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Missing but wished-for features on trains

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tsr

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Things not needed
- Coat Hooks. 1. They never align properly and 2. I have never seen anyone use them
- Reading lights on Electrostats. Never see anyone use them.

Can’t agree on either of those. Coat hooks are very useful but some passengers are conditioned not to expect them, if their regular train does not have them. If anything, it encourages people to take coats off in the winter months, which reduces people becoming too warm and therefore ill. Coats and scarves also get left behind far less frequently if they are on a hook next to the seat, instead of stowed at the back of a luggage rack.

As for the Electrostars, plenty of people use the reading lights, especially people who are used to the stock. If you walk down a train which has just worked a peak time service in the winter, when it’s dark during commuting hours, you will find loads which have been left turned on, after people have left the train.

Some Electrostar stock actually has luggage racks fitted with hooks and reading lights - I believe this was not intentional (just a function of different components being shoehorned into the various saloon designs), but it turned out that these are very clever features. Why? People can put big bulky coats or bags-for-life on the hooks by the racks, and you can use the reading lights to see more clearly inside a bag inside which you have lost something.
 
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SpacePhoenix

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Apart from GWR HSTs and VTEC HSTs and 225 sets, does any other normal service train have either a proper buffet car and/or proper restaurant car?
 

alex17595

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Coat hooks are very useful but some passengers are conditioned not to expect them, if their regular train does not have them. If anything, it encourages people to take coats off in the winter months, which reduces people becoming too warm and therefore ill. Coats and scarves also get left behind far less frequently if they are on a hook next to the seat, instead of stowed at the back of a luggage rack.

There are coat hooks on the train in Switzerland which are very well used. I had never even noticed them on UK stock until I came back.
 

Mordac

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How many journeys have you made on mainland Europe? I have made many journeys on Italian and German , regional and express routes and can say that the quality and cost of catering leaves the UK in the shade. try it and see. The problem in the UK is we think that Britain still has Great in front of it and leads the world. The fact is it doesn't and we can learn a lot from others inead of (stubornly) trying to to prove that the UK is always correct
I did indicate my experience was limited. You might have made a few wrong assumptions about my background, however.

All I said is, in a Virgin Pendolino whith a restaurant service for first class passengers (which are not, of course, the full complement of daily services ran by these trains), the quality of both the food and the service exceeded by far what I was served in first class on an ICE, and these were in services of comparable duration. I can get a full proper meal with free booze on VTWC, whereas the ICE offering was more reminiscent of what you got in a BA short haul flight in economy, before they axed the free meals, that is.

We were obviously on different trains.
Well, it would be a pretty big coincidence if we'd been on the same train, wouldn't it? :p
 

delt1c

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I did indicate my experience was limited. You might have made a few wrong assumptions about my background, however.

All I said is, in a Virgin Pendolino whith a restaurant service for first class passengers (which are not, of course, the full complement of daily services ran by these trains), the quality of both the food and the service exceeded by far what I was served in first class on an ICE, and these were in services of comparable duration. I can get a full proper meal with free booze on VTWC, whereas the ICE offering was more reminiscent of what you got in a BA short haul flight in economy, before they axed the free meals, that is.


Well, it would be a pretty big coincidence if we'd been on the same train, wouldn't it? :p
traveling on a semi regular basis i can assure you the quality and price on mainland europe puts the UK network to shame.
I remember in BR days when full restaurant service was available you left the restaurant car full. Last time i traveled virgin West Coast 1st class i thought it was starters they had served not the full breakfast
 
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Why not have a urinal like on some trains in Japan, reduces the queues at the toilet and uses a limited amount of space. The window in the door is unnecessary though!
 

delt1c

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Why not have a urinal like on some trains in Japan, reduces the queues at the toilet and uses a limited amount of space. The window in the door is unnecessary though!
Especially since now very few door windows open. Can cause splash back
 

whhistle

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The Barcelona metro just uses a small arrow on the PIS to show which side the doors will open. That's surely something that can be implemented easily?
Or green bulbs over the door for the one that opens, red for those that don't open?

Most people like complementary meal service;
Most people like their seats to recline;
Most people would like a free drink or two;
Can you point me to where you have obtained the information for this?
Or are you just guessing?
I'm saying that I was right in how I was saying people like the complimentaries.
And that's the most important thing... being right...
 
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whhistle

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You'd want something with that because it'd be no use for red-green colourblind people.
Don't mean to sound rude but you should read up about colour blindness...
The majority of people who are red/green colour blind can see red/green fine - and no, they don't get them mixed up.

The Wikipedia article where it shows the American flag in different colours is stupid as unless you have severe colour blindness, you can still see colours fine. It's more about defining whether a colour shade is green or brown. Same with some reds and oranges. I would define some colours as orange, where other people may decide they are more red.

But still a valid point, and don't worry - most people think colour blindness means you can't see that colour at all.
 

CaptainHaddock

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Has anyone suggested a mobile-phone signal blocker in the quiet coach yet? That'd be my number one choice.
 

Bletchleyite

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Has anyone suggested a mobile-phone signal blocker in the quiet coach yet? That'd be my number one choice.

It isn't AIUI legal to use any form of mobile phone jammer in the UK. They could do it by passive means e.g. by way of a mesh on the windows to create an "accidental" Faraday cage (Voyagers are "good" enough at that). But why stop people using data, which can be and normally is done silently?

TBH, I think the only way it could be done properly would be by way of the Byelaw offence of (however it's worded) playing music out loud to the annoyance of others, using Merseyrail style Byelaw squads. Though to be fair that offence needs enforcement in the non-quiet coaches too. I'd genuinely quite like to see people who think it's acceptable to play movies out loud on tablets being hauled through the Courts and fined, as it's quite incredibly rude to do so; use headphones.
 

