No-speed Rail

[JonR]

It appears something similar has happened with Northern Trains’ class 195/331 units, although in this case only about a fifth of the fleet has been temporarily removed from traffic:

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....hdrawn-by-northern-as-fault-detected.html/amp

 

[Stuart Frazer]

It's disappointing to read that seat comfort on the new fleets of Azuma trains is so poor. You would have thought that would have been a top design priority at the outset. I've not been on one as yet.

 

[JonR]

I travelled on one a couple of years ago from Paddington to Bristol. Tbh I hardly remember anything about the seats. What struck me more than anything was the stunning acceleration under the wires, and how much this was in contrast with the rather stately progress of the train when on diesel power.

 

[gintonic]

I have travelled on loads of them - never noticed anything particularly uncomfortable about the seats....

 

[tqineil]

When I was a student in the 70s it was a great treat if the journey between Elgin and Edinburgh was in part by 125.


At one time the longest scheduled train journey in the UK was the Elgin to Plymouth service operated by Intercity 125s.

Presumably with changes at Aberdeen and Edinburgh Waverley or was it 125's all the way?

 

[cctaylor]

@tqineil Yes change at Aberdeen or Inverness to DMUs. The windows on some of the DMU carriages were modified to allow loading of stretchers if the roads were impassable to road ambulances due to snow. I don't know if this option was ever used.

It was only in my last year at Heriot Watt that the 125 became an option.

Of course the 125 was designed to have the highest route availability of any passenger type. One set is still used by Network Rail for regular track inspections across the entire network. The distinctive Network Rail yellow livery gives it the appropriate nickname "Flying Banana".