There is something worse than the dreaded Virgin Voyagers. It’s called the Virgin Pendolino
The railway press has been gushing praise about this train; I don’t know if Virgin have been plying them with so many free drinks that they’ve been ignoring the train’s obvious flaws, or whether they’re taking the Railway Modeller line; it looks OK at normal view distances (i.e. not from inside), and will improve with running-in.
On Friday night I travelled on one of these horrors for the first time. All I can say is that Pendowobbles are to Voyagers what the Voyagers are to the good old Mk3s. Clearly nobody from Modern Railways or Rail has travelled in the Standard class portion of one of these things on a busy Friday night.
The interior resembles the inside of a plane, and not in a good way. The combination of high seat backs and the ridiculously small windows makes them very claustrophobic indeed. A significant percentage of the seats have no external view at all; imagine facing a blank window pillar all the way from London to Glasgow. And if you are lucky enough to get a seat by a window, you find the lower sill of the window digs into your arm. And finally, just like the Voyagers, there’s a serious lack of luggage space.
All part of Branston’s plan to make rail like air. They’ll be charging excess baggage soon.
It’s a relief to find others share my feelings about the Voyagers and now the Pendolinos. I need help with my efforts to complain about being asked to pay a £15 supplement on a VV. I am 61 by the way and 6’3” tall. On 22 Feb 04 I finally took – in exhaustion and semi-despair – the last seat in Club Class on a Darlington to Birmingham Virgin Voyager that was so packed with people I suspect it would have failed EU tranport of livestock laws. I had reserved a seat a week before but not only was this taken the train manager said reservations were cancelled and he would not try to find me a seat. indeed so packed were the corridor spaces he couldn’t have got out of Club Class. All others paid the supplement. i refused and persist in this. Have I any case? I am seeking help with appealing against the Revenue Protection Service who insist I pay. I can pay £15 but do not on principle feel I should. Any ideas? Sorry if you’ve read this already but I’m seeking advice.
I haven’t been on a Pendolino so I can’t comment on the ride/seats/windows, but I’ve had an idea about solving its lack of luggage space. The class 460 EMUs used by Gatwick Express have seven passenger cars plus another car that is designed solely to carry luggage. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to convert one of the Pendolino cars in each set (or, to preserve the number of seats, add another) for that purpose? Of course, that would probably make too much sense to even get considered at Virgin HQ.
As for the Voyagers… I too have had the misfortune of having to endure a “sardine special”. In my case, it was standing for two and a half hours between Carlisle and Glasgow. This was on the 21st of March, and my legs still hurt.
IMHO, I don’t think they’re bad trains, I just think that they’re completely unsuitable for their current duties. They would be of more use on short to medium distance routes like those operated by 158s, 170s etc rather than the uber-long cross-country expeditions. I would replace the Voyagers on CrossCountry with new LHCS (Mark 5′s, anyone?) hauled perhaps by Class 67s, as I understand there are quite a few of those spare just now. Of course, these trains would have plenty of seats AND luggage space. But I think that’s enough of the fairy tales for one night…
I think these trains are great and a real advance in rail travel. I went on one again today, from Crewe to Birmingham and I am very impressed by how smooth these trains are. The train is wonderfully quiet with no nasty screeching brakes and loads of leg room – my Dad is 6ft 2 and he had a lot of space. The seats were very comfortable and I felt very happy sitting on this train. Well done to Richard Branson and the superb Pendolino!
Talk about a planted comment if there ever was one!
You reckon Lou is really Richard Branson?
God, I cannot stand Pendolinos or Voyagers. For the past 3 years at university I have constantly used them to travel between Basingstoke and Birmingham as well as London and Birmingham. I have rarely had a ‘satisfactory’ journey. Never has there been enough luggage space for me to take a suitcase on them except for when I travelled off-peak at 1pm. What on earth is the point of the above seating luggage space?! They might has well have wasted that space like they have near to the toilets. The seats are uncomfortable and cramped and the windows almost pointless. Sometimes I think to myselfthat I would prefer to take a slower London Midland train from Euston to Birmingham than a Pendolino! Rant over
I am so relieved that I am not the only person who loathes the pendolino trains (in fact, I loathe anything “Virgin”, with their tacky name and services to match). I live in London, having moved from Liverpool six years ago. My parents are still there however, so I go up regularly to see them, and vice versa. I suffer from claustrophobia so you can imagine the sort of experience I have had on these pendolinos. My last journey on one was the last straw, as the train was pretty full, and I had a panic attack – a very unpleasant experience indeed. I am due to go to Liverpool in August, and just could not face one of those terrible trains again, so I have booked with London Midland, from Euston to Birmingham, and then on to Liverpool from there. The advance return cost me just 30 pounds all in, just 8 pounds more than the cheapest virgin return. It may take twice the time, but at least my mind is now at rest that I will not be having any panic attacks, and can travel on one of those lovely Siemens Desiro units all the way to Liverpool, albeit with a change at Birmingham. London Midland, you are a lifesaver!