Avanti West Coast rebrand

[Bletchleyite]

Agreed. They should have spent the time and money making the interiors a lot brighter. Dunno if they have done that, fair play if they have, but the whole exterior was unnecessary.

The interiors are getting a full comprehensive refurbishment including brand new seats (not Fainsa Sophia, thankfully) though that hasn't I think started yet.

It really is amazing isn't it? The more I see of it, the more I love it. I'm really struggling to see what there is to dislike about it!

Colour clash etc - it just looks hideous!

This:

Hull Trains 80x

is an example of a nice colourful livery in my eyes.

 

[Trackman]

leaving the 'marmite' pendo 119 theme for a moment, has anyone been on a refurbed 221 yet?

 

[palmersears]

390119 reportedly working the below for the rest of today:

5H02 1730 WB - EUS
1H02 1820 EUS - MAN
1A75 2115 MAN - EUS
5A75 0023 EUS - WB

Usual caveats regarding accuracy apply.

 

[XCTurbostar]

390119 reportedly working the below for the rest of today:

5H02 1730 WB - EUS
1H02 1820 EUS - MAN
1A75 2115 MAN - EUS
5A75 0023 EUS - WB

Usual caveats regarding accuracy apply.

Not that sunlight will be on your side for a livery like this!

 

[Trackman]

390119 reportedly working the below for the rest of today:

5H02 1730 WB - EUS
1H02 1820 EUS - MAN
1A75 2115 MAN - EUS
5A75 0023 EUS - WB

Usual caveats regarding accuracy apply.

That is what's booked, Avanti posted a screenshot today.
It seems something is afoot tomorrow regarding 390119.

 

[Lanley]

It really is amazing isn't it? The more I see of it, the more I love it. I'm really struggling to see what there is to dislike about it! Avanti are certainly getting everything right with their liveries - hopefully the interior refurbs are equally as good.

It's great that it is such a statement piece and hopefully promotes inclusivity and diversity.

 

[Howard70]

The interiors are getting a full comprehensive refurbishment including brand new seats (not Fainsa Sophia, thankfully) though that hasn't I think started yet.



Colour clash etc - it just looks hideous!

This:

Hull Trains 80x

is an example of a nice colourful livery in my eyes.

There's nothing particularly wrong with this in my eyes, but if you asked me to imagine a train to celebrate pride, I'd probably imagine something with the dial turned up a little further. But I suppose being too prescriptive about how to be inclusive and support people's differences would kind of defeat the underlying message.

 

[mmh]

There's nothing particularly wrong with this in my eyes, but if you asked me to imagine a train to celebrate pride, I'd probably imagine something with the dial turned up a little further. But I suppose being too prescriptive about how to be inclusive and support people's differences would kind of defeat the underlying message.

Aha, I've been hoping for a long time to meet somebody who could explain the point of pride liveries to me! What is the underlying message? (And if it's important, why is it lying under something?)

Hopefully it's a misjudged one-off for Avanti and their brand steers clear of this stuff in the future.

 

[ThameslinkUser]

their brand steers clear of this stuff in the future.

Are we still talking about the company that started their tenure with "Hello, we're Avanti West Coast" on every billboard in every station? This is a company that, like Virgin, understands the importance of good PR/ brand identity, despite the questionable customer service. A pride liveried train provides a good message, sparks conversation and provides good PR- Avanti understand this.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Aha, I've been hoping for a long time to meet somebody who could explain the point of pride liveries to me! What is the underlying message? (And if it's important, why is it lying under something?)

Hopefully it's a misjudged one-off for Avanti and their brand steers clear of this stuff in the future.

I don't think Pride liveries are misjudged, but I do think this one is - it's just hideous.

 

[Ianno87]

It's great that it is such a statement piece and hopefully promotes inclusivity and diversity.

There's nothing particularly wrong with this in my eyes, but if you asked me to imagine a train to celebrate pride, I'd probably imagine something with the dial turned up a little further. But I suppose being too prescriptive about how to be inclusive and support people's differences would kind of defeat the underlying message.

I love it *because* it's a bit Over the Top.

