Lovely, Geoff. I must revisit Sarfend! Never mind about the elbow test - I’m more aghast that a video about a 720 lasts for 7:19. Thought you might have edited in an extra second! 😂🤣😂
The corridor between seating really does seem tight. It seems to me like they wanted to fit as many seats as possible. The power plugs are also awkwardly put exactly where you would put your leg. And it’s a shame, because it’s a beautiful beast of a train.
Great "edutainment" in 3-2-1 Geoff-style! Big Thank You 🙂 We will come to the conclusion that "bigger trains" = "more space" = "safer to travel on". Congrats Bombardier!
No elbow test. You’ve changed! 🤣 Looking forward you catching some of these new units, pleased Greater Anglia taking some much customer/passenger feedback on board. Lucky to have them running in our region!
I'll look forward to seeing the Class 720 in service! I saw some at Southend Victoria back in October during a Dusty Bin bash and got the nice surprise of two class 37s on the rail head treatment train at Southend Victoria! The juxtaposition of the class 37 and class 720 was fantastic!
Hi Geoff, I was on the very first one of these in service and had a chat with the manager of bombardier, manager of GA and the manager of the Southend Victoria line, Alan Whyld. Very enjoyable video, I have to admit its quite tight inbetween the seats in the walkway down the middle but they are nice and cosy. The elbow thing is very important and I did it myself and was very satisfied and nearly missed my stop because I nearly fell asleep with my arm in that position
I was a regular commuter on Greater Anglia during Rush hour in pre-covid times. Its nice to hear that when I start commuting again I may be able to get a seat. Even when the trains were 12 carriages it was very hard to get seats the whole train was full including standing space.
I was looking at how Geoff's left shoulder when he was seated was over the centre seat. Two "Geoffs" on seats 1 & 3 would not leave any practical or useable space on the centre seat. But hey, it makes for good statistics for Greater Anglia. I wouldn't be surprised if they included the toilet in the seating statistics. I still think SWT 455 modernisation and seating layout showed how it could and should be done with 2 + 2 seating.
As an extension to the (gist) "More seats overall by eliminating First Class"...I wonder if there's a limit to that survey result as to 'where the extra seating manifests'. I suspect given the option, even those surveyed and answered for more seating, 2+2 seating with some standing would be the preferred option? I know I'd rather stand than be shoehorned into those tiny seats, and I'm slim!
If I understand correctly from video they are reducing from 12 cars (3x4) to 10 cars (2x5) which presumably is why high density (e.g. cramped) seating being used so the TOC can claim extra seating capacity created.
The class 720s look absolutely stunning, the PA sounds amazing (despite it also being in the toilet which is very odd lol), but other than that, I LOVE THEM!
Yes - I was waiting for the Geoff Marshall Elbow Test! Looks as though you were too busy running around looking at seating configurations, and forgot to actually sit in a seat😅
I've commuted in to Liverpool Street for the last 20 years and, apart from a couple of months when the old slam-door trains had a last hurrah, the seating has always been 3+2. So for me there hasn't been a difference. It'll be interesting to see if passenger numbers return to pre-pandemic levels, because at the moment I often have three seats to myself in the morning "rush hour".
A minor correction: South Western Class 701s come in two variants: 701/0 are TEN carriage units, and 701/5 are five carriage. Also the CrossPurpEliz line trains are, at least now, in both 9 and 7 car versions.
I've never been to London or seen their Underground, but I just noticed outside of the platform area, the tunnels seem to be lit up. Not so dim and sinister looking. Nice!
Thanks for sharing, I work for one of the suppliers to Bombardier and was largely responsible for the design of the Gangways between the carriages. It's great to see the finished product, as this was a tough project with some pretty crazy timelines to hit.
The seats look tight, even for pre-covid conditions. If you take a survey of course most people would say to get rid of first class since the majority don't use first class. Having said that, first class probably doesn't make economic sense for the operator. Also, when people say they want more seats I don't think they realize what that would mean. Do people like the middle seat on airplanes?
If you frequent the southern end of the WCML, you'll often see Bombardier trains moving around....saw one of these at Rugby the other day, as well as a 172 bizzarley heading South towards Milton Keynes
I think the below seat power plugs should have been installed the opposite way (so they would look upside down) as any cable would then be straight up from the plug and not having a curl on it, which could get in someone’s way and also become damaged.
