What to look out for so that you can make the most of the journey experience when travelling on a LNER Azuma train service.
Reservations are available
This train is solely used on daytime departures.
Food services available
This train has a bar car with a counter at which hot food can be ordered along with snacks, sandwiches, salads and hot/cold drinks. These items can then be consumed in the bar car or taken back to your seats.
Accessing the train
Dedicated spaces for wheelchairs are available on this train.
Non-folding standard bicycles, can be taken on to this train, but must then be placed in the bike spaces. Check the info below regarding whether bike tickets and/or reservations are required pre-boarding.
Attributes of the train
A conductor will be present on board the train, their role includes making announcements and responding to passenger queries.
Which country these trains operate in.
This train operates on routes within Great Britain
A complimentary WiFi portal is available throughout this train.
A complimentary WiFi portal is available throughout this train.
According to the time of day of travel, passengers will be able to choose from a menu of catering options, which will then be served at their seats.
The power sockets on this train are compatible with the standard 3-point plugs as typically used in the UK.
First Class seating saloon on an LNER Azuma
Luggage rack in First Class on an Azuma
The First Class seats are arranged 2 + 1 across the aisle instead of 2+2 and another difference with Standard Class seats is that you can use a button to recline them.
The power sockets are located out of sight, you have to lift up the arm rests to find them; but in First Class USB ports are also available.
Another less obvious benefit of travelling in First Class is that the luggage racks are larger than those in Standard Class.
Though something common to both First and Standard Class is that window blinds are available.
The food and drink service:
Complimentary food and drink is served to first class passengers at their seats, but one of three menus will be available per departure; and this offering will be consistent throughout the journey.
When making a booking you will be informed which menu will be served during the journey.
The three menus are:
Two meals are also typically served when travelling between London and destinations north of Edinburgh.
A complimentary WiFi portal is available throughout this train.
A catering trolley with hot and cold drinks and snacks should be taken through the train at some point during its journey.
The power sockets on this train are compatible with the standard 3-point plugs as typically used in the UK.
A standard class seating saloon on a LNER Azuma
An unusual feature for a British train are the window blinds which can be used to shield from bright sunlight, though when using them be aware that it won't only be your seat(s) which will be impacted.
The food and drink service
On virtually all departures at some point during the journey a catering trolley will be taken through the train, from which you can order hot/cold drinks, snacks and sandwiches at your seat.
There is also an on-board café where you can order hot food and a more extensive range of food/drink items.
You can now also use the LNER app to order food/drink from the on-board cafe menu and have the chosen items delivered to your seat(s).
ShowMeTheJourney has anticipated what questions are most often asked about travelling on LNER's Azuma trains and answered them below.
If you can't find the information you are seeking, you can ask a question by using the Travel Planning Service.
These trains travel at up to 125mph / 200kmh for the majority of the journey on the routes which they take.
Seats are automatically allocated when booking any type of ticket online - And when booking Advance tickets at station ticket offices and ticket machines,
However, when booking other types of ticket at stations, you may be asked if you want to add a reservation - though reservations can now be added up to just 5 mins prior to departure.
choosing specific seats on an LNER train
When booking on the LNER website it will automatically assign seats, but there is the option to use a seating plan to check the position of the seat(s) you have been placed in - and more crucially you can use it to select alternative seat(s).
The trick is to take up the option of clicking on the 'Manage your seat reservations' tool.
On the plan you can see which seats:
Pre-booking it can be worth looking at the seat map for the entire train.
Yes, there is a direction of travel indicated on the seating plans.
There is a staffed bar/bistro counter which can be accessed by all passengers.
Passengers travelling Standard Class can use the Let's Eat service on the LNER app to pre-order items prior to boarding for at seat delivery during a journey.
Passengers travelling First Class benefit from a complimentary at-seat catering service included in the price of tickets.
There are available at all First Class seats and you can see which Standard Class seats have them on the seating plan, which can be accessed when booking with LNER.
Yes, you can opt to choose a seat located within the Quiet coach when making a booking.
The number of items per passenger isn't restricted, though the request is that the maximum size per item is 30 x 70 x 90cm, though the luggage racks on board are designed to cope with a maximum size of 80x57x30.
