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Post by TallPaul on Jun 1, 2022 8:29:38 GMT
Seats on modern trains do tend to be firmer than in the past. The seats on the LNER Azumas, where journeys of three hours plus are not unusual, are truly awful.
I believe it's a safety measure, so passengers remain in their seats in the event of a crash, rather than being ejected.
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19,856 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 1, 2022 8:35:03 GMT
As with many things London and transport I recommend the diamond geezer blog which gives much detail on all things Crossrail. Today's post gives exact timings for connections between the different platforms at Elizabeth Line stations. diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/Lots of geekery on Geoff Marshall’s YouTube channel too. youtube.com/user/geofftech2 |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2022 11:09:28 GMT
Seats on modern trains do tend to be firmer than in the past. Before too long we'll be sitting on wooden benches in open wagons for that 1840s experience.
Worst seats I can remember were on the trains that used to do the Bedford to London St Pancras service. They were uncomfortable at the best of times, with the headrest twisting your neck into the most unnatural positions, and the upholstered parts also had a habit of unclipping themselves from the seat frame so they slid all over the place or vanished completely.
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7,251 posts
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Post by Jon on Jun 1, 2022 12:29:41 GMT
The seats on newer trains are specified by DfT hence why they are more ironing board than seat.
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8,211 posts
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Post by alece10 on Jun 1, 2022 16:16:44 GMT
GWR 1st class seats were always lovely comfy leather seats you could sink into. Great for my 5 hour journeys. Now they have new trains and the 1st class seats are hard as hell.
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19,856 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 1, 2022 16:48:06 GMT
Same with Eurostar. Those first trains the seats were like armchairs. The ones they have now are like sitting on a moulded piece of plywood. You don’t even get more comfy seats in the higher classes, it’s just a different configuration/service level.
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Post by interval99 on Jun 1, 2022 19:27:49 GMT
On Sunday 29th midday they had the Paddington gates shut and a guard saying something about scheduled maintenance so worth keeping some extra time incase they are still refining the route.
Thankfully while a rocker ride the bakerloo then circle line got me to Stratford with only about 5mins longer journey than the Elizabeth line had on Friday, saved 8 mins not having to do the walk between stations at Liverpool Street which had to do for Elizabeth line change.
You certainly appreciate the space in the train and the bigger platforms of the Elizabeth line when you return to the previous underground lines.
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7,251 posts
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Post by Jon on Jun 1, 2022 19:41:29 GMT
On Sunday 29th midday they had the Paddington gates shut and a guard saying something about scheduled maintenance so worth keeping some extra time incase they are still refining the route. Thankfully while a rocker ride the bakerloo then circle line got me to Stratford with only about 5mins longer journey than the Elizabeth line had on Friday, saved 8 mins not having to do the walk between stations at Liverpool Street which had to do for Elizabeth line change. You certainly appreciate the space in the train and the bigger platforms of the Elizabeth line when you return to the previous underground lines. The Sunday closures was always planned although it'll open this Sunday for the Jubilee Weekend. Once all the tunnels are connected, then the change at LS won't be necessary although I believe they're keeping some trains from Liverpool Street to Shenfield on the high level platforms for peak services. |
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Post by rosie on Jun 1, 2022 23:16:46 GMT
I went on it just to see what it was like. I found the seats very hard, glad I wasn't on it for 3hrs including a 20 minute interval. Other than that, good. Glad it wasn't just me - first thing I noticed. |
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Post by peggs on Jun 3, 2022 1:03:35 GMT
Seats on modern trains do tend to be firmer than in the past. The seats on the LNER Azumas, where journeys of three hours plus are not unusual, are truly awful. I believe it's a safety measure, so passengers remain in their seats in the event of a crash, rather than being ejected. Why are firmer seats safer in the event of an accident? i'd have thought them easier to fly off? |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2022 4:16:37 GMT
Seats on modern trains do tend to be firmer than in the past. The seats on the LNER Azumas, where journeys of three hours plus are not unusual, are truly awful. I believe it's a safety measure, so passengers remain in their seats in the event of a crash, rather than being ejected. Why are firmer seats safer in the event of an accident? i'd have thought them easier to fly off? A quick search suggests it's to do with international standards for crash-worthiness and fire-resistance (i.e. the seats shouldn't fragment, disintegrate, detach from the floor, distort in a way that might trap or crush a passenger, or explode without warning), coupled with the desire of operators to cram in as many people as possible regardless of comfort ("I can see that cushion edge-on; can you make it thinner?").
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Post by andrew on Jun 3, 2022 9:48:05 GMT
For those interested in a bit of context for the railway and a look through the highlights of some of the stations, part 1 of my video on it is online now...
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19,856 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 3, 2022 11:47:36 GMT
Good vid andrew, watch out Jago Hazzard! |
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Post by Jon on Jun 3, 2022 12:02:16 GMT
Good vid andrew , watch out Jago Hazzard! Never mind Jago, I think Geoff Marshall has competition! |
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Post by sistergeorge on Jun 3, 2022 16:47:24 GMT
So by mid-July, will the Elizabeth line provide and easier/faster way to get from Heathrow to Trafalgar Sq area, or should we stick to our usual Piccadilly line?
