gronk the shunter Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 The East Coast will be heading for an IEPic disaster if they use these heavy and expensive trains so the alternatives the Pendolino which is available from Alstom as an import, but they are not a good train, here is what passengers think http://travel.ciao.co.uk/Reviews/Virgin_Pendolino__5829487 I bet Beardie will want a subsidy to run IEP's and who could blame him, so he could make a case for more Pendolinos on the ECML! All this is speculation however I am sure over the next few months DaFT will specify the worst case scenario for the ECML so we will not be disappointed! XF Sorry but that isn't just speculation - it's completely uninformed make believe. Is there any reason to suspect that Richard Branson will want a subsidy to run SET's rather than any other stock? (IEP is the project - not the train), any commercial reason why running one contemporary design rather than another might allow this? That would appear a perfect way of ensuring Virgin don't win the franchise and the logic you've used seems based on trainspotting/enthusiast opinion rather than economics. Also re: your comment that pendolino's are not fit for purpose because the windows don't line up with the seats. Considering how many trains have been produced since the mk11 with this design problem there's an awful lot of stock out there "unfit for purpose". The size and positioning of the windows isn't good, but that hardly makes a design unfit for purpose. I really don't mean to be offensive or appear condescending but I struggle to see how these sort of comments add to a debate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldfield_Park Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 The windows are smaller on the Pendolino trains as part of the design created in order to improve their crashworthiness. The design almost certainly saved a number of lives at Grayrigg. If that makes it "unfit for purpose", then I'm curious to know what would make it "fit".* *usual comments about toiletst or Richard Branson's beard (do people -ever- feel that that talk of that is getting a bit old now?) don't count... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 So if the Pendolino is such a wonderful train why did passengers prefer the Pretendolino so much, as was borne out by Virgin's own customer surveys? To see out of a train window with ease as one of the benefits of train travel together with a WiFi system that works, with enough room for more than one laptop on a table, enough power sockets to support them, alarms that do not go off on every journey and no smelly toilets. A MK3 in a Grayrigg.style crash would have stood up well too as they a solid and proven design XF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 The windows are smaller because it also reduces motion sickness as learnt with the APT. Just because passengers who used Pretendolino preferred it to a Pendolino doesn't mean everyone dislikes them and it might also be due to the fact the Pretendolino had a refurbished interior so it would look good to anyone getting onto it against a Pendolino that hasn't been through a refurb with a few hundred thousand miles on the clock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.