Avanti West Coast Super Voyager! Britain's DIESEL TILTING train!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- Today, we take a ride up the West Coast Main Line with Avanti West Coast aboard one of their Super Voyagers!
Menus: www.avantiwest...
Date of Travel: October 2020
Class of Travel: Standard Class (2nd Class)
Rolling Stock: Class 221 Super Voyager
Type of Service: Express Passenger
Operator: Avanti West Coast
Train Number: 9G10
Origin: London Euston, United Kingdom (England)
Destination: Birmingham New Street, United Kingdom (England)
Cost of Ticket: £14.50 ($19.35, €17.10; including railcard discount of ⅓)
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Coach D on 221's are all table arrangement. These were created as an overflow for 1st Class on busy services. The seats are slightly nicer, and feature extendable tables :)
Oh I never knew dat
What does overflow first class mean?
@@mikeydowney3741 When 1st Class/Coach E was full, passengers would be sat in Coach D and served there.
Are you a man
@@vincitveritas3872 what?
The Virgin Voyagers look so much more up together than the Cross Country ones
Virgin is no more loo
The tube at Euston Station. Whatever you do, don't confuse it with the Eustachian tube (which connects the throat and the middle ear.)
I hear yer...
Good to see the tilt system working well. The system on the Super Voyagers was developed from that built for the APT-P in the 1970-80s so it's nice to see it's still working after all this time.
4:27 The carriage that you were in, has more tables as its used as a overflow for 1st when its busy. You can tell by the fact that all of the seats are at tables (of course), and the fact that back in VT days there was no red seats, just blue seats. For anyone wanting this carriage it is is Carriage D or K on a 10 car. Perfect for those travelling in groups.
I must have spent many hours on that crowded Euston concourse anxiously scanning the departure board for the announcement of our platform then joining the rush to get a good seat! Remember when that departure board was a flip-over mechanical one? I'll never forget the sequential whirring clatter as each board updated in turn, right to left I think. That was a real part of the 'Euston experience' and one I miss!
My experience of WCML Voyagers is generally good, but the X-Country ones are always overcrowded with insufficient luggage space.
I think any X-Country train is overcrowded. They always over book their trains so it's a scrum to try and get a seat.
@@neilbowers6956 It isn't overbooking per say, it's that people use their trains for local and long distance so demand on each train varies very significantly throughout its journey. Most other companies it's one or the other
Do you remember the old destination board at Glasgow Central with the blokes behind rushing about putting the pre printed train journeys in place? Amazing sight!
I found the voyagers quite comfortable and surprisingly quiet for a diesel. Also preferred Virgin to Avanti but in fairness Avanti aren't bad
I can't Thank You enough for the voice over. My hope is to one day to travel the UK and see the sites. Until then you are my eyes and ears of Europe.
The avanti super voyagers are so much better than the Xc Super voyagers!
Very interesting. I traveled this route to Birmingham a lot as a college kid in the mid 80's...under British Rail. Haven't seen it since. It's neat to see the familiar station names.
I was going to comment that the train, which was so empty that it practically looked like your own private train, looked like 2020. Then I noticed that it actually was 2020. Nice smooth ride. I appreciated your identifying the statues outside Euston Station.
Appreciate the tidbits and factoids of the cities and towns through which you travel.
Went to Aberystwyth uni, and used to travel from Watford Junction - Birmingham New Street - Aberystwyth on Virgin trains. Thanks for the video, I don't think I've ever train that empty before.
Interesting review, I had no idea the tilting train system had been reintroduced after the original concept was abandoned. Presumably they have got around the slightly annoying issue of a possible collision when an upright train meets when coming out of a bend. I may have mentioned this before but have you experienced the delights of the GWR service out of Paddington to Bristol? If not,arm yourself with a soft cushion - you'll need it sitting on the most uncomfortable seats in public transport history.
There is also the Pendelino of course.
The carriages aren't square, they narrow towards the top to mitigate collision
I don't think any operated tilting train design has been normal shaped to have that problem. Same problem with tunnels and lineside objects.
Diesel Power... wow...!! That's basically a Ghost train man...Awesome work.
