This is an extremely good point often overlooked! Presumably this is why they don't have USB and sockets at every seat?Let us not forget that the class 700s were specified 15-16 years ago.
This is an extremely good point often overlooked! Presumably this is why they don't have USB and sockets at every seat?Let us not forget that the class 700s were specified 15-16 years ago.
I understand the reasoning, but the problem with all of these walk-through trains is that they make noise pollution - already a significant problem nowadays - significantly worse. You can now clearly hear the crying baby/raucous hen party/singing football fans/teenagers playing music through tinny phone speakers/kids watching annoying kids programs on an iPad without headphones/person shouting into their phone/etc. from 3 or more carriages away. That doesn't happen when there are doors between the carriages.
It makes no sense for wheelchair users to use the wide aisles to enable them to go anywhere on the train, as to get on and off the 700s with a wheelchair in central London you use the specified part of the platform with a Harrington Hump, which is consistent across the core. And where the designated wheelchair spaces are, which is in the middle two carriages of the train.
So there's no accessibility reason for the carriages away from this area to have super wide aisles
Actually, I haven't travelled iin the 1st class areas for at least 18 months, mainly because my wife often can't walk to the end of a 12-car train. I get on wherever I feel like, - these days it's near the middle to speed exit at the upgraded Ridgmont Road exit at SAC, and the accommodation is perfectly adequate for me. Declassified is available fairly equally to every passenger on down trains, so it's there if they put the effort in. Even I don't always do that!The serious point is that you consistently advocate the suitability of the 700 interior, yet by your own admission make a bee-line where expedient for a specific part of it which contains a number of features which you claim aren’t necessary for the masses. Why do this if you feel the rest of the accommodation is perfectly good?
As you know, declassified first is only going to be available to a small proportion of fortunate individuals, and yes on the rare occasions I use Thameslink I make sure I am one of those!
(In fairness, you’re not the only one on this - there’s a couple of others here who advocate the 700 interior, yet it’s not exactly a secret that their favourite seat is the single one in first adjacent to the cab — they know who they are!).
The trains have 2 carriages out of 8 or 12 designated for wheelchair users, where the humps are in the core, and where presumably at non core stations, the ramps are kept. Why would a wheelchair user choose to go somewhere else in the train, it makes no sense?That's a very "Core" centric viewpoint.
What about all the other platforms outside of the core ?
The trains have 2 carriages out of 8 or 12 designated for wheelchair users, where the humps are in the core, and where presumably at non core stations, the ramps are kept. Why would a wheelchair user choose to go somewhere else in the train, it makes no sense?
This may have been said before on here, perhaps even by myself, but one issue I have with 700s is on routes with lots of calls and early on in the journey, the onboard announcements listing all the calling points takes almost to the next station to read. Yes almost all announcements on all trains are annoying, but this setup is worse. This also takes away time that more useful displays are on the screens, like carriage occupation levels. My main experience of this has been on Rainham-Luton trains, I suspect on BML services this isn't so bad.
This used to happen with platform CISs during 319 days because the routes have such a ridiculous number of calls. Sevenoaks - Luton terminators were a particular culprit.
Whether it’s right or wrong there never will be consensus, but life in the 21st century is noisy. We have so many electrical devices and no real etiquette to using them has ever reached a consensus.
No, you get the continuous banging, swishing or whatever other noise the door makes instead.
I have travelled extensively on the 700s and have never been distrubed by noises in the adjacent car. That it is a real problem is a myth,
At busy times, look how many people have headphones/earbuds. It's probably over half.
Indeed, and I'm a member of that club myself usually. But I'd prefer not to *have* to be.
Sadly I don't think we have much choice these days. It's more annoying when people smoke weed (or vape with some stupidly fruity concoction) and you're forced to breathe that in for your journey instead. I'd rather just have the noise!
Sadly I don't think we have much choice these days. It's more annoying when people smoke weed (or vape with some stupidly fruity concoction) and you're forced to breathe that in for your journey instead. I'd rather just have the noise!
