Good points. Has the comfort of your seat improved? I'd hope so, given how long your sat on the train.
oOOOOooooooOH Thanks for thinking about the person up the pointy end.
Before I start I'd like to address the elephant in the room... Objectively, yes. 100% trains have improved and very much for the better. We are at a point where we are babystepping into automated trains. If they ever get the core up and running...
Subjectively is where it gets messy. Nobody is going to agree on their seating preference or layout but they are still improvements and additions over what we had in the days of the Rocket.
Objectively... Cab design has come a long way too. There is a bigger focus on the Driver and everything now seems to be more wrapped around a central position and within reach. Controls are standardized and I'm pretty confident I could get in almost any 'modern' EMU and drive it without thinking. My first day in a 700 felt like I'd been driving it for years. Safety has also improved and crash worthiness is more rigorous.
I have air con in a 700 and a 319 had a hand sized fan screwed to the bulkhead.
700's have improved lighting with spots and main lights. 465's your lucky if one side works.
700s have a dimable HMI/DMI interface as well as dimable interlock lights. 465 fault/interlock lights can be blinding (can be dimmed(ish)), 376 Mitrac gets a screen on/off option.
The seat in a 700 is like the seat in my Jag. You can adjust it many ways and there is even an adjustable height DSD. Anyone who drives or drove a 319.. I point you towards the Cobra seat. 376s are a better seat but your trapped against the CPBC housing.
For the Driver there are also Objective improvements :
The PIS is automated - Various iterations of PIS but overall little need for manual announcements. The 700 PIS can be updated remotely.
GSMR is a superior product - CSR was ok but out of date and poor quality. The BIG RED BUTTON is a leap in railway safety.
700s have a HMI/DMI interface - 319s had bugger all, 465's you can figure stuff out with what indications in the cab you get, 376 has a Mitrac.
MCB's and Isolations are more cab based.
Headlights that automatically set to red when you take the key off is a good step forward. Automated night/day will be the next logical step.
ASDO/MSDO/FASDO/ASDA/CSDE are both safety and Driver aids. With safety; every little helps.
Probably more that don't specifically spring to mind.
Subjectively...
I miss standing up in a 319 and a 508. 700s are comfortable but sometimes you wanna stretch your legs. 319s/375s have a horrible view out the window. Anything with a burst through door means your view is restricted and your seating is biased to the left. 376s have an awful seating position and your squished up against the controller. The view out the side window often leads you to crane your neck. Don't miss the monitors as your then clambering out your seat.
Cab fans and aircon is great but you often end up tripping out the fan because it's noisy or plain broken. I'd rather be in a 700 as you can sit in them in the middle of summer on the hottest day and still need a coat because its so cold but I like to have the flexibility to have my window open and feel a nice breeze or just to have a nose into peoples gardens...
Cobra seats were hell but at least you could stand. I've ripped many pairs of trousers because I'm been caught on various shards and sticky out bits of metal in both Networkers and Electrostars.
I miss the space you had behind you in a 508 but the cab itself was a touch cramped. 319s were dark and dismal. 376s are pretty open especially when compared to a 375 and that bloody door ! 465s aren't to bad and you can see where they started to think more about cab design but again, the Daddy of them all is a 700. I remember coming back from St Albans on a horribly cramped and overcrowded train. Suffice to say, the rear cab was full of Drivers. About 8 or us in total if I remember rightly.
Mitrac and HMI take the guesswork out of fault finding and onboard issues. There are those who live by 'Air and Amps' and those who love new and shiny. The information and feedback you can get from a 700 is incredible but it can be a bit too much. There needs to be an option to 'mute' some of the information and make it more on demand. The problem with technology is that 'computer says no' as evidenced by the issues found when the grid went bye bye.
The next 40yrs will be the more interesting. Will ATO be more widespread ? ETCS ? HS3 ? Will we see a Maglev at any point in the UK ? Onboard interactive displays ? I see a lot more technology going into trains and lots of potential for passengers and I guarantee in 40yrs time there will still be complaints about how comfortable the seat is !