Class 701 'Aventra' passenger opinions

Feathers44 · 12 Aug 2026

Moderator note: Split from

Class 701 'Aventra' trains for South Western Railway: progress updates

701001 - In Passenger Service (2 Mar 26) 701002 - In Passenger Service (18 May 26) 701003 - In Passenger Service (27 Jul 26) 701004 - In Passenger Service (10 Jul 26) 701005 - In Passenger Service (27 Aug 25) 701006 - In Passenger Service (6 Mar 26) 701007 - In Passenger Service (24 Feb 26)...

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I'm impressed with the 701’s capacity (especially against a 450!). They do appear to hoover passengers up quite comfortably. Not experienced anything like the crush-loaded 455s I got so used to.

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w11_supremecy · 12 Aug 2026

Feathers44 said:
im impressed with the 701’s capacity (especially against a 450!). They do appear to hoover passengers up quite comfortably. Not experienced anything like the crush-loaded 455s I got so used to.

Agreed, they really do take so many passengers in, it’s really impressive.

TT-ONR-NRN · 12 Aug 2026

w11_supremecy said:
Agreed, they really do take so many passengers in, it’s really impressive.

As someone who grew up in SWT/SWR land, I think they're great trains and that they've revolutionised the Metro service on the Wimbledon side.

Windsor lines had 458s and 707s to enjoy, but the 455s and 456s alone managed the entire Dorking/Guildford/other Guildford/Woking/Chessington/Kingston operation for so long, and to anyone without enthusiast rose-tinted glasses, they were past it, sluggish, way too hot in summer, cold in winter, and devoid of necessary amenities like charging points, toilets, and somewhere to put a coffee

w11_supremecy · 12 Aug 2026

TT-ONR-NRN said:
As someone who grew up in SWT/SWR land, I think they're great trains and that they've revolutionised the Metro service on the Wimbledon side.

Windsor lines had 458s and 707s to enjoy, but the 455s and 456s alone managed the entire Dorking/Guildford/other Guildford/Woking/Chessington/Kingston operation for so long, and to anyone without enthusiast rose-tinted glasses, they were past it, sluggish, way too hot in summer, cold in winter, and devoid of necessary amenities like charging points, toilets, and somewhere to put a coffee

Indeed. They have their issues which should gradually improve in the coming years, stuff like inconsistent A/C, the PIS etc, but overall particularly on the Wimbledon side it’s a vast improvement on the 455s. Performance wise they keep to time better and the drivers releasing the doors help too, so the benefits are more noticeable now there rarely are 450s if any on the Wimbledon side on weekdays now.

Ian Hardy · 13 Aug 2026

TT-ONR-NRN said:
As someone who grew up in SWT/SWR land, I think they're great trains and that they've revolutionised the Metro service on the Wimbledon side.

Windsor lines had 458s and 707s to enjoy, but the 455s and 456s alone managed the entire Dorking/Guildford/other Guildford/Woking/Chessington/Kingston operation for so long, and to anyone without enthusiast rose-tinted glasses, they were past it, sluggish, way too hot in summer, cold in winter, and devoid of necessary amenities like charging points, toilets, and somewhere to put a coffee

The 701s only have somewhere to put your coffee if you get a seat at one of the two tables in each carriage, otherwise they are no better than the 455s in that respect.

Meglos · 13 Aug 2026

Ian Hardy said:
The 701s only have somewhere to put your coffee if you get a seat at one of the two tables in each carriage, otherwise they are no better than the 455s in that respect.

There are six tables in carriages 1,2,4,5,6,7,9 & 10 (2 at each end and 2 in the middle) There are only four tables in carriages 3 & 8 (this is due to the toilets). So 224 seats have access to a table.

Ian Hardy · 14 Aug 2026

Meglos said:
There are six tables in carriages 1,2,4,5,6,7,9 & 10 (2 at each end and 2 in the middle) There are only four tables in carriages 3 & 8 (this is due to the toilets). So 224 seats have access to a table.

556 seats in total so 332 seats don't have a table.

Meglos · 14 Aug 2026

Ian Hardy said:
556 seats in total so 332 seats don't have a table.

