hstmatt
Member
Hi i dont know there proper name but the divices in between the seats on the pendolinos why arnt the on anymore they were on a couple of years ago but now there not on.Can anyone in the know tell me why these arnt on anymore thanks .
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pendolino electric music divices
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They weren't being used very much as people had their own portable music players and the range of stuff on them was poor, therefore it wasn't worth paying for maintenance and such like.
hstmatt
Member
they sould have removed them then because i though i could listen them then got disapointed when i found out i couldnt
fgwrich
Established Member
they sould have removed them then because i though i could listen them then got disapointed when i found out i couldnt
Hey, you think they should remove them on Virgins Pendilinos, There still there on XCs Voyagers, playing absolutly nothing...
Could another factor be, is that there is no more Virgin Radio - Now Absolute Radio?*
*(though i am aware on how the Virgin Brand works...)
MidnightFlyer
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They were switched off when Wi-Fi was installed...
They were pointless in the first place, and removing them now would be even more so...
They were pointless in the first place, and removing them now would be even more so...
It was all part of the Virgin 'airline' style offering. The looped themed programming was pointless but it was handy to be able to listen to Radio 2 or Radio 4 some of the time - if it was working or tuned in.
Drsatan
Established Member
Although these days most people would listen to Radio 4 on their phones or laptops if they had a 3G connection. Seemed like a nice idea at the time though before using WiFi became common.
So you had to pay to use these music devices? Sounds a bit pointless if you ask me, I can fully understand the removal process.
Are WiFi connections good on trains now? Do you get a decent connection speed? I'm going up to Newcastle via HST in August and might take my laptop on the train, it would certainly help kill time.
Are WiFi connections good on trains now? Do you get a decent connection speed? I'm going up to Newcastle via HST in August and might take my laptop on the train, it would certainly help kill time.
Minilad
Established Member
Typical Virgin really. Pointless gimmicks abound
It varies in my experience EC's WiFi is rubbish, indeed I've given up using it all together now and just use my USB dongle instead. On the other hand when I used VT's WiFi between Glasgow and Preston last year it was brilliant giving a very fast connection (but that's based on a sample size of one time rather than the half-dozen or so times on EC).
They are getting better all the time but if you aren't in First (or coach D of a Virgin Voyager), expect to have to pay.
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I don't think Virgin were the first with this idea. Some 175s had an at-seat audio system. Remember when this was launched MP3 players were in their infancy and few people had their own headsets, you got them from the onboard shop.
Didn't someone try TV at one time?
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MCR247
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Coach D
MCR247
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Whoops, I'll edit 
They were not the first and it wasn't really a 'pointless gimmick' at the time. It would be if built in new stock now though.
I could say 'typical Virgin hate without taking the facts into consideration'
tom1649
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How disappointing that they didn't manage to mount the TVs on the old IC70 seats!
Thank you for the info.
I would be travelling with EC, so I might not bother if the connection is poor.
Drsatan
Established Member
Definitely, the IC70 seats were a lot more comfortable than the Richmond seating now installed in FGW's HSTs!
From observation few passengers bother using the TVs in Coach D. Not only is the content on offer fairly limited but it's necessary to pay £3 for 24 hours viewing.
MCR247
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They are not richmond seats, they are Grammer IC 3000 seats
tom1649
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Is it just FGW that has replaced the seats on its HSTs? It's not a good sign when modern bus seating becomes more comfortable than that found on an Intercity train.
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No there are modern seats on EC's HSTs (excluding the recently acquired former MML set which still has IC70s) as well as XC's HSTs but I find the seats on both XC and EC HSTs to be very comfy.
tbtc
Veteran Member
I disagree.
I think that in 2001 they provided something "extra" which other trains didn't, a way of improving the "on board" atmosphere.
Ten years ago, few people had portable CD players/ DiscMans etc (I remember carrying round lots of CDs and even more batteries - a real waste of space and effort!).
Nowadays most passengers under 40 seem to have an MP3 player/ Smart Phone/ Laptop, so there's no need for the TOC to provide "entertainment", but I think it did make sense at the time.
We can blame Virgin for many things, but I think it'd be unfair to blame them for not predicting how popular ipods (etc) would be.
Aside from FGW who have been mentioned, London Midland had them on 323's. Only saw it working once or twice but within 20 mins I think it was repeating itself! They've since been removed
I could say 'typical Virgin hate without taking the facts into consideration'
I think the name should be a give away on that one :P
Minilad
Established Member
They were not the first and it wasn't really a 'pointless gimmick' at the time. It would be if built in new stock now though.
I could say 'typical Virgin hate without taking the facts into consideration'
Well Cross Country gets enough of it so why not
Interestingly, over in Germany, DB continue to install at seat audio systems to their new ICE trains. They have three stations with different styles of music, and then (seemingly) even release compilation CDs of their mixes!
There's a good reason for that. Over here in England, half of the country is obsessed with their Ipods and Iphones. As I know for fact, they never really took off in Germany. The standard MP3 Player was moderately succesful but Apple didn't get the sales like they did over here.
Whereas in England, where portable music devices are very popular, the need for seat audio systems is low.
And before that, in the early 1990's BR had a refurbished HST coach with audio, (was on it, but someone had nicked most of the CD's) and at some point before that in the 80's, TV sets were tried in Scotland on a Push-pull set.
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