Voyager experience not as bad as expected

[JacobWrenn]

Reading these forums I (perhaps mistakenly) gained a general sense that the passenger experience on Voyagers left much to be desired. However, I recently travelled on one for the first time and was pleasantly surprised to experience a good ambience, decent seats and no funny smells.

Does anyone else have this sense or have I got lucky on one occasion?

 

[hexagon789]

Reading these forums I (perhaps mistakenly) gained a general sense that the passenger experience on Voyagers left much to be desired. However, I recently travelled on one for the first time and was pleasantly surprised to experience a good ambience, decent seats and no funny smells.

Does anyone else have this sense or have I got lucky on one occasion?

Out of interest, was it an Avanti or a CrossCountry one?

Not that I was ever an avid hater of XC Voyagers (or Voyagers generally), you understand, but I always found the Virgin/Avanti ones more pleasant to travel on.

 

[JacobWrenn]

Out of interest, was it an Avanti or a CrossCountry one?

Not that I was ever an avid hater of XC Voyagers (or Voyagers generally), you understand, but I always found the Virgin/Avanti ones more pleasant to travel on.

It was a CrossCountry from Durham to Edinburgh.

 

[cf111]

There used to be a objectionable smell from the loos, but this was fixed years ago for the most part and has been blown out of proportion on here.

The only problem with the Voyagers is that they are too short, they're very smooth and quiet to travel on.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

The only problem with the Voyagers is that they are too short,

Isn't that just a XC specific problem that is caused by more than just the Voyagers?

 

[jamesst]

Reading these forums I (perhaps mistakenly) gained a general sense that the passenger experience on Voyagers left much to be desired. However, I recently travelled on one for the first time and was pleasantly surprised to experience a good ambience, decent seats and no funny smells.

Does anyone else have this sense or have I got lucky on one occasion?

I've never had a problem with them, you'll find a lot on here have the rose tinted spectacles on when it comes to the old stock before Voyagers...

 

[Bletchleyite]

There used to be a objectionable smell from the loos, but this was fixed years ago for the most part and has been blown out of proportion on here.

The only problem with the Voyagers is that they are too short, they're very smooth and quiet to travel on.

Tiny luggage racks and poor legroom.

 

[RailWonderer]

The Avanti ones are much more pleasant as they've been refurbed recently, and the coach D has given me some of the finest railways journeys I've had - large windows, comfortable seats, good legroom, high speed tilting and good on board catering. The XC ones that most of the forum refers to are often shortformed and rammed (especially on Reading to Oxford and Brum and York to Leeds and Sheffield) and unrefurbished with dirty seats and carpets.

The loo smell is more potent on Pendolinos than Voyagers in my view. If you take an XC one at a quieter time of day avoiding peak flows or weekends you might strike lucky and have a good experience on an XC one but I generally like to avoid them where possible.

Tiny luggage racks and poor legroom.

Not the bay seats especially in coach D.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

The Avanti ones are much more pleasant as they've been refurbed recently, and the coach D has given me some of the finest railways journeys I've had - large windows, comfortable seats, good legroom, high speed tilting and good on board catering. The XC ones that most of the forum refers t are often shortformed and rammed (especially on Reading to Oxford and Brum and York to Leeds and Sheffield) and unrefurbish with dirty seats and carpets.

The loo smell is more potent on Pendolinos than Voyagers in my view. If you take an XC one at a quiter time of day avoiding peak flows or weekends you mught strike lucky and have a good experience on an XC one but I generally like to avoid them where possible.


Not the bay seats especially in coach D.

Is that D first Class or Standard (I know you mentioned Catering but it also says the shop is in there)
It just says Standard or First Class for some reason despite it having a First Class layout.

 

[hexagon789]

Is that D first Class or Standard (I know you mentioned Catering but it also says the shop is in there)
It just says Standard or First Class for some reason despite it having a First Class layout.
View attachment 136926

It used to be used as Std Class on (Euston-)Birmingham-Scotland services; but First Class on Chester/North Wales services.

 

[Jim the Jim]

I think Voyagers are in that class of trains which are perfectly fine as long as they aren't too busy.

Unfortunately their capacity and the routes they travel on may mean they are liable to be too busy rather more than a lot of other trains.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

It used to be used as Std Class on (Euston-)Birmingham-Scotland services; but First Class on Chester/North Wales services.

It varied on Chester/North Wales services: basically Standard off-peak and First in the peak.

 

[hexagon789]

It varied on Chester/North Wales services: basically Standard off-peak and First in the peak.

Fair enough, that's better than I thought.

My memory was that the seating plan simply stated 'First Class on North Wales services' or something to that effect. Or perhaps it said 'selected services'?

