The old Heathrow Connect trains smell amazingly awful right now. Like something died in there. I think they're going to have to burn them once they're retired and replaced with TfL Rail on May 20th.
+Reason077 They're also built by Siemens. And they're only ~13 years old... Shiny new trains will only be shiny for so long if they're not cleaned properly
Geoff, the reason LT stopped having plain aluminium bodies can be summed up in one word: graffiti. Once tagged or sprayed by the "artists", no amount of cleaning would return the painted area to its previous state - hence the decision to paint. Easier to clean, and failing that, can be repainted.
I love your channel, Geoff. it's great. you're truly so interesting. it's funny because I'm 18 and was born in London and moved up north for a bit, I watched your videos to keep the Londoner in me alive haha. thank you for your content :)
Thanks Geoff, great to see the new trains. Hopefully will reduce the sardine crush and frequent train faults for my Ally Pally to Moorgate run everyday
Oh man I can't wait for these trains! I'm a huge fan of the Northern City Line and have been very excited for these trains ever since I found out they were coming! Seeing them in action as well as just pictures of them has fuelled my excitement for them even more!
@H L it does what it says on the tin and has all the mod-cons you'd expect of a train like this. Nowadays they're just the standard train on the line so don't have the same excitement associated with them, however they're still very good trains so I'd say yes, they did live up to expectations!
I'm going to miss the 313s, how a few seconds after they start moving they go "rrrrrrr...RRRRRRMMMmmmm" & jolt slightly, like they're breaking into some sort of canter.
I actually find them very comfortable. Seems like people have got different tastes. Don't worry though, Greater Anglia's Aventras are getting different seats.
The seats are so uncomfortable, especially after they're been in use for a big and you can feel "beams" in the seats. Also they're squished in like aeroplane seats, they're awful. I almost miss the old trains
Agreed! I wonder how long the seats will last before having to be replaced. Very similar ironing board style seats on the new GW trains as weel, not nice!!
Me too. It doesn't matter how hard the seats are. This means when I grow up, I'm more used to hard-covered seats than the soft and springy seats. So, if the fire safety regulations allow tables and soft seats, I've got an upgrade.
Konstal105NRocks - Most new trains are great, but the Thameslink Class 700s are bad due to the awful, ugly interior design. No excuses, they messed it up and should have done a better job.
How the ladders come out the front of the train is crazy but kinda cool. These new trains are pretty smart looking too, good to replace the 313's but I will miss them.
hi love your vids . me and my brother in the 70,s chose the colours for the seats on the district line after my dad died .that was was the red orange yellow brown and black seat design . thanks again love trains.
Are the northern city line platforms going to be cleaned up because this train will look very out of place on say the platform at Highbury & Islington😂
So they've fitted charging sockets to all the Standard Class seats in these 717's and the 707's, but not in the Thameslink 700's, which travel by far the greater distances, e.g. Brighton to Bedford/Cambridge or Horsham to Peterborough, etc. The 387 Electrostars which were being used as an interim measure on the Brighton - Bedford route before the 700's took over also had them, so passengers on that route got used to having that facility briefly before being taken away. I just don't get that at all, especially as the 700 series appear to be variants of the same basic design family.
Nice looking units. As I live near New Barnet very much looking forward to introduction. The 717s will be accessible for wheelchairs and buggys. Class 313s may be over 40 yrs old but they have done an excellent job.
It looks very similar to the fairly new thameslink trains through stevanege to King's cross, where there were complaints about the seats being very uncomfortable because of a lack of padding
I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or not, but at 8:21 you captured something pretty unique in the railway world to the Wildenrath Test Track in your drone shot. That thing might be worth a video on it's own when you visit next time.
wunderbare Aufnahmen (wonderful footage) Geoff, love how you did the slow-motion on the steps and a great video, better go and film some more Class 313s before they start to disappear.
Why UK trains are often without WC? I think it could be a problem for passengers. I have been in UK on this summer ,and i rode an old Southern train without WC from Worthing to Brigton and it was terrible because.... I had need a toilet! Sorry for my unperfect English
You should have waited for the 377s or 150/158. They have toilets. The train you got was a Class 313 which is used by Southern as a Coastway 'metro-style' train. They don't have toilets.
