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In that case though, the 801 is actually still a bi-mode - it has a single engine for emergency use. AIUI when an 800 drags an 801, the 801 does not provide any traction power, and its emergency engine just supplies its fixtures (lights, air con etc)

Quite. A unit more suited for the longer distance runs would be woefully inadequate through the core

At least the 700s don't feel like they're falling to bits. My main impression of the Electrostars are that they're fine, but they suffer from the famous Bombardier Build Quality. The 377/5s felt absolutely knackered towards the end of their tenure on Thameslink (the seats would creak and clang...

I don't understand why so many TOCs seem to consider it a cardinal sin to have a gap longer than ~5 seconds where the PIS isn't yammering on about something. Especially egregious are some of the Thameslink services who's station announcements get cut off because the train is arriving into the...

Seating configuration. A 323 is around 10m longer than a 334, and has 3+2 seating vs the 2+2 in the 334. It'll be the 3+2 vs 2+2 that makes most of the difference.

Yes. The previous Aventras all used hinged doors that swing inward, the 701s use sliding plug doors. Not that that should really make much difference, we've had the concept of a plug door on a train since at least the 80s

From my experiences with 700s and 710s, not really. The noise fades out surprisingly effectively even with open gangways. You'd be able to hear people in the next carriage, but almost certainly not ~4 carriages down unkess they were being exceptionally loud.

If the train is busy I can see that being wrenched out the socket/your hand every time someone walks past

710s have them, but from my experience they're fairly pointless, as there are only 4 of them in each carriage, and none of them are really accessible from a seat, you have to stand in the gangway to use them

Over a 317 or 321, definitely. Over a 360? As they are, they're a little better, but that's mainly because the 360s were knackered by the end of their GA tenure. Give them some new carpets, panelling and trim and it'd be pretty up in the air which was better (until you started moving of course...

Looking at an image of a 231, it looks like it does have a pantograph well (well there's a little cutout in the roofline where the 755 panto would sit, the flirts don't really have "wells" as such, the panto just sort of sits on top of the roof)

Oh give me the 350/444 seats any day. I find the 168 ones start to become uncomfortable on longer journeys. Doing WAT-SOU in a 444 is a vastly more pleasant experience than doing MYB-OXF despite being a much longer journey. It's all down to personal preference but I do find the 2+2 Grammers as...

Throwing my hat in, I find them fine interior wise (although the seats are less comfortable than other equivalent stock like 350s), apart from the standard Bombardier *star trait of all the internal panels and fittings feeling like they're about to come apart. The last one I was in was...

SWR's 458s do this too. "This train is for London Waterloo?" Well I don't know do I, you're supposed to be telling me!

I'm not even convinced it is a better ride, at least not all the time. At least going up and down the MML, the 700s ride pretty well, where as the 377/5s and 387s were prone to lurching around violently at the slightest provocation. I think the 700 ride is firmer, but not necessarily better...

Tbh a pretty significant number of them have it on the passenger seats too

Don't you mean: Not in servic e

I think for me it's not so much that thy're too soft per se, but their extremely reclined position causes my lower back to start aching after a while, as well as being annoying to get into and out of. I reckon I probably do prefer slightly on the harder side, but again its not so much the...

I'm gonna preface this by saying I've yet to travel on an 80x, but I'm assuming that the sophias in those are broadly similar to the ones in 1st class on a 700. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that. Also I'm not the person you replied to, but throwing my 2p in anyway. With that said, yes I...

Yeah, the thing with Thameslink is that it's basically two distinct zones that have largely incompatible needs rolling stock wise, so any train is going to be a compromise. The 700s obviously lean much further towards the "metro people eater" end than the "regional commuter" end, but that was...