It takes 2 hours and 20 minutes from Manchester to London on the train. Plus the coach is a miserable way to travel, getting stuck in traffic on the M6, on a packed coach, with a broken toilet and no air-conditioning. That's not an experience I want to re-live. I'm always going to take the train if I can afford it.

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Sundays when they're doing engineering works are the only time it's scheduled for the nearly 3 hours the OP claims. The 2 hr 20 min standard journey time makes it easily possible to have a day trip to London and back or vice versa if you want. No way you're doing two legs of an almost 5 hour coach in a single day.

by ThisInformation 2 days ago

Yep, it only takes one motorway accident and you're stuck on that coach for way longer. At least if the trains are delayed you get some money back! That being said, I have used coaches to get around the country on multiple occasions, including London to Inverness, mostly for the price difference

by Anonymous 2 days ago

Trains are so much louder for starts unless you have noise cancelling headphones you can't hear a single thing With regards to the long distance/cross country trains in the UK, this statements is 100% false. The long distance trains by all the operators are extremely quiet and a rather smooth ride too. They're that quiet and smooth that when you're leaving a station you wouldn't even know you'd started travelling unless you looked out the window.

by Grouchy-Evening 2 days ago

The coach is fine & all, but for some journeys, the coach just isn't an option due to awful timings or the connectivity being poor unless your going between the very large cities. Besides, for some journeys, the train is just the superior option due to the timings being better or being more easy to get to, due to it being near the centre or a 10-15min walk out, whereas the coach can in some instances be on the outskirts of a town/city, which is a pain to get to on public transport or via walking. Don't get me wrong, the coach wins on costs hands down, but if you book the train around 3-5 weeks ahead of time, it can in some case be the exact same cost as the coach or £3-6 more, which is worth it for a 1-2hr time saving.

by Busy-Wishbone 2 days ago

Leg room is why I will always look for a good deal on a train ticket

by Maximum_Weather_3985 2 days ago

This one is just me, but I've never been assaulted on a train

by Inside_Tumbleweed658 2 days ago

OP seems to have no reason to care about legroom. OP I envy you.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I get National Express coaches almost every week. In my experience, they're very rarely late, they're a fraction of the cost (£40 vs. £120 for the same journey on the train), and I'm guaranteed a seat without actually reserving one. I'm a big fan of coaches.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

The last time I took a coach across the country I had to change at midnight in Milton Keynes for 3 hours.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

The ultimate value of time Vs money is how much money you have

by Anonymous 1 day ago

(UK specific maybe) Getting the coach is way better than the train when travelling across country Yeah because getting the train could be financially ruinous! It's literally cheaper to fly!

by Anonymous 1 day ago

very unpopular opinion indeed 🤝👍

by Anonymous 1 day ago