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I'd be staggered if Derby doesn't get this. Especially now you "can't blame the private operators" any more, and with the volume of carriages being talked about. Siemens could do it in their European factories, but that won't happen this time.

I'm not sure that's a fair comparison, as at City Thameslink (and London Bridge, Blackfriars, Farrington, STP) people can spread themselves out down the platform BEFORE boarding. And once they board, they'll generally stay close to that door/carriage. People don't get on the 3rd carriage, then...

12 car services would be even better, with selective door opening for the few stations not expensively extended 15? years ago.

The current arrangement works fine, it's akin to InterCity type services from Euston picking up passengers at Watford Junction, but not allowing Euston to Watford journeys. If you really want to pay the premium, fine, but it's not a journey that should be encouraged, as it would slow down HS1...

On another thread, as a wild idea I suggested taking a trailer car out of the 707s, to lengthen a few of the 8 car 700s, seeing that the Southeastern network works better with 4 car units, rather than 5 cars one...

I would assume that on long distance services, the sleeping accommodation is the core of the business, rather than seated passengers. The observation car is upstairs too.

Won't that be a significant drop in capacity?

It has been taken to ridiculous lengths though. An extra inch added to the gap from the sidewall, and 2 inches between the seats would "cost" just 6 inches from the aisle, leaving it still wide enough for loads of standees, but make the seating more human sized. As it is, the inhabitants of the...

Not now. I regularly change trains between the new Bank entrance and Cannon Street NR on Saturdays, and there are loads of people milling around, sightseeing and drinking in the City. Even in the winter, it's no longer deserted.

BR didn't seem to have a standardised moquette. Just within commuter trains I remember the vertical stripes of the EPBs (415 etc), but with the newer EMUs the 455 had a jazzy green moquette. the 313s an orangey brown one.

I don't mind OT. Trent Bridge is a fine ground, but a bit small for the biggest series. Giving The Rose Bowl an Ashes Test is the problem, a soulless, hard to access (by public transport) ground, distorting the geographical balance. London correctly has 2 Ashes Tests, both because of the...

Last year (so before the new rules) my early morning train from Amsterdam left late as the security and passport control opened ridiculously late, and there were masses of people to process. I've entered and left the EU by Eurostar and plane this year, and have definitely had the fingerprint...

The seats on the "true" IETs (i.e. not including the Avanti and EMR ones) are dreadful. A "bare minimum" seat in terms of comfort to start with, but one which has also worn really badly. That the bar could be felt on the GWR and LNER units within such a short period of time suggests they aren't...

I assume Grand Central NY was designed that way from the start, with an incredible surface building, and an impressive network of underground platforms underneath. It's true though, that the platform experience can be depressing. Leaving the lovely Chicago Union building for the dark and...

The 95s are leased from Alstom though until 2031 I think. I assume all work would be done by Alstom. And none of the stock, other than the 72s and 92s need the major interior changes for RVAR that those trains are getting.

The chances are, that once the 1992 work eventually finishes, there will be no future work and the facility will be mothballed.

If we're talking wild ideaw, how about taking a trailer out of the 707s to reduce them to 4 cars, and adding those 30 trailers to a few of the 8 car 700/0s to create a sub fleet of 10 car 700s or a few more 12 car 700/1s? The 4 car 707s would work better on what are predominantly 8 and 12 car...

There could have been a complete financial meltdown without the government intervening. And, like the money "wasted" during COVID, it's not as if the government had months to think about things, and weigh up the pros and cons.

Stokes lurking in the background...

I'm pretty sure none of the 1990s/2000s refurbishments were done in house, so baffling why TfL thought this was a good idea. Especially as there's plenty of capacity elsewhere in the country to do this type of work. Not least in Derby, where the trains were made in the first place.