I have been travelling on these train sets for years, and every year, their inadequacy is mercilessly revealed.
High density seating to pack 'em in, BUT laughably silly luggage space. The Virgin route connects Glasgow, Carlisle, the Lake District, Preston, Manchester / Manchester Airport, Crewe, Birmingham, and London among other excellent places - ALL of which are either major tourist destinations, climbing etc destinations, or just enormous conurbation destinations, AND major university complexes with beginnings / ends of / plus mid-term mass migrations.
The passengers on such routes are invariably loaded with big baggage. Invariably the train crew tell us to keep aisles clear. Invariably the between-carriage spaces are packed to danger and impassability by baggage, camping passengers, blocking access to loos, refreshments, ingress and egress. Invariably, the train crew helpfully tell us [ if they can get up and down the train] there are spaces elsewhere which then require mighty climbing skills to get over / round and thus reach said spaces [with your baggage], but arriving there, finding of course nowhere to park anything uty the most trivial baggage in the overhead 'spaces'.
The profit Virgin must be making is enormous: you pay the same fare if you stand, squat uncomfortably in a corner, very often at the most crowded times the seat reservation system is a total joke, necessitating nasty confrontations with tired and understandably irritated incumbents told to move. Talk to the train crews quietly, and they usually echo your ever discomfort. For them this is the everyday.
The speed / efficiency of the actual service is fine. BUT the rolling stock is hopelessly, but hopelessly passenger-unfriendly. We travel the lines because we have no real choice, and Virgin must know that, thus no need to make any serious re-design of the stock because the per passenger take is pretty big, and anyway, they may lose the franchise, so what the hell? Cash the take and deafen your ears to the high personal discomfort of their passengers.
High density seating to pack 'em in, BUT laughably silly luggage space. The Virgin route connects Glasgow, Carlisle, the Lake District, Preston, Manchester / Manchester Airport, Crewe, Birmingham, and London among other excellent places - ALL of which are either major tourist destinations, climbing etc destinations, or just enormous conurbation destinations, AND major university complexes with beginnings / ends of / plus mid-term mass migrations.
The passengers on such routes are invariably loaded with big baggage. Invariably the train crew tell us to keep aisles clear. Invariably the between-carriage spaces are packed to danger and impassability by baggage, camping passengers, blocking access to loos, refreshments, ingress and egress. Invariably, the train crew helpfully tell us [ if they can get up and down the train] there are spaces elsewhere which then require mighty climbing skills to get over / round and thus reach said spaces [with your baggage], but arriving there, finding of course nowhere to park anything uty the most trivial baggage in the overhead 'spaces'.
The profit Virgin must be making is enormous: you pay the same fare if you stand, squat uncomfortably in a corner, very often at the most crowded times the seat reservation system is a total joke, necessitating nasty confrontations with tired and understandably irritated incumbents told to move. Talk to the train crews quietly, and they usually echo your ever discomfort. For them this is the everyday.
The speed / efficiency of the actual service is fine. BUT the rolling stock is hopelessly, but hopelessly passenger-unfriendly. We travel the lines because we have no real choice, and Virgin must know that, thus no need to make any serious re-design of the stock because the per passenger take is pretty big, and anyway, they may lose the franchise, so what the hell? Cash the take and deafen your ears to the high personal discomfort of their passengers.
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