Northern rail free weekend pass

LimeLight

Can I have it please?

System

LimeLight wrote: »

Can I have it please?

Yep it's yours

Cpu2007

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

Manchester-Preston, Preston-Carlisle, Carlisle-Newcastle. If you start early enough you could be in Newcastle by early afternoon but coming back might be a bit of a bummer!! I used to get the Preston-Carlisle route from Barrow when I lived in Carlisle and its certainly er - scenic

Thank you for the reply.
It sounds quiete a long journey, do you have any idea how many hours will it take roughly?

From some posts I understand that rail companies use each other service to provide a journey but it's confusing to me at the moment and would like some clarification from people who might have used the service from newcastle?

I understand that by using the following route :
Manchester-Preston, Preston-Carlisle, Carlisle-Newcastle > I'll get to newcastle using northern rail

What route will I need to use to get to manchester from newcastle by using exclusively northern rail so that i can use the free pass.

If it takes a bit more than couple of hours to make a journey then I don't mind; my intention is to go there on saturday ,stay there and on sunday come back if I can use a northen rail free pass to get back.

System

Cpu2007 wrote: »

Thank you for the reply.
It sounds quiete a long journey, do you have any idea how many hours will it take roughly?

From some posts I understand that rail companies use each other service to provide a journey but it's confusing to me at the moment and would like some clarification from people who might have used the service from newcastle?

I understand that by using the following route :
Manchester-Preston, Preston-Carlisle, Carlisle-Newcastle > I'll get to newcastle using northern rail

What route will I need to use to get to manchester from newcastle by using exclusively northern rail so that i can use the free pass.

If it takes a bit more than couple of hours to make a journey then I don't mind; my intention is to go there on saturday ,stay there and on sunday come back if I can use a northen rail free pass to get back.

I would think you're talking 4-5 hours not 2.

jefff_2

Cpu2007 wrote: »

I understand that by using the following route :
Manchester-Preston, Preston-Carlisle, Carlisle-Newcastle > I'll get to newcastle using northern rail

What route will I need to use to get to manchester from newcastle by using exclusively northern rail so that i can use the free pass.

If it takes a bit more than couple of hours to make a journey then I don't mind; my intention is to go there on saturday ,stay there and on sunday come back if I can use a northen rail free pass to get back.

Almost all direct trains between Carlisle and Preston are operated by Virgin and Transpennine, not Northern.

There is one train a day from Carlisle to Preston that is operated by Northern, but it goes via the Cumbrian coast and takes over four hours (the fast line via Virgin takes an hour). That train is no use to you though because it doesn't run on Sundays.


The only way you could realistically do the journey is Newcastle - Carlisle - Leeds - Manchester.
A typical journey from Newcastle to Manchester on a Sunday would be:

Leave Newcastle at 13:10, arrive in Carlise at 14:38
Leave Carlisle at 15:20, arrive in Leeds at 17:46
Leave Leeds at 17:54, arrive at Manchester Victoria at 19:37

So as you can see it would take over 6 hours, and the trains operated by Northern are genrally old, slow and uncomfortable, and not really suitable for such a long journey.

If I was doing the journey I'd buy a cheap advance ticket for part of the journey (EG Newcastle to York - tickets can cost £6.50 from the Eastcoast website), and do the rest by Northern, which would make it much quicker.

Cpu2007

thank you for the great explanation. well the goal here was not to spend any money on the journey but only on the stay. considering there will be 4 of us, even if we're spending a little, the cost all together would be pointless as we can instead use a car,share the fuel and get there in less time.

I think it would be better to choose another destination lol

any suggestion?