 

[pokemonsuper9]

It varied on Chester/North Wales services: basically Standard off-peak and First in the peak.

wait so they just have declassified first class? that must be brilliant

 

[josh-j]

I quite like them to be honest, one of my favourite trains - mind you I don't travel on them regularly! I associate them with fancy intercity services, probably because I grew up with the Virgin franchises and the XC ones have pretty similar interiors to the Virgin Pendolinos. It's probably rose tinted but whatever

The only issue I had last time I was on one was overcrowding, which I don't blame on the train but more the match of train/spec to route. To be fair they never fully resolved the toilet smell but it isn't the contents of the toilet anyway, more of a chemical smell and it doesn't fill the whole train or anything. It's not a huge problem really for me though I can see why people might not appreciate it.

 

[hexagon789]

wait so they just have declassified first class? that must be brilliant

It's not First Class though, it's still Std 2+2 seating but at better pitch and almost all at tables of 4. It was reconfigured by Virgin WC from the original 58-seat arrangement to provide additional First Class on Chester/Holyhead services.

Either when Virgin split the unit allocations with their XC business or when they stopped running Pendolinos to Holyhead except for one Saturday working. I forget exactly.

 

[thenorthern]

The Avanti ones seem nicer inside as the CrossCountry ones don't seem to have much of a refurbishment since they were introduced and the top of many of the seat frames are dented.

 

[Bald Rick]

Reading these forums I (perhaps mistakenly) gained a general sense that the passenger experience on Voyagers left much to be desired. However, I recently travelled on one for the first time and was pleasantly surprised to experience a good ambience, decent seats and no funny smells.

Does anyone else have this sense or have I got lucky on one occasion?

you have had a completely normal voyager experience.

it is quite funny how some people on here explain them…

 

[stevieinselby]

By coincidence, I've also had my first ride on a Voyager in a while today (although far from my first ride on them!), from Doncaster to Birmingham and back.
Many of my complaints remain – they are cramped and claustrophobic, with inadequate luggage space and too few table bays – although the morning journey was an 8-car set (a rare treat, I'm not used to getting more than a 4 on that route) and it did feel noticeably less unpleasant when it wasn't full to the rafters. Still not good, still a lot more cramped than an IET ... or even a Meridian that is almost identical but has a slightly better body profile and a few more tables, which is enough to make it feel more spacious.
So yes, there are some design features that are intrinsically suboptimal, but a key problem with them is that most of the time they just don't provide enough capacity.

 

[StarCrossing]

I commute on them daily. Get a pair of seats to yourself and they're very pleasant. However they feel very cramped when you're sat next to a stranger. The first class carriage is also superb - I can't think of a better one on the network.

 

[Energy]

Get a pair of seats to yourself and they're very pleasant.

Agreed, though with XC they can be a bit dirty.

Worth noting that OP was travelling Durham to Edinburgh, I find XC gets very busy from around Leeds to Reading.

 

[StarCrossing]

Agreed, though with XC they can be a bit dirty.

I've never noticed them being dirty, but then my standards may be low as the other trains I use for work are turbos, which are utterly filthy!

 

[D365]

In my opinion, other than the non-operational buffet counters, the Voyager (and Class 222) standard class is superior to that of the Class 390.

 

[Energy]

I've never noticed them being dirty, but then my standards may be low as the other trains I use for work are turbos, which are utterly filthy!

They aren't horrific but my first experience had a burger king receipt and some other litter stuffed down the seat side. The old Virgin interior never really felt clean, not sure why.

the Voyager (and Class 222) standard class is superior to that of the Class 390.

The refurb 390s are great, the old interior is debatable. The 390s are quieter but have smaller windows.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

The 390s are quieter

I'd be surprised if the EMU was louder than the DMU made at the same time.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

I can't use a laptop on an airline seat on an XC Voyager: the seatback tables are too short and the legroom too cramped. Reason enough to avoid them where possible in my book. Your (track) mileage may vary...

 

[Energy]

I'd be surprised if the EMU was louder than the DMU made at the same time.

I can't use a laptop on an airline seat on an XC Voyager: the seatback tables are too short and the legroom too cramped. Reason enough to avoid them where possible in my book. Your (track) mileage may vary...

Their tables aren't brilliant. The seat backs are rather thick as well, when Avanti changed the seats on the 390s the legroom became rather good.

 

[Krokodil]

Isn't that just a XC specific problem that is caused by more than just the Voyagers?

When they were on order Chris Green asked the SRA for permission to order extra vehicles because he could see that four-coach units would be inadequate but the request was refused.

you have had a completely normal voyager experience.

it is quite funny how some people on here explain them…

Lots of people remember the early days when the toilet smells really were an issue.

Others find the capacity to be a real problem so avoid them for that reason.

 

[Dan G]

Reading these forums I (perhaps mistakenly) gained a general sense that the passenger experience on Voyagers left much to be desired. However, I recently travelled on one for the first time and was pleasantly surprised to experience a good ambience, decent seats and no funny smells.

Does anyone else have this sense or have I got lucky on one occasion?

They are great trains.

A lot of the posts on this forum is baseless whingeing but there is wheat amongst the chaff.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

When they were on order Chris Green asked the SRA for permission to order extra vehicles because he could see that four-coach units would be inadequate but the request was refused.

Does anyone know if the 220s once needed their 4 car length to fit somewhere (they have SDO don't they?)