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voyager- impressed

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387star

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I was on a XC voyager yesterday and was impressed by the new carpets and upholstery. Such an improvement!

True the seats are hard but I want to focus on a few positive things...

I actually felt quite sentimental being on a voyager for the first time in a few years. Maybe it is because they have been around a few years now and I have fond memories of travelling places on them. But the train sure looked great arriving and looked taller than I remembered it but I think this is an illusion because the drivers cab appears higher.

The train was noisy and vibrated strongly but I am growing to like this noise as a distinctive feature of them? There is something exciting about the noise as the train builds up speed. I especially like the big windows despite not having a great view from where I was sitting. I also thought the vestibule doors are smart and the red furnishings despite still being in Virgin red. The train is also incredibly smooth departing stations.

The fact it wasn't overcrowded obviously makes a difference meaning I side with other comments that it woul dbe a fine train but for the overcrowding.
 
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SprinterMan

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I was on a XC voyager yesterday and was impressed by the new carpets and upholstery. Such an improvement!

True the seats are hard but I want to focus on a few positive things...

I actually felt quite sentimental being on a voyager for the first time in a few years. Maybe it is because they have been around a few years now and I have fond memories of travelling places on them. But the train sure looked great arriving and looked taller than I remembered it but I think this is an illusion because the drivers cab appears higher.

The train was noisy and vibrated strongly but I am growing to like this noise as a distinctive feature of them? There is something exciting about the noise as the train builds up speed. I especially like the big windows despite not having a great view from where I was sitting. I also thought the vestibule doors are smart and the red furnishings despite still being in Virgin red. The train is also incredibly smooth departing stations.

The fact it wasn't overcrowded obviously makes a difference meaning I side with other comments that it woul dbe a fine train but for the overcrowding.

I'm glad I'm not the only one on here that likes voyager, I think they are lovely too. :) The big windows are great for scenic lines like EXD-PNZ and noise gives a sensation of speed like a plane taking off. I like the vestibules in XC's voyagers with the big picture of the 220 wrapped round where the walkway meets the ceiling opposite the disabled loo. Is the new upholstery the same colour as the old Virgin upholstery, or not in XC colours like 1st class?

Adam :D
 

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--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
AFAIK First Class has purple upholstery and different carpets? Standard Class should have grey carpet and pink/red upholstery like the 170s but for some reason to do with DDA Standard has new virgin upholstery.

Can someone on here explain why they couldn't use their own scheme as surely grab handles could have been resprayed
 
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Schnellzug

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I'm glad I'm not the only one on here that likes voyager, I think they are lovely too. :) The big windows are great for scenic lines like EXD-PNZ and noise gives a sensation of speed like a plane taking off.

Indeed so, when they ran one down to Weymouth the other week as a trial run, it went up Upwey bank quicker'n anything I've ever known.
 

All Line Rover

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AFAIK First Class has purple upholstery and different carpets? Standard Class should have grey carpet and pink/red upholstery like the 170s but for some reason to do with DDA Standard has new virgin upholstery.

I quite like the new First Class colour scheme. But from the pictures they had of the "coming soon" Standard Class colour scheme (it looked horrible), I'm glad they stuck with the Virgin colour scheme!
 

Lampshade

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Does the XC HST seating colours not meet DDA standards then?

I imagine the Voyagers would look quite nice with that colour scheme.
 

hairyhandedfool

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the DDA has to specify seating colours as well? Why? Is there any thing that Government interference does not extend to?

Surely the DDA has to account for people who have poor vision (the same reason doors have to be a different colour) and who may want to see if they are about to sit on a seat or not???
 

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I quite like the new First Class colour scheme. But from the pictures they had of the "coming soon" Standard Class colour scheme (it looked horrible), I'm glad they stuck with the Virgin colour scheme!
.
wow what pictures news to me. So is there a clear answer on this because the replys from XC haven't been clear. I take it Virgin could not do anything about it like Sea Containers did with the GNER brand
 

DarloRich

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arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

YOU CAN NOT POLISH A TURD!

you can change the bloody carpet all you like but they still rattle, they are still uncomfortbale and they are still too small.

