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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Simon Calder

Why the way I booked a May Day train works for me – but not the rail industry

Grand Central United States easyJet LNER Lumo Ryanair Brighton Newcastle Portugal Spain
Access all areas? Grand Central wants to connect Newcastle with Brighton - (Arriva)

On 1 May, I will board a morning train from London King’s Cross to County Durham. I bought the ticket from LNER, the state-run train operator on the East Coast Main Line. The train, though, is actually Grand Central – the “open access” division of Arriva, ultimately owned by German Railways.

However complex the hierarchy, the traveller is the winner.

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