As there never seems to be investment cash to electrify enough of our railway, these Class 22x and the Class 180s were a necessity for schedules to be (almost) as good as with electric trains. It's a repeat of what happened in the 1970s really: BR wasn't going to get authority to electrify the East Coast and Great Western lines anytime soon, so they needed a diesel that could try and keep up with the West Coast electrics. Answer was the HST.
Perfect! This video was uploaded on my birthday YAY!
7:20 wow that’s a really long train! Never knew these trains had blinds. You learn something new every day.
Great video and a fair/true synopsis of the Voyager 😎👍🏽 However, I’d love to rewind the clock back to the mid 1980’s and take a class 87 for that journey in a MKIIIa coach...now that was the way to travel 😃🇬🇧👀👍🏽🎉
Can't believe a 21-year-old train can offer such a modern interior atmosphere.
People also say that about the 48yo HSTs still running from Penzance to Cardiff! Avanti 'refreshed' their Voyager interiors in 2020/2021.
Nice review, and I like how you've gone back to manual subtitles rather than the auto-translated ones, as the auto-translated ones do get it wrong sometimes! I do love the voice overs but sometimes also watch with subtitles as well.
As far as the train goes, it's probably as good as you'll ever get with a 22x. I *really* do not like 22x trains as they are often too short for the services they run on, but this one was thankfully doubled up - something other operators need to take note of! The other problem with ALL 22x trains, including 221 Super Voyagers, is that the train windows have some sort of metal screening inside them - they're not your standard carriage window. As such, it blocks out pretty much everything, including FM, DAB, GPS, 3G, 4G, and Wi-fi signals (from outside of the train).
As such, everyone tends to use the built in Wi-Fi, and with even a semi-busy train, the wi-fi gets very overloaded very quickly.
I'd personally either replace all of the glass in these trains, or send them one-way to Sims Metals Newport.
Nice video, informative and well presented. Slightly bonkers that a diesel unit is used on a route entirely covered by OHLE. Yes, I know that the units go off electrified lines but something like this is crazy.
Like they used to do as well with HSTs before the 800s arrived on the ECML.
Another great report, thank you. I've always had a soft spot for the 'Voyagers'. Nice units.
YES this is exactly what I was hoping for. Thanks you. Keep doing UK trains cos I can relate to them lol. Thank you 👍
This is barely a UK train. It eventually runs in the British Empire, but was made in Belgium by a French company and run by Avanti, a company of Trenitalia. Nothing British to see here
Yeah but it’s used in the UK so…..
@@budapestkeletistationvoices I’m late but: Most of the company is actually owned by First so really it’s more British
@@budapestkeletistationvoices I think he meant trains that operate on the uk
@@budapestkeletistationvoices and FirstGroup owns 70% of avanti
Wow I’m actually on time. These trains are really interesting, they have their own unique charm. About Euston’s hall: I actually think it’s quite nice and grand. Most Avanti Class 221s are still in the Virgin livery
Yes, this is also the earliest I've been on one Dylan's videos
Every avanti 221 is in the avanti livery lmao
@@crescountry234 hardly, the 'livery' on the awc 221s is just pathetic vinyls put on over the top of the old virgin vinyls in a half arsed way, and they are deteriorating rapidly. most awc voyagers have a red roof again as the crap vinyls have already come off, exposing the old virgin livery below
I enjoyed your sprint from London to Birmingham. I do feel that 3 trains an hour is a bit much. Your train seemed quite empty. We'd be lucky to see 3 a day in the states. The price was definitely worth it. The seats seemed adequate for the distance. Such a pleasant way to travel. Enjoy the journey.
From experience in pre pandemic times this train and the other 2 per hour are very full and sometimes standing room only. Travel restrictions at the time this was recorded ment very few travelled but the service pattern was to be adhered to
Never knew these trains had blinds. You learn something new every day.
Thnak you very much for this journey. In 1985 I went to Coventry for the day from London,. As far as I remember I think I must have taken a train like the one today, but wiht differente accomodations obviuously.
Yeah, I don’t miss commuting through Euston everyday. Not even one bit.
Best place to sit is in the Buffet coach as they have more tables. I like the large windows of the Voyagers way better than the Pendeolino.
Euston station, Avanti West Coast is the operator that stops in Coventry, where some Romanian friends live.
You may be in a minority in liking Euston's concourse, but I am also in that minority. I think it is fantastic!
