Glad to hear they're all going to be turned the same way round, they're a total pain at the moment!
They're a total pain all-round, to be honest.
- Rough ride, made worse by hard seats. Sit in the window seat with the fixed armrest and have your elbow constantly knocking against the hard amrest every time the train goes over a set of points or rough section of track. They ride worse than 365/321, and about on a par with the motor car of a 317 except made worse because the hard seats mean you feel every jolt.
- Reduction in seating availability. What would be a moderately loaded 365 service now feels crowded.
- Seats taken up by luggage racks. On the 365 these are placed at the vehicle ends and thus don't take up seating space. On the 387s the comparable space seems to be taken up with electrical cabinets.
- Seats are hard, uncomfortably shaped and the armrests are too high. Subjective, but I've heard others commenting on how uncomfortable they find the seats, whilst it's common to see people shuffling throughout the journey which is a sign of discomfort.
- No increase in standing room despite reduction in seats. The gangway is about comparable to a 317/321, but worse to pass through because the armrests provide the perfect fixture on which to snag clothing or luggage. Impossible to stand in the gangway without seriously compromising access to seating, not an issue on the 365.
- GPS measurements show speed profile is almost identical to a 365, so no worthwhile performance gain. The benefits of SDO could be matched by extending the platforms at the three stations involved.
- First class is in a sub-optimal location, and offers no enhanced ambience compared to standard class. To make matters worse GTR have managed to have trains facing different ways, so first class is not in the same place from day to day.
- Not yet been on a GN 387 where the PIS has performed properly.
- Various irritating rattles and squeaks frequently audible inside the train, and quite a few gangway doors opening/closing continuously or of their own accord.
For all these negatives, the only improvement is air conditioning. I'd rather suffer on the few days when air conditioning is really beneficial, and have a comfortable train for the rest of the time. Sentiments in local newspapers across the GN area seems to agree with this.