Yessssss!!!! It’s taken so long but nearly there for this new stock! Just the station improvements next and GTR will have started to gain respect from their customers. Let’s hope the new stock can cope with the overhead to third rail change.....
Doomotron Southern has the oldest 313. The oldest Train Operating on the British mainland is probably the 1972 Mk1 stock on the Bakerloo, from around 1972. The oldest in the U.K. is probably the 483s, or 1938 stock on the IOW line
The ad at the start of this video, the one that Geoff is watching on TH-cam in his hotel room in germany, is for Driscoll's fruit. They are a huge name for fruit in Canada as well! An international conglomerate, obviously!
Great video - thank you. Trainee Royal Navy officers travelling on GWR services to Totnes (for Dartmouth) carry their own ironing boards. Perhaps they nicked them from Thameslink?!
....oh well as it says in human history. ....sometimes "s**t happened"... suddenly and than what to do between stations if someone needs to "GO NOW". How long time is it take from one stop to another?
When Geoff showed the train with no seats it made me think about how in Boston the MBTA has created cars on their red line that actually have no seats. They ran these during rush hour to increase capacity. They do however have cars on the train with seats in them as well for people who need them. How funny would if be if national rail started doing that on their trains?
is this going to be on the alexandra palace, hornsey, harringay, finsbury park, dreyton park, highbury and islington line? if so i have been waiting for ages for new trains, the old ones are hideous
Know you where joking with the maximum capacity thing, but in Japan there are actually trains that run with that configuration. There are folding seats along some of the wall, but these can not be used in rush hours.
Do the 710 Aventra cars. There are very few pictures of them. And why did they go with pocket doors? It slows them down with the slots vs the flush plug doors. And the 720, 745, and 755(replacing all of AGA’s fleet). Or the Mark 5 coaches. Or the 801 and 802(that train you thought was an 802 is actually an 800).
You look like a very happy littel (big) kid with ne toys, well done video! One observation: are those priority seats fitted with shock absorbers? Looks like (wehn you lay on the floor @6:00. Also:Siemens should have fitted inflatable shutes instead of thos emergency stails, would habe been more of an effect activating them ;-)
The Thameslink-spec Siemens trains look very nice inside and out, but man the seats are uncomfortable, and the legroom is a joke! Cannot fault the refinement though.
The main problem I have with them, Is how close together the two seats are. I always feel squished if I’m in the aisle seat and like I’m only half on my seat.
Seems like a pretty quiet ride compaired to some trains you have videoed in. Sometimes I wonder how anyone could stand the noise inside the train for an extended period.
So when they ship them over, will they go along European tracks and be treated like freight or will they be hauled by freight trains or will they be shipped on water or something else?
Are the chassis and power units the same on the 700, 707 and 717? Will they be interchangeable across the network? Never understood having lots of different class types ring fenced for small sections when flexibility would seem to make more sense
Mr Marshall, now this is random, and apologies if you’ve been asked already but I kinda get the feeling your kinda tall but I noticed you ducking as you walked under the information screens, is that because of a lowerceiling/roof height on the 717s (so they fit the moorgate tunnels) ooor is it because your really tall (at a guess 6’3 ish)
Clearly that wasn't the configuration for maximum passengers. For that you would need some nets or ropes or something for people to be stored horizontally under the ceiling of the car too.
Indeed, on the South Coast we still have our forty year old 313 British Made trains with very similar facilities. One is even in near original colours. The exit ramp in the cab looks over complicated.
Have you seen the newer U-Bahn trains in Berlin? Just seats along the sides facing to the middle , some of which are foldable. The rest is room for standing. Looks quite empty and spacious when you're first on.
Not unique - classes 313 (which they are replacing) , 319, 378 700 (all used on Thameslink at different times) and 377 9for use on the Watford - Croydon route), all have this capability
I love the smell of new rolling stock. I remember getting on board a new train in London, before it smelt of humanity.
