For me, HSTs were much better trains than might be expected given the expectation that the APT would become the top-tier train: the 80Xs are a missed opportunity to create really good top-tier trains. HSTs are full of carefully thought out design details, while the 80Xs seem to be a bit of a bodge.
Everywhere you look on an HST/Mk3 you can see that a lot of care has been taken to make the best possible intercity train of its time. The heating grilles merge seamlessly with the wall and floor; the (dimmable) lighting, ventilation and loudspeaker fittings are flush-fitted into a ceiling that curves flawlessly down to the walls without compromising space in the luggage racks; the gangway connections are flat and wide; the window surrounds are curvaceous and smooth; the seats and tables are fitted to tracks that allow endless flexibility without being obvious; the lavatory compartments are cast without tight corners for dirt to lodge in and lit with daylight; the saloon doors disappear like magic into the wall as you approach them; having the internal doors offset allows them to align with both 2+2 and 1+2 seating, and allows larger lavatories. The seats were,
by the standards of the time, excellent. Everything seems to have been designed with two thoughts in mind: how can we make this more standardised/flexible/economical to build; and how can we make it better for passsengers? Those two factors ensured its lasting success.
By contrast, the 80Xs lack the same level of thought. They are full of economical standardised components, but without flair. The heating grilles take up valuable foot room and the extra seat legs take up even more; there is bulky trunking under the window; the internal doors are specific to 1+1 or 2+2 making conversion more difficult if ever needed; the gangway connections are lumpy; the saloon doors crawl open. The interiors would be good for a regional train: they are rather poor for an intercity service. In fact. I'd put the interiors on a par with the 158s (which have more comfortable seats).
There are odd design choices too: having the accessible WC and wheelchair space in the same carriage as the kitchen makes the seating area in that carriage ridiculously small, when it could have been laid out in the style of the Mk3 restaurant/buffets if the next carriage had contained the accessible equipment. Why don't the luggage racks make use of the full height of the carriage? Why are there seats rather than luggage racks beside blank walls? Could there
really not have been room for more bikes (and surfboards) at a time when green travel is being heavily pushed? If LNER - and even Greater Anglia - could have buffets, why no fixed catering point for GWR?
I find some of the excuses that get trotted out for the 80Xs unbelievable. It is demonstrably untrue that "only one type of seat met the regulations" when
two different types of seats are in use on the train: the first class seats are only as good as standard class
ought to have been (the manufacturers even offer a standard class version); and there are now at least two alternative types of seats showing that, with a little bit of will, better seats could have been used. And the "lighting regulations"
do allow dimmer general lighting - as long as reading lights are also installed. That the trains have cheap seats sold by the manufacturer for 'regional' services and over-bright lighting can only be down to cost - despite the trains being extraordinarily expensive over the life of the lease.
For me, many of the 5 cars should be ousted to XC and some new build 9 cars built for GWR , wishful thinking however!
I share that wishful thinking: assign 5-car sets to the regional services or send them to operators looking for new 5-car stock, extend any remainder or order full-length trains with revised interiors properly designed for long-distance intercity services to replace them. With a bit of polish, the IETs could be the train that I
hoped they would be when they were first proposed.
The 80Xs have the potential to be
excellent trains: at present, they are only
good. They are not
yet as good as the HSTs they replaced.