A pair of 455's in their final configuration had 488 seats, so there are more seats with table access on a 701/0 than there were total seats on a pair on 455's. Definately an upgrade

Ian Hardy · 14 Aug 2026

Meglos said:
A pair of 455's in their final configuration had 488 seats, so there are more seats with table access on a 701/0 than there were total seats on a pair on 455's. Definately an upgrade

Your maths is incorrect:

224 seats with tables in a 701/0
488 seats in a pair of 455s

TT-ONR-NRN · 14 Aug 2026

Ian Hardy said:
556 seats in total so 332 seats don't have a table.

You’re saying 224 seats WITH a table isn’t an upgrade?

Ian Hardy · 14 Aug 2026

TT-ONR-NRN said:
You’re saying 224 seats WITH a table isn’t an upgrade?

No, it is just that there are 332 that don't have one.

TT-ONR-NRN · 14 Aug 2026

Ian Hardy said:
No, it is just that there 332 that don't have one.

Yes okay. But you know, 450s are the same, etc — though in reverse, they have seatback trays but nothing for bays.

The 701s are objectively an upgrade for the SWR Metro routes on the Wimbledon side overall, is what I’m saying.

OneTrackMinded · 15 Aug 2026

TT-ONR-NRN said:
Yes okay. But you know, 450s are the same, etc — though in reverse, they have seatback trays but nothing for bays.

The 701s are objectively an upgrade for the SWR Metro routes on the Wimbledon side overall, is what I’m saying.

The “logic” enthusiasts try to pull out on here and elsewhere to try to justify how the 455s were better is absolutely ridiculous :lol:

.
Try going up to a passenger and saying “Well uhm the 455s might not have had any tables, but on the 701, 224 have them BUT 322 seats don’t have one, which is clearly worse than no seats having them at all. Also open windows are just as good as air conditioning and nobody needs toilets, so clearly the 455s were better”. Anyone who travelled on 455s daily would think you were mad, yet I’ve had some enthusiast suggest this to me before.

It reminds me a bit of when the HSTs came in and all the enthusiasts were out in swarms banging on about how the Deltics were “real trains” or something like that, when the HST was clearly superior in every way that actually mattered to the passenger focused railway. I’m sure I’ve opened up some swarm by saying that but I digress.

Another funny justification for the open windows being better than the air conditioning is apparently once they were on a train while it rained and then the AC smelt of rain? Wow what a tragedy, definitely worse than being in a boiling sardine can with another billion passengers pressed up against you because the vestibule are too small and the train is only 8 carriages.

TT-ONR-NRN · 15 Aug 2026

OneTrackMinded said:
The “logic” enthusiasts try to pull out on here and elsewhere to try to justify how the 455s were better is absolutely ridiculous lol. Try going up to a passenger and saying “Well uhm the 455s might not have had any tables, but on the 701, 224 have them BUT 322 seats don’t have one, which is clearly worse than no seats having them at all. Also open windows are just as good as air conditioning and nobody needs toilets, so clearly the 455s were better”. Anyone who travelled on 455s daily would think you were mad, yet I’ve had some enthusiast suggest this to me before. It reminds me a bit of when the HSTs came in and all the enthusiasts were out in swarms banging on about how the Deltics were “real trains” or something like that, when the HST was clearly superior in every way that actually mattered to the passenger focused railway. I’m sure I’ve opened up some swarm by saying that but I digress.

I completely agree, and was going to make the same point myself but didn’t know how to word it.

455Commuter · 15 Aug 2026

I may be fond of the 455s from an enthusiast perspective - having been workhorses for the region they served - yet the commuter in me cheered when 701s started to take over their services

Ian Hardy · 15 Aug 2026

OneTrackMinded said:
The “logic” enthusiasts try to pull out on here and elsewhere to try to justify how the 455s were better is absolutely ridiculous lol. Try going up to a passenger and saying “Well uhm the 455s might not have had any tables, but on the 701, 224 have them BUT 322 seats don’t have one, which is clearly worse than no seats having them at all. Also open windows are just as good as air conditioning and nobody needs toilets, so clearly the 455s were better”. Anyone who travelled on 455s daily would think you were mad, yet I’ve had some enthusiast suggest this to me before. It reminds me a bit of when the HSTs came in and all the enthusiasts were out in swarms banging on about how the Deltics were “real trains” or something like that, when the HST was clearly superior in every way that actually mattered to the passenger focused railway. I’m sure I’ve opened up some swarm by saying that but I digress.