I remember, when the 395s were new, they smelt like soya milk!
The old Heathrow Connect trains smell amazingly awful right now. Like something died in there. I think they're going to have to burn them once they're retired and replaced with TfL Rail on May 20th.
Do mean like some others that small of urine?
Nilguiri *semen
+Reason077 They're also built by Siemens. And they're only ~13 years old...
Shiny new trains will only be shiny for so long if they're not cleaned properly
Geoff, the reason LT stopped having plain aluminium bodies can be summed up in one word: graffiti. Once tagged or sprayed by the "artists", no amount of cleaning would return the painted area to its previous state - hence the decision to paint. Easier to clean, and failing that, can be repainted.
I love your channel, Geoff. it's great. you're truly so interesting. it's funny because I'm 18 and was born in London and moved up north for a bit, I watched your videos to keep the Londoner in me alive haha. thank you for your content :)
Annemarie Connelly Sure you’re not just a train geek?
I hope that train that gets class number "737", is going to be the most widespread in UK.
And 747 should go to train with maximum capacity.
Surely they should make a bigger version of desiro called Class 380/A that's bigger again haha
Yes I agree a also class 737 and 747 could use the plane bodies on a rail chassis
Lol 😝
And when they get to 777 they do all of them!
Thanks Geoff, great to see the new trains. Hopefully will reduce the sardine crush and frequent train faults for my Ally Pally to Moorgate run everyday
Oh man I can't wait for these trains! I'm a huge fan of the Northern City Line and have been very excited for these trains ever since I found out they were coming! Seeing them in action as well as just pictures of them has fuelled my excitement for them even more!
Did they live up to your expectations?
@H L it does what it says on the tin and has all the mod-cons you'd expect of a train like this. Nowadays they're just the standard train on the line so don't have the same excitement associated with them, however they're still very good trains so I'd say yes, they did live up to expectations!
Very utilitarian. They are of great purpose to the line and they have been great.
I'm going to miss the 313s, how a few seconds after they start moving they go "rrrrrrr...RRRRRRMMMmmmm" & jolt slightly, like they're breaking into some sort of canter.
Still got ironing board seats. This needs to change!!
wypierdalaj na piechotę
I actually find them very comfortable. Seems like people have got different tastes. Don't worry though, Greater Anglia's Aventras are getting different seats.
The seats are so uncomfortable, especially after they're been in use for a big and you can feel "beams" in the seats. Also they're squished in like aeroplane seats, they're awful. I almost miss the old trains
Agreed!
I wonder how long the seats will last before having to be replaced.
Very similar ironing board style seats on the new GW trains as weel, not nice!!
Me too. It doesn't matter how hard the seats are. This means when I grow up, I'm more used to hard-covered seats than the soft and springy seats. So, if the fire safety regulations allow tables and soft seats, I've got an upgrade.
Persönliche Schutzausrüstung!
Keine Schokolade bitte!
What's the difference between Ausrüstung and Kleidung?
I wonder...
And of course, keine Schokolade bitte!
Juan Sánchez Ausrüstung = gear or equipment. Persönliche Schutzausrüstung = personal protective gear
Kleidung = clothing
Nicolas Blume Danke schön! :)
Nicolas Blume %
Keine Schokolade! Because there are nor Toilets build in!
At least you didn't have to say "tschechisches streichholzschächtelchen"
Wat
At least he was proving his point 😅
Can we find a way to get you to the Stadler factory to see the new Greater Anglia fleet?
i think we will not because Stadler is busy with poland for now, Kraków needs new fleet of trams To Replace Pesa Krakowiak
Yes in Polish factory - but Greater Anglia fleet is being built in Switzerland.
And why replacing new tram?
@Konstal105NRocks Stadler are currently building the Class 777's for Merseyrail, Geoff could visit them to see the 777's
The lovely unpopular ironing board seats.
wypierdalaj na piechotę
Ugly, soulless, uncomfortable, and cramped seats. Coffin lids.
