Chiltern to introduce new Business Class

[Flying Snail]

You may not want to bother with it but are you a business man wanting to travel from Birmingham to London or back in a more relaxing environment than in standard class but without the first class trimmings? Maybe you are but if not business class will not apply to your needs unless you just want to try it out - it is classed as business class to attract buisness people to travel to or from Birmingham with a more relaxed environment and to be ables to work from the train with some food as well, I think it is a great idea to be honest and it will hopefully attract some custom from VT.

Sorry but you quote " If "Business Zone" is not First Class, what other "Class" is it?" It is business class! :roll::roll::roll:

Carry on with your all line rover ticket and bash what you want to but don't critisize a company that is trying to improve the journey by train until you have actually tried it.

That is a bit harsh. I can see the point you are making but it doesn't seem right to me that Chiltern can introduce a 1st class service (in everything but name) and opt out of accepting any permitted and other valid network 1st class tickets.

I could care less what they call it but I don't think it is a good precedent for a franchised operator to introduce another layer of service/fares on top of the already complex system we now have.

If the OA operators can accept all valid 1st tickets then I can't see how Chiltern can justify charging a supplement ignoring the premium already paid in the ticket price. That goes for 1st class ALRs too, they are not exactly cheap to begin with.

 

[Greenback]

I do agree with 'Business Class' as a name. The sort of services these trains will be running could be classed as InterCity, yet the service that will be being given won't be InterCity First standard, but will be better than Standard Class. No hoards of catering staff, no plates, no mess etc, just large, spacious tables and seats, free Wi-Fi, and a chance after a long day to relax in a quieter environment without all the trimmings and relative movement of First Class (apart from the occasional visit form the trolley). I am tempted to try this.

A quieter, more comfortable and more spacious environment is exactly what first class should be anyway!

 

[IanXC]

That is a bit harsh. I can see the point you are making but it doesn't seem right to me that Chiltern can introduce a 1st class service (in everything but name) and opt out of accepting any permitted and other valid network 1st class tickets.

I could care less what they call it but I don't think it is a good precedent for a franchised operator to introduce another layer of service/fares on top of the already complex system we now have.

If the OA operators can accept all valid 1st tickets then I can't see how Chiltern can justify charging a supplement ignoring the premium already paid in the ticket price. That goes for 1st class ALRs too, they are not exactly cheap to begin with.

I guess its similar logic to "Weekend First", a supplement payable entirely to the TOC providing the service.

 

[SS4]

I'm quite interested here, it may be worth finding some spurious excuse to go to London (plus Snow Hill is closer to me than New St)

 

[TomJ93]

Well you'll have to walk to Moor St!

 

[swt_passenger]

That is a bit harsh. I can see the point you are making but it doesn't seem right to me that Chiltern can introduce a 1st class service (in everything but name) and opt out of accepting any permitted and other valid network 1st class tickets.

I could care less what they call it but I don't think it is a good precedent for a franchised operator to introduce another layer of service/fares on top of the already complex system we now have.

If the OA operators can accept all valid 1st tickets then I can't see how Chiltern can justify charging a supplement ignoring the premium already paid in the ticket price. That goes for 1st class ALRs too, they are not exactly cheap to begin with.

Tony Miles of Modern Railways, posting in uk.railway, reckons Chiltern are going to accept 'any permitted' First fares in their new class though.

Is there evidence anywhere that they won't accept first tickets?

 

[SS4]

Well you'll have to walk to Moor St!

It'll still be worth it.

On a similar note, has anyone found that according to the Chiltern website MYB no longer exists?

 

[jon0844]

I recall that Chiltern got plenty of criticism at the time but refused to backtrack on their decision to abolish first class. Amazing really, as they pass through some very affluent areas!

It seems odd that when you have a market for a premium product who are willing to pay more, you simply remove it! And even now they seem unwilling to admit they made a mistake...

Just make the whole train like first class, then bump up standard class fares. Works for SET on HS1!

 

[Chris B]

More info from Charlie Hume in this weeks http://www.nwrail.org.uk/nwnews.htm for those interested.

There it states "We are informed that holders of 'anytime any permitted' First Class return tickets from Birmingham to London will be able to travel without further supplement."

 

[junglejames]

Just make the whole train like first class, then bump up standard class fares. Works for SET on HS1!

Except the train is worse than standard class, but with first class fares.

 

[Mike395]

Except the train is worse than standard class, but with first class fares.

That's a bit unfair - 395s are not worse than the majority of standard class interiors, especially in the South East!

 

[MidnightFlyer]

That's a bit unfair - 395s are not worse than the majority of standard class interiors, especially in the South East!

It's hardly perfect when you bear in mind that they cost £1.4m a carriage!

(My maths was 29 sets of 6 cars, with an overall cost of £250m.)

 

[All Line Rover]

It's hardly perfect when you bear in mind that they cost £1.4m a carriage!

(My maths was 29 sets of 6 cars, with an overall cost of £250m.)

What's wrong with the 395's? I think they are very well designed. Plenty of space, comfortable seats, 1 power socket for every 2 seats, good air-conditioning, extremely accessible for disabled people, wide entry/exit doors, very quiet, etc.. The only downside is the small armrests.