Another funny justification for the open windows being better than the air conditioning is apparently once they were on a train while it rained and then the AC smelt of rain? Wow what a tragedy, definitely worse than being in a boiling sardine can with another billion passengers pressed up against you because the vestibule are too small and the train is only 8 carriages.

I was not saying that the 455 were better, but what I was trying get across was that all the seats in a 701 should have a proper table or fold down table, not just the privileged 224 seats that get one. So they are not as good as they could have been.

For my particular regular journey, the 701's are worse as the third carriage has very few facing seats on down services, that carriage is the one that is adjacent to the footbridge at my station.

Feathers44 · 15 Aug 2026

Sorry, but that’s a totally ridiculous argument. The metro routes round here need capacity not tables. My half hour into Waterloo would definitely NOT be enhanced by fewer people sitting down but with tables in front of them with the others taking up the standing space that I’m already using.

Even if you could fit fold-ups without affecting the seat pitch, the additional impact on pick-up/set-down times in the busier metro sections as window people get aisle people to fold everything away to let them out would be negative. For the passengers themselves it would be anxiety inducing as a minimum.

Not standing, sweating in someone else’s armpit in this weather is a literal breath of fresh air. There’s such a thing as a ‘nice to have’ but tables on these routes are absolutely not one of them.

442Haz · 15 Aug 2026

The love of the 455 is tied to nostalgia. Everything from jumper cables to compressors. Nostalgia stemming from the tech of decades ago. Anything with AC and with 10 coaches and a good interior would have been a better type of stock out of Waterloo, the 701 is a good unit and it suits the South Western well. It looks nice too and doesn’t suffer from the abomination of the cab face other Aventras suffer from.

We all miss the 455, just don’t miss being inside them in the summer; or the winter. Spring and autumn was fine.

OneTrackMinded · 15 Aug 2026

Ian Hardy said:
For my particular regular journey, the 701's are worse as the third carriage has very few facing seats on down services, that carriage is the one that is adjacent to the footbridge at my station.

You should take advantage of one of the features of the 701s, walk-through carriages, to move to another carriage.

Trident · 15 Aug 2026

It would be good if they had working toilets. There seem to be more pissed-on seats than there used to be on the 455s (which had no toilets) as people expect toilets to be working on the Aterios and so don't go for a precautionary before boarding. Especially noticable on a late Friday/Saturday night train from Waterloo towards Reading.

43096 · 16 Aug 2026

Feathers44 said:
Sorry, but that’s a totally ridiculous argument. The metro routes round here need capacity not tables. My half hour into Waterloo would definitely NOT be enhanced by fewer people sitting down but with tables in front of them with the others taking up the standing space that I’m already using.

But the 701s are not just metro units, they work what was previously outer-suburban units on the Windsor lines. They should have fold down tables in the airline seats.

mansonlo49 · 16 Aug 2026

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:K01734/2026-08-17/detailed

Another move to Wimbledon tomorrow (if it doesn’t get cancelled)

Recessio · 16 Aug 2026

Anecdotally I'm noticing less trains where the chemical smell from the toilet is so bad that it goes through the entire train and is also very strong outside. Presumably whatever the problem was, the crackerjacks at the depot have managed to get on top of it, good work.

lookapigeon · 16 Aug 2026

Speaking as a passenger who travels on these daily it's a definite improvement over the older red 455s. Especially during the summer, the air conditioning (when it is working properly) makes the experience more bearable to travel in, whereas in the 455s it would be an oven at normal summer temperatures.

The units certainly do work well when given the chance - in the recent disruption I was on an express service that called at Hampton Court only from Waterloo, meaning the doors were shut for a considerable time and the AC had time to do its thing.

