EMT MkIII refurbishment

[Edvid]

The following was copied from Rail Management (issue 200, page 7):

East Midlands HSTs to get new look and power points in £9m fleet refurbishment

East Midlands Trains is to invest £9m in a refurbishment of its 11 High Speed Trains.
The work will include the standard EMT corporate livery and refurbished interiors, as well as at-seat power points in First Class.
94 vehicles will be dealt with in a rolling programme at Neville Hill depot in Leeds, and the work will take 13 months to complete.
EMT Engineering Director Tim Sayer said: ‘This is a really exciting project for East Midlands Trains and one we know is a priority for our passengers. Despite being one of the oldest fleets on the network, the High Speed Train is still a firm favourite with our passengers, and I’m sure the improvements we are making will be greatly welcomed.
‘People can see from our Class 158 refurbishment project the transformation
that these improvements can bring to the on-train environment. We have had positive feedback from passengers, and I’m sure they will love this makeover.’
The refurbishment is likely to be the last these particular sets will receive from a franchised operator. They are scheduled to be replaced by the new Intercity Express from around 2013 onwards.

[Pictures included]

 

[richa2002]

Should look good. Well done EMT for keeping the IC70s!

 

[Daimler]

Excellent! They're keeping the same seats.

They'll look smart - the SWT/EMT interior colour scheme has always been nice.

 

[222001]

It looks good. Shame it is not as nice as the XC ones are though.

 

[devon_metro]

No powerpoints in Standard class, a poor show. Miles behind all other HST operators.

 

[43034 The Black Horse]

No powerpoints in Standard class, a poor show. Miles behind all other HST operators.

Miles in front you mean(Minus GC)! I can live without power plugs easily, IC70s are the way forward!

 

[asylumxl]

FGW has a plug for every 2 seats...

EMT has plenty people whom will need to be using their phone or laptop on commute to London. Probably a ploy to get people to go 1st class.

 

[43034 The Black Horse]

FGW has a plug for every 2 seats...

EMT has plenty people whom will need to be using their phone or laptop on commute to London. Probably a ploy to get people to go 1st class.

Yes but FGW have rancid seats.

Right, EMTs longest HST route is about 3hr 30m-ish. There is no way your phone will run out in 3hr 30min unless you're on the phone for 3h 30m solid. Yes it could have low battery but you could've charged it before you left and if you arrived from another TOC the chances are probably that had plugs. So plugs are not a necessity.

I'm sure most pax will moan more about un-comfy seats than lack of plugs

 

[asylumxl]

Right, EMTs longest HST route is about 3hr 30m-ish.

Yes but many laptops would easilly run out in that time. I'm a regular user of the EMT services to St Pancras, and I can tell you many people use laptops to do work on them.

 

[43034 The Black Horse]

Yes but many laptops would easilly run out in that time. I'm a regular user of the EMT services to St Pancras, and I can tell you many people use laptops to do work on them.

I do agree that will/could be a problem but it wouldn't be the end of the world, they've coped so far and will continue coping, they'll have too!

But I still stand by the fact comfier seats are far better than having power plugs

 

[asylumxl]

I do agree that will/could be a problem but it wouldn't be the end of the world, they've coped so far and will continue coping, they'll have too!

But I still stand by the fact comfier seats are far better than having power plugs

Meridians have powerplugs, though not for every set of seats. They don't have to cope, seeing as 222 makes up alot of the diagrams currently.

I think the customers will find it a backward move not to include plugs in the HST refurb.

 

[devon_metro]

Yes but FGW have rancid seats.

I find them perfectly comfortable.

IC70 seats have those awful armrests which make it difficult getting in and out of seats, also no headrest.

The fact that passengers prefer the Meridians sort of says it all. I think the current MML interior is very tired and modern passengers generally like clean looking new trains (hence why many passengers comment on how nice the "new" trains FGW run are (HSTs))

 

[richa2002]

Unfortunately I think you are in the minority in finding FGW Mk3s an improvement.

 

[devon_metro]

Unfortunately I think you are in the minority in finding FGW Mk3s an improvement.

Perhaps among enthusiasts, however the passengers and commuterswho no longer have to stand, have a headrest, can move the armrests, have those excellent leather seats etc

 

[richa2002]

Well, my mum isn't an enthusiast but she hates those seats, does she count?

 

[Pumbaa]

Meridians have powerplugs, though not for every set of seats. They don't have to cope, seeing as 222 makes up alot of the diagrams currently.

Yes they do - one plug per two seats, 2 plugs per table in both FC and SC.

 

[devon_metro]

Well, my mum isn't an enthusiast but she hates those seats, does she count?