I really like the new Greater Anglia trains coming into service, I think the refurbished 321 trains are very nice, but whatever design, I do anything to not sit in a middle seat.
I have noticed that other train manufacturers only think about people being cool during the summer. But bombadier has throught of winter which is great!
What a great video! It might be a cool idea some time to go back to the TFL Acton depot. It’s really cool and I’d be fascinated for you to talk about some of the things in there with another expert. I met you at teh Acton depot a couple of years ago when you did the talk at the open day and it was very fun. Keep up the amazing videos, I’m absolutely loving them 😄!
@@Andrewjg_89 & @True Blue Small world, I'm from Ashingdon.😁👍 I'm also a big fan of @heldvomerdbeerfeld 's channel he lives in the same village in Austria where I once lived.
Nice trains. It seems a sad inconsistency of accessibility and inclusivity point though - especially for those who don’t appreciate and understand rolling stock procurement - for the customer experience, that compared with the FLIRTSs, these brand new shiny trains, are still stuck with steps and without level access. Truly hope for everyone’s sake, that more manufacturers will factor that feature into future designs.
@@sparkn8614 That´s another part too yes. Here in Sweden where I live the children in school have free lunches and about 1967-1980 the most modern schools had those completely covering carpets even in the school-restaurants, imagine where the milk and so on went among kids who push eachother in the ques.
Yeah I wouldn't recommend 3+2... The old Class 360s, which EMR will be inheriting, were previously used as 3+2s, though EMR will give them a full refurbishment including changing the seating to 2+2. IMO, 2+2 is th minimum acceptable seating - especially when operators like EMR have 1st Class seating which is 2+1.
Geoff, SWR's class 701s will be a mixture of formations, not just 5 cars like your video says. 90 units in total, 60 will be 10 cars long, 30 will be 5 cars.
In the summary of the Aventra types, you listed Class 701 for South Western as 5-car trains. They're actually taking both 5- and 10-car variants, and it's the 10-cars that are being delivered first.
I love Bombardier, They made all the fleet for the Expo and Mellenium lines on SkyTrain and then the province had to go with a different type of train and manufacturer for Canada Line for some reason.
A point I've seen raised on Twitter is that the new Stadler trains (745s and 755s) have low floors which allow level boarding at stations with standard-height platforms. The 720s look excellent, but it's sad that Greater Anglia has chosen high-floor trains where wheelchair users will need to wait for a ramp, when they already have such excellent low-floor trains...
Unfortunately the franchise agreement insisted on more seats. Hopefully the Government will reconsider. The seating is modular so easily changed. They are remiving some now.
Originally GA had placed an order in August 2016 for 89 5-car (720/5) units and 22 10-car (720/1) units making it 665 carriages in total. In October 2020, they changed the order to 133 5-car units, so the same number of carriages for better flexibility.
@@graemesinclair1978, I realise that, but I thought people would be interested that GA had intended to have a few 10-car units, but changed their mind and are making them all 5-car units instead. Perhaps Covid had something to do with them changing their minds. I see SWR are testing some 10-car 701 units at the moment, so they certainly won't be changing their minds. Do you know how much longer the is before they start to enter service? I am guessing the drivers will need training on them beforehand. I also heard they won't be displacing the Class 707s yet, but replacing the 458s first which are experiencing some reliability issues (I have seen conflicting reports on the 458s). For someone who lives in Kent, it will be a bit of a blow to Southeastern not to get the 707s sooner, plus a blow to the passengers of SWR that they have to put up with them for a bit longer.
they have that emma hignett announcement (which is voiced by julie on this train) but instead of "this is the train to" it says "this is the service to"
1:25 The thing to remember about the Ted Rodgers 3-2-1 thing, is that you don't want to be sticking up two fingers at people (as its rude). So, you want to have the two fingers the other way around (as a "V for victory" gesture) for that bit. That means you start off showing three knuckles to people, swap around to the two fingers with the knuckles facing you and swap around to show one knuckle to people. Do it slowly, to get the idea of what you are trying to do. Remember. If you can 3-2-1 slowly, you can 3-2-1 quickly.
Cool fact about Bombardier: The company began operations in the city of Montreal. (Headquarter are also there) They are a huge part of the Toronto Trading Stock (The Canadian wall street)
"Change for the Elizabeth Line".