Via Bank

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Has anyone suggested a mobile-phone signal blocker in the quiet coach yet? That'd be my number one choice.
This would also stop people from using mobile data (silently), sending texts (silently), and using their mobile in an emergency.

This will also do nothing to stop someone loudly having a conversation with the person next to them, maybe to say “OI! YOU! IS YOUR PHONE SIGNAL DEAD OR IS IT JUST ME?”
 

superalbs

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This would also stop people from using mobile data (silently), sending texts (silently), and using their mobile in an emergency.

This will also do nothing to stop someone loudly having a conversation with the person next to them, maybe to say “OI! YOU! IS YOUR PHONE SIGNAL DEAD OR IS IT JUST ME?”
Stickers on the wall saying that mobile usage is disabled in that carriage would prevent all of those from being a problem.
 

Via Bank

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Stickers on the wall saying that mobile usage is disabled in that carriage would prevent all of those from being a problem.
Are you sure? Because the stickers that are already on the wall saying “please do not use your phone or have loud conversations here” don’t seem to have much effect.
 

mallard

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Has anyone suggested a mobile-phone signal blocker in the quiet coach yet? That'd be my number one choice.

In addition to the other objections raised, mobile phones use battery power at a much higher rate when there's no/poor signal that when there's a good one (the technical reason is because phones will broadcast "signal probes" at the full power of their transmitter until they get a response, then lower the power to the minimum required to communicate with the tower; if they can't get a response from a tower they'll keep transmitting those probes at full power, using battery power much more quickly).

That's an especially bad idea with the overwhelming push towards "m-tickets" that's being foced on passengers. It's all very well to say that it's their responsibility to ensure they've got an endless supply of power, but if you're putting measures in place that are known to drain their battery faster than normal, they can't really be blamed when it runs out more quickly than they expect.
 

Kite159

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Are you sure? Because the stickers that are already on the wall saying “please do not use your phone or have loud conversations here” don’t seem to have much effect.

Especially for iPhone users :lol:

Anyhow one thing which jumps out at me with that link the SWR forum is slightly incorrect
We advertise no mobile phone use and head phone use

At least on the 159s the signs are something along the lines of "please don't use your mobile phone and make sure your music doesn't disturb anyone"
 

TT-ONR-NRN

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Can you point me to where you have obtained the information for this?
Or are you just guessing?

And that's the most important thing... being right...

Sad, for some reason it looks like you’ve just searched for things to pick me up on. That’s so petty it’s not even worth responding to.
 

whhistle

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Sad, for some reason it looks like you’ve just searched for things to pick me up on. That’s so petty it’s not even worth responding to.
But you did respond so clearly it is.
And I note you didn't answer the question.


Another feature that's already been touched upon is information screens about the train.
Things like current speed, ETA at next station, perhaps even connections to principle locations from that station (and their respective platforms)... something a bit more than the small CIS that most trains have now.

I like the ideas about individual lights but this should come with an easy way to reset them all to on or off. It's one thing I don't like, is getting on to a fresh train and seeing some of the FC lights on and others off.

I'd also moot some sort of minimum standard for First Class.
For example:
Virgin Trains West Coast have First Class on all trains, serving breakfast on all trains at the appropriate times, with other food available at other times of day.
East Midlands Trains, as I understand, have breakfast on certain trains only and not much throughout the day. No evening meals.
Cross Country, I don't even know what they have!

If you're going to have First Class, there should be defined standards as expectations grow. Maybe harder to work on some smaller lines, but do they really need a FC section anyway?
 

Bletchleyite

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I'd go the other way with 1st - dump the freebies other than tea/coffee/water[1] and concentrate on a quality environment, with a minimum standard of e.g. one fewer seat across the train than Standard. At seat service would remain, at the buffet prices and served on proper crockery/cutlery etc. Basically the DB First Class service. And DB prices, i.e. 1.6x the relevant Standard fare.

[1] I expect the MUP will put paid to free alcohol in Scotland, though there might be a rush once the train passes the border!
 

matacaster

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Foot warmers (winter only), gas lighting (much kinder on eyes), clerestory roofs (summer only!)
 

Nymanic

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Another feature that's already been touched upon is information screens about the train.
Things like current speed, ETA at next station, perhaps even connections to principle locations from that station (and their respective platforms)... something a bit more than the small CIS that most trains have now.


As a minor aside, on one occasion when travelling on a Virgin XC 220 in the mid-2000s, I noticed the CIS displays weren't showing the usual variety of tidbits (primarily 'This is Coach Whatever') - but instead a scrolling message stating the time, outside air temperature and current speed. It only ever happened the once, but proved rather interesting.

Operators on the continent often display current speeds too, but not without limitations - they may only show it occasionally among other, less useful bits of info (Frecciarossa 1000), or round the speed to the nearest 10km/h (Italo), or only tell you how fast you're going when you're at LGV speeds (TGV Duplex).

In short, more info on the screens would be very nice, if the balance is right. Overload or an abundance of trivialities/adverts etc may just switch people off.
 

Bletchleyite

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As a minor aside, on one occasion when travelling on a Virgin XC 220 in the mid-2000s, I noticed the CIS displays weren't showing the usual variety of tidbits (primarily 'This is Coach Whatever') - but instead a scrolling message stating the time, outside air temperature and current speed. It only ever happened the once, but proved rather interesting.

On the Pendolinos, the sequence that says "Time xx:xx Destination Y For your comfort and security, CCTV is in operation" used to say "Time xx:xx Destination Y Speed Zmph". Didn't stick around long, possibly because it caused embarrassment ;)
 
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