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Post by danb on Jun 3, 2022 18:58:34 GMT
Loved the Lizzy line today. Made getting to central almost pleasant from Paddington, then back from Whitechapel where I was visiting my mates bar.
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Post by n1david on Jun 3, 2022 22:05:01 GMT
So by mid-July, will the Elizabeth line provide and easier/faster way to get from Heathrow to Trafalgar Sq area, or should we stick to our usual Piccadilly line? By mid-July there still won't be the through service at Paddington, so if you get the train from Heathrow you'll have to walk through Paddington station to go from the high-level to the low-level station. And the nearest Crossrail station to Trafalgar Square is Tottenham Court Road, which is a bit of a walk down Charing Cross Road. So, this year, you may be better sticking to the Piccadilly Line. |
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Post by Jan on Jun 4, 2022 7:50:22 GMT
So by mid-July, will the Elizabeth line provide and easier/faster way to get from Heathrow to Trafalgar Sq area, or should we stick to our usual Piccadilly line? By mid-July there still won't be the through service at Paddington, so if you get the train from Heathrow you'll have to walk through Paddington station to go from the high-level to the low-level station. And the nearest Crossrail station to Trafalgar Square is Tottenham Court Road, which is a bit of a walk down Charing Cross Road. So, this year, you may be better sticking to the Piccadilly Line. Depends how much you want to pay. The fastest is still probably the Heathrow Express via Paddington at £25. The Elizabeth Line will be £12.70 (peak). The Piccadilly Line will be £5.50 (peak). |
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Post by Phantom of London on Jun 4, 2022 11:48:02 GMT
So by mid-July, will the Elizabeth line provide and easier/faster way to get from Heathrow to Trafalgar Sq area, or should we stick to our usual Piccadilly line? Trafalgar Square is a simple one seat ride to Piccadilly Circus from Heathrow, should take about an hour. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Jun 4, 2022 14:50:57 GMT
Seats on modern trains do tend to be firmer than in the past. The seats on the LNER Azumas, where journeys of three hours plus are not unusual, are truly awful. I believe it's a safety measure, so passengers remain in their seats in the event of a crash, rather than being ejected. Why are firmer seats safer in the event of an accident? i'd have thought them easier to fly off? Going on that logic aircrafts would’ve firmer seats too. You wouldn’t want to sit on a trans Atlantic flight for 8 hours in one of those seats. Firmer seats are easier to clean and replace, so saves on maintenance costs, especially when people put their feet on seats and stick their chewing gum to them. |
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Post by Marwood on Jun 4, 2022 16:11:00 GMT
Got it for the first time this afternoon, just the one stop from Farringdon to Tottenham Court Road: I got it as I’m going for dinner in Fitzrovia later and want to give the whole area around Buckingham Palace a very wide berth this weekend.
I was surprised how quiet it was for a Saturday afternoon but going by the size of the corridors and platforms, I’m presuming they’re expecting it to be absolutely rammed at times. I’m going to Heathrow to catch a flight in August but undecided on getting the Circle line to Paddington and catching this from there or just getting the Piccadilly line as before (I work in Westminster and will be heading to the airport after work so trying to minimise the case dragging on the underground)
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Post by Jon on Jun 4, 2022 16:22:24 GMT
I fully expect once Bond Street opens that it'll be busy for anyone in the city wanting to go to Heathrow.
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Post by sistergeorge on Jun 4, 2022 17:03:39 GMT
So by mid-July, will the Elizabeth line provide and easier/faster way to get from Heathrow to Trafalgar Sq area, or should we stick to our usual Piccadilly line? By mid-July there still won't be the through service at Paddington, so if you get the train from Heathrow you'll have to walk through Paddington station to go from the high-level to the low-level station. And the nearest Crossrail station to Trafalgar Square is Tottenham Court Road, which is a bit of a walk down Charing Cross Road. So, this year, you may be better sticking to the Piccadilly Line. You confirmed my suspicion. Thank you. |
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Post by david on Jul 18, 2022 14:31:25 GMT
I’ve not had an opportunity to have a look at the new Elizabeth Line (I’ve only done a couple of virtual tours of some of the stations) so I have spent the day exploring it (and a great way of escaping the heat) from Paddington to Abbey Wood. Having had a good look around each of the opened stations along the route, I am really impressed with this new addition to the London rail network with the station designs, engineering and the trains themselves.
Starting off at Paddington station and having a good explore of each of the stations and no doubt walking a good few miles along the passageways and those seemingly endless platforms, it’s been a great opportunity to have a really good explore of the other bits of the city and train stations that I don’t regularly get to go through. For me, Woolwich is a revelation. A great mix of the 18th century military buildings with more modern architecture. For the train stations, you can’t beat those fantastic Victorian stations for beauty in their design and appearance. With the newer EL stations, maybe not as stunning to look at but there is something neat in their design. Those totem info points really are a great idea.
Those new trains certainly are an improvement on the current UG stock. A nice smooth journey though if I had one complaint, whilst the trains are great, the seating clearly has not been designed with comfort in mind. More seat padding please!
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7,251 posts
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Post by Jon on Jul 18, 2022 14:47:25 GMT
The Elizabeth Line have really proven its worth, having stations and trains which have air conditioning is a god send.
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