GWR discomfort
Discussion
Admittedly I’m not a regular train traveller but I remember the old Intercity 125 service between Paddington and Worcester as being quite a comfortable pleasant trip.
I’m now sat in one of the new shiny green GWR Jobbies and my god is it uncomfortable. The seats make most ironing boards look luxuriously upholstered. They are bolt upright and to be honest after 45 minutes, my bum is starting to go numb, my back is aching and I’m desperate to get off.
I was looking forward to enjoying the Cotswold scenery with a cold beer as part of our weekend trip to London but the food service is not operating today and while the scenery is lovely, my bum is taking the shine off it somewhat.
I’m now sat in one of the new shiny green GWR Jobbies and my god is it uncomfortable. The seats make most ironing boards look luxuriously upholstered. They are bolt upright and to be honest after 45 minutes, my bum is starting to go numb, my back is aching and I’m desperate to get off.
I was looking forward to enjoying the Cotswold scenery with a cold beer as part of our weekend trip to London but the food service is not operating today and while the scenery is lovely, my bum is taking the shine off it somewhat.
I came back from Cornwall to Hampshire last weekend on three trains - one GWR, two South Western Railway.
The GWR train was quiet, comfortable, clean (with the exception of the seat full of rubbish in front of me, but that was left by a family of tattooed chav scum who got on at Plymouth, to be fair) and had clever lights and screens to signify reserved seats, which I thought was very neat.
The SWR trains were old, knackered and the Exeter to Salisbury one didn't have air conditioning which was nice in 30+ degree heat.
GWR gets my vote, to be honest.
The GWR train was quiet, comfortable, clean (with the exception of the seat full of rubbish in front of me, but that was left by a family of tattooed chav scum who got on at Plymouth, to be fair) and had clever lights and screens to signify reserved seats, which I thought was very neat.
The SWR trains were old, knackered and the Exeter to Salisbury one didn't have air conditioning which was nice in 30+ degree heat.
GWR gets my vote, to be honest.
24lemons said:
Admittedly I m not a regular train traveller but I remember the old Intercity 125 service between Paddington and Worcester as being quite a comfortable pleasant trip.
I m now sat in one of the new shiny green GWR Jobbies and my god is it uncomfortable. The seats make most ironing boards look luxuriously upholstered. They are bolt upright and to be honest after 45 minutes, my bum is starting to go numb, my back is aching and I m desperate to get off.
I was looking forward to enjoying the Cotswold scenery with a cold beer as part of our weekend trip to London but the food service is not operating today and while the scenery is lovely, my bum is taking the shine off it somewhat.
I could not agree more. The seating is just so uncomfortable, my guess the fabric is chosen for maximum longevity and not for the comfort of the passenger.I m now sat in one of the new shiny green GWR Jobbies and my god is it uncomfortable. The seats make most ironing boards look luxuriously upholstered. They are bolt upright and to be honest after 45 minutes, my bum is starting to go numb, my back is aching and I m desperate to get off.
I was looking forward to enjoying the Cotswold scenery with a cold beer as part of our weekend trip to London but the food service is not operating today and while the scenery is lovely, my bum is taking the shine off it somewhat.
Seating in any modern car is by comparison light years ahead. My ten year old Golf doesn't leave you aching after driving for three to four hours.
HRH2009 said:
24lemons said:
Admittedly I m not a regular train traveller but I remember the old Intercity 125 service between Paddington and Worcester as being quite a comfortable pleasant trip.
I m now sat in one of the new shiny green GWR Jobbies and my god is it uncomfortable. The seats make most ironing boards look luxuriously upholstered. They are bolt upright and to be honest after 45 minutes, my bum is starting to go numb, my back is aching and I m desperate to get off.
I was looking forward to enjoying the Cotswold scenery with a cold beer as part of our weekend trip to London but the food service is not operating today and while the scenery is lovely, my bum is taking the shine off it somewhat.
I could not agree more. The seating is just so uncomfortable, my guess the fabric is chosen for maximum longevity and not for the comfort of the passenger.I m now sat in one of the new shiny green GWR Jobbies and my god is it uncomfortable. The seats make most ironing boards look luxuriously upholstered. They are bolt upright and to be honest after 45 minutes, my bum is starting to go numb, my back is aching and I m desperate to get off.
I was looking forward to enjoying the Cotswold scenery with a cold beer as part of our weekend trip to London but the food service is not operating today and while the scenery is lovely, my bum is taking the shine off it somewhat.
Seating in any modern car is by comparison light years ahead. My ten year old Golf doesn't leave you aching after driving for three to four hours.
24lemons said:
That s pretty grim. I ve lost feeling in both of my buttocks you ll be interested to hear. There s a strange hard ridge that runs widthways across the seat. I cannot work out anatomically what it s for. The seat next to me is the same.
