Being a deceased engineer I cannot, obviously, use rail services myself but a very close friend gave me the following report.
First Chavline train from Ashford was 6 cars (not 12 cars as expected), nearly full with (what looked like) a lot of media people, ran on time but the overall experience very reduced by the overcrowded underground. Overall 10 minutes gain to the office against 06.50 via Charing Cross - well a few minutes quicker overall but not worth the extra money when considered over a 12 month season ticket cost hike and the pretty awful tube section.
Yours sincerely
O.V.S.Bulleid
I took the HS1 service from Ebbslfeet today - the 8:05.
Very few people on it, the train was empty when it arrived at Ebbsfleet, and only about two dozen people in the whole six carriages.
The interior is like a slightly more upmarket Electrostar - the seats are similar, a cross between the bolt upright ones and the ones on the coastal SET services. No lumber support though!!
It's carpeted throughout, so the ambience is very much that of a higher quality service than than the one I'm used to (The Notworkers).
The doors are quite narrow - certainly not as wide as the other SET trains, one at each end of the carriage. MOre akin to an intercity train but without a proper vestibule and 'airlock' so to speak. (Probably to enable the 200 people the expect to be standing!).
Each set of seats has a single 3 pin electrical socket between them, nice and convenient.
Legroom is excellent, and each seat has a table - it's certainly a vast improvement on any other SET train I've had the pleasure of sitting in. At 6'2", you can appreciate this is important to me!
The windows are quite small - not the picture windows we're used to on similar services. Air con present, but it was quite warm on the service I was on.
There are plenty of luggage racks and places to stow things, and 2 large lavatories on each 6 carriage set.
There was no Wifi on board, which could be a problem if it is being pitched as a high quality business commuter service (ergo the electrical sockets and at seat trays!).
So from Ebbsfleet we set off, at 8:05 sharp. We were told no les than 4 times within the firt 5 minutes where we were going and to ensure our luggage was not in the isles.
(the DORIS and the 'train manager').
The journey was very swift and very comfortable - with minimal bumps and twists.
Sadly, about 70% of it was underground! So anyone hoping to use a mobile phone or data stick on a laptop is going to be disappointed.
We had another 2 announcements one after the other to tell us that we were about to arrive at St Pancras, one fro the onboard system and one from the train manager - who had to tell us about all the connecting services from StP (quitea few!).
17 minutes later we arrived at St Pancras international - a very nice station indeed, and a wide platform to alight upon.
The ticket barriers were at platform level, and you then were channelled to a set of escalators, which lead to the ground level. In the future, another et of escalators right beneath will take you to an underground walkway directly into the Kings Cross underground ticket hall. (This would save some time, about a minute or two).
So I walked the length of St P's, and entered the London underground.
I chose to catch the Piccadilly line to where I work as it was under 10 minutes - and sure enough it was packed to the absolute gills - still, i didn't mind as it was a short journey.
Total time saved? about half an hour.
In the future, I wont have to get a bus to Ebbsfleet from Gravesend town centre, and the timetable preview indicates it's about 22 minutes from Gravesend to St Ps.
On top of that there will be easier access to the tube,
Therefore, I would save a further 5-10 minutes.
So is it worth the extra £21 a week?
For me, yes - because I will get to be home before 6 tonight, instead of 7pm, and the butt-numbing seats on the Notworkers are just intolerable for anything more than 15 minutes.
Quite possibly the only people who will benefit from this service are those that work near to St P andlive near Ebbsfleet international or Gravesend. Not that big a catchment really! Everyone else will be paying substantially more and only gain a few minutes on their travel time.
SET need to do the following:
1. Reduce the fairs.
2. Enable Wifi access.
3. Turn off the DORIS! The Train manager is enough for us, and there are so few stops!
4. Include Zone 1&2 in the ticket price.
- Yes - but without some changes being agreed by the DfT to retain at least one hourly fast classic train on the Ashford and Faversham routes then I see problems ahead because of the price and remoteness of St Pancras to main destinations that force so many people onto the consistently overcrowded tube and make the overall travel experience so poor.