Try a long run, say Edinburgh - Plymouth and tell me you like them. :roll::roll:<(
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I shall be impressed when they are destoryed. Or at least moved on to more suitable services away from me!
 

All Line Rover

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.
wow what pictures news to me. So is there a clear answer on this because the replys from XC haven't been clear. I take it Virgin could not do anything about it like Sea Containers did with the GNER brand

I don't have the link as this was many months back. Still, the proposed colour scheme was horrible, I can assure you. The Virgin colour scheme might be a little garish, but is far better than the alternative XC proposed!
 

SprinterMan

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I don't have the link as this was many months back. Still, the proposed colour scheme was horrible, I can assure you. The Virgin colour scheme might be a little garish, but is far better than the alternative XC proposed!

The 170s and HSTs look ok inside, was it different/worse than that?
Adam :D
 

chris89

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I was on a XC voyager yesterday and was impressed by the new carpets and upholstery. Such an improvement!

True the seats are hard but I want to focus on a few positive things...

I actually felt quite sentimental being on a voyager for the first time in a few years. Maybe it is because they have been around a few years now and I have fond memories of travelling places on them. But the train sure looked great arriving and looked taller than I remembered it but I think this is an illusion because the drivers cab appears higher.

The train was noisy and vibrated strongly but I am growing to like this noise as a distinctive feature of them? There is something exciting about the noise as the train builds up speed. I especially like the big windows despite not having a great view from where I was sitting. I also thought the vestibule doors are smart and the red furnishings despite still being in Virgin red. The train is also incredibly smooth departing stations.

The fact it wasn't overcrowded obviously makes a difference meaning I side with other comments that it woul dbe a fine train but for the overcrowding.

Good to see someone else likes the Voyagers, The XC ones are the ones that need a refurbishment the most. I hopefully will get one of those sets from Newcastle to Birmingham in August.

Re: Darlorich's comment. I find both XC and VT voyagers on long distances being WVG-EDB (WCML) and BHM -EDB (ECML)

Chris
 

ainsworth74

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that isn't a rant it a factual observation!

I would have said the only factual content in that post was that Voyagers are too short for the services they operate. The other points you raise about comfort and rattles are either personal opinion (I find them perfectly comfortable) or bad luck/not unique to Voyagers (I've been on some that have rattles others that don't, I've been on other classes where some units rattle and others don't).

I just do not think they are appropriate for the services upon which they are used.

And I disagree. I think they are suited to the services they operate if they were long enough. This would also solve my only other complaint of the lack of a buffet seeing as if they were long enough the buffets would almost certainly have never been removed.

However, I've argued out the Voyager thing myself many times and I know you've done the same so I think it's safe to say that neither of us are going to change our minds ;)
 

Lrd

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I've done London Euston - Holyhead on a Voyager before and the only gripe I had was that it was so bloody busy! Everything to do with the train was fine, seats were comfy, air con/heating at a good temp, the saloon's looked modern and funky, OK the vestibule/toilet smelt a little but I spent most of the time in the saloon so couldn't smell it.

Same goes for XC Voyagers as well, I've done Southampton to the Midlands on them plenty of times and have no complaints.

Those of you who moan about them are just being over picky and need to stop following the crowd, why not get out there and make your own decision by actually travelling on them?
 

sprinterguy

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Those of you who moan about them are just being over picky and need to stop following the crowd, why not get out there and make your own decision by actually travelling on them?
I do travel on them, regularly. Unfortunately. As do many other forum members who have major gripes with them, you will find. The flaws with Voyagers are immediately apparent after only a limited experience of travelling on them.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I've done London Euston - Holyhead on a Voyager before and the only gripe I had was that it was so bloody busy! Everything to do with the train was fine, seats were comfy, air con/heating at a good temp, the saloon's looked modern and funky, OK the vestibule/toilet smelt a little but I spent most of the time in the saloon so couldn't smell it.
With regards to the toilet smell, it often permeates the passenger saloon quite noticeably on Crosscountry units and does not stay limited to the vestibules, not so much on the Virgin examples.