They are comfortable so that's why I love ironing seats
yeah, i agree, newest trains are good, Reason077, you suck
Konstal105NRocks - Most new trains are great, but the Thameslink Class 700s are bad due to the awful, ugly interior design. No excuses, they messed it up and should have done a better job.
I see they still haven't learnt how human backs work, using the same terrible seat design as on the Thameslink trains.
They look really nice. Wish they still required yellow fronts though.
Rip Curl 69 I think the Crossrail units are the only ones where yellow would look bad personally
How the ladders come out the front of the train is crazy but kinda cool. These new trains are pretty smart looking too, good to replace the 313's but I will miss them.
Geoff, Did the driving the train link get launched, as your 717 Bildenrach press day video (now 2 years old) says you'll update the description?
hi love your vids . me and my brother in the 70,s chose the colours for the seats on the district line after my dad died .that was was the red orange yellow brown and black seat design . thanks again love trains.
Are the northern city line platforms going to be cleaned up because this train will look very out of place on say the platform at Highbury & Islington😂
I’m sure that if TFL had control of the line, they would have been refurbished.
5:32 couldn't help but laugh it looks exactly like Star Wars😂😂
vanillasplash was just imagining Darth Vader coming out with the Imperial theme.
XD lol that is a great unit
wypierdalaj na piechotę od siemensa
Ok
Look up class 460
Loved working on this project!
I came home from Gran Canaria the same day this was uploaded!
So they've fitted charging sockets to all the Standard Class seats in these 717's and the 707's, but not in the Thameslink 700's, which travel by far the greater distances, e.g. Brighton to Bedford/Cambridge or Horsham to Peterborough, etc. The 387 Electrostars which were being used as an interim measure on the Brighton - Bedford route before the 700's took over also had them, so passengers on that route got used to having that facility briefly before being taken away. I just don't get that at all, especially as the 700 series appear to be variants of the same basic design family.
5:33, that is a great idea! Although, if I was at Hadley wood and that happened and the driver came out like “Heddo” I would be confused 😐 🤔
Nice looking units. As I live near New Barnet very much looking forward to introduction. The 717s will be accessible for wheelchairs and buggys. Class 313s may be over 40 yrs old but they have done an excellent job.
Always bringing trainspotting to the new level.
When will we get more choo choo chat? Looking forward to more great content, keep it up 😁
It looks very similar to the fairly new thameslink trains through stevanege to King's cross, where there were complaints about the seats being very uncomfortable because of a lack of padding
I'm very excited to be a commuter on the 717.
Great vid!
Plugs and basic amenties should be in Standard Class. Lol Class, a madness. Thanks again Geoff!
Didn't think you were going to visit my hometown!
It's so astounding. Adverts in German. In the middle of Germany. :)
You made my day.
I wish I could edit video's like that. Fantastic post sir!
I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or not, but at 8:21 you captured something pretty unique in the railway world to the Wildenrath Test Track in your drone shot. That thing might be worth a video on it's own when you visit next time.
This is lit, I’ve been waiting for it. Cheers Geoff.
I live next to the Great Northern Line. Can’t wait for the 717!
New sub here Geoff. Love your vlogging style, tip top! Looking forward to catching up on many more.
wunderbare Aufnahmen (wonderful footage) Geoff, love how you did the slow-motion on the steps and a great video, better go and film some more Class 313s before they start to disappear.
the 700, 707 (which I've been on) and these all look the same. well done Siemens! at least our trains had character beforehand
So sick man keep doing what your doing cause what ever it is it's going well.
Interesting video! I'm looking forward to my first trip on a class 717!
‘cascade through the franchise’? great video Geoff, but that guy from GTR.. the only shame is that we don’t or can’t manufacture these in the UK
Why UK trains are often without WC? I think it could be a problem for passengers. I have been in UK on this summer ,and i rode an old Southern train without WC from Worthing to Brigton and it was terrible because.... I had need a toilet! Sorry for my unperfect English
You should have waited for the 377s or 150/158. They have toilets. The train you got was a Class 313 which is used by Southern as a Coastway 'metro-style' train. They don't have toilets.
