Avanti West Coast Rolling Stock Updates

[Goldfish62]

This is FirstGroup - I wouldn't hold my breath for the last 10% to be completed, if the AWC 390 refurb is 90% finished, as there are handle bars still remaining in Stagecoach orange in SWR Desiros even after refurbishment! No idea why these are not in cyan blue? Hopefully Avanti will seek to fully complete anything missed out in time.

The reason they were not changed is because the Desiros are so solidly built it was underestimated what was required to remove, recoat and reinstall the grab rails. I doubt that'll be a problem with the Pendolinos...

 

[Trackman]

it feels 90% finished. if the toilet doors were put into Avanti colours and the red bars painted AWC colours it would be done, but sobeit

I'm sure I've seen a video of 390125 with an Avanti blue toilet door.
What colour are they are on the refurbed Voyagers?

 

[Bletchleyite]

The reason they were not changed is because the Desiros are so solidly built it was underestimated what was required to remove, recoat and reinstall the grab rails. I doubt that'll be a problem with the Pendolinos...

WMT managed to do it. But then didn't change the blue inserts by the doors on the 350/1s which look weird with the new interior theme being green. I think it is often the case that something just gets missed from the spec.

I'm sure I've seen a video of 390125 with an Avanti blue toilet door.
What colour are they are on the refurbed Voyagers?

They were always blue in 1st.

 

[Trackman]

They were always blue in 1st.

Just shows I don't pay attention to bog door colours!

 

[507020]

You mean the completely brandless, red hot air balloon which totally doesn’t have a sticker over it covering up any previous branding?

They seem to have replaced the toilet design with the AWC logo colours.

No I mean the Virgin hot air balloon which might have had a sticker over it, which definitely isn’t peeling off to the point of revealing that the balloon underneath is indeed adorned with the hallmarks of Sir Richard Branson himself. I’m also sure there are no such things as Avanti West Coast Hot Air Balloon Flights for it to be.

 

[43102EMR]

I'm sure I've seen a video of 390125 with an Avanti blue toilet door.
What colour are they are on the refurbed Voyagers?

I rode on 390125 the other day - all toilet doors are still Virgin red.

 

[station_road]

I rode on 390125 the other day - all toilet doors are still Virgin red.

Except for the ones in First which are blue, as pointed out above.

 

[43102EMR]

Except for the ones in First which are blue, as pointed out above.

Yes but those were the same under Virgin IIRC.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes but those were the same under Virgin IIRC.

Yes, they were blue in 1st and red in Std. In those coaches which were converted to Standard (F on the 9-car sets and G on the 11s) they will still be blue if I recall.

 

[steeevooo]

Very very concerned about these new iron-board seats which are NOT at all suitable for long distance travel!


Source: https://twitter.com/geofftech/status/1519636052037750785?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet

It's been mentioned quite a few times on here that these seats are not ironing board seats but rather something more akin to those on Lumo, which don't seem to be getting too many complaints about being unsuitable for long distance travel.

 

[station_road]

Yes but those were the same under Virgin IIRC.

I was replying to your comment that "all toilet doors are still Virgin red" - some are blue.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's been mentioned quite a few times on here that these seats are not ironing board seats but rather something more akin to those on Lumo, which don't seem to be getting too many complaints about being unsuitable for long distance travel.

Indeed, I've only heard good things about them. The base looks quite thick from the pictures, and they don't look very upright, either. I get the feeling they will be quite like the Class 175/180 seats which are excellent, and they don't look that dissimilar to the superb Grammer IC3000 as found on e.g. the old GWR HSTs.

 

[Goldfish62]

Indeed, I've only heard good things about them. The base looks quite thick from the pictures, and they don't look very upright, either. I get the feeling they will be quite like the Class 175/180 seats which are excellent, and they don't look that dissimilar to the superb Grammer IC3000 as found on e.g. the old GWR HSTs.

Indeed. A friend sent me a photo of from inside the unit and the seats are raked back at a normal angle for normal people rather than expecting everyone to sit bolt upright.

 

[krus_aragon]

Yes, they were blue in 1st and red in Std. In those coaches which were converted to Standard (F on the 9-car sets and G on the 11s) they will still be blue if I recall.

Is that the case for Voyagers too? I've never seen a blue door on a Virgin service, but as a resident of North Wales I've not had many occasions to board a Pendolino.

 

[tornado]

The new Pendolino seats are very definitely raked back i.e. the seatpan is tilted backwards. People need to actually sit in them instead of pre-judging. Also, their design was actually influenced by aircraft seat design, which disregarding legroom and width issues needed to make aircraft economical, have had a lot of thought put into them concerning ergonomics.

Not much seems to have been said about the fact that these seats are significantly lighter than the previous ones, so presumably the carbon footprint and electricity used by a Pendolino will be lower. Does anyone jnow by how much?

 

[507020]

The new Pendolino seats are very definitely raked back i.e. the seatpan is tilted backwards. People need to actually sit in them instead of pre-judging. Also, their design was actually influenced by aircraft seat design, which disregarding legroom and width issues needed to make aircraft economical, have had a lot of thought put into them concerning ergonomics.

Not much seems to have been said about the fact that these seats are significantly lighter than the previous ones, so presumably the carbon footprint and electricity used by a Pendolino will be lower. Does anyone jnow by how much?

Where has 390125 been so people can travel on it?