Why, does the Elizabeth Line have a strict dress code?
Doublet and hose are compulsory.
🤣
Cos its the queen or something idk
The underfloor heating is really nice for all people traveling bare-foot
Who would do that 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 lol
xd
“Change for the Elizabeth line...” Well... you could, but you may be waiting a while.
Joe R M Change here for the Elisabeth Line, next train 2023 !!
Crossrail not E word
cross eliz purp rail
@@robfcgaming1947 its actually called Elizabeth line and its also called crossrail
Could you please elaborate on the details of the breakfast stain? It's very important to me as I'm a stain-spotter.
lol...must admit, I wondered on that too...but lucky for him it was on his shirt, not further down.
@@geofftech2 That's going right in my stainspotter copybook! I prefer brown sauce.
😅😅😅
@@stephensaines7100 if it was mayonnaise on his trousers - *HIGHLY* suspicious
I’m glad they kept Julie Berry as the voice on these . Hoping they will venture on to my branch line soon
Tell me someone else noticed the end of your indoor edit bit finished with the clip that the sequence then went into!?? Sliiiiick.
Thanks for covering the cycle storage space Geoff 🥰🚲
Lovely, Geoff. I must revisit Sarfend! Never mind about the elbow test - I’m more aghast that a video about a 720 lasts for 7:19. Thought you might have edited in an extra second! 😂🤣😂
Paul Johnson ... at 7:09
Mine states 7:18, so 2 seconds short..
and where's Sarfend???... cos i'd like to live there...
@@shoestompergingerjon9300 Essex
Oof, I thought 7:19 was an actual timestamp lol
Thanks for the subtitles! I appreciate your commitment to accessibility, it really sets you apart from other youtubers 😊
The corridor between seating really does seem tight. It seems to me like they wanted to fit as many seats as possible. The power plugs are also awkwardly put exactly where you would put your leg. And it’s a shame, because it’s a beautiful beast of a train.
Great "edutainment" in 3-2-1 Geoff-style! Big Thank You 🙂 We will come to the conclusion that "bigger trains" = "more space" = "safer to travel on". Congrats Bombardier!
No elbow test. You’ve changed! 🤣 Looking forward you catching some of these new units, pleased Greater Anglia taking some much customer/passenger feedback on board. Lucky to have them running in our region!
"Old cronky trains??" I can remember when the 321's were brand new (and the first episode of 3-2-1!!). Suddenly I feel really old...
Same. Although I was at school at the time. But still, I remember it clearly.
They're old and gronky.
When were the 321s new?
@@hesterclapp9717 Around 1989/90.
@@NSE465 their still elite haha
It was only yesterday I was down in Liverpool street visiting Bures and that was my first time on a class 321 (and I'm glad)
Just learning to drive a variant this train. Very technologically advanced. A brilliant train.
I'll look forward to seeing the Class 720 in service! I saw some at Southend Victoria back in October during a Dusty Bin bash and got the nice surprise of two class 37s on the rail head treatment train at Southend Victoria! The juxtaposition of the class 37 and class 720 was fantastic!
Hi Geoff, I was on the very first one of these in service and had a chat with the manager of bombardier, manager of GA and the manager of the Southend Victoria line, Alan Whyld. Very enjoyable video, I have to admit its quite tight inbetween the seats in the walkway down the middle but they are nice and cosy. The elbow thing is very important and I did it myself and was very satisfied and nearly missed my stop because I nearly fell asleep with my arm in that position
What date was that?.. guess the're ready and waiting for me then.... will try one out tomorrow.
Fun project to work on! Bombardier have done a good job with the interiors manufacturing them to the industrial designers vision.
I was a regular commuter on Greater Anglia during Rush hour in pre-covid times. Its nice to hear that when I start commuting again I may be able to get a seat. Even when the trains were 12 carriages it was very hard to get seats the whole train was full including standing space.
Yay a review on my favorite train! Thanks for sharing the video.
Nice trains, but I HATE 3+2 seating arrangements. Always so cramped.