I might agree with a football shower deliberately being irritating, but strangely enough, a baby crying is quite natural, and not necessariloy anybody's fault.Occasionally (unless the door is broken!). That's hardly comparable to the noise a crying baby or a group of football supporters makes.
I didn't mention your personal experiences, so I couldn't have presume that they were a myth. Please read what I wrote: "I have travelled extensively on the 700s and have never been distrubed by noises in the adjacent car. That it is a real problem is a myth,"Thank you for pointing out that my own personal experiences are mythical. It's odd, I remember being on the train and being annoyed by it, but clearly you know better.
I might agree with a football shower deliberately being irritating, but strangely enough, a baby crying is quite natural, and not necessariloy anybody's fault.
In the greater scheme of things it isn't a real problem even though some might get a bit irritated at times.
I might agree with a football shower deliberately being irritating, but strangely enough, a baby crying is quite natural, and not necessariloy anybody's fault
Something like Sevenoaks where you've got an awful lot of stops still before making it to the core, you may still run into issues but a similar principle could be applied of just announcing the stops before the next 'key' point
So what, the baby's voice is a natural event, far more than a rowdy bunch of football fans. The first is unavoidable, the second should be silenced if causing problems.A baby's cry has evolved to force adults' brains to want to console it, thus to many it is VERY distressing. Just one of those things of course but because of that animal instinct it's far more distressing to many than the mild irritation of say music played out loud.
The trains have 2 carriages out of 8 or 12 designated for wheelchair users, where the humps are in the core, and where presumably at non core stations, the ramps are kept.
Why would a wheelchair user choose to go somewhere else in the train, it makes no sense?
So what, the baby's voice is a natural event, far more than a rowdy bunch of football fans. The first is unavoidable, the second should be silenced if causing problems.
If there was a fixed pattern of which stations are skipped by trains (especially north of St P where e.g. Mill Hill Broadway gets skipped), could be a Metropolitan style "this is a semi-fast to Luton" or "this is all-stations to Bedford".21 from St Pancras! when the through service switched to Orpington back in 2018 i always felt like they were were missing half of them...
Something like the platforms announcements would be sufficient i'd have thought. They usually say something lie "Sevenoaks, all stations via Denmark Hill and Swanley" or similar.
There is a fairly fixed pattern of stops between St Pancras and St Albans:If there was a fixed pattern of which stations are skipped by trains (especially north of St P where e.g. Mill Hill Broadway gets skipped), could be a Metropolitan style "this is a semi-fast to Luton" or "this is all-stations to Bedford".
There is a fairly fixed pattern of stops between St Pancras and St Albans:
fast - non-stop 2tphfast + West Hampstead 2tphfast + West Hampstead, Mill Hill, Elstree & Radlett 2tphslow (all stops) 2tphThat represents the off-peak service between the peaks, (assuming there are sufficnet drivers available).
Most Stock are being retrofitted with tables and Plug socketsI do like the 700’s as I travel on them when I see my dad but I must admit i find the seats a bit too hard and I hate the fact that there’s no plug sockets when the average journey from Peterborough/Cambridge to Horsham/Brighton/Littlehampton etc must be a few hours at least and nearly every mid to long class of train has them as standard. I don’t disagree with you as they’re great units and I agree that the public seem to like them too but I do miss the days when that line was full of 317,321 and 365 units so maybe I’m just biased, I mean they’ve certainly revolutionised the Thaneslink route with the through services. No one can deny that
Again I fully agree with you, I must admit I did do the full length run from Cambridge to Brighton and I did have backache fairly early on but that may just be me, I have no other complaints and as I said theyre revolutionary and great trains overallMost Stock are being retrofitted with tables and Plug sockets
The trains aren't meant to be used all the way from Cambridge to Brighton otherwise more long distance stock would've been ordered. It is more of a get on get off whenever sort of service
Anyway First Class seats are slightly different I believe.
Chris Heaton Harris told my MP that nearly three years ago when i asked when it was happening - where still waitingMost Stock are being retrofitted with tables and Plug sockets
Yes I must say that I haven’t noticed any units with the tables hahaChris Heaton Harris told my MP that nearly three years ago when i asked when it was happening - where still waiting