Unnecessary features on rolling stock that are bad or inconvenient for passengers

[Intercity 225]

Hopefully this'll be a short list but what features on rolling stock do you consider to be unnecessarily bad or inconvenient for passengers? I'll start with two that bug me:

1. On Pendolinos, Voyagers and Meridians - the toilet flush is behind the lid for the seat, why is this? Whilst I personally use train facilities with respect for other passengers, sadly many others don't and I find it repulsive that I have to touch a lid that's frequently soaked in urine in order to ensure that they're left in the best possible state for the next visitor.

2. The internal open door buttons on most Pacers - why do these face the majority of the carriage instead of those wanting to exit? It's utterly moronic.

 

[causton]

1. Those toilets are operated by a vacuum. They operate by methods of suction. Therefore, it is not advised to sit on one while it is flushing! Putting the button in such a place that it is almost impossible to reach while sitting down is actually on purpose and a good design feature.

Number two I cannot answer though

 

[Starmill]

A sign that says 'Do not flush while seated' serves everywhere else. I usually try to lower the lid with my foot. I suppose you could argue that people don't read the signs but...

 

[theageofthetra]

Having the thermostat near the hopper windows on Networkers was a bit daft.

 

[rg177]

Internal doors on Voyagers that don't have motion sensors.

Cue a constant stream of people getting stuck in them.

Sent from my F3111 using Tapatalk

 

[61653 HTAFC]

The pacer door button thing is a pain I agree. I'm not sure why they're like that, but the ones that are are the ones that haven't had the original buttons replaced. I think it's mostly Northern's 142s that are still like that now. 144s aren't but I don't know about the 143s or Welsh 142s.

Some other gripes: waste tanks on Voyagers being too close to hot exhausts, and every single toilet on Voyagers being an enormous one which wastes space.

 

[takno]

Internal doors on Voyagers that don't have motion sensors.

Cue a constant stream of people getting stuck in them.

Sent from my F3111 using Tapatalk

I'm not a big fan of motion sensors. Almost anything's better than the pressure mats on Mk3s spreading the chill air of dropped window, but in the end they all just end up opening doors that don't need to be open repeatedly throughout the journey. The doors that leave you stuck in the gangways between carriages until the button deigns to register your press are annoying though.

 

[superalbs]

Noisy PIS, is just taking the...well.

 

[rg177]

I'm not a big fan of motion sensors. Almost anything's better than the pressure mats on Mk3s spreading the chill air of dropped window, but in the end they all just end up opening doors that don't need to be open repeatedly throughout the journey. The doors that leave you stuck in the gangways between carriages until the button deigns to register your press are annoying though.

To be honest, it's more that the doors on Voyagers can't even detect when someone is trapped in the door, never mind walking through it. So everytime there's a reasonable queue to get off at a station, you usually end up with someone getting themselves whacked.

Sent from my F3111 using Tapatalk

 

[Great_Western]

Armrests that are stuck permanently in the down position next to the window is a big gripe of mine that is found on most rolling stock these days (175's being a pleasant exception). Even worse are the Chapman seats on ATW Pacers that have the indents and spacing for armrests and tables but lack them altogether for no apparent reason.

 

[Bletchleyite]

1. Those toilets are operated by a vacuum. They operate by methods of suction. Therefore, it is not advised to sit on one while it is flushing! Putting the button in such a place that it is almost impossible to reach while sitting down is actually on purpose and a good design feature.

It's a vastly better design feature than the toilets at Euston where the sensors are positioned such that if you lean back while seated you get the built-in bidet feature.

Same at Luton Airport, FWIW.

 

[theageofthetra]

Over bright LED replacement of older light fittings on trains and conversely ones which have a hopeless light spread on some platforms.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The pacer door button thing is a pain I agree. I'm not sure why they're like that, but the ones that are are the ones that haven't had the original buttons replaced. I think it's mostly Northern's 142s that are still like that now. 144s aren't but I don't know about the 143s or Welsh 142s.

You mean round the back of the panel? I've seen loads of people miss their stop (and managed to prevent loads of others doing so) because they are not visible.

Some other gripes: waste tanks on Voyagers being too close to hot exhausts, and every single toilet on Voyagers being an enormous one which wastes space.

Allegedly this was because there were to be 3 classes originally, First, Standard and Virgin Value. I agree it's rubbish though.

I'm not a big fan of motion sensors. Almost anything's better than the pressure mats on Mk3s spreading the chill air of dropped window, but in the end they all just end up opening doors that don't need to be open repeatedly throughout the journey. The doors that leave you stuck in the gangways between carriages until the button deigns to register your press are annoying though.

They do need edge detection, though. The whack you get from them is quite hard, and can't do the mechanism much good. At least they do stay shut, though.

 

[samuelmorris]

On the subject of motion operated vestibule doors, I lose count of how many times I've been sat next to one on a Mk4 with the sensor triggering several times a second endlessly because someone is standing near it and there's no delay timer on it triggering. Not a pointless feature but certainly rendered annoying by poor implementation...

 

[pdeaves]

Electronic reservation labels. You can't read them until well inside the carriage, at which point there is a sea of people behind none of whom want to let you turn round and head back. With paper labels, it you see loads of them you know it's not worth entering that carriage.

Curved toilet doors. Who thought curves would work well in a place that flexes a bit? They seem to fail too often, more than 'flat' equivalents.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Curved toilet doors. Who thought curves would work well in a place that flexes a bit? They seem to fail too often, more than 'flat' equivalents.

That seems for now to have been solved by having two narrow curved doors on newer designs.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

A sign that says 'Do not flush while seated' serves everywhere else. I usually try to lower the lid with my foot.

