Poll: What are your thoughts on travelling on Pendolinos?

[TT-ONR-NRN]

What happened to an option for "they are okay, not perfect but I prefer them to HSTs?"

Good thinking. I would have voted on that one myself actually! Though I don't mind HSTs, I prefer Pendos.

Unless the HST is VTEC obviously!

 

[TimboM]

i will also add:

• Poor internal colour scheme choice. The colour palette used is far too dark.

Don't think anyone's added to the list:

• Vomit-inducing (occasionally) tilt mechanism.

Not sure if it's where you sit in the coach, or sometimes the electronics/timing are a bit off, but 19/20 times I find it totally fine and hardly noticeable, then 1/20 times makes me incredibly travel sick.

 

[Huntergreed]

Don't think anyone's added to the list:

• Vomit-inducing (occasionally) tilt mechanism.

Not sure if it's where you sit in the coach, or sometimes the electronics/timing are a bit off, but 19/20 times I find it totally fine and hardly noticeable, then 1/20 times makes me incredibly travel sick.

Avoid sitting in the leading coach if possible, the ride is noticeably rougher as there is no tilt prediction mechanism!

Sitting in an aisle seat towards the centre of the Pendolino (9 Car: D, E or F. 11 Car E, F, U,) is supposed to help, as well as sucking mints(according to the twitter team at VTWC anyway!)

 

[NSE]

I can't help but feel most people here are moaning/critiquing things that come down to personal taste. The windows not lining up is annoying and I appreciate people's issue with the smell sometimes, but the interior spec, announcements, seat comfort etc is all down to personal taste. I find them cosy, but I travel on them sporadically and when I'm planning a nice journey so I can pick first advances or cherry pick quiet services etc but I can see them being uncomfortable when cramped, but hey, which train isn't.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Don't think anyone's added to the list:

• Vomit-inducing (occasionally) tilt mechanism.
  

Not sure if it's where you sit in the coach, or sometimes the electronics/timing are a bit off, but 19/20 times I find it totally fine and hardly noticeable, then 1/20 times makes me incredibly travel sick.

Is the 1/20 in the front coach?

 

[Huntergreed]

I can't help but feel most people here are moaning/critiquing things that come down to personal taste. The windows not lining up is annoying and I appreciate people's issue with the smell sometimes, but the interior spec, announcements, seat comfort etc is all down to personal taste. I find them cosy, but I travel on them sporadically and when I'm planning a nice journey so I can pick first advances or cherry pick quiet services etc but I can see them being uncomfortable when cramped, but hey, which train isn't.

I feel that the Pendos have received so much unnecessary hate! They may have windows that are small, and poor seat alignment, but they do their job of getting you to your destination quickly and safely extremely well! The ride is comfortable, if you book in advance, you can choose a seat with good window alignment, and the windows still offer a pretty good view, albeit being small! I really like them and don't understand why they are received so negatively!

 

[Train man]

They're okay trains I use them between Glasgow and Carlisle. There should be more power sockets at every seat not the table seats. Lets see what happens with fleet.

 

[najaB]

Indeed, the windows have nothing to do with tilt and everything to do with the standard Pendolino structure. Euro-Pendolinos have small windows by UIC stock standards which ended up even smaller when the design was scaled down to the UK loading gauge.

I don't see how you can say that has 'nothing to do with tilt' - they already had to shrink the design down to fit UK loading gauge, and had to shrink it even more to stay in gauge with tilt.

 

[TimboM]

Avoid sitting in the leading coach if possible, the ride is noticeably rougher as there is no tilt prediction mechanism!

Sitting in an aisle seat towards the centre of the Pendolino (9 Car: D, E or F. 11 Car E, F, U,) is supposed to help, as well as sucking mints(according to the twitter team at VTWC anyway!)

Good tips... not sure about the mints though!? If you feel like you're going to be sick, sucking/eating something seems counter-intuitive.

Is the 1/20 in the front coach?

