Great Western Coffee Shop

Based on a discussionI was having, despite having talked in length on the forum before, I'd like to conduct a poll answering the aforementioned question, as this forum has a wider audience than the forum I was discussing on.

Feel free to justfy.

I don't seem to be able to add a poll, could a mod add one with the options "yes" and "no". Thanks

Sorry, devon_metro, but you certainly should be able to add a poll: at the foot of the screen, in the right hand corner - and you select your options?

If it's still a problem, please let me know, and I'll be happy to post it for you, if necessary.

Chris  :)

Not seeing it, could posting from a mobile device be a contributing factor?

unless g and the team have set up a dedicated mobile with less options i doubt it, however im glad you brought up the hst's again because i have been thinking long and hard about these and tbh i really dont know, on the plus they look better there clean more seats but negative the seats are not as comfortable, loss of proper buffet hardly an tables, i dont know maybee i am getting nostalgic the reality is that there fit for purpose there are no more units available it costs too much to have rolling stock with big comfortable seats with decent catering they have to find a balance with cramming people on and getting them a seat providing minimal refreshments, improving safety  (the seats are safer in a crash then the old ones) and acceleration (length of train) and a comfortable ride aswell as keeping costs down

so in that respect there better, but i miss the old days  :'( god im only 24

Poll added!

And for my 2 cents' worth, yes they are an improvement. OK there are fewer tables-for-four but the airline seating is vastly superior to the old HST airline seating and I've never been that fond of staring a stranger in the face for the duration of a journey anyway. Ample legroom, comfortable seat, well-designed table. The majority of comments you here from other passengers travelling on them are generally positive as well. Just for a bonus, the new livery looks great too.

thats a good point, actually lets face it the paddington services dont carry as many familys and groups as the xc sets, and thats my main issue with the pacers when you have has a bad day it feels like everyone is in your face

I think so, yes.

Not too keen on the lighting, sometimes hard to look out the window but other than that i do think so.  I also noted the other day whilst sat at Ealing broadway waiting for my train that they're not half as loud as they used to be when they whizz through a station!

Tut tut, what will TJ think with only the choice of yes and no!

I was split, partly due to the height of the seat backs - which are not a safety requirement as XC/NXEC have proved. It has restricted the view out of the windows.

The reason for that is because I wanted a conclusive answer not people sitting on the fence. TJ may abstain if it bothers him so much.

As do we all...

Ditto here.

That is an extremely subjective question, and as very irregular user of the HST^s there are a number of factors that have to be taken into consideration, especially as the timetable and passenger profile in the late 70^s between Bath and Paddington (when I last used the route regularly) and today are markedly different.

Technically the life extension is undoubtedly a success, and will see the stock carry on for many more years, but the colour scheme could have been a bit better, not a patch on the ^Barbie^ effort. Great Western and not a hint of green.

But if I were to compare my journey experience today with that of 30 years ago then things have gone down hill, gone are the fast trips into London and the infrastructure has been neglected for far to long and the journey experience from here is poorer for it. You can^t even smoke in the buffet anymore.

I don^t doubt that those who live closer to London have benefited enormously with the new internal layout, but quite a few haven^t, and if I^m honest I^d much prefer the 158^s as at least you can see out of the windows, although if your are traveling from Slough I suspect it is a blessing.

Oh and the lighting isn^t very good either, comparable with the naked tubes on the last 150 makeover.

Thanks for adding that poll, i've just noticed where it is!! Normally poll options are inside the new topic option  :D

My personal view, they are an improvement and i'm glad that the poll results suspect what I was discussing. (The original topic of discussion being the announcement of the (rather lacking) planned refurbishment of the EMT sets)

From now on, if I encounter a poll where the pollster doesn't give me an option to vote 'Don't Know' or 'Don't Care' in those cases where it's appropriate, I've decided to try and vote in such a way that will most annoy the person setting the poll. In those rare cases where I'm not sure what will be the most annoying I'll toss a coin or throw a die before voting.
So from now you won't get a 'conclusive' answer, you'll one where you can't actually rely on the results being accurate... (http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/hapydancsmil.gif) (http://www.millan.net)

How childish of you...

i agree, if you dont care about polls then just ignore them! maybee you dislike them because it shows that not everyone thinks the same way as you do?