Would it not be easier to hold the lid with a bit of ( clean - out of the holder! ) toilet paper in your hand while you lower it? Then put that bit of paper in the bin unless you're quick enough to flick it into the pan just as the lid closes?

 

[DarloRich]

Hopefully this'll be a short list but what features on rolling stock do you consider to be unnecessarily bad or inconvenient for passengers? I'll start with two that bug me:

1. On Pendolinos, Voyagers and Meridians - the toilet flush is behind the lid for the seat, why is this? Whilst I personally use train facilities with respect for other passengers, sadly many others don't and I find it repulsive that I have to touch a lid that's frequently soaked in urine in order to ensure that they're left in the best possible state for the next visitor.

A sign that says 'Do not flush while seated' serves everywhere else. I usually try to lower the lid with my foot. I suppose you could argue that people don't read the signs but...

Would it not be easier to hold the lid with a bit of ( clean - out of the holder! ) toilet paper in your hand while you lower it? Then put that bit of paper in the bin unless you're quick enough to flick it into the pan just as the lid closes?

Just wash your hands. :roll: I don't think anyone has died form using a train toilet. God knows how you would survive some of the football ground toilets I use!

It's a vastly better design feature than the toilets at Euston where the sensors are positioned such that if you lean back while seated you get the built-in bidet feature.

Same at Luton Airport, FWIW.

Same at New Street. When you are sitting unloading you can hear them going off and people chuntering. ( until it is you. Then - :cry: )

 

[Townsend Hook]

Electronic reservation labels. You can't read them until well inside the carriage, at which point there is a sea of people behind none of whom want to let you turn round and head back. With paper labels, it you see loads of them you know it's not worth entering that carriage.

Personally I think electronic reservation displays are the best thing since sliced bread, they save a ridiculous amount of paper, they can be updated up to the second, and you don't have the issue of a late arrival not giving the on board staff time to put the new ones out. Sure they have the occasional glitch, and the Pendolino ones which just say 'Reserved' aren't as helpful as the ones which say 'Reserved from X to Y', but overall they are a brilliant idea. Improvements such as showing the amount of reservations in each carriage, as Virgin do now, negate your issue to some extent by guiding you to a less-reserved carriage at the outset.

 

[DarloRich]

the problem is some of the features ( and I limit this to passenger features) make sense at the time but the world moves one. For example pay phones on trains were replaced by better mobile technology. The radio points on the Pendos were useful when first installed but mobile data and mobile internet meant they were outdated.

The BEAM app on Virgin is good but I am sure that will soon be seen to be superfluous.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Just wash your hands. :roll: I don't think anyone has died from using a train toilet.

I do wash my hands as well; but having seen the state of some of the lids it is surely advisable to minimise any contact with them in order to make the subsequent hand washing more effective...

By the way - it is always advisable to test first that the hand washing systems actually work; if they are the modern sensor operated type there is a high chance that they will not...!!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Quite.

Anyone "like" the Southern ones that insist you have to use soap even if all you're in there for is to clean your spectacles?

A traditional Prestex tap and manual soap dispenser is better than any of those ridiculous systems.

 

[DarloRich]

I do wash my hands as well; but having seen the state of some of the lids it is surely advisable to minimise any contact with them in order to make the subsequent hand washing more effective...

By the way - it is always advisable to test first that the hand washing systems actually work; if they are the modern sensor operated type there is a high chance that they will not...!!

Seems overblown to me. Honestly the toilets on a train, no matter how awful ( and I don't think they are very often - beyond the smell) are nothing compared to the toilets at lower league football grounds. If a train toilet worries you these will flip you out!

PS if you are that worried carry some of that anti septic gel stuff they flog these days

 

[Darkinsider]

deleted

 

[JamesT]

I’m not sure about suction type toilets, but certainly for normal toilets flushing with the lid up ends up spraying stuff everywhere. So a system that gets you to close the lid first is much more hygienic.

 

[Bletchleyite]

As a thought, before someone says you can't have a manual dispenser/tap, I don't recall ever seeing an accessible toilet "landside" (even a Changing Places one, which are said to be the pinnacle of such facilities) that did not have:

a) a manual door
b) a manual tap (possibly with a larger handle)
c) a manual soap dispenser

So automating those is not needed on trains, either. (Will be interesting to see if the Anglia FLIRTs have the same manual doors with big handles as the Swiss and German ones do)

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Cycle spaces on TPE 185s (and to a lesser extent Northern 158s), having pull down seats in the cycle space,meaning that even when you've reserved your bike on a train, you find yourself having to ask people to move so you can put your bike in the space.

Much better for cycle spaces to be hooks that you hang your bike vertically on, on Voyagers or Northern 333s. Bikes take up less space, no-one can sit in the cycle space, everyone wins!

 

[Darkinsider]

deleted

 

[DarloRich]

I have thought for sometime. Although this would in a UK context only realisticaly work for UK train designers. The Actual CAD designers etc should be given x days free travel on uk network. It would actualy mean they travel on trains and see what works what does not.

I agree. However they will still come up against a specification that doesn't, really, care about the passenger.

 

[BucksBones]

One particularly annoying feature of London Midland's trains at the moment is the adverts for their free WiFi and entertainment service that obscure the windows at the carriage ends. It makes for an entertaining few minutes as you try to work out which station you are at by peering around a silhouette of Sir David Attenborough's head through the semi-translucent vinyl at the station signs (difficult to see at night at the best of times due to the white-on black design and the absurdly thin font), the PIS screen having been programmed to go blank as the train stops (i.e. just when you need it if you have missed the announcements because you have been taking advantage of London Midland's free wifi and entertainment service).