Nope - I cannot remember ever being in the front coach - almost always sit in the Standard Unreserved coach next to First, so bang in the middle. Might be more linked to whatever dodgy sandwich I've picked up in the station on my way to board!

 

[dk1]

Only time ive felt rough is when its warm onboard & I'm suffering the effects of the night before so all my own doing.

The acceleration & way these exceptional trains are flighted up & down the WCML is a pleasure to watch & travel on.

 

[neilb62]

I don't see how you can say that has 'nothing to do with tilt' - they already had to shrink the design down to fit UK loading gauge, and had to shrink it even more to stay in gauge with tilt.

As I've said before window size is purely down to crash-resistance regulations at the time, it was quite a topic at the test-track at Old-Dalby when we were commissioning...

 

[GW43125]

In my opinion:

Pros:

• Bloody Nippy

Cons:

• I'm 6'3" so it's a tight fit
• Seats don't line up with windows
• My legs are too long for aisle seats
• Can't stand up properly in some areas of the train
• Can't look at much scenery as you look at something, the train tilts and you look at the sky

I'm sure there are more
[/grumble]

 

[NSE]

I feel that the Pendos have received so much unnecessary hate! They may have windows that are small, and poor seat alignment, but they do their job of getting you to your destination quickly and safely extremely well! The ride is comfortable, if you book in advance, you can choose a seat with good window alignment, and the windows still offer a pretty good view, albeit being small! I really like them and don't understand why they are received so negatively!

Well exactly. And the people that moan are most likely the same ones that forget how much more frequent the WCML timetable has become. Put it this way, should I ever (and I'm not wishing it at all) be involved in a train crash, I'd much rather be in a Pendolino!

 

[Lampshade]

I once went from Manchester to London and back via Sheffield to avoid them.

I get horrendous motion sickness on them, not helped by the fact the heaters are always on blasting sickly heat upwards - any Virgin TMs reading this - I know you turn the heaters up when a lot of rowdy/drunk football fans are on the train, but for those of us who don't drink it's unbearable - STOP DOING IT.

 

[xotGD]

Pendos: EMUs that replaced loco-hauled trains. Therefore bad.

The East Coast is soon to suffer the same fate.

 

[Huntergreed]

Pendos: EMUs that replaced loco-hauled trains. Therefore bad.

The East Coast is soon to suffer the same fate.

If the pendos didn't replace these loco-hauled trains, the journey times would be significantly longer and services would be less frequent! They still have all the same amenities as the loco-hauled sets, and statistically, they are significantly safer to travel on, as proven by Grayrigg!

 

[185143]

I've been on 390121 for the last 2 hours-the dullish lighting inside is good as it isn't harshly bright *GWR HSTs*, but bad for the same reason-I've been up for 15 hours, I'm feeling rather tired!

 

[YorkshireLass]

Avoid sitting in the leading coach if possible, the ride is noticeably rougher as there is no tilt prediction mechanism!

Sitting in an aisle seat towards the centre of the Pendolino (9 Car: D, E or F. 11 Car E, F, U,) is supposed to help, as well as sucking mints(according to the twitter team at VTWC anyway!)

I struggle with the vomit-inducing tilt too which means I can't work on the train (looking down/reading/typing brings on vertigo and nausea) so on journeys to/from London I lose approx 2 hrs working time. Doesn't seem to matter where in the train I sit. Colleagues have also reported the same and none of us have a problem on VTEC. The productivity loss probably adds up to quite a bit over a year.

Table seats are also too few (and heavily used), and the pull down trays are too small for a laptop to fit properly if I were able to to use one.

On the other hand they are quick and usually reliable!

 

[Iskra]

Been on both VT Voyagers and Pendolino's today, nothing wrong with either of them in first. Can't believe nobody has mentioned that annoying beeping/alarm noise you get on a Pendo, but on no other train... with they'd get rid of that.