Trident said:
It would be good if they had working toilets. There seem to be more pissed-on seats than there used to be on the 455s (which had no toilets) as people expect toilets to be working on the Aterios and so don't go for a precautionary before boarding. Especially noticable on a late Friday/Saturday night train from Waterloo towards Reading.

I have often noticed this, both the questionable stains on the seats and the non-working toilets onboard. Why is this for the latter, is it just the tanks are full, the public rough with the door mechanisms or just the toilets are buggy software wise!?

Big Jumby 74 · 16 Aug 2026

Recessio said:
Anecdotally I'm noticing less trains where the chemical smell from the toilet is so bad that it goes through the entire train and is also very strong outside. Presumably whatever the problem was, the crackerjacks at the depot have managed to get on top of it, good work

Not being party to such matters since handing in my ticket, but (to me) the obvious solution would be/is to empty the CET's as frequently as the diagrams permit, rather than leaving the chemical remains swilling around for, what was it, up to 45 days between emptying! Tain't rocket science.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Aug 2026 ==

lookapigeon said:
The units certainly do work well when given the chance - in the recent disruption I was on an express service that called at Hampton Court only from Waterloo

You weren't (accidentally) on a designated empty service.......only kidding :lol:

We used to get many instances of people being over carried, often in to depots on last trains. But much work to alleviate such things has long since been in place, although one can never say never!

Meglos · 16 Aug 2026

Ian Hardy said:
For my particular regular journey, the 701's are worse as the third carriage has very few facing seats on down services, that carriage is the one that is adjacent to the footbridge at my station.

What do you want the operator to do?

They could removed the toilets from the trains just to benefit your personal journey and sod the other passengers.
They could spend millions to relocate the toilets to somewhere else on the train (they are in the 3rd and 8th carriage because - in normal service - that gives passengers the shortest walk from any part of the train to the closest toilet).
Or they could close your station probably for 3 months while they rebuild it just so the footbridge doesn't line up with carriage 3 anymore.

Alternatively you could just choose a different carriage, and walk an extra 10-20 meters at your station.

Waterlemon · 16 Aug 2026

Big Jumby 74 said:
Not being party to such matters since handing in my ticket, but (to me) the obvious solution would be/is to empty the CET's as frequently as the diagrams permit, rather than leaving the chemical remains swilling around for, what was it, up to 45 days between emptying! Tain't rocket science.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Aug 2026 ==

You weren't (accidentally) on a designated empty service.......only kidding

We used to get many instances of people being over carried, often in to depots on last trains. But much work to alleviate such things has long since been in place, although one can never say never!

The fancy new toilets remove the water and leave behind a sh*t brick that is removed by forklift if my memory is correct.

fairysdad · 16 Aug 2026

Personally, I miss the seats in a 455 - the 701 ones are just not comfortable, especially speaking as a slightly larger gent (read: fat). And it's a ridiculously little thing, but I also miss not being able to hold the door buttons down until they're unlocked to open them, and having to wait for them to be unlocked before pressing the button. (But that is an extraordinarily minor quibble!)

Re the toilets though - I may have posted this before, but I recall overhearing somebody on board who 'went looking for the toilet' but 'could only find the disabled ones not the normal ones'...

FinsburyPark · 16 Aug 2026

As someone who is not a regular in SWT land I do like them.

Yes I have pure nostalgia for the 455s, oh no doubt about it!

in the end it needed it's upgrade and the 701s definitely are nice.

They remind me somewhat of the 700s you see on thameslink, but I somehow like the 701s a bit more.

markle · 17 Aug 2026

43096 said:
But the 701s are not just metro units, they work what was previously outer-suburban units on the Windsor lines. They should have fold down tables in the airline seats.

Fold down tables are magnets for people to leave rubbish on.

Personally I'm quite happy to have no fold down tables and less litter on my train. And there's plenty of seats with tables should you require one.

Personally if ever I find myself in an airline seat and need to put my coffee down in the brief moment between purchasing it and inhaling it, I'll place it on the floor.

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