I imagine a bit of a "Yes Minister" style survey...
Would you prefer
a) Longitudinal seating, meaning more people can get on and an open airy interior, or
b) Transverse seating, meaning fewer people can get on and people being left behind on cold, dingy platforms...
This is exactly what happened.
The survey displayed a few layouts in the context of the existing vehicles (each image showed a single unit), and the mixed option had bus style seating rather than bays of 4. It was by no means a well-conducted survey. The survey also didn't allude to the fact that if Nexus opted for single unit formations in the new fleet additional space would be created by removing the gap between units and extra cabs, the fact that the new fleet could have been made slightly longer if needed, or the fact that the new trains were to represent an effective increase in the size of the fleet. All this results in introducing further bias into the research, as a good number of respondents will be familiar with the current (pre-pandemic) situation where some trains are full and standing to the point that they leave people behind during rush hour.
The excuses Nexus gave about the linear seating helping to reduce antisocial behaviour were also complete nonsense, as anyone who uses the tube will be familiar with - you still get people blocking multiple seats, putting their feet up, etc.
It's a shame, but it's what we're now stuck with.
if rumours are to be believed there is a good reason for this. T&W metro has a pretty big problem with the windows being kicked out by kids. Unfortunately they can’t make the windows any harder to kick out as this is actually a safety feature to allow emergency egress so they instead have taken away any points near windows onto which you can grab onto and swing your feet at the windows. (This is how the kids are doing it). This does leave 2 problems in my mind; how do the passengers safely stand up during the journey and how do you kick the windows out in a real emergency? Both of these I’m sure will have been thought of by the designers… you’d hope.
With regards to the window issue, the new fleet will have proper double glazed windows with far more solid seals and will be far more difficult to kick out or break. Egress via windows of a train is now widely regarded in the industry as ineffective and unneeded, especially on units with multiple doors along the body of short cars. The reports from accidents including the Sandilands tram crash (and others on the mainline) have routinely highlighted that breakable windows actually represent a severe danger to passengers in the event of an accident, and that vehicle design should be approached such that any windows should stay intact and not break so to as to keep passengers inside the vehicle and debris out.
In an emergency, you exit via the doors, or via the gangway into the adjacent car. There are very few situations where egress from a window would genuinely be a wise choice. The single glazed windows on the current fleet wasn't a safety measure as such, it was just representative of the "light" build quality of these trains. Again, egress via the doors was always the intended option, with the opening windows and emergency door release controls being positioned such that the handle could be pulled from outside with a pole if needed.
Overhead grab rails are also not considered good design, as they are difficult to keep hold of in the event of sudden deceleration, and many shorter people or children just can't reach them. Vertical bars spaced regularly between the seats is the best approach. In vehicles with low ceilings such as these, they also represent an additional hazard for taller people!
The big issue is lack of funding, the Metro Police Unit has ~9 officers to cover the entire network 24/7 (not including annual leave/sickness etc), you then have the lack of Metro staff and the majority of staff, including drivers, now being new so not fully up to speed on dealing with these types of things.