Yup. It’s my regular route. Some seats are worse than others. First class almost as bad. The seats are hard admittedly, but I never found them uncomfortable (about one a week, 75 mins each way Bath to Padd for about three years)
Whilst everyone raves about the old HST and some things were better, they had less legroom in pleb class and at 6ft 4 that mattered to me over anything else. Knees jammed against the back of the seat in front was no fun.
Whilst everyone raves about the old HST and some things were better, they had less legroom in pleb class and at 6ft 4 that mattered to me over anything else. Knees jammed against the back of the seat in front was no fun.
loggo said:
I went from Pershore to Paddinton and return a few weeks ago and had no complaints whatsoever. Perhaps my bum is the specified shape?
Don't start me off on the donkey who decided to single line part of the route though. If trains aren't on time everything gets thrown out of schedule
There is less single line than there was 15 years ago. Don't start me off on the donkey who decided to single line part of the route though. If trains aren't on time everything gets thrown out of schedule
I had to stand for an hour on a Chiltern Lines train from London to Banbury which had no windows and no working fans/aircon on a 28'c day last Friday. The signs at Marylebone say "this train is usually standing only" so why the **** don't they add another carriage to stop that, why don't they have working fans, why don't their trains have ****'ing windows and why, when you complaint about the dog-**** service do you get some low IQ mouth breather saying "thanks for you complaint, we always attempt to provide the best service" when they clearly don't!
It took over 4 hours to get 100+ mile across from Norfolk to Banbury to collect my car. I had to go down to London initially, then across London and finally back up from London to Banbury, all because there's so few "cross-country" trains which run East to West & West to East.
Crap service at extremely high prices is the sole reason why I only use trains if there is a "no car available" situation, otherwise I'd never, ever use them because I absolutely hate being ripped off.
It took over 4 hours to get 100+ mile across from Norfolk to Banbury to collect my car. I had to go down to London initially, then across London and finally back up from London to Banbury, all because there's so few "cross-country" trains which run East to West & West to East.
Crap service at extremely high prices is the sole reason why I only use trains if there is a "no car available" situation, otherwise I'd never, ever use them because I absolutely hate being ripped off.
miniman said:
The GWR standard class seats are terrible. Plenty of other operators have fitted the Hitachi trains with decent seats.
Download Seatfrog and get yourself a cheap upgrade for the way home.
Top tip. Thanks for that. Now sat in reasonable comfort in a reclining seat in first class. Only cost me £14. These seats are far from perfect but at least I can recline a bit to ease my aching backDownload Seatfrog and get yourself a cheap upgrade for the way home.
miniman said:
The GWR standard class seats are terrible. Plenty of other operators have fitted the Hitachi trains with decent seats.
Download Seatfrog and get yourself a cheap upgrade for the way home.
Top tip. Thanks for that. Now sat in reasonable comfort in a reclining seat in first class. Only cost me £14. These seats are far from perfect but at least I can recline a bit to ease my aching backDownload Seatfrog and get yourself a cheap upgrade for the way home.
Mu worst GWR journey was Falmouth to Paddington
I paid nearly £300 for a single ticket and reserved a seat.
The train was late and was rammed, not a single seat anywhere and they had cancelled all seat reservations.
I and a few other first class passengers sat on the floor in first for the 6 hour journey. I was wearing my best suit as I was heading to an important meeting, so wasn't pleased. At one point the guard came down the train and told us not to sit on the floor because it meant he had to step over our legs, and we had to stand up because it was inconvenient for him. I'm not proud of what I called him, but I suspect I would call he the same in the same circumstances
I paid nearly £300 for a single ticket and reserved a seat.
The train was late and was rammed, not a single seat anywhere and they had cancelled all seat reservations.
I and a few other first class passengers sat on the floor in first for the 6 hour journey. I was wearing my best suit as I was heading to an important meeting, so wasn't pleased. At one point the guard came down the train and told us not to sit on the floor because it meant he had to step over our legs, and we had to stand up because it was inconvenient for him. I'm not proud of what I called him, but I suspect I would call he the same in the same circumstances
I've given up on the train and purchased an EV for my journey into Birmingham 2/3 times per week.
Cross Country are my main culprit they're a mix of;
Late
Cancelled
Not enough carriages - overcrowded
Air con not working
Terrible seats - my back is knackered
Worst of all though the public, I had to move coaches on Thursday as the chap in front who must have been 20 stone smelt like he had ran a marathon then had a bath in melted parmigiano cheese fondue which had been rotten for a year. My hand was forced, looking forward to being back in the car with radio 4 on the way home.
Cross Country are my main culprit they're a mix of;
Late
Cancelled
Not enough carriages - overcrowded
Air con not working
Terrible seats - my back is knackered
Worst of all though the public, I had to move coaches on Thursday as the chap in front who must have been 20 stone smelt like he had ran a marathon then had a bath in melted parmigiano cheese fondue which had been rotten for a year. My hand was forced, looking forward to being back in the car with radio 4 on the way home.
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