapped in a station while train after train is cancelled only to be jammed in like sardines when they finally do get a precious place on one.

That said, when the trains run on time and without being packed to busting, there are few more relaxing ways to travel. As a northerner in exile in London (I love it really) I’m a regular on both the West Coast and East Coast Mainlines.

Whether that’s visiting family in Cumbria or Northumbria or pals in Manchester or Liverpool, I feel I know these routes like the back of my hand.

I’ve seen both the good and the bad - few things beat a train wine on the 6:33pm from Euston on a Friday while venturing up to the glorious Barrow-in-Furness for a visit with the father.

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I can feel the week’s worries melt away before the little bottle is poured. There have also been many journeys spent standing in a carriage, or even, my personal favourite, sitting on the floor of the shop (while also still managing a cheeky train wine).

'I paid £15 for First Class train upgrade - there was one huge drawback'

Drinks are complimentary

The seats are much more comfortable

So when someone told me there was an app where you could enter an auction to upgrade to First Class for a fraction of the price I couldn’t resist trying it out.

Seatfrog opens its auctions 24 hours before your train is due to depart and you submit your bid. Not wanting to go crazy, I set my limit at £15 - less than I’d pay for a M&S train picnic and bottle of wine. Amazingly, I won the auction, and was heading up to Cumbria in ultimate style - I felt like a rock star.

The treat kicked off at Euston where I wandered into the First Class lounge and helped myself to a coffee in the huge, quiet seating area upstairs. No standing and stressing in the busy concourse, frantically trying to balance a brew and my bags while desperately willing the platform to appear so I can dash and hope no one has already bagged my booked seat (I’m too much of a wimp to kick up a fuss and kick them out).

When it came to boarding the train there was another benefit, the carriages are miles closer to the entrance to platform and as a self-confessed sloth, this made me very happy. Once on and in my seat, it was like a whole new world. The carriage was incredibly spacious - due to fewer seats - and lovely and quiet (presumably because few of us can actually afford First Class travel).

Even the snacks are incredible

The chairs are simply HUGE. It felt like my cosy armchair at home. There are not one, but two power points with every seat, so I could charge my laptop and do a bit of work (and watch a film) AND charge my phone.

Mine was a mid-afternoon train but even so there was a decent selection of food on offer. I opted for the grazing plate which was a cute selection of meats, cheeses, olives and crackers but I could also have plumped for a cauliflower salad, a hot chicken casserole or a ham and cheese toastie. There was even a pud - a super sweet and indulgent raspberry tart.

This was all followed by tea or coffee and a wine, honestly I don’t think I’ve ever smiled so much on a train in my life. The staff were also amazing - however, as a regular train use I can confirm they’re always amazing, whichever seat you happen to be in.

However, amid all this opulence there was one draw back - the carriage was absolutely freezing. I can only assume rich people don’t feel the cold in the same way as the rest of us but out came the jumper I’d packed for my trip to the North (sorry to all fellow Northerners, I’ve been down south too long and I’ve gone soft).

That said this was still the best train journey I’ve had in years and I’ll definitely be flexing my Seatfrog auction muscles again next time I travel back to the homeland.