Since last November, the bespoke seats that are to be fitted to East Midlands Railway’s new Aurora trains have been on display at Nottingham, Derby, and Sheffield stations where customers have had the chance to try them out.
The unique seats are also destined to be displayed at Leicester and East Midlands Parkway stations, so more customers have the opportunity to sample them.
Customers visiting the displays will be able to discover what East Midlands Railway has done to ensure the interiors of the new trains include everything that customers expect from a modern train, including more connectivity, luggage space, and better passenger information.
To produce the new seats, East Midlands Railway worked closely with Derby-based design company DGDESIGN to develop the proven product of a FISA Lean seat and refine it so that it offers better comfort and support. The appearance of the seats has also been improved to match what the company believes customers expect from a seat on Intercity services.
Among the improvements to the seats has been an increase in the size of the cushions, headrests and armrests, and ensuring that high-quality durable materials such as a wool-rich moquette and leather are used throughout.
The seats also include all the practical and technological features that customers now expect, such as power and USB points, generous legroom, coat hooks, sensibly-sized seat-back tables for all airline seats, and enough space under each seat to stow a cabin bag.
The new Aurora trains also include as standard those features that passengers have now come to expect, including air conditioning, free WiFi throughout, plug sockets, and better passenger information screens.
Rachel Turner, Head of New Trains at East Midlands Railway, said: “It has been enjoyable seeing how customers have reacted to design of the new seats.
“We have worked really hard to make them as comfortable as possible and include all the features that customers need for a pleasant or productive journey – including more storage, USB points and generous legroom.
“We look forward to showcasing them to our customers at Leicester and East Midlands Parkway.”
Responses
I hope that they are more comfortable than those in the Hitachi IETs
Let’s hope we have a coherent railway left to operate these trains on.
Sorry to say, but I think RMT bosses don’t want trains running, they’d rather be out on strike.
I wish we had much better seats on the class 360’s that run from Corby to St. Pancras. They’re very hard, thin and uncomfortable., and no tables either. The service is great but the trains are awful.