Think Your Train Seats Are Too Small?

[gmat]

Don't know if this has been posted before.

 

Extra seats but still no room to sit on train

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110322/od_nm/us_britain_transport

 

Best wishes,

Grant

[scott]

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach, which owns South West Trains, defended the seats, saying they were "ergonomically sound" and complied with legislation.

 

...and this legislation was written by...

 

Not to get too personal, but I can fit my, um, self on a 17-inch seat, but my arms and elbows would definitely bump my neighbors.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

The class 450s are extremely unpopular with commutors, however their use is sadly governed by maximum train length. In general the maximum length of a standard passenger train in the UK is 12 carriages - most platforms are limited to this. SWT has two classes of non-suburban units; the 4-car class 450s and the 5-car class 444. To get the maximum capacity in platforms, three class 450s are usually strung togther, as opposed to two class 444s.

 

Also the 450s have 3x2 seating across the carriage, against the class 444's 2x2. 3x2 also plague the electric untis across the south of England; most of my local class 377s have the same issue.

 

The seating is too narrow, and extremely uncomfortable; however it is really designed for suburban stuff (UK suburban, and the relative milage associated with this)...not units that run 50 mile + journeys. It's cheap, and not very cheerful, but we're lumbered with it. These units have a projected life-span of 30 years, and they are less than a decade old...

[CaptOblivious]

For the curious (warning: NSFW!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unit_450567_A_M_Standard_Class_Interior.JPG

[Guest ___]

they'd be better off making the trains standing room only.

[Martijn Meerts]

I'm stuck in one of these every day for about 25 minutes before I transfer to a 40 year old local train with tons of space:

 

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestand:Interieur_Velios.JPG

 

 

And as you can see from this one: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestand:Bagageruimte_Velios_28_Nijmegen.jpg , there's not a lot of space per seat.

 

 

They really could just switch to 2x2 seating, because NO ONE ever uses the middle seat of the 3x3, except for their bags ;)

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Although the units were nearly 50 years old, the commutors were narked because this is what the class 450s replaced...

[Mudkip Orange]

That's crazy. 3+2 doesn't even work on SEPTA and those cars are a full 10'5" wide - I can't imagine how anyone would imagine those could fit in the British loading gauge.

[westfalen]

Although the units were nearly 50 years old, the commutors were narked because this is what the class 450s replaced...

Was that picture taken at Lymington Pier? I have an almost identical shot of the coach's interior and the plant pots on the platform look familiar.

I was there three days before the trains were withdrawn. They were getting a bit tired looking I suppose because of lack of maintenance but still a nice train to ride in, as were the various mark I's I sampled on preserved lines.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Although the units were nearly 50 years old, the commutors were narked because this is what the class 450s replaced...

Was that picture taken at Lymington Pier? I have an almost identical shot of the coach's interior and the plant pots on the platform look familiar.

I was there three days before the trains were withdrawn. They were getting a bit tired looking I suppose because of lack of maintenance but still a nice train to ride in, as were the various mark I's I sampled on preserved lines.

 

 

It was, taken last year within 1498 - the green liveried sister to the unit in your picture. They were the stock-in-trade through my local station - indeed throughout the south east of England for over 40 years.

[Guest ___]

That's crazy. 3+2 doesn't even work on SEPTA and those cars are a full 10'5" wide - I can't imagine how anyone would imagine those could fit in the British loading gauge.

 

We have 2+3 on the MARC Kawasaki I's and the seats are huge. Sadly the aisles are tough.