@FatAngryWhiteMan everyone used to on southeastern trust me
I personally prefer 2+2 arrangements, but that said on the Belgian network we have the luxury of having double deckers on high demand routes
I was looking at how Geoff's left shoulder when he was seated was over the centre seat. Two "Geoffs" on seats 1 & 3 would not leave any practical or useable space on the centre seat. But hey, it makes for good statistics for Greater Anglia.
I wouldn't be surprised if they included the toilet in the seating statistics. I still think SWT 455 modernisation and seating layout showed how it could and should be done with 2 + 2 seating.
As an extension to the (gist) "More seats overall by eliminating First Class"...I wonder if there's a limit to that survey result as to 'where the extra seating manifests'. I suspect given the option, even those surveyed and answered for more seating, 2+2 seating with some standing would be the preferred option? I know I'd rather stand than be shoehorned into those tiny seats, and I'm slim!
If I understand correctly from video they are reducing from 12 cars (3x4) to 10 cars (2x5) which presumably is why high density (e.g. cramped) seating being used so the TOC can claim extra seating capacity created.
After watching several of these videos I now find them compulsive viewing. Glad I subscribed. 🐨🇦🇺
Woooahhh. You're in the video, editing the video. Mind. Blown.
Matt Daniels the CEO of Patreon does it a lot
Fantastic video as always. The breakfast stain is a great piece of genuine honesty =)
Have you ever interviewed the woman who does the destination announcements? Very clear enunciation.
Julie Berry, I think...
this is amazing, a massive upgrade for GA area!
Can't believe it Geoff !!, no mention of the Network SouthEast colours on that roof support as the train was pulling out at the end of the video lol
Great video!! I Saw one of the 720's at Rayleigh after only being i Service for a few days. Incredible information about the train and its features
saw one 2 days ago, then tried to board it... in a rush to wickford.
The sound of the doors closing sound very similar to the Crossrail purple trains, and the Overgrounds 710s.
Love the sound of a door closing 💙💛
As one door closes another one..........
?opines
Usually I would get on any train from London Ipswich. Now I make sure to get on one of these. So much nicer.
Great to see the 321 next to the NEW 720 next to each other! So fantastic!
Ikr it’s so good to see thing together thing is I don’t like that because they replaced the 321s
I really like the front end design of these, the 701 look great also.. nice stuff
Fantastic video as always Geoff, keep up the great work!
RIP Class 321. The Breeze is the future!
@@Andrewjg_89 Why do classes matter so much?
@@bfapple they're changing the propulsion so they need to reclassify. The 600s run on hydrogen rather than overhead like the 321.
I love the fact that the the class 321 and the new class 720 are next to each other on the platforms!
The class 720s look absolutely stunning, the PA sounds amazing (despite it also being in the toilet which is very odd lol), but other than that, I LOVE THEM!
it is in the toilet so you know to stop peeing when you are arriving at your station
Another hugely enjoyable video Geoff. Excellently put together as always.
Very nice video of the Class 720 train, seen some on test in the Midlands but haven’t been on one yet.
As Limmy notes in his hour-and-a-half-long analysis of 3-2-1, Ted Rogers couldn't do the hand thing either.
Yes - I was waiting for the Geoff Marshall Elbow Test! Looks as though you were too busy running around looking at seating configurations, and forgot to actually sit in a seat😅
5:37, nice use of my 720 diagram
Nice work there, man.
wow, your diagrams are amazing!
Nice of him to credit 😉
Great work
When passengers were surveyed I am positive they meant longer trains with more seats not 3+2 where 2+2 should be.Shame.
I've commuted in to Liverpool Street for the last 20 years and, apart from a couple of months when the old slam-door trains had a last hurrah, the seating has always been 3+2. So for me there hasn't been a difference. It'll be interesting to see if passenger numbers return to pre-pandemic levels, because at the moment I often have three seats to myself in the morning "rush hour".
Currently on one of these 720s, just done the elbow test and can confirm it has successfully passed!
Nice one Geoff!
A minor correction: South Western Class 701s come in two variants: 701/0 are TEN carriage units, and 701/5 are five carriage. Also the CrossPurpEliz line trains are, at least now, in both 9 and 7 car versions.
Seen the 701 on rest runs in godalming, they have been on running to haslemere
I remember the old ones when I was in Glasgow
Looks like a nice train. Underfloor heating ... nice.
