A luxury train journey costing £440 per ticket, where passengers walk a red carpet to board, will depart from Manchester this year.
A ride on board the Northern Belle often includes a seven-course dinner, champagne, and on-board entertainment.
The prestigious train, rated by Conde Nast as one of the top 10 in the world, has seven Pullman carriages, each one decorated by master craftsmen in a 1930s-style.
It’s a seriously luxurious experience, with tickets costing anywhere between £295 and £695 per person – which, to be fair, isn’t even that much more than a last-minute ticket on an Avanti train to London…
Trips promise to take in some of the most scenic stretches of Britain’s railways.
The Spirit of Travel lunch departs from Manchester Victoria and snakes its way past Rochdale, Hebden Bridge and Brighouse.
On board, passengers sink into plush armchairs with crisp white tablecloths on the tables between them.
On board the Northern Belle. Credit: Facebook, Northern Belle
Within minutes, liveried stewards crack open the champagne and guests get a chance to browse the menu created by celebrated chef Matthew Green.
As passengers are whisked through the British countryside, seven fine dining courses are served to their tables, alongside complementary fine wine chosen by Northern Belle’s own sommelier.
Condé Nast Traveller magazine named it in the top 10 train journeys in the world, beating the iconic Flying Scotsman.
They wrote: “It’s all about the food – and the scenery, but mostly about the food – on this lovingly-restored train which zig-zags its way across the countryside.
“The meal services are exquisite, offering fine dining crafted mostly from UK suppliers so you can enjoy classic British fare as the heaths, meadows and dales roll on by.”
There are two different journeys on the Northern Belle that will depart from Manchester Victoria in the coming months.
One is the aforementioned The Spirit of Travel Lunch on Friday 21 April, priced at £375 per passenger.
Then on the same day is the Laurent-Perrier Champagne Lunch, with a menu from Matthew Green again but with Laurent Perrier champagne served to couples on board.
Northern Belle’s website says: “So relax in your elegant surroundings and gaze out the picture window, watching the passing scenery unfold and contemplating the gastronomic journey ahead.”
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way to close for resurfacing
Emily Sergeant
Mancunian Way is set to close for resurfacing works next month.
As Manchester City Council looks to ‘improve’ what is, by far, one of Manchester’s busiest and most-used roads, given the fact it is the main thoroughfare in and out of the city centre, it has been confirmed that Mancunian Way is due to undergo crucial resurfacing works.
With an estimated 15 million journeys taken along this road annually, the Council says it’s vital that necessary maintenance is carried out to keep traffic flowing.
As a result, plans are now in place to resurface Mancunian Way overnight during a four-week period, beginning from next Monday (3 March)
The resurfacing work will be split into two sections, starting with the eastbound carriageway from River Street to Fairfield Street, before moving on to the westbound lane from Fairfield Street to Upper Brook Street.
Work along the eastbound section – in the direction of Ashton Old Road – will run between Monday 3 March to Friday 14 March, with the operating hours being between 7pm and 5am, during which the carriageway will be fully closed, while the westbound carriage in the direction of Regent Road will take place overnight between Monday 17 March until Friday 28 March, with closures at the same time.
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way will be close for resurfacing next month / Credit: Pixabay
Due to events taking place during this period of works, slightly later road closures will be in place from 7:30pm on the 7, 10 and 14 of March during the eastbound section, and on 19 March during the westbound secion.
No work will take place Europa League fixture dates, or on Saturday or Sunday nights either.
“These works are taking place overnight to mitigate any potential disruption,” explained Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“But as always, we would encourage people to plan their journeys ahead of time and allow more time to travel if they need to go via the Mancunian Way.”
Signed diversions will be in place during the course of the works, and details of this can be found on the Council’s dedicated webpage here.
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Travel & Tourism
Life-saving defibrillators to be installed on dozens of trains travelling through Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Life-saving defibrillators are set to be installed on dozens of trains travelling through Greater Manchester.
Rail operator TransPennine Express (TPE) has started work to install the units on all 51 of its Class 185 trains over the next two months, and can be used by both staff and passengers if someone goes into cardiac arrest.
The defibrillators will be fitted by technology company Siemens Mobility, and will be located in an emergency equipment cupboard in the middle of the train.
Every defibrillator being installed on the trains has step-by-step, spoken word instructions built in to them, which explain how to use on someone in an emergency, so passengers and staff need not panic if they’re unsure what to do.
Computers inside the defibrillators will work to analyse a person’s heart rhythms to find out if an electric shock is needed, and if required, electrodes then automatically deliver the shock.
⚡Work has started to fit defibrillators across more than 50 TransPennine Express trains
🚆 The life-saving units will be installed on all 51 of our Class 185 trains by the end of March
The defibrillators – which are already installed on TPE’s Nova 1 trains – have been purchased from the British Heart Foundation charity, which is the biggest independent funder of heart and circulatory research in the UK.
The news that the defibrillators are being installed on trains travelling through Greater Manchester and across the UK come after it was announced back in 2023 that the machines were being installed at more than 100 Northern stations to help save people in cardiac arrest.
Speaking on the installing of the defibrillators on trains, Bushra Khan, who is the Head of Engineering at TransPennine Express, said: “Our defibrillators are a huge benefit to both our customers and the communities we serve.
“This rollout will ensure that people travelling on our services will feel safe and confident that defibrillators are available to help in the event of an emergency, potentially saving lives.”
Daisy Jackson -
27th January 2023 