I'd say just about no, although it's fairly even - 49-51ish

Advantages:
More seats
More airline seats with better legroom - as I mostly travel alone I don't really want to be stuck opposite someone the whole time. Besides, if you sit at a full table on any train the legroom is never that good.

Disadvantages:
Not keen on the lighting as it can be hard to see out of the window
Seats are too high - it's nice to be able to look around
I preferred the sound of the old Valenta engine, although I expect most passengers don't

Overall though I'm not too bothered.

Not at all: I do care, and I want the results to be as accurate and comprehensive as possible. 'Ignoring' any abstentions doesn't fairly reflect genuine opinions.

I want to vote - even if it's a don't know or a don't care - and I want that vote to be counted. The absence of this option is pure laziness on the part of the pollster(s) concerned.


Pfft.

i guess having the dont know/care option does make people just click anything in order to see the result if they want to know what other people think, and to be honest on this poll the dont know option is the same as no as it shows that the refresh was pointless as it did not provide people with a noticable improvement

It's not laziness, after all it doesn't take any more time. Pollsters sometimes deliberately want to avoid giving people the option to sit on the fence, and thus exclude the option. I've seen that happen in staff surveys when too many people ticked the no view option.

Do you jump of the fence in General Elections?

Or perhaps you waste your vote by spoiling the ballot paper...

Well, if I may say, just for the benefit of those who, for whatever reason, have not voted (and who therefore cannot see the current state of the voting), the figures are currently 55% in favour of the statement (and 45% against, fairly obviously!).

However, please also bear in mind that there has apparently been some 'tactical voting' going on here!  ::) ;D

thats ok you can use the comments and match them to the votes to get a more accurate figure

I think this poll should have been split in two:

1. For short commuter trips [an hour and a halfish]. Improvement as more people can be seated.

2. For long distance. Absolutely appalling especially for groups. Few tables, granite seats, seats by window pillars etc etc etc.

I do not see also why the seats have to be so high that you feel hemmed in and trapped. A trip on a XC is a vast improvement.

There should have been two fleets to provide for the totally different markets.

Hmm.  I do take your point, FarWestJohn, but I think it's not quite as simple as measuring such things purely against the length of the journey a particular passenger may make?

For example, I used to catch a FGW HST from Nailsea & Backwell, either to Bristol Temple Meads (10 minutes) or to London Paddington (2 hours).  Whichever, I was very happy with the service - generally, plenty of seating, with reasonable views, and a buffet (if I had time, in the ten minutes to BRI!).

On the other hand, when I caught an XC to Manchester Piccadilly (3 hours), I found the seating uncomfortable, and my suitcase often had a better view (from the luggage rack) than I did.  ::)

I had my first trip on an XC HST a few weeks ago and must say I was rather underwhelmed. OK there are more fixed tables than the FGW interior but the airline seating is very poor indeed: cramped legroom, an inadequate table that droops down below the horizontal, and misaligned windows. Give me the FGW version any day - there's ample room for my knees in all the airline seating and the drop-down table is much more solid and useful.

The First Class Seat on XC HST's is quite pleasent... Now all they need is the WiFi!

I'm rather impressed with the Disabled Toilet as well... Shame FGW didn't do this on the refresh of their HST's... They offer Disabled Seating in FC, yet no Disabled Toilet ??? Makes no sense to me...!

I think WiFi should be included on all Intercity routes... NXEC can do it, GC can, VT, Southern, W&S... Yet XC & FGW...?! However, it is not so much of a concern anymore as my new Mobile includes Unlimited Internet and offers Passthrough to my Laptop ;D

leg room is an issue however the xc hst seats are so much more comfortable

As a Reading commuter, I appreciate getting a seat and they are comfortable enough but I just find standard class claustrophobic. When you get on its impossible to see at a glance what seats are free or occupied and if you don't manage to grab a window seat you've effectively no view at all - fine for short distance commutes  but destroying one of the key selling points for longer distance leisure journeys - its seems self-defeating for the railways to effectively compromise one of their key selling points (remember those old BR Inter City adverts).  I've been travelling on Southern and Southeastern Electrostars a lot recently and have been striuck how comfortable and pleasnt to travel in the longer-distance versions are, lots of tables, comfy seats aligned with windows etc - they serve a similar market to the FGW HSTs - longer distance commuters plus leaisure travellers to the coast - but do a better job of it.