Yes and they are available in both First and Standard Class - see the LNER guide to booking a journey.
Yes, there is space for a maximum of four bikes, but places must be reserved prior to boarding.
It's best to add a reservation when booking, but if having already booked, you then subsequently discover that no bike spaces are available on the train you have selected, you can transfer tickets, including Advance tickets to an alternative departure.
The bike storage is located in a coach which houses both First Class and Standard Class seats.
Yes, up to two dogs can be taken on board without any need to book a ticket(s) for them.
Note the bike symbol indicating that this coach houses bike storage racks
Note the symbol which indicates that this coach has wheelchair spaces
Azuma trains travel at up to 125 mph/200 kmh
The operator LNER is understandably keen to showcase the experience of travelling by these Azuma trains on its website.
Also when looking up a journey on the LNER website, you can see which departures will be by these new Azuma trains.
These Azuma trains either have five or nine coaches, though on some departures two five coach trains are joined together to make a 10 car train.
Here are the seating plans for both types of train.
LNER is now using these trains on most departures on the London <> Leeds rout, plus close to all departures on the London <> Edinburgh route.
All of the services which continue beyond Edinburgh to Aberdeen, Inverness and Stirling are now operated by Azuma trains
The London <> Hull service operated by LNER is also now an Azuma train.
When boarding check the seat numbers which are by each door
At King’s Cross and the stations in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Hull, Inverness and Leeds where these Azuma trains commence their journeys, the number of the platform (track) that a specific departure will be leaving from, normally appears on the information screens 10 -15 minutes prior to departure.
This will signal the start of a race to board the train, but if you don’t have luggage, and do have a reservation, you can take your time as your seat(s) will be waiting for you to occupy them.
If you will be boarding at a station the train calls at during a journey, there are now usually signs on the platform (track) which will show you where to wait for speedy boarding into each coach/carriage.
Don’t just check the coach/carriage numbers by the doors, also check the seat number info that’s on the outside of the train.
Most coaches will have two doors, one at each end and the other door may be nearer to your seat.
Also worth knowing:
Worth knowing is that you don’t have to occupy the seat you have been assigned, for your travel ticket to be valid; the train conductor will check the ticket, but not the reservation.
So if for any reason you want to travel in a different seat, you can do so, as long as you check that the alternative seat(s) you want to move to hasn't been reserved, so will be available for your journey.
As you enter the coach/carriage check to see what other seats are free, which is comparatively easy to do thanks to the seat-sensor devices that LNER has installed above each set of seats.
Green = unreserved and therefore available for the entire journey
Orange = reserved for some of the journey, so check the stations indicated as the seat may be available for your entire journey
Red= reserved for the entire journey and therefore unavailable.
If you don’t have heavy luggage, after departure it can be worth having a walk through the train, to see what seats are available in other coaches.
It’s not unknown for some of the coaches on the train to relatively busy, while others will be comparatively empty.
The seat occupancy indicator on a LNER Azuma train
On the main information screens at the larger stations, at the foot of the information for each train departure (below its list of calling points), you should be able to see something which resembles a table/chart.
This info will show which of the coaches on the train will be busy, because most of the seats in them have been reserved, and which will be comparatively empty.
So if you don’t have a reservation, you can identify which coaches are likely to have the most seats available and head for them when boarding.
On most Azuma services coach C in is set aside for Standard Class passengers without reservations, though there is no guarantee that spare seats will be available in coach C when boarding.
Then when you're in the seating saloon look for the green lights on the strip above the windows, a green light indicates that haven't been reserved at all, so are available for an entire journey.
The image above shows the interior of coach C, hence every seat having a green light.
In other coaches green lights indicate available seats, but if you can't see any green lights look for the orange lights, they indicate that a seat has been reserved only for some of the journey.
So check the text by the orange light; in this example if you were to board the train at Edinburgh, this seat numbered would be available.
As a last resort check the seats which are marked by a red light, as the passengers which booked them may not have boarded.
In those circumstances the red light will remain on, but the seat will actually be available for an entire journey.
These trains have both wheelchair spaces and seats with additional leg-room, but even if you don’t require these specific services, the LNER assisted travel team can help with planning a journey and booking tickets.
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