Do you like the Virgin Voyagers?

petermakosch · Post by **petermakosch** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 7:16 pm

Do you like the Virgin Voyagers?
I dont see whats wrong with the actual trains themselves. People always complain about crampdness, but thats the company, not the train!

Pete

n863dwt · Post by **n863dwt** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 7:20 pm

personaly i love em....i love almost all sorts of new train...emu, dmu, demu...SOME loco's

i think that they have had one hell of a bad rep since they were intoduced...i like almost all others have had a bad experience on them but i have had 2 good experiences compared to one bad....!

so im all for them and their sister classes the 221's and the 222's

micksasse · Post by **micksasse** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 10:29 pm

I have to travel frequently (for work) to destinations they serve, and make every effort to avoid going on Voyager services (a number of my non-anorak colleagues do too!). This is ironic, because when they were still HSTs I'd seek them out!

They're a totally misconceived idea: cramped, uncomfortable, designed for a high-intensity, high-frequency service pattern totally alien to what cross-country travel needs; they're noisy & vibrate; they have no proper catering; they're operationally inflexible. First class is as crowded as second, with seating just as uncomfortable and almost as crowded (less than one full-length coach). A total victory of style over content. Ambience is incomparable with the HST. And they smell funny.

In short, 'Operation Princess' was wholly a unnecessary and inappropriate waste of fare-payers' and tax-payers' money (remember we have to subsidise intercity services now they're run by private enterprise).

And finally, (not relevant to the trains but relevant to the experience), this awful aggressive Sell-Sell-Sell-Customer Service attitude which permeates the Virgin Reich.

Err, does that answer the question?

PS See my post elsewhere inviting suggestions for how to get to Sheffield on Monday before 10:00 without going on one of them!

saddletank · Post by **saddletank** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 10:35 pm

Give me a real train any day.

salopiangrowler · Post by **salopiangrowler** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 11:03 pm

Do you really want to know whats wrong with the voyagers cause if you do i could quite happyly sit here for 2 hours explaining why.

micksasse · Post by **micksasse** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 11:04 pm

salopiangrowler wrote:Do you really want to know whats wrong with the voyagers cause if you do i could quite happyly sit here for 2 hours explaining why.

Would be more pleasurable than sitting in a V****n V*****r for 2 hours!

salopiangrowler · Post by **salopiangrowler** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 11:14 pm

micksasse wrote:
salopiangrowler wrote:Do you really want to know whats wrong with the voyagers cause if you do i could quite happyly sit here for 2 hours explaining why.
Would be more pleasurable than sitting in a V****n V*****r for 2 hours!

unless you were a poor sole that got to on the sea wall at dawlish i think peasurable a bit of an overstatement.

salopiangrowler · Post by **salopiangrowler** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 11:15 pm

Id rather sit on a double decker bus in the middle of a london rush hour in the pouring rain, yes i have done it.

TomB · Post by **TomB** » Sat Apr 12, 2003 9:01 am

No two ways about it, they're rubbish. Cheapo plastic trash. What's wrong with a duff and some Mk2s? And how did they think they were gonna get the contents of an 8 car train into a 3/4 car voyager? Those stripes on the doors look horrid but i suppose that's them keeping our politically correct friends happy

.

Goingnorth · Post by **Goingnorth** » Sat Apr 12, 2003 12:14 pm

Not a 'proper train'. I've been presented with the choice many times of traveling south from Newcastle on different traction. IC225s and HST are the first choice, then Voyagers. Too cramped and just not as comfortable. And who the hell designed that nose? Yuk..Certainly the sleek lines of HSTs...Which is quite dated now (but still doesn't look too bad)...and the very 1980s 225s, look better.

Nope, Virgin should have concentrated on an ultra comfortable mk5 and high-powered diesel, running the same services with a few tweaks or HST 2.

The current timetable is worse than the older one! Slower in some cases, and misses out whole towns such as Gloucester and Solihull in others - and the councils are none too impressed.

Operation princess back-fired even more than even the critics suggested.

1/10 to Virgin...9/10 for effort..

Just to remind ourselves what we are talking about he's a pic of one at Newcastle

markw · Post by **markw** » Sat Apr 12, 2003 12:55 pm

TomB wrote: Those stripes on the doors look horrid but i suppose that's them keeping our politically correct friends happy .

Here we go again. It has absolutely *NOTHING* to do with political correctness, but I simply can't be bothered to argue the toss again. Just go to http://forums.atomic-systems.com/viewtopic.php?t=11754 and read what I put there and be informed.

buffy500 · Post by **buffy500** » Sat Apr 12, 2003 3:46 pm

Well, I like them.

But I don't have to travel on them so all the problems about lack of capacity and over crowding does not effect me.

(But I did do Basingstoke to Glasgow on a 47+MKII's, and that was less than fun too, overcrowding does not even cover it ! So its not only 'shops' that suffer it)

Stooopidperson · Post by **Stooopidperson** » Sun Apr 13, 2003 1:12 pm

Goingnorth wrote:And who the hell designed that nose? Yuk

And they even copywrited it! Who would want to copy it anyway?

spartacus · Post by **spartacus** » Sun Apr 13, 2003 9:20 pm

Most comfortable place in a Voyager is the overhead luggage rack!!!

southcoasttrains · Post by **southcoasttrains** » Sun Apr 13, 2003 9:32 pm

I like Voyagers as they have a quick acceleration.

Only reason they can be slow is because MOST OF THE SERIVCES RUN ON THE WEST COAST MAINLINE (WCML) WHICH IS BEING UPGRADED!!!

I had to shout that out as most people probably wont understand. to simplify it

ENGINEERING WORKS = SLOW SPEEDS / REROUTED SERVICES = LATE RUNNING / DELAYS.

Those who have rode on these have probably noticed that they are conforatble and they have even power points so you can charge your phone and use your lap top, also you can listen to the I.C.E.

The shape might look horrible but it's better than looking at a Steam Engine boil water for a cup of tea.

Thats my two pence!