Not just shoehorning a rainbow onto your corporate logo or the cantrail line - the design studio has been given some freedom on this.

 

[greaterwest]

I must say I'm a big fan of this new livery too. Definitely seems to be a "Marmite" livery though.

 

[CeeJ]

It truly is! The small details, like using inclusive flag designs, really stand out. That and the fact that the train is truly stunning now!

Agreed - definitely the best Pride-liveried train I've seen in the UK. Can see why it's controversial, but like Ianno points out...its stand-out nature is maybe why I like it so much!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I love it *because* it's a bit Over the Top.

Not just shoehorning a rainbow onto your corporate logo or the cantrail line - the design studio has been given some freedom on this.

If giving the design studio freedom has resulted in that monstrosity, I'd be looking for a new design studio.

 

[221101 Voyager]

My shots of 390119 at Wolverton today, shame about the light.

https://flic.kr/p/2jzBvaq

390119 in new Pride Colours at Wolverton

1B76 1747 Birmingham New Street to London Euston

flic.kr

It's certainly a bold livery.

 

[Ianno87]

If anything, the timing of this new livery is inspired - it screams "railway is open for business".

 

[Bletchleyite]

If anything, the timing of this new livery is inspired - it screams "railway is open for business".

Yes, I suppose it is, however ugly it is, better than "dealer white".

 

[GlitterUnicorn]

Aha, I've been hoping for a long time to meet somebody who could explain the point of pride liveries to me! What is the underlying message? (And if it's important, why is it lying under something?)

Hopefully it's a misjudged one-off for Avanti and their brand steers clear of this stuff in the future.

To celebrate diversity!

Without doing a deep-dive into LGBT history etc, Pride is both a protest against discrimination against LGBT+ people and a celebration of them. It's the very public face of a wider liberation movement. Companies do pride specific branding to show support for the movement, as well as their own LGBT+ staff and customers. The railways are very open about supporting LGBT+ rights, Network rail and TOCs are surprisingly well represented at pride events.

From a corporate perspective, as well as demonstrating the core values of the organisation it's quite good for business. Among LGBT people and young people overall this sort of thing goes down well. Pride liveries (or any show of support to LGBT+ people) tends to annoy some bigots and they might get a little vocal about it, but hardly anyone is gonna stop travelling with a company over a paint job.

I'm also happy that they used a variant of the Pride Flag with Trans and POC representation.

 

[The_Train]

Can someone help me out here guys as I'm struggling to pick up on @Bletchleyite's thoughts in this thread. Do they like this livery or not

To celebrate diversity!

Without doing a deep-dive into LGBT history etc, Pride is both a protest against discrimination against LGBT+ people and a celebration of them. It's the very public face of a wider liberation movement. Companies do pride specific branding to show support for the movement, as well as their own LGBT+ staff and customers. The railways are very open about supporting LGBT+ rights, Network rail and TOCs are surprisingly well represented at pride events.

From a corporate perspective, as well as demonstrating the core values of the organisation it's quite good for business. Among LGBT people and young people overall this sort of thing goes down well. Pride liveries (or any show of support to LGBT+ people) tends to annoy some bigots and they might get a little vocal about it, but hardly anyone is gonna stop travelling with a company over a paint job.

I'm also happy that they used a variant of the Pride Flag with Trans and POC representation.

+1 Well explained. I get that people will either like or not like the colour scheme (as proven in this thread) as that is a personal and subjective opinion. At the end of the day people are never going to agree 100% on such things! However, it is important for people to remember that Pride occurs for lots of very good reasons and is not simply a gimmick by the LGBT+ community nor organisations who fly the flag during pride season (and beyond) - this can easily be forgotten and Avanti should be congratulated for producing such a stand out, head turning livery

 

[LeylandLen]

390119 reportedly working the below for the rest of today:

5H02 1730 WB - EUS
1H02 1820 EUS - MAN
1A75 2115 MAN - EUS
5A75 0023 EUS - WB

Usual caveats regarding accuracy apply.

I saw it on 1B76 1747 Birmingham New Street [BHM] to EUS then ECS 2019 5M15 Eus to Wembley. I assumed it was going back to Wolves after arr at Euston but a set swap meant it went to Wembley.

