East Midlands Railway (EMR) has released a 13-minute video showing what the interiors of its new Aurora fleet will look like and highlighting all the features that the company has worked so hard to refine.
Thirty-three of the new five-carriage trains are being built by Hitachi Rail in County Durham and financed by Rock Rail East Midlands.
They are bi-mode, being able to operate on both electric and diesel power, and are due to be in service early next year.
Included in the video are clips from the designers of the interiors, suppliers, and the team at East Midlands Railway running the project to bring the new state-of-the-art trains into service.
Part of the film shows what went in to ensure the seats are as comfortable as possible.
Working in close collaboration with Derby-based design firm DGDESIGN, the proven FISA Lean seat has been redesigned to provide enhanced comfort and support, and its appearance upgraded to match what the company believes customers expect from an Intercity service seat.
The redesign included enlarging the size of cushions, headrests, and armrests, and specifying the use of high-quality durable materials such as wool-rich moquette and leather throughout.
Highlighted in the video are the practical and technological features that customers now expect, such as power and USB points, generous legroom, coat hooks, airline seats that all have well-sized seat-back tables, and sufficient space to stow cabin bags under each seat.
Other features include air conditioning, free Wi-Fi throughout, better mobile phone signal reception, more luggage space, plug sockets, and better passenger information display screens.
Rachel Turner, Head of New Trains at East Midlands Railway, said: “We are really excited for the introduction of the Aurora fleet and hope our customers enjoy watching this film. It offers a great insight into all the work that is taking place to make sure the trains offer customers the features and comfort they expect from a modern train.
“Working with Hitachi, we have made every effort possible to make sure the features that customers value are included and that the environment of the carriages is as comfortable, spacious, and practical as possible.”
Responses
I’m sure they will be lovely to look at as most of EMR trains are overcrowded so you end up standing for your journey. If the trains not delayed or cancelled. Most Stations also don’t have the option of using the intercity trains
EMR – go to Japan and see what a decent passenger experience should be like. Their shinkansen trains have plenty of leg room and reversible seating so groups can sit together.
You could also try aligning the windows with the seats and improve the comfort and cushioning of the seats so older people with less muscle mass can also sit in comfort for longer than 10 minutes without getting a numb bum.
Install more toilets. In fact, install more toilets that are roomy – not like those awful tiny ones on the GWR 800 fleet. Include a hand wash system that actually works reliably.
In fact, just design a train that actually gives the passenger a decent experience rather than one that you or the accountants thinks is merely acceptable or what you think you can get away with.
Look very similar to TPE seats which are ok for journeys of about 15 minutes.
These look utterly, utterly dreadful. EMR appear not to understand customer needs at all. Standard Class appears to be almost entirely in airline configuration, which is useless for families and groups travelling together, and pretty useless for anyone who wants a view out of the window too. It doesn’t matter how comfortable the seats are if you feel hemmed in by grey plastic on three sides, can’t see out of the window and can’t chat to your friends and family face-to-face.
Cant imagine that these will be any better then the MK3 carriages that were ran with the HST’s please provide something that could rival HSTs then say you have a decent new intercity train
Hard to imagine that they’ll be as comfortable as the old HSTs – the GW trains certainly aren’t.