And each to their own of course, but I find that the seats offer fairly inadequate padding for longer journeys, although admittedly they do perform the function of giving passengers somewhere to park their behinds perfectly adequately. And I prefer "comfortable and quiet" to "modern and funky".
 

Zoe

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I just do not think they are appropriate for the services upon which they are used.
Not many people use them for the entire route though. Many people use Cross Country for regional journeys.
 

317666

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I think the Voyagers are decent trains, the main thing I don't like about them is how crowded they get. I'd definitely prefer them to CrossCountry's other DMU type, the rattling, uncomfortable, underpowered Class 170.
 

142094

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Those of you who moan about them are just being over picky and need to stop following the crowd, why not get out there and make your own decision by actually travelling on them?

Unfortunately being on the ECML I've had to suffer these a lot in the past few years, and my opinion is still the same. Even if they were twice the length, they would still be claustrophobic, have terrible seating and a lack of a proper buffet on services that go all the way from the top of Scotland to the south west of England is bonkers.
 

Robinson

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Unfortunately being on the ECML I've had to suffer these a lot in the past few years, and my opinion is still the same. Even if they were twice the length, they would still be claustrophobic, have terrible seating and a lack of a proper buffet on services that go all the way from the top of Scotland to the south west of England is bonkers.

The substandard catering on CrossCountry is one of the reasons why I choose Virgin for my journeys to Scotland rather than XC.
 

starrymarkb

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Unfortunately being on the ECML I've had to suffer these a lot in the past few years, and my opinion is still the same. Even if they were twice the length, they would still be claustrophobic, have terrible seating and a lack of a proper buffet on services that go all the way from the top of Scotland to the south west of England is bonkers.

If they were longer they could have proper buffet provision. Plus IME the huge windows don't make them claustrophobic and the seats are comfortable and fare nicer then the abominations fitted to the XC HSTs which I can not get comfortable in.

Though from SW to Scotland the plane wins hands down! I can go door to door in about 3.5-4 hours rather then 8-9 on the train!
 

Zoe

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lack of a proper buffet on services that go all the way from the top of Scotland to the south west of England is bonkers.
Not many people do this though. The average journey length when the franchise was let was just 81 miles and I'm not sure a buffet would be justified for a journey of this length.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Though from SW to Scotland the plane wins hands down! I can go door to door in about 3.5-4 hours rather then 8-9 on the train!
Not everyone in the South West lives in Exeter though. For some it can be a long journey just to get to Exeter.
 
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sprinterguy

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I think the Voyagers are decent trains, the main thing I don't like about them is how crowded they get. I'd definitely prefer them to CrossCountry's other DMU type, the rattling, uncomfortable, underpowered Class 170.
Conversely, I aim to catch 170s whenever I'm travelling within the Cheltenham - Birmingham - Nottingham corridor, and 168s between Birmingham, Leamington Spa and Banbury if there isn't a loco hauled alternative around, rather than endure another journey on a Voyager. I much prefer the Turbostars.
 

142094

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Not many people do this though. The average journey length when the franchise was let was just 81 miles and I'm no sure a buffet would be justified for a journey of this length.

Perhaps a lack of proper food provision is putting people off?

Travel with a TOC like East Coast and I can do some very short journeys and still have something decent to eat. Travel with XC on the same service and I might as well go to M+S or somewhere else to get a meal deal.
 

Robinson

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Perhaps a lack of proper food provision is putting people off?

Travel with a TOC like East Coast and I can do some very short journeys and still have something decent to eat. Travel with XC on the same service and I might as well go to M+S or somewhere else to get a meal deal.

That's not really a rolling stock issue though, as demonstrated by the rather better catering on the Virgin Voyagers.
 
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