LNER Azuma (UK)

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.

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:

• are table seats or airline style
• are on the aisle
• have power sockets / charging points (available at all seats in First Class)
• are closest to the doors and luggage racks

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.

No, but opting to reserve does not incur additional charges.

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, see the info on how to connect.

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.

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.

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.

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.