wrote:
On Fri, 29 Jul 2016 15:27:21 +0100
"Richard J." wrote:
Basil Jet wrote on 29 Jul 2016 at 14:53 ...
‘The Elizabeth Line trains, which are a great showcase of British design
and manufacture, will be running on part of our network within a year’, said
London Transport Commissioner Mike Brown at the unveiling event. ‘The trains
are fully accessible, will have air-cooling, and once the whole line opens,
they will help our passengers move more easily into and across the city every
day.’"


So is it air-conditioning or air-cooling? (Both terms used in the last 4
paragraphs.) After the fiasco of "air cooling" on the New Routemaster,
TfL should be more careful in describing it. Hopefully proper air-con
as on LU's S stock.

The seats look about as well padded and comfortable as a slab of granite as
seems to be the norm these days.

Why did they need a completely new type of train anyway on both crossrail and
thameslink. What would have been the problem with ordering another load of
electrostars? Surely it would have saved 10s of millions in design costs.

Aventras *are* the generation of Electrostars, with updated technology,
lower weight and compliant with the latest safety standards.

The DfT ordered the TL class 700s, and did it in such an inept way that
Siemens won, not because it was offering a better or cheaper train, but
because the company had a better credit rating. Had the trains been
ordered through a ROSCO they'd certainly be cheaper, and would probably
have included features that the civil servants forgot, such as tray tables
and wifi.