In article ,
(Theo) wrote:

