Avanti West Coast Rolling Stock Updates

[Huntergreed]

Considering the refurbished Pendalino is now at Longsight how long will it be before it enters service?

Avanti have said it won’t be next week (presumably as they need to do test runs at speed), but I would hope the end of this month/the start of next month

390125 has now arrived at Longsight:

Realtime Trains | 5T25 1638 Widnes Transport Tech to Longsight Car. M.D. | 11/02/2022

Real-time train running information for 5T25 1638 departure from Widnes Transport Tech to Longsight Car. M.D. on 11/02/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Don’t suppose anyone happened to be at Crewe around 1840 and got a sneak peak??

 

[Trackman]

Can anyone confirm, will the seating layout remain the same in the refurbishment or will it change (and, if it will, is there an online seating plan I can view?)

The new seating plan is out for the refurbed Pendo's.
If you open each PDF in a tab (or whatever) and switch between them you can see which seats have disappeared from Standard and the new layout of coach G on 11 cars.
Seems they have made the missing seats non-reservable, I'm guessing not to cause problems with the reservations.

About Our Trains | Train Seating Plans | Avanti West Coast

Our train guide has information about seating and carriage plans, and accessibility features. Find more on our commitment to deliver a safe, punctual service here.

www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk

 

[Bletchleyite]

Good news there - more luggage space and more legroom (thinner seats on the same layout).

G appears to be the same as E but reversed.

 

[Huntergreed]

Good news there - more luggage space and more legroom (thinner seats on the same layout).

G appears to be the same as E but reversed.

Agreed, this looks good. Power sockets on every set (this will make such a difference to my enjoyment of this stock with a phone with a poor battery life!)

I’m assuming unreserved will go from C and U to C, U and G?

 

[Furrball]

Good news there - more luggage space and more legroom (thinner seats on the same layout).

G appears to be the same as E but reversed.

Luggage space gets a window!

Seat 54 user to be a preferred one for me. Backing onto luggage rack so no one to bash the back of the seat, good chunk of window but no window pillar so plenty of shoulder room!

Also interesting to see that Avanti have gone back to the Virtgin Trains format of seat plans

 

[Chiltern006]

i’ve seen pictures from an inside source. this is what i can say
standard seats have changed to be the same as the ones seen on lumo. standard premium uses the old first class seats with a less fancy headrest. first has got white leather headrests with blue seats.

edit all i can see between SP and first (difference wise) is the thing that says first class (what’s it called?!)

 

[dereksingh291]

i’ve seen pictures from an inside source. this is what i can say
standard seats have changed to be the same as the ones seen on lumo. standard premium uses the old first class seats with a less fancy headrest. first has got white leather headrests with blue seats.

edit all i can see between SP and first (difference wise) is the thing that says first class (what’s it called?!)

Does standard premium and first class still have table lamps?

 

[Scotrail314209]

Has the shop had any change done to it or is it remaining the same?

 

[Trackman]

i’ve seen pictures from an inside source. this is what i can say
standard seats have changed to be the same as the ones seen on lumo. standard premium uses the old first class seats with a less fancy headrest. first has got white leather headrests with blue seats.

edit all i can see between SP and first (difference wise) is the thing that says first class (what’s it called?!)

Sounds like the same idea as the concept photos, First does free up carriages at weekends for SP.

Does standard premium and first class still have table lamps?

The concept photos show they have got rid of them.. we'll have to wait and see.

I’m assuming unreserved will go from C and U to C, U and G?

I'm not so sure, had a think about it. They have lost seats in Standard, G could be reserved only obviously on 11 cars only. We'll see..

Good news there - more luggage space and more legroom (thinner seats on the same layout).

G appears to be the same as E but reversed.

No sign of the 'K Bar' though in First, wasn't holding my breath anyway.

 

[Chiltern006]

Has the shop had any change done to it or is it remaining the same?

haven’t seen any pics unfortunately

 

[dk1]

Has the shop had any change done to it or is it remaining the same?

For some reason I thought it was going back to buffet counter style, but maybe I dreamt that.

 

[virgintrain1]

From Twitter "https://twitter.com/x_madcat/status/1492594189376401410?t=lO4a9TP5AiQX3cBIa5-MCw&s=19"

Standard certainly looks a little underwhelming. Although to be fair the photo doesn't have the best light.

 

[Skie]

Well that’s hugely underwhelming. It makes it look like they’ve crammed more seats in despite that not being the case. The alternating direction of seats really avoided the battery hen appearance.

 

[philosopher]

Does standard premium and first class still have table lamps?

Does anyone know what the two traveller seats are in Coach K?

 

[507 001]

Those seats don’t look great…

 

[Huntergreed]

Agreed, hugely underwhelming (it took them 6-7 months do to that?)

Looks like they’ve done little more than they did for the voyager refurbishment, except they’ve replaced the old seats with a new type of seat. Certainly not the “transformation” I was hoping for.

Seats look quite uncomfortable (not much padding at all, they’re paper thin!)

I’m hoping standard premium, first class and the shop will be substantially improved.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well that’s hugely underwhelming. It makes it look like they’ve crammed more seats in despite that not being the case. The alternating direction of seats really avoided the battery hen appearance.

The layout is not changed apart from a few rows being taken out for larger luggage racks.

I don't like the colour scheme, the one used in Voyagers is nicer, that looks a bit 1990s. But thinner back seats = more legroom so by default I approve. Also nice that the lighting has not been changed to be excessively bright.

 

[JonathanH]

Standard certainly looks a little underwhelming. Although to be fair the photo doesn't have the best light.

Certainly not the “transformation” I was hoping for.

What "transformation" were you hoping for? It seems like transport for the masses to me which is what standard class is about.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I’m hoping standard premium, first class and the shop will be substantially improved.

I hope it (1st) hasn't, as it was superb as it was.

 

[Huntergreed]

I hope it (1st) hasn't, as it was superb as it was.

To be fair that’s true, 1st was excellent (although Avanti have really let things slide)

Zooming in, I can see that the tables are a lot thinner (which isn’t a bad thing!) with a new surface.

I’m not a huge fan of the colour scheme (I don’t really like the bright green colour of the wall at the end of the carriage!)

 

[virgintrain1]

What "transformation" were you hoping for? It seems like transport for the masses to me which is what standard class is about.

Did Avanti not promise a complete strip down refurb that would make the train feel like a 'brand new train'.

 

[JonathanH]

Did Avanti not promise a complete strip down refurb that would make the train feel like a 'brand new train'.

Yes, but they can't do much about the windows and structural bulkheads. Which part of the carpet, seat frames and seat coverings are not brand new? It looks like they have changed the wall colours as well.

 

[FrodshamJnct]

A photo of Standard Premium:

 

[ScottGallagher]

It doesn't look like the reservation display screens have changed which is surprising as i cant imagine they were DDA compliant. Would the green headrest covers be removable for washing as they will get dirty in a flash.

 

[virgintrain1]

Yes, but they can't do much about the windows and structural bulkheads. Which part of the carpet, seat frames and seat coverings are not brand new? It looks like they have changed the wall colours as well.

SRDs? PIS? Coloured LED mood lighting?


Don't get me wrong what has been done is what I would expect of normal refurb. Just think they over promised.

 

[JonathanH]

SRDs? PIS? Coloured LED mood lighting?

The latter two look like they are still fitted, plus a screen at the carriage end. What is a SRD?

 

[Bletchleyite]

A photo of Standard Premium:

View attachment 110095

Same excellent seats so comfort will be unchanged, but ugh, what a horrid seat colour scheme.

I was a fan of the old tartan patterned blue - classy, understated and a Scottish connection. Grey inset leather headrests would have worked, but that looks like wearing black shoes with white trousers.

To be fair that’s true, 1st was excellent (although Avanti have really let things slide)

Zooming in, I can see that the tables are a lot thinner (which isn’t a bad thing!) with a new surface.

They look like the originals to me.

I’m not a huge fan of the colour scheme (I don’t really like the bright green colour of the wall at the end of the carriage!)

I think that is the effect of the light (looks like a daylight colour temperature tube at the end) and it is actually beige as per 1st, but I actually liked the old red. Wood effect would be better, it looks good on the 80x.

But all that aside, if I can now fit any seat instead of just priority seats, then it is a winner for me.

 

[XAM2175]

I'm reserving my judgement until I see the interior in daylight, but I have to admit at the moment it doesn't look appealing at all.

Still, I agree with @Bletchleyite that thinner seat backs are a definite upside - except that (if I'm not mistaken) the backs are even higher so they've managed to make standard even more claustrophobic.

Thinner tables are an improvement too, although the new surface looks very very plain and I'd rather they'd kept the wood veneer.

I also can't help but think that the headrests and carpets are going to look utterly filthy within hours of first being used, and that they'll remain that way forever. Even with the anti-macassars in SP people are still going to use the aisle-facing sides of the headrests as de-facto handholds.

The additional dividing screens between table groups in SP (and presumably first) are a nice touch, though!

 

[Skie]

Armrests in standard look painful to use. Glad the lighting isn’t stupidly bright daylight though!

A photo of Standard Premium:

1 wireless charging spot for two people, and of course it’s in the centre of the table….

 

[XAM2175]

1 wireless charging spot for two people, and of course it’s in the centre of the table….

Oh, is that what it is?

It looks like there are still plugs where the tabletop meets the wall though, unless that's an advertising sticker instead.