I think when I go Shenfield maybe I might go on that hope I do it’s amazing train in the world thank you for sharing
Have a merry xmas, its great.....AS ALWAYS!!! you are the best train youtube nerd ever!!!!!
I've never been to London or seen their Underground, but I just noticed outside of the platform area, the tunnels seem to be lit up. Not so dim and sinister looking. Nice!
I've watched some of these being hauled by 2x 47s down the MML!
1 year later I have come to the conclusion that these are absolutely rubbish
Informative as per usual. Keep up the good work. 🚄🚃
I saw a pair class 47s with 720 554 in November going through Bedford going on the Marston vail line to Wolverton works
Thanks for sharing, I work for one of the suppliers to Bombardier and was largely responsible for the design of the Gangways between the carriages. It's great to see the finished product, as this was a tough project with some pretty crazy timelines to hit.
Fantastic video as always Geoff, big fan of your videos!
Really enjoy your videos, your knowledge is incredible ✌🏻
awesome video those train seats looks nice and comfy i hope one day i can have a ride on one
I can't wait for these to get on the Clacton line
Yes u can thos recycling bins can stay on the southend line...
@@FK-qh3mm why so negative? We never get new things in Clacton, so until proven otherwise, I'm going to try and stay positive about this
just another few more days now... 3rd january.
Lovely Cameo voice of Greater Anglia in there...
The seats look tight, even for pre-covid conditions. If you take a survey of course most people would say to get rid of first class since the majority don't use first class. Having said that, first class probably doesn't make economic sense for the operator. Also, when people say they want more seats I don't think they realize what that would mean. Do people like the middle seat on airplanes?
umm no they know exactly what it ment seeing as these units directly replace units with 3x2 seating...
If you frequent the southern end of the WCML, you'll often see Bombardier trains moving around....saw one of these at Rugby the other day, as well as a 172 bizzarley heading South towards Milton Keynes
I think the below seat power plugs should have been installed the opposite way (so they would look upside down) as any cable would then be straight up from the plug and not having a curl on it, which could get in someone’s way and also become damaged.
I really like the new Greater Anglia trains coming into service, I think the refurbished 321 trains are very nice, but whatever design, I do anything to not sit in a middle seat.
I have noticed that other train manufacturers only think about people being cool during the summer. But bombadier has throught of winter which is great!
A couple weeks ago I saw the 720s in service on the GreaterAnglia service chart on Wikipedia. The 2 videos before this also involved GreaterAnglia.
Hi Geoff, great video as always, not surprised you were hot, did you notice how many layers you had on,lol.
Congrats on 200k!
Bombardier Paris. Sounds like a Shampoo Geoff. Looks really nice
What a great video!
It might be a cool idea some time to go back to the TFL Acton depot. It’s really cool and I’d be fascinated for you to talk about some of the things in there with another expert. I met you at teh Acton depot a couple of years ago when you did the talk at the open day and it was very fun. Keep up the amazing videos, I’m absolutely loving them 😄!
Great video as always. Had my first ride on Saturday must say was Impressed . The room between the seating was a bit tight .
Looking back I really really miss the music in these older videos, the new ones dont feel right without them
Weyyyy I am from hockley and now live in Rayleigh! Happy days
@@Andrewjg_89 & @True Blue Small world, I'm from Ashingdon.😁👍 I'm also a big fan of @heldvomerdbeerfeld 's channel he lives in the same village in Austria where I once lived.
Nice trains. It seems a sad inconsistency of accessibility and inclusivity point though - especially for those who don’t appreciate and understand rolling stock procurement - for the customer experience, that compared with the FLIRTSs, these brand new shiny trains, are still stuck with steps and without level access. Truly hope for everyone’s sake, that more manufacturers will factor that feature into future designs.
Aside of the elbow test I would be interested to see how the carpet looks in the situation that you get snow again.
Or the inevitable beer, vomit, etc.
@@sparkn8614 That´s another part too yes. Here in Sweden where I live the children in school have free lunches and about 1967-1980 the most modern schools had those completely covering carpets even in the school-restaurants, imagine where the milk and so on went among kids who push eachother in the ques.
State of the art features... you mean leaning to each others' shoulders in a 2+3 seating, where even 2+2 is considered narrow? 🤣
Yeah I wouldn't recommend 3+2... The old Class 360s, which EMR will be inheriting, were previously used as 3+2s, though EMR will give them a full refurbishment including changing the seating to 2+2.