Pendo's are impressive bits of kit, and they have revolutionised travel and journey times on the WCML, especially North of Lancaster, let us not forget that as much as I miss classes 86/87/90 from my childhood.

 

[Edgeley]

I'm prepared to accept aircraft-style confinement for travelling to Majorca or New York etc, but for a 150-200 mile journey within Britain, no. For regular business travellers Pendolinos are functional but for leisure and occasional travellers they're a very unpleasant train.

 

[GW43125]

Granted I'm wearing rosy glasses right now, but I'd rather do London-Glasgow in 5 and a half hours in a coffin behind an 87 than spend four and a half on a Pendo.

Though there are times when actually, you just want to get somewhere quickly, that's the only positive IMO.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Granted I'm wearing rosy glasses right now, but I'd rather do London-Glasgow in 5 and a half hours in a coffin behind an 87 than spend four and a half on a Pendo.

If it had awful IC70 seating I wouldn't. Fit something decent like the GWR Grammer seat, and modify the suspension to get rid of the nasty side to side sway you used to get on the WCML, and I would, though.

FWIW I find Pendolinos totally acceptable in 1st, indeed the 1st is very good. Only thing I'd change about it is more single airline seats. Standard on the other hand is rather cramped, but sorting that out is just a matter of a day or two with a socket set per unit.

 

[GW43125]

If it had awful IC70 seating I wouldn't. Fit something decent like the GWR Grammer seat, and modify the suspension to get rid of the nasty side to side sway you used to get on the WCML, and I would, though.

The non-aircon mk1s and mk2s I've been in on charters were perfectly comfortable IMO, but then again I'm young and don't have back issues, so may just be personal preference for now.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The non-aircon mk1s and mk2s I've been in on charters were perfectly comfortable IMO, but then again I'm young and don't have back issues, so may just be personal preference for now.

Can't stand Mk1 or Mk2 seating. The former provides no support whatsoever, and the latter has the wings too low down so I have to slouch and no centre armrest/personal space divider. I'd rather Fainsa ironing boards than either, or getting back on topic Pendolino seats (who made those?) which apart from being too close together are comfortable enough in my view.

 

[cactustwirly]

If it had awful IC70 seating I wouldn't. Fit something decent like the GWR Grammer seat, and modify the suspension to get rid of the nasty side to side sway you used to get on the WCML, and I would, though.

FWIW I find Pendolinos totally acceptable in 1st, indeed the 1st is very good. Only thing I'd change about it is more single airline seats. Standard on the other hand is rather cramped, but sorting that out is just a matter of a day or two with a socket set per unit.

Agreed, better seating and brighter lights would make a huge amount of difference.

I think the IC70 is one of the worst seats I've ever sat in.

 

[superalbs]

Can't stand Mk1 or Mk2 seating. The former provides no support whatsoever, and the latter has the wings too low down so I have to slouch and no centre armrest/personal space divider. I'd rather Fainsa ironing boards than either, or getting back on topic Pendolino seats (who made those?) which apart from being too close together are comfortable enough in my view.

I think Antolin-Loire may have made the Class 220/Class 221/Class 390 seating.

 

[yorksrob]

Not as good as a mk3 as far as I'm concerned, though they do occasionally get me from A to B. I even prefer a mk2 (when functioning correctly, which admittedly was far from guaranteed by the time I was travelling on them in the area).

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Not enough toilets , plus poor internal fittings in the combined wash / drier etc module. often non working driers. Annoying announcements.

Spectcular provisison of luggage racks with a window view in 1st , seats with bulkhead views.

Coach K staff messroom (see many comments passim)

Etc

 

[Bletchleyite]

Coach K staff messroom (see many comments passim)

That's a management issue, not a rolling stock issue, notwithstanding that it could be solved sort-of (as far as any passenger would care) by turning a few seats round and providing, say, 8 single airline seats per 1st coach (leaving 4 tables for two).

 

[yorksrob]

A lot of modern trains could be improved by giving up on hand dryers and bringing back paper towels.