Has she been on fgw?

 

[richa2002]

Has she been on fgw?

Unfortunately yes .

 

[WillPS]

I can see why EMT are only doing a relatively light refresh, but still I think keeping IC70 seats is a mistake. No matter what most think of them, they don't provide consistent comfort for all any more. Perhaps they'll be better once they're repadded.

 

[David Pemberton]

As a daily commuter on EMT (and sitting on the 1815 STP-NOT in a MkIII as I type), I'm really really pleased that they are keeping the original low back seats. I find the high-backs per FGW or the EMT 158 refurb really claustrophobic. All the sight lines get curtailed.

I am also told that single females feel unsafe as they feel trapped and can't rely on being overlooked by fellow passengers.

The EMT franchise agreement covers this in Appendix 11, Committed Obligations, Paras 12.2 and 12.14. 12.2 amounts to a clean-up and light re-fit (carpets & covers type stuff), 12.14 specifies the installation of WiFi, but no mention is made of that in the Railway Management article. The dates and costs of the refurb have been redacted.

I bet that the power-points in standard have been omitted as a cost-saving measure, TOCs are looking for non-franchise committment cuts all over - I've lost count of the number of times the buffet isn't open these days.

 

[Techniquest]

I find them perfectly comfortable.

IC70 seats have those awful armrests which make it difficult getting in and out of seats, also no headrest.

The fact that passengers prefer the Meridians sort of says it all. I think the current MML interior is very tired and modern passengers generally like clean looking new trains (hence why many passengers comment on how nice the "new" trains FGW run are (HSTs))

I too find the seats on FGW's refurb sets just fine, although I still prefer IC70 seats.

Not worried myself about the headrest, it's hardly comfortable for leaning your head against. But the armrests being movable is quite handy, quite used to them now to the extent a trip on a EMT HST is one down Memory Lane!

 

[poshbakerloo]

The HSTs and MK3s have been so popular! I think the design of them was almost before their time as the refurbished units look almost brand new!

 

[222001]

The HSTs and MK3s have been so popular! I think the design of them was almost before their time as the refurbished units look almost brand new!

The XC ones look modern. They only look modern because they have been refurbished though. The unrefurbished EMT ones look very dated now and need cleaning up a bit for their last 4 years of service (EMT seem to think they will replaced in 2013?). If they had powered doors they would look more modern - it is a shame they didn't fit them powered doors at a later date really.

If EMT do what they are doing with the 158s (very nice refubishment) then they should be great.

 

[poshbakerloo]

If EMT do what they are doing with the 158s (very nice refubishment) then they should be great.

I was always impressed when I saw the refurbished 158s...Sometimes they would run a refurbished unit Between Sheffield and Stockport from Lincoln I think, It looked great! Even better than the 185s that TransPennine uses...

 

[MCR247]

Since when do EMT run from Lincoln -Stockport? :?

 

[F Great Eastern]

If you want to see an awful MK3 refurbishment look at the East Anglia example, it's amazing how many people who don't use the service reguarly ask when the coaches will be done as it hasn't been done yet when infact they have! No power sockets, nothing of note.

I actually like the FGW refurbs. Enthuisasts will moan that they are not so nice, but at the end of the day I'd much rather have a seat than not!

 

[richa2002]

You say that it's only enthusiasts that moan but enthusiasts don't really have a reason to moan except if it's uncomfortable and that's what matters to a lot of people. It just looks like it's only enthusiasts moaning because they're the only people's views we really hear. Understandably we rarely hear from 'normals' on the FGW network.

 

[F Great Eastern]

But it's pretty well known that having a seat is much important to your average commuter who works an 8 hour day and a long journey to or from work than an Enthusiast?

 

[The Snap]

East Midlands Trains is to invest £9m in a refurbishment of its 11 High Speed Trains.

That's just less than £91,000 per coach! That's a lot of money to refurbish just one coach! Well, it seems like it to me anyway...

 

[devon_metro]

You say that it's only enthusiasts that moan but enthusiasts don't really have a reason to moan except if it's uncomfortable and that's what matters to a lot of people. It just looks like it's only enthusiasts moaning because they're the only people's views we really hear. Understandably we rarely hear from 'normals' on the FGW network.

Apart from the fact that they aren't uncomfortable perhaps?

Everybody has different opinions. Why can you seemingly not accept that?

I find Mallard seats uncomfortable, and IC70 comfortable only for a short journey. Most modern seats provide proper back lumber so I know that I won't be getting a bad back after my journey. It just so happens that on EMT you are used to not having your back correctly supported, so when you sit in a seat other than IC70 it is bound to be uncomfortable.