Next weekend , Bank holiay, Manchester Pride Parade was due to be held (i was meant to be part of it ) so assume 390119 will make a few visits to Manchester with suitable publicity?There is a scaled down event , for obvious reasons .

 

[PR1Berske]

Aha, I've been hoping for a long time to meet somebody who could explain the point of pride liveries to me! What is the underlying message? (And if it's important, why is it lying under something?)

Hopefully it's a misjudged one-off for Avanti and their brand steers clear of this stuff in the future.

"This stuff"?

 

[GlitterUnicorn]

"This stuff"?

Yeah I was wondering about that too...

 

[The_Train]

"This stuff"?

Yeah I was wondering about that too...

It was noticed and duly ignored by me. Not worth the effort when something as big as Pride is dismissed in such a manner.

Anyway, does anyone happen to know a diagram for 390119 for tomorrow yet or is it a bit early?

 

[KashmireHawker]

390119 will be fully LGBTQ+ staffed, have Pride related announcements onboard and a name competition has this morning been launched.

Virgin’s Ride With Pride was good, but this is a very impressive commitment, to being a progressive company!

Avanti West Coast launch UK’s first Pride train entirely staffed by LGBTQ+ crew | ITV News

Avanti West Coast is launching the UK’s first fully wrapped Pride train entirely staffed by an LGBTQ+ crew for its first official service. | ITV News Granada

t.co

 

[jh64]

To celebrate diversity!

Without doing a deep-dive into LGBT history etc, Pride is both a protest against discrimination against LGBT+ people and a celebration of them. It's the very public face of a wider liberation movement. Companies do pride specific branding to show support for the movement, as well as their own LGBT+ staff and customers. The railways are very open about supporting LGBT+ rights, Network rail and TOCs are surprisingly well represented at pride events.

From a corporate perspective, as well as demonstrating the core values of the organisation it's quite good for business. Among LGBT people and young people overall this sort of thing goes down well. Pride liveries (or any show of support to LGBT+ people) tends to annoy some bigots and they might get a little vocal about it, but hardly anyone is gonna stop travelling with a company over a paint job.

I'm also happy that they used a variant of the Pride Flag with Trans and POC representation.

Quite right, agree with everything here. I think it looks great, and anyone getting wound up by it is showing themselves to be the real 'sensitive snowflakes'!

 

[Ianno87]

Quite right, agree with everything here. I think it looks great, and anyone getting wound up by it is showing themselves to be the real 'sensitive snowflakes'!

And demonstrates exactly why Pride liveries are needed!

 

[KashmireHawker]

To celebrate diversity!

Without doing a deep-dive into LGBT history etc, Pride is both a protest against discrimination against LGBT+ people and a celebration of them. It's the very public face of a wider liberation movement. Companies do pride specific branding to show support for the movement, as well as their own LGBT+ staff and customers. The railways are very open about supporting LGBT+ rights, Network rail and TOCs are surprisingly well represented at pride events.

From a corporate perspective, as well as demonstrating the core values of the organisation it's quite good for business. Among LGBT people and young people overall this sort of thing goes down well. Pride liveries (or any show of support to LGBT+ people) tends to annoy some bigots and they might get a little vocal about it, but hardly anyone is gonna stop travelling with a company over a paint job.

I'm also happy that they used a variant of the Pride Flag with Trans and POC representation.

Bang on - Pride and the flag's history, has been reflected in a whole Q&A section, on Avanti's newly launched page: https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/pride

 

[XCTurbostar]

Bang on - Pride and the flag's history, has been reflected in a whole Q&A section, on Avanti's newly launched page: https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/pride

The *New* website which has the same Icon as South Western Railways..

 

[LeylandLen]

390119 started Tuesday as 1H14 0900 Eus to Man Picc.

 

[The_Train]

The *New* website which has the same Icon as South Western Railways..

The person you quoted didn't say 'new website', they said 'newly launched page'!

As an aside, I keep hearing mention of this comparison to South Western Railways and yet I've never been able to see anything that relates to SWR. Can someone enlighten me please?