Looks a lot different from the last time I visited Wildenrath in the early 1990's. Good film Geoff.
Yessssss!!!! It’s taken so long but nearly there for this new stock! Just the station improvements next and GTR will have started to gain respect from their customers. Let’s hope the new stock can cope with the overhead to third rail change.....
Silly question, but how do they get the train to the UK? Does it go on a boat? Through the Chunnel?
How old are the current trains running on the northern city line. And when are the Bakerloo and picc line trains getting replaced
42 years old theyre the oldest trains in passenger service in mainland britain
"mainland Britain"
Some 1972 stock on the Bakerloo is ex-Northern Line Mk1 stock dating from 1972, making them 46 years old, so they’re probably the oldest
Southern has the oldest one.
Doomotron Southern has the oldest 313. The oldest Train Operating on the British mainland is probably the 1972 Mk1 stock on the Bakerloo, from around 1972. The oldest in the U.K. is probably the 483s, or 1938 stock on the IOW line
I commute on that damned moorgate train regularly and my god am i glad there's new trains coming
Nice to see (ex RAF) Wildenwrath again, I drove trains there for the MOD in the 80's. Obviously a lot different now
My favourite train on the West Midlands network is the Siemens class 350. Hope those that ride these have a similar experience.
2:29 you can see the construction of the new ICE 4 DB-Baureihe 412. Pretty cool to see that.
The ad at the start of this video, the one that Geoff is watching on TH-cam in his hotel room in germany, is for Driscoll's fruit. They are a huge name for fruit in Canada as well! An international conglomerate, obviously!
Will be sad to see the classic PEPs go, but they are in need of being replaced and i am looking forward to seeing these enter service in the uk
Great video - thank you. Trainee Royal Navy officers travelling on GWR services to Totnes (for Dartmouth) carry their own ironing boards. Perhaps they nicked them from Thameslink?!
I can just hear the complaints that are going to arise (possibly) due to the lack of Toilets on board; that should've been a priority :I
How long are the journeys going to be? People are slightly annoyed there are none in Brisbane to gold coast line, roughly fifty minutes
The journeys down to moorgate are only going to take about 45 mins. Most people don't have to go to the toilet every 45 mins
....oh well as it says in human history. ....sometimes "s**t happened"... suddenly and than what to do between stations if someone needs to "GO NOW". How long time is it take from one stop to another?
1:06 raises an interesting topic, how are these usually transported? Might make an interesting video.
Jayster I think they'll be dragged through the Chunnel like the 700s/707s?
Anyone know how they actually get delivered? Do they run them on rails through Europe and through the channel tunnel or do they get delivered by road?
When Geoff showed the train with no seats it made me think about how in Boston the MBTA has created cars on their red line that actually have no seats. They ran these during rush hour to increase capacity. They do however have cars on the train with seats in them as well for people who need them. How funny would if be if national rail started doing that on their trains?
How do they make them so much wider than some other trains? It's amazing.
Ooh they're building new ICEs in the background! (Or at least IC coloured trains)
is this going to be on the alexandra palace, hornsey, harringay, finsbury park, dreyton park, highbury and islington line? if so i have been waiting for ages for new trains, the old ones are hideous
I confess: When the emergency steps came out I did hum the imperial Death March to myself.
Know you where joking with the maximum capacity thing, but in Japan there are actually trains that run with that configuration. There are folding seats along some of the wall, but these can not be used in rush hours.
Not a Hi Viz in sight....how refreshing!
While I totally understand the need for the emergency stairs I'm sad that they do somewhat ruin the look of the front of the train.
@@Nice_Person7379 same
Do the 710 Aventra cars. There are very few pictures of them. And why did they go with pocket doors? It slows them down with the slots vs the flush plug doors. And the 720, 745, and 755(replacing all of AGA’s fleet). Or the Mark 5 coaches. Or the 801 and 802(that train you thought was an 802 is actually an 800).
No seats? Sounds brilliant Count me in!!!!!
You look like a very happy littel (big) kid with ne toys, well done video!
