Absence makes the heart grow fonder as they say and as unbelievable as it sounds, it almost seems seats reached their peak somewhere in the 90s or mid 2000s and we're now going backwards in time. I mean seriously, ironing board seats with little legroom on the class 700 can perhaps be somewhat justified, given that a lot of people's journeys may just be short enough to endure them (poor souls that have to travel Brighton-Bedford), but the seats used in the IET rollout are truly disgraceful. These are supposed to be intercity trains! I'm just glad I never travel first class on GWR, because value for money there seems to be even worse. Give me back HST seats (and ride-comfort)!
The uncomfortable suspension on the new trains just adds insult to injury. Lucky that I don't ever need to use the GWML for everyday commuting. I've seriously considered using alternative routes where possible at this stage (i.e. SWR to Exeter, Chiltern to Oxford etc.), where previously I would have definitely travelled with GWR.
I find it outrageous that despite the many bitter complaints and negative feedback, both by the rail-press and regular customers, this is still how services on the GWML will probably be run for the next 30+ years, with quite possibly no adjustments ever being made to either ride-comfort or seats. Disgraceful.
The new seats in the Greater Anglia Stadler & Aventra units (I believe two different types are used) and the original Desiro seats (Grammer E3000) prove that comfortable seats can be used on intercity/commuter trains even with today's fire and safety regulations and without taking up that much space. There's no excuse for any seats that are less comfortable than that, especially not on so-called intercity services.
LNER promised more comfortable seats for their Azuma trains, but they barely look any better than the ones used on the class 800/802. The design appears quite similar, so I assume it's the same seat type? Having not yet travelled on a class 801, can anyone here confirm that there even IS a difference? Again, such a shame: brand new trains, even built by a respectable manufacturer, yet they actually make service worse. All the while, fares continue to rise...
Also, though the ironing board seats seemed to have been used on various newer units (despite the complaints), from the looks of things there do appear to be some differences in comfort (or padding) depending on the train/TOC. I can't remember which unit I was travelling on a short while back (might have been on a Great Northern Ex-Thameslink 387 or possibly a Southern 377/6 or /7, but the seats appeared slightly more comfortable than those on the class 700. Am I imagining things or are there genuine differences across units?
For instance, I REALLY hope that the SWR class 701 "Arterio" seats won't be quite as uncomfortable as the ones used on the GWR class 387 or class 700 trains. I'm simply not willing to trade SWT Grammer E3000 seats for concrete seats and pay more for it. It's as if the DfT or TOCs have an utter contempt for passengers...
One other thing I've found to be a shame is that no new Desiro commuter/long-distance trains appear to have been ordered for quite a while now. Those trains really are some of the most solidly built units of the 2000s: quiet, great ride comfort and comfortable seats at that. We've seen a lot of "Desiro City" trains introduced in the last few years, but I'd love TOCs to order more "normal" Desiros in the future. What's the likelihood of that happening, I wonder?
- but they might end up redoing the existing seats.