Atomic Systems

Got on the Virgin Pretendolino yesterdat afternoon at Milton Keynes heading for London Euston

Was in a rush to catch it on Plat 4 and didn't notice anything was amiss as I rushed down the staircase towards a silver/red train ... that is until I stepped in through a 'slam door' which was shut behind me - good god! It was like stepping into a timewarp inside Now many on here know I spend my life whizzing up and down the WCML (and GWML) often, but this was a shocking experience - ratty old seats and tables, no interior lighting, and a gentle ambling run to Euston - had no clue what I'd got on until I got to Euston and walking up Platform 7 saw the DVT at the front

I find it hard to believe that Virgin have this .... this thing in their fleet - so far removed from EVEN the quality of GWML HST stock (and that isn't good) I was genuinely shocked after having done 5 years with the Pendolinos (and Voyagers to a lesser extent)

Others views?

Seats, tables, leg room, windows that open...... goodness, you don't know how lucky you were!

qzdcg8 wrote:ratty old seats and tables

I didn't realise there were still trains with tables, at least not for us common folk who can't afford to travel first class?

alisterbetts wrote:Seats, tables, leg room, windows that open...... goodness, you don't know how lucky you were!

Well said that man!

Count yourself lucky.. Even first class in a Pendolinos a disaster in comfort when you have to use it 3 times a week from Manchester..

Voyagers, eerrghh! Give me an old, buffered, Virgin HST any day. Miles better.

Pendolinos and Voyagers better than Mk3s... seriously? I really think you're mad! I find the Pendolinos very crampt (and the heaters feel like they are burning your legs off, well they do to me, as for the voyagers just as crampt), although the Mk3s are far better for the seating and have much more space! Sure they are older and maybe warn a little even then still better than the newer stock (not that its bad, there are far worse trains - the 376s....)

Pendolinos have to be the worst trains i've travelled in. Far too cramped and if you have a big piece of luggage don't even try to attempt walking through the train with it. Seats are always cramped and the carriages just give a big claustrophobic feel about them. I've also felt sick often travelling in them. Every time i use them i sit on the two seats located near the toilet area, perfect if you want a bit of space and all you have to put up with is a dozen people asking if your waiting to use the toilets. I dislike voyagers just as much. When is their scrapping date again....?

My local line only operates Class 321's (which i rarely use unless there are works on the lines) and Class 360's. Not a mad fan of 360's but i will say that they have plenty of space to both sit and walk through. Seats are the usual uncomfortable rubbish though. Though they don't compare at all to the very comfy MK3's still in operation between London & Norwich. Nice seats, tables, a nice airy feel with the large windows, real air if you feel a bit ill.

I have to admit I do like the Pendo's, but if I knew a 90+DVT with a set of MK3's would be replacing one on my journey then I would be very very happy

If I found out a Voyager was replacing it, pfffft I'd rather walk!! I hate those damned things, why can't they have a set of HST's instead of those horrid boneshaking, body trembling piece of junk!! :bad-words:

As one who is 6'4" I have had to cease travelling by train where the conveyance is Pendolino/Voyager or class 150 . Sad and against all my principles, but if I can't fit in the seat then I ain't travelling....

A nice Mk 3 would still have me travelling by train, even the ones that fGW ruined....

To me, the best rail travel is on preserved railways, I just don't think you can beat a
Mk1 corridor coach, plenty of room and deep sprung seats.

Crimpsal wrote:To me, the best rail travel is on preserved railways, I just don't think you can beat a
Mk1 corridor coach, plenty of room and deep sprung seats.

Well that absolutely goes without saying!

Steam-heated obviously....

Oh yes, the later Mk1 seats are excellent. Just compare a 1st-gen DMU with a Pacer or even a Sprinter - no contest. I always say a 1st-gen has three levels of suspension - primary, secondary, and seats - so you can actually sit on one for a while without getting cramped. The Pacer only has one!

It's much the same in Finland. On the long-distance trains there are three distinct types of train in service, including our own version of the Pendolino. The old "blue coaches" are roughly equivalent in age and technology to late Mk1 stock, and apart from the lack of air conditioning and other modern luxuries, are just as comfortable as anything built later. With that said, our Pendolino is hardly bad - the seats recline, there is enough legroom, and you can really relax in them. (The very large Finnish loading gauge helps there.)

FWIW, how many passenger trains in Britain are load 14 these days? I doubt even the railtours usually put that many on. At the right time of day you can see them regularly in Finland - 12 blue coaches (mostly sleeper) and two car-carrier wagons. This despite Finland's low population density.

As for commuter trains, the new-style seats we have are, shall we say, "adequate" for a short journey. The same seats are used for the Dm12 "bubble car" used on low-traffic branch lines, some of which are remarkably long - and the Dm12 doesn't have air conditioning either. But there is still one EMU set and a rake or two of "red coaches" with the old-style bench seating, which is far superior in comfort but, alas, less vandal resistant. The red coaches are brought out twice a day for the longer-distance capital commuters to use, but otherwise stay locked up out of the way - there's only one or two trains that require more capacity than three EMU sets in multiple can comfortably provide.

Except Eurostars, our longest express trains have only 10 carriages. Commuter trains can have up to 12, but the carriages are shorter, so it amounts to roughly the same length. Our station platforms won't take anything longer.

It's possibly one of the greatest drawbacks of our railway system.

AN

i hate 390s and voyagers , bring back the mk2s mk3s class 86s 87s and 90s and of course the dvt