One observation: are those priority seats fitted with shock absorbers? Looks like (wehn you lay on the floor @6:00. Also:Siemens should have fitted inflatable shutes instead of thos emergency stails, would habe been more of an effect activating them ;-)
The Thameslink-spec Siemens trains look very nice inside and out, but man the seats are uncomfortable, and the legroom is a joke! Cannot fault the refinement though.
If we're thinking of the same trains, I completely agree! The seats also dont have tables, which can be annoying. Let alone sockets.
@@merrymachiavelli2041 some units do.
The main problem I have with them, Is how close together the two seats are. I always feel squished if I’m in the aisle seat and like I’m only half on my seat.
Geoff welcome to my world. Watching English videos, living in France all the adverts are in French !
Get VPN and you can decide which ads you want...
Seems like a pretty quiet ride compaired to some trains you have videoed in. Sometimes I wonder how anyone could stand the noise inside the train for an extended period.
So when they ship them over, will they go along European tracks and be treated like freight or will they be hauled by freight trains or will they be shipped on water or something else?
Are the chassis and power units the same on the 700, 707 and 717? Will they be interchangeable across the network? Never understood having lots of different class types ring fenced for small sections when flexibility would seem to make more sense
Link Not there
Oh good, just as nightmarish as the 700. Loving these cattle cars.
Isn’t the lack of a loo a breach of the disability act facility’s requirement or are the 717 just short trip only?
Mr Marshall, now this is random, and apologies if you’ve been asked already but I kinda get the feeling your kinda tall but I noticed you ducking as you walked under the information screens, is that because of a lowerceiling/roof height on the 717s (so they fit the moorgate tunnels) ooor is it because your really tall (at a guess 6’3 ish)
Big fan of the music in this one!
Hiiiiiiiii i Like your videos so much!!! (From Germany) ;)
Clearly that wasn't the configuration for maximum passengers. For that you would need some nets or ropes or something for people to be stored horizontally under the ceiling of the car too.
Hold my beer...
What type of train company is it running on
I feel sorry for passengers having to sit on ironing boards longer than 5 minutes.
I really like them.
That's because you're a pair of trousers.
No. I actually find them very comfortable.
Comfortable like a pair of relaxed fit Corduroy's on a breezy spring afternoon?
For crying out loud, I find this style of seat comfortable. Do not try to say I'm wrong when it is an opinion.
GEOFF! You forgot to link the video of you driving the train!!
Really beautiful trains!
Indeed, on the South Coast we still have our forty year old 313 British Made trains with very similar facilities. One is even in near original colours. The exit ramp in the cab looks over complicated.
I’d love to see how they get delivered :) do they get pulled by another train from Germany to London?
I saw one of these outside my local station last friday
7:23 it is the middle of June now, so hopefully they're just starting to deliver the 717's
So they are bought by great northern, you know if there upgrading the fen line trains?
Do you think these are the trains transpennine are going to use?
Geoff: The 717 'Desiro
Me: Arent the 700, 707 and 717 'Desiro City'?
Makes me feel old to realise that the Class 313s are on the way out!
How long, on average, does it take from when the train gets delivered to when it starts being used in service?
Great video! Love your channel. Those earplugs at the first minute doesn’t seem sterile though :(
Where is the driving vedio
Did I see that correctly and it only have one pantograph per set?
Also are they dual voltage? (i.e. third rail equipped)
Geoff are the good people at Greater Anglia getting you in for some stuff with their new trains?
Greater anglia and rubbish
Have you seen the newer U-Bahn trains in Berlin? Just seats along the sides facing to the middle , some of which are foldable. The rest is room for standing. Looks quite empty and spacious when you're first on.
Geoff you failed to mention the uniqueness of these trains. In that they have power from the pantograph and under train too.
Not unique - classes 313 (which they are replacing) , 319, 378 700 (all used on Thameslink at different times) and 377 9for use on the Watford - Croydon route), all have this capability
When that emergency exit opens, there should be fog dispensed left and right from underneath - you know, for effect.
Ahhh, too bad you couldn't have a look a those ICE 4 units we saw in the background of your factory filming :D