The thing is, he’s absolutely correct. The 777s aren’t as good as they should have been.
Considering all the hype about how brilliant they'd be I also agree. I'm not talking from an enthusiast point of view either - my enthusiasm is limited to any BR relics that remain as I find new stuff just uninteresting. I personally couldn't care less about new stock from an enthusiast perspective but rather how I find them as a passenger.
The 777s are an improvement in some ways - great for those with reduced mobility, buggies, bags etc due to the lower step - however I along with others got the impression it would be level boarding for wheelchair users, which it apparently isn't and never was supposed to be. I'm not the only person who thought it would be either!
The seats are uncomfortable. I know this is a personal opinion, but im generally not too fussy about seats especially on commuter stock. The current fleet hardly has comfy seats but these seem worse! People say it's OK because the majority of people only use the trains for short journeys - huge amounts use them for the full Chester to Liverpool journey too aswell as Southport.
The "wedges" along the sides to prevent falling down the gap is a good design.
The grill/vents under the windows along the interior walls is a daft design and will be full of rubbish in no time.
Speaking to train crew that I know, they don't speak highly of them either. "Cheap and tacky" was how a friend of mine described them.
The acceleration is one of their biggest plus sides, and is very impressive. The open interior is good as are the CCTV screens. I do like the bright yellow interior doors, 70s throw back!
Whilst they may look nice and shiny they're just not quite what they were hyped up to be.
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