IMO, 2+2 is th minimum acceptable seating - especially when operators like EMR have 1st Class seating which is 2+1.
Geoff, SWR's class 701s will be a mixture of formations, not just 5 cars like your video says.
90 units in total, 60 will be 10 cars long, 30 will be 5 cars.
In the summary of the Aventra types, you listed Class 701 for South Western as 5-car trains. They're actually taking both 5- and 10-car variants, and it's the 10-cars that are being delivered first.
Just want to say I love your videos Geoff. I would love to one day feature in one of your videos. Keep up the good work and stay safe!
They look very nice. Must try them at some point.
Nice video as usual. One correction: the Class 701s are 60 x 10 cars and only 30 x 5 cars. They also have underfloor heating.
0:51 where have I not heard that before 😂
Nice video Geoff! I found one myself and it had that new smell to it.
make the most of the 'new' smell, will soon smell of 'bleached' carpets.
I love Bombardier, They made all the fleet for the Expo and Mellenium lines on SkyTrain and then the province had to go with a different type of train and manufacturer for Canada Line for some reason.
A point I've seen raised on Twitter is that the new Stadler trains (745s and 755s) have low floors which allow level boarding at stations with standard-height platforms. The 720s look excellent, but it's sad that Greater Anglia has chosen high-floor trains where wheelchair users will need to wait for a ramp, when they already have such excellent low-floor trains...
Aventras!!!🤩 Class 720 is finally here!
Great stuff Geoff 👍🏻
my goodness that is a tight aisle between the seats, would hate to be sat on one of the seats on the edge.
Unfortunately the franchise agreement insisted on more seats. Hopefully the Government will reconsider. The seating is modular so easily changed. They are remiving some now.
The SWR one's are being built as 10 carriage trains as well as 5 carriage trains.
Originally GA had placed an order in August 2016 for 89 5-car (720/5) units and 22 10-car (720/1) units making it 665 carriages in total. In October 2020, they changed the order to 133 5-car units, so the same number of carriages for better flexibility.
@@richmayes8451 I am on about the ones for SWR.
@@graemesinclair1978, I realise that, but I thought people would be interested that GA had intended to have a few 10-car units, but changed their mind and are making them all 5-car units instead. Perhaps Covid had something to do with them changing their minds.
I see SWR are testing some 10-car 701 units at the moment, so they certainly won't be changing their minds. Do you know how much longer the is before they start to enter service? I am guessing the drivers will need training on them beforehand.
I also heard they won't be displacing the Class 707s yet, but replacing the 458s first which are experiencing some reliability issues (I have seen conflicting reports on the 458s). For someone who lives in Kent, it will be a bit of a blow to Southeastern not to get the 707s sooner, plus a blow to the passengers of SWR that they have to put up with them for a bit longer.
@@richmayes8451 Got you sorry
1:07 - What a beautiful voice.
They look amazing and would love to see them
Love your videos Geoff
Can’t wait to see these replace the 317s too, hate the new door chimes on them
they have that emma hignett announcement (which is voiced by julie on this train) but instead of "this is the train to" it says "this is the service to"
My local station is Southend Victoria :)
and that's also my local too.
1:25 The thing to remember about the Ted Rodgers 3-2-1 thing, is that you don't want to be sticking up two fingers at people (as its rude).
So, you want to have the two fingers the other way around (as a "V for victory" gesture) for that bit.
That means you start off showing three knuckles to people, swap around to the two fingers with the knuckles facing you and swap around to show one knuckle to people.
Do it slowly, to get the idea of what you are trying to do.
Remember. If you can 3-2-1 slowly, you can 3-2-1 quickly.
So you said the seats have an ergonomic design, but how comfy is it? One thing for sure... the class 710 seats are rock hard!!
So are these. Health and safety.
yep, like Concrete., and with Ribs.
Cool fact about Bombardier: The company began operations in the city of Montreal. (Headquarter are also there) They are a huge part of the Toronto Trading Stock (The Canadian wall street)
Im proud of bombardier as im from québec where the initial company was born
Long live the Skidoo!
@@erik_griswold agreed as several old railroads are now trails that ski doos use in the winter
Wish southeastern could have these trains it would be so cool to see these trains in the southeastern livery