 

[43102EMR]

Where has 390125 been so people can travel on it?

Was on Euston to Manchester/Liverpool runs until Wednesday night, after which it ran ECS to Oxley and not sure whether it’s been out since - unless someone’s seen it since then?

 

[fgwrich]

It's been mentioned quite a few times on here that these seats are not ironing board seats but rather something more akin to those on Lumo, which don't seem to be getting too many complaints about being unsuitable for long distance travel.

I think the problem is that, until this Avanti refurbishment, Lumo is pretty niche in the grans scheme of things (as well as fairly recently introduced), So a number of members on this forum won't have really had a chance to travel in them yet. And any new seat is considered "ironing board" standard these days, having largely been bitten by the Fainsa bug (largely thanks to the IETs).

 

[jfollows]

Was on Euston to Manchester/Liverpool runs until Wednesday night, after which it ran ECS to Oxley and not sure whether it’s been out since - unless someone’s seen it since then?

1R12 06:45 Wolverhampton-Euston yesterday, Friday 29 April. Don't know what it worked after that.

Realtime Trains | 1R12 0645 Wolverhampton to London Euston | 29/04/2022

Real-time train running information for 1R12 0645 departure from Wolverhampton to London Euston on 29/04/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Peter0124]

1R12 06:45 Wolverhampton-Euston yesterday, Friday 29 April. Don't know what it worked after that.

Realtime Trains | 1R12 0645 Wolverhampton to London Euston | 29/04/2022

Real-time train running information for 1R12 0645 departure from Wolverhampton to London Euston on 29/04/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

It's at Wembley now, won't be till atleast May 3rd till its in service cause of the engineering work.

Realtime Trains | 5R20 0949 London Euston to Wembley Inter City Depot | 29/04/2022

Real-time train running information for 5R20 0949 departure from London Euston to Wembley Inter City Depot on 29/04/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[43102EMR]

It's at Wembley now, won't be till atleast May 3rd till its in service cause of the engineering work.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:s10740/2022-04-29/detailed#allox_id=0

Most likely - Avanti probably chose this week and those limited diagrams to see how it would hold up in passenger service and to gain stakeholder feedback on how the refurbishment turned out.

 

[Peter0124]

I see, also note Avanti 221s are due to visit Manchester today, has this ever happened before?

Realtime Trains | 1H35 1622 Milton Keynes Central to Manchester Piccadilly | 30/04/2022

Real-time train running information for 1H35 1622 departure from Milton Keynes Central to Manchester Piccadilly on 30/04/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Realtime Trains | 1A65 1835 Manchester Piccadilly to Milton Keynes Central | 30/04/2022

Real-time train running information for 1A65 1835 departure from Manchester Piccadilly to Milton Keynes Central on 30/04/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[43102EMR]

I see, also note Avanti 221s are due to visit Manchester today, has this ever happened before?

Realtime Trains | 1H35 1622 Milton Keynes Central to Manchester Piccadilly | 30/04/2022

Real-time train running information for 1H35 1622 departure from Milton Keynes Central to Manchester Piccadilly on 30/04/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Realtime Trains | 1A65 1835 Manchester Piccadilly to Milton Keynes Central | 30/04/2022

Real-time train running information for 1A65 1835 departure from Manchester Piccadilly to Milton Keynes Central on 30/04/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Has happened on diversionary/limited routes such as this before - I’m pretty sure one visited recently to substitute for a Pendolino as well?

 

[Peter0124]

Ahh, also I wonder when they're going to send 390125 to Glasgow. Would be preferable if they were able to put it on a Motherwell call (one with no restrictions) so I can get a 15 minute ride between there and Central on it

 

[Mikey C]

Geoff Marshall has been to Widnes to see the refurbished unit

 

[AviationFR]

I do hope the refurbishment turns out to be good. It will be nice to have the new interior and identity of Avanti, but my experience was not bad. On my wau back from Stockport to London last year, our train was cancelled, a new one was called and we were moved to First Class, which was diverted all the way around West Midlands, but, well, there are definitely worse places to spend an extra 2 hours!

 

[Efini92]

They exist but rare so far.

My iPad is usb c - usb c

 

[Bletchleyite]

My iPad is usb c - usb c

Yep, that's where I came across it. However there's something up with the software on those chargers, and they won't charge everything that's got a USB C on it - for instance my Apple USB C charger won't charge my USB C powerbank, but it will charge off anything else! I can see that USB C adoption may prove a little painful and thus perhaps A will hang around a lot longer.

Geoff Marshall has been to Widnes to see the refurbished unit

Interesting to see that. Notably I think First Class looks much better with the dark grey headrest covers than the white which I maintain will just get mucky...

 

[Huntergreed]

I see the refurbished set isn’t out again today. I wonder if they’ve had any teething issues? You would imagine they would be desperate to get it out as much as possible.

 

[tornado]

Yep, that's where I came across it. However there's something up with the software on those chargers, and they won't charge everything that's got a USB C on it - for instance my Apple USB C charger won't charge my USB C powerbank, but it will charge off anything else! I can see that USB C adoption may prove a little painful and thus perhaps A will hang around a lot longer.



Interesting to see that. Notably I think First Class looks much better with the dark grey headrest covers than the white which I maintain will just get mucky...

I've given up watching Geoff Marshall reviewing new stock. Other people do it better these days, and as he's chummy with all the head honchos in the TOCs he never says anything that critical.