 

[jon0844]

...and that I cut myself somehow when on one, which panicked the TM as a relatively small cut was bleeding quite a bit! Not sure what I cut it on, but I'd walked through the train (to look around) and my hand must have brushed by some sharp plastic edging or poorly fitted trim.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

What's wrong with the 395's? I think they are very well designed. Plenty of space, comfortable seats, 1 power socket for every 2 seats, good air-conditioning, extremely accessible for disabled people, wide entry/exit doors, very quiet, etc.. The only downside is the small armrests.

Do the seats and windows align well? At £1.4m a carriage, they really need to sort out things like that.

 

[All Line Rover]

Do the seats and windows align well? At £1.4m a carriage, they really need to sort out things like that.

OK that's a good point.

 

[barrykas]

What's wrong with the 395's? I think they are very well designed. Plenty of space, comfortable seats, 1 power socket for every 2 seats, good air-conditioning, extremely accessible for disabled people, wide entry/exit doors, very quiet, etc.. The only downside is the small armrests.

Having travelled on the 395s a couple of times, the main issue is (or was, ISTR reading something about a mod) they suffer from atrocious lateral hunting going through the tunnels. Eurostar sets, OTOH, give a perfectly smooth ride on the same track, and they're around 15 years older...

Cheers,

Barry

 

[Chris B]

Try them again, that probkem is ssid to be fixed.

I found the seats rather hard & uncomfortable for trips of over an hour

 

[All Line Rover]

Try them again, that probkem is ssid to be fixed.

I found the seats rather hard & uncomfortable for trips of over an hour

I don't think the designers considered that to be an issue when it is supposed to be the fastest mainline service in the UK!

 

[shaun]

Looking at the September timetable, 'silver' services are on pretty much the same departures as they are now. The only difference is one from Kidderminster in the morning and one back there in the evening. No weekend services...

http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/sites/default/files/September%202011%20Mainline%20services.pdf

Are they ever going to start using them on weekends? Are Chiltern planning on bringing more of them in to run more services once they're refurbished? Would be nice to get a loco-hauled set on a weekend, and also on a later departure from Brum-London when people can actually get out of work in time to catch one! Used to be able to catch the last departure from Tame Bridge to Marylebone when they were run by WMSR, and also a weekend afternoon train back. Nothing against the 168s as they are much better than Pendos on the WCML, but they're hardly Mk3s.

 

[Chris B]

No. Basically, far more expensive to run than either clubman or turbo.

More are planned for weekdays, once clubmans are needed for the planned Oxford services

 

[telstarbox]

Interested to see that Chiltern offer free station parking for cars with 3+ adults - a brilliant idea! see p5 of http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/sites/default/files/September 2011 Mainline services.pdf

 

[junglejames]

That's a bit unfair - 395s are not worse than the majority of standard class interiors, especially in the South East!

Well at least the 395s have a fan!!
In short though-
Extremely uncomfortable seats (both because they are hard, and because of the shape of them(can never get comfy))
Stupidly thin armrests
Rubbish seat window alignment (partly because the gap between the windows is too large)
Very noisy and poor ride quality at high speed

375s have a better ride quality at 100mph, and are much more comfortable.

 

[Chris B]

Interested to see that Chiltern offer free station parking for cars with 3+ adults - a brilliant idea! see p5 of http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/sites/default/files/September 2011 Mainline services.pdf

They've offered that for years!

 

[jopsuk]

the only difference is one from Kidderminster in the morning and one back there in the evening. .

Those services have a "g" next to all times beyond Birmingham Moor Street. Indicates "Change at Birmingham Moor Street"

 

[thefab444]

18:07 Marylebone - Kidderminster is the through service formed of LHCS.

 

[WatcherZero]

• Larger tables
• Wider seats with more legroom ('than any other service from London to Birmingham' as CR put it)
• Free Wi-Fi
• Reservable seats if purchased with your ticket before you board (if bought from a booking office)
  [*]The services of a dedicated customer host, serving, amongst other, fresh (not microwaved!) bacon rolls

Funnily enough there was a dig at that in Tuesdays episode of The Museum of Everything, saying in the 70's and 80's they microwaved bacon sandwichs, bit before my time, did they?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hlcw5/The_Museum_of_Everything_Series_3_Transport/

 

[jopsuk]

18:07 Marylebone - Kidderminster is the through service formed of LHCS.

Ah yes- but can't see a morning service southbound.

Further reason for not using the sets at the weekend- leaves them available for chartering

 

[swt_passenger]

Ah yes- but can't see a morning service southbound.

I can't find the thread now, but a recent Chiltern track access application mentioned that they would not run a morning peak LHCS service from Kidderminster until they had power door stock available, because there were dwell time issues with the standard Mk3 stock.

 

[Greenback]

Funnily enough there was a dig at that in Tuesdays episode of The Museum of Everything, saying in the 70's and 80's they microwaved bacon sandwichs, bit before my time, did they?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hlcw5/The_Museum_of_Everything_Series_3_Transport/

The first time I encountered a railway microwved bacon roll was in 1988!