There are many things that wind me up – hard seats, Voyagers, pseudo research, electrification delays… but worse than all these are anti-HS2 railway folk!
Pan Up
If there was a Silver Spanner for the most improved railway operator I would present it to Eurostar. I took the first e320 to Brussels, Business Premier, and it was just great. Service spot on, food excellent, quiet, comfortable and, most of all, fast. The ride issues I noticed a few months ago on the Paris route (‘Pan Up’, August 2016 issue) were not in evidence – ‘French track’, said someone whom I cannot call a spokesman.
I asked the head of marketing and the Pininfarina designer how they resisted the temptation to go all out for capacity, this being the way of our own one-trick-pony Department for Transport. Eurostar gets a capacity boost anyway from losing the ‘locomotives’ to distributed power, but the business requirement was to offer more space and greater comfort than an A320 Airbus. The seats form a semi-private ‘pod’ using the colour of the seat and seat back in front as a subtle marking of territory. This time I did try the standard class as well and was pleasantly surprised, but I admit I went back upmarket for the journey home. …