The whole station is very much peak 1960s BR when parcels and newspaper traffic was still a big part of the railway; there used to be an upper area with three dedicated platforms for the former, now offices for HS2 and still called the Parcel Deck.
Me too. The lack of seating in the terminal has been criticised ever since it opened. BR said back then that it was to "discourage vagrants"; understandable with a new warm and draught-free alternative to nearby St Pancras and Kings Cross!
It seemed very quick, and convenient train service.
OCTOBER 2020?! Holy ffffff!
You passed through Bletchley, where the existing line to Bedford diverges and will be part of the restored East-West railway. Thought you might have mentioned that.
Thanks for the ride ... seems to be quiet at top speed
I clicked on this video by mistake and found it compulsive viewing! I have not been to Euston since I was a boy so it was interesting to see what it is like in the present day. Thanks for uploading.
Great video Dylan. I do like the 221's. Pre Pandemic - The 10:23 was the London to Shrewsbury train which split at New Street :-)
LOVE your video! Took the Avanti Services on the 5/7/22 from Euston nonstop to Crewe! What a fast ride!!!! I actually didn’t feel the tilting mechanism - perhaps there was one! As I said I loved the speed - 125 miles/hr - hell of a speed! I have lived in southafrica for 40 years
where the trains are running on small gage - very slow n rocking and shaking!
Thanks for the presentation of your excellent video again! God bless!
Robert Stephenson was the son of George who was actually known as the father of the railway’s and deemed the inventor of the steam locomotive 🚂
Yes, he made one of the slowest-moving Rockets ever :)
@@TorIverWilhelmsen locomotion No1 came before the rocket
Happy memories of travelling to Wembley for 1966 World Cup games. (that gives away my age!) from Cov when the line was first electrified, Took 51 minutes with the old 86/87 locos. But like your other subscribers, why run diesel trains under the wires. And Coventry's new station building is still waiting to be opened. Enjoyable vlog as always. PUSB.
Hard to believe that these units are 20 years old. They still look the part. Nice ride, thanks Dylan.
Maybe 20 years ago, people didn't use their phones, use Wi-Fi, use 3G/4G, or try to use a portable radio (FM/DAB) for media usage.
These things are only useful if all panes of glass are removed and replaced with non-metallic glass.
Otherwise I'd have no hesitation in sending the entire 22x fleet one way to Newport Sims Metals.
@@TheSpotify95 - Ok, ok, you've made your point about the metals in the window, and how it affects 4G. you've mentioned it 6 times now in these comments! We hear you!
@@TheSpotify95 You would think it would have caused a problem with radios and phones then if it still does today.
I think Robert Stephenson was a bit more than "A 19th century locomotive engineer"
I love it when you upload trip reports
Piękny wagon. Miłego dnia 🙂🖐🖐
I love looking up at the concourse ceiling at Euston. Just some of the stations other aspects that are lacking.
Yep. As much as Euston may be ugly, it is functional - the range of shops and food is great.
You’ve really upped your game with the voice overs, loved your videos before but they’ve really improved with the voiceovers !
Another great review, Dylan. Avanti have done a great job with the interior of these trains. Haven't experienced a 221 myself, although saw and photographed one at Haymarket while waiting for my Cross Country 220 to York. It's a pity that Virgin didn't standardise on the 5 car 221 design when they built these units as there were many complaints about lack of seating on 220 units when they were introduced and the inability to move between sets when two sets are coupled (as with your 221 service).
Similar issues occurred downunder with the V/Line V/locity units when first introduced and there are ongoing issues now with the make up of the standard gauge units constructed for the Melbourne-Albury service (replacing 4/5 car loco-hauled sets). These comprise 2 x 3 car sets with the middle car on each containing a buffet module which has yet to be commissioned. The big issue is the inability to move between sets if seats are fully taken in one or other. Insufficient luggage and bicycle space is another major issue with V/locity units on long distance services. But, as always, try telling the planning and finance boffins (who don't use the trains) this when the "improved" service is announced.
Now I must check out the PKP Intercity clip as I'm a few days behind with my viewing. Thanks again for an interesting journey experience.
10:51 That wi-fi speed is pretty fast for a Voyager/Super Voyager etc! It probably helped that the train was so quiet, and therefore no one was using the wi-fi.
Class 22X trains (220 Voyager/221 Super Voyager/222 Meridian) all have metallic windows, i.e. the train windows have metallized foil of some sort inside them. This heavily degrades the available 3G/4G signals that enter the carriage (and yes, FM/DAB/GPS is also adversely affected) and as such almost all customers use the Wi-Fi, significantly bringing the speeds down.
Why do they build them like this? Cheaper?
@@kameronbird2979 i have no idea to be honest. I haven't been on that many trains, but I do know that the received signal in a 22x is worse than in a 180, worse than in a 360, and worse than in a 43/HST (when the latter still operated). There have also been some windows whereby either the foil has broken down, or the window has been replaced - these are OK too.
@@kameronbird2979 The metal coating reflects infrared rays, reducing heat loss through the windows which reduces energy use by heating and air conditioning. Similar technology is used in homes and offices, called "low-E glass".
Avanti's Vomiters are a bit more refined and less vile than CC's, although there's no hiding from 18L of throbbing noisy diesel under the floors. Predecessor Virgin at least bothered with an interior 'refresh' a few years ago, which CC haven't done on theirs.
Avanti's 'crisis of their own making' timetable during summer/ autumn 2022 slashed the WCML service, yet despite using fewer of their Pendolino fleet they continued diagramming these wretched diesels 'under the wires' including even some Euston-Brum-Edinburgh runs. Insane.
Got my tea, need a nice video to chill to after a long day. Brill one, Dylan!
like the public art works outside Euston
Your video quality keeps getting better and better! Love it!
(Also I would love to see you ride one of EMR's sprinters)
Another great video! Glad you’re now uploading two videos weekly now!
Thank God they got rid of that VERY annoying toilet announcement that Virgin used to have!
Yes you should review avantis first class; these trains are fantastic and the acceleration is awesome!
Great upload,what about a first class class trip next? It must be time to check out the refurbished Pendalinos too.Thanks once again great videos.
Love the statue's, the cat, I remember the story, about that,nicr that you gave a brief history there walking into Euston, Looked so quiet, and on the train, looked like the M1 past Luton running almost parallel to the train just before reaching Milton Keynes, dies look like a nice smooth run for a good price tbf, Didn't even know this route, but then I'm in Leicester, only go to Coventry to see relatives very occasionally, nice Cathedral, beautiful city before the blitz, shame the way it was rebuilt, but not surprising given the situation. However there is still so e great architecture I took photos of 2 years ago, and extensive building work going on around the old Cathedral. Still much prefer Leicester though in comparison. Great video as always, and informative on budget travel from London to the Midlands, will be looking out for some of these offers you mentioned, have to say in the last 3 years I have never had a train being delayed here in the UK, guess I must be lucky. 🐈
Jan Martin: No not the M1, just a dual carriageway between Leighton Buzzard and MK.
Great video! I love the Euston concourse too, brutalist for the win!! Also some Voyagers still retain their red roofs but all other Virgin branding has been stripped
Thanks
I like the new interior much more - Virgin's was rather loud, wasn't it.
thank you
Hi Dylan. Funny you have the same idea about looking for a seat. Indeed the carriages the furthest away from where the people come on the platform are the less busiest! Nice ride. 183 km is almost as far from where I live (south east of the Netherlands) to Amsterdam, however it will take me more thant 2 hours to get to our capital. But then there is no high speed line on that route. Max speed 130 kmh!
I did this trip when virgin still ran the route. Found train very comfortable. Bit unearving was the talking toilet.
Birmingham New Street seems to get a bad rap with many saying how awful it is. But always looks OK and pretty snazzy to me, even though I haven't been myself yet! Thoughts?
As far as functionality goes, it's a pretty annoying station to change at. Some of the stairs/escalators go up to paths that only let you go to certain platforms, and the signage telling you which isn't incredible. If you're terminating it's fine though. Lots of shops and food too, with easy access to the Bull Ring.
I think Cross Country should get the Avanti 221s when they get the Hitachi hybrids. A lot of horrible 1960s buildings and estates around Camden & Euston, many will probably be cleared for HS2...
Nice to see this trip from another perspective. I travel between Coventry and Birmingham a lot, I will need to try Avanti's Voyagers next time
I still don't know any reason why to travel to Birmingham. It's the second city in the British Empire, but still not a Barcelona, Milan or Lyon.
Only Germany is similar where cities outside the capital don't have much to offer
slightly nicer than a LNWR 350,
There are a few copies of the statue of Matthew Flinders that you featured at the start of this video. Two I know of are in South Australia. One at Port Lincoln, a famous tuna fishing town. And the other at Flinders station in southern Adelaide. This is the newest station on the Adelaide Metro network and serves Flinders Medical Centre, Flinders Private Hospital and Flinders University! He is a pretty popular guy here. There are at least a couple of other older statues of Matthew Flinders in Adelaide, notably one in Victoria Square.
Short but lovely journey and yes I would like to see first class covered in another video
And the Avanti West Coast Class 221 Super Voyagers are to replaced by the Class 805 Bi-Mode AT300 IETs and probably cascaded to CrossCountry or to be cascaded to East-West Rail. Or to be moved for storage. And I have been to London Euston station couple times.
I'm hoping east-west qualifies for intercity, be a shame to see them retired although some for XC to double head would be a godsend,
Woohoo, Class 805s will hopefully get rid of these 221 "Super Voyagers"! They're not super in any way, they just have super annoying metallic glass (that blocks all RF signals).
And yes, I've tested field strengths in 22x vs other classes of trains. The 22x always give a lower strength in the same area.
@@TheSpotify95 just as long as the seating is of a good standard last time I used one of LNERs I thought I needed a chiropractor after. guessing your as equally distainfull for the new bombardier stock too or just the voyager family 🤣
I was watching your videos when you weren’t talking and now you’ve improved so much?! Keep up the great work 😊
I'd love to see te first class on these trains and see how it compares to cross-country's rather measly offering!
Really cool vlog again and personally when I've travelled on the voyagers I've not noticed the tilt but very cool trains
You can get a better rate to Birmingham if you visit the Shelby And Company Travel Offices. East End, London. Ask for Alfie. (sorry, I just couldn't resist). Seems, a good train!
Awesome review as always Dylan 😀
3 Avanti tph between London and Birmingham. 2 London Northwestern tph between London and Birmingham
ive been on their pendos and they were great
Certainly looks like the best way to travel between London and Birmingham.
Just one thing got me confused a little. Are diesel tilting trains really something rare? I can think of two here in Germany. ICE TD (though I'm not really sure if they're currently in use) and DB class 612, a regional train very much in use all over Germany. I have somewhat nostalgic feelings towards the ICE TDs cause they used to run on a non electrified line near my grandparents' house. Since they retired from that line Chemnitz a city of about 250.000 is without any long distance train connection which imo is outrageous but for some reason nobody outside of Chemnitz seems to mind. That's the downside of that development we had in Germany where "long distance" has pretty much become synonymous with "electric powered". Chemnitz itself even is electrified but that ends in the middle of nowhere so it's almost impossible to find a sensible destination for any long distance electric line in that area. It's a mess currently...
Anyway maybe you can check out those trains at some point. 😊
I believe that they're rare in the UK and are only used on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) as far as i know since it is a long express line with many curves.
The tilting BR APT was designed for this line to run at up to 155 mph (249.45 km/h) if I remember correctly but unfortunately it had problems and the project was abandoned once all problems had been overcome mainly due to the Conservative government refusing any further investment. It was an all new train which featured amongst other things Aluminium alloy bogies. At the time it was the most powerful UK passenger train having 8000 hp available from it's two 4000 hp power cars situated in the middle of the train. The motors were provided by ASEA.
Hi again. You can also get a direct train to Birmingham at London Marylebone station btw. It's a slower route but probably less expensive.
In Britain only the West Coast Main Line is passed for tilting trains, and only Avanti's two train types, Class 221 diesels and Class 370 electrics can tilt. Because of the WCML's curvature, tilting trains were the only hope of bringing journey times down to match the East Coast and Great Western routes out of London.
Great trip
I'd like to see the journey from BRISTOL TEMPLE MEADS to TIVERTON. It's in a novel I like to reread each Christmas. As a Canadian, I don't expect I'll ever be able to experience it in person. Tiverton looks like a picturesque town.
That's an oddly specific request- what book is it? I used to use that section of line loads when I was at university. Tiverton Parkway Station is bleak, modern, and right next to the M5 motorway (and also several miles from the town), but Bristol Temple Meads is a gorgeous station
@@marysweet8858 A Family for Christmas by Jay Northcote. We have a Tiverton in Ontario but it's a wee bit smaller although a pretty little town too on the water.
The voyagers are good trains and the refurbishment by Avanti has certainly made them look a lot more modern. Just not long enough for a lot of the routes they operate on, particularly when operating as single units on CrossCountry.
I really hope that when Avanti and EMR replace their Voyagers and Meridians they get a good refurbishment and head over to CrossCountry
Yeah, Cross Country can have all of the 22x stock, so they can be run as longer units and thus not overcrowd.
Or CrossCountry could order in new bi-modes as well, and the entire 22x fleet could go to Newport Sims Metals. :)
Amazing rail service
Thanks for the ngreat video - really enjoyable. It was lovely to see the statue of Matthew Flinders and Trim. There is also a statue of Trim in Sydney! I read biography of Trim - he was a very courageous cat. I also got the biography of Felix the station cat of Huddersfield!
Worth noting that when they were doing the preparatory excavations for HS2, just to the left of Euston station as seen in this video (behind the hoarding), they found Flinders’ grave (as well as thousands of less notable ones) and they have reburied him.
I haven't been to Milton Keynes in ages (12 years). It used to be cool to hanging out there but I'm not sure about these days. Cheers from Ashford.
Wonderful l love the avant train
Great relaxing, informative video. Thank you.
Wow, a video from 2020 in 2022? That is very late! Really good nonetheless though
I am glad that you did not have to stand by the toilets on the spamcan. When they first came out I was forever plugging in air fresheners and leaving them there so that these toilet areas smelt better. These poop trains are still having these issues which 20 years since they arrived on the network they still welcome you with the same s**t smell.
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the voyagers get alot of bad rap but they are decent trains alltold, the refurb of the WCML units it a good step, I hope that XC can do that for theirs,
I doubt it. XC's parent Arriva is pretty well skint.
@@ChangesOneTim true they decided to abandon the WCML Blackpool plans.
What may be interesting is that Avanti will replace these trains with stupid AT300. (Class 805 and 807). The difference is that the 805 is bi-mode while the 807 is not. They will come out later this year, so when they do be introduced I would like to see a review. And yes, all Voyagers have been repainted into Avanti livery
Oh good, I can't wait for the 805s and 807s to come out and replace these things! :)
As the Class 800 family doesn't tilt (and was never designed to), Avanti is hoping that their superior acceleration compared to 221s and 370s partly makes up for being restricted to 110mph top speed! Recently I read that Avanti is trying to persuade Network Rail to allow 125mph for non-tilt in some places. Good luck with that....
Nice train ride review. I can't help wondering though why Avanti uses Diesel trains on a fully electrified line. Does anyone know why?
Am pretty sure a fair few of the Super-Voyagers go on towards Bangor and Holyhead in North Wales, where is no electrified??
@@dredfell that’s correct and I think it’s from Crewe onwards where the line is not electrified
@@Matthewsbuses1997 that & the Shrewsbury & Wrexham runs,
I wondered the same, so thanks to the others for their replies. Even in my student days (1969-72) in Coventry, the line was electrified, although in those days they were loco-hauled coaches rather than multiple units.
The voyagers mostly run services that run on to non electrified track however, some of the voyagers do run London to Glasgow and other routes that are fully electrified and this is simply due to there not being enough pendolinos and the operator having no alternative
When they come out there is the class 805 trains you need to compare to these. Very interesting video
"Stripped of their Virgin colors" This one got me rollin down a highway 💀💀💀
I came here in October 2021, crowd definitely back 😂
Great video !!
You should plan to come here to switzerland this year and do the IC5 route from Geneva to Zurich via Neuchatel, this is a great pendolino route!
It's gonna hurt when you're too old for a railcard 😀
Should have seen Euston when I went during storm eunice. Hardly anywhere to stand!
Great trip report
Personally, I found Pendolino and Cross Country cramped up. Surprisingly, TPE is the most comfortable train, any models. The new Azuma and GWR are also comfortable
Underground is not bvery busy for 09.30 in the morning ... clearly commuters are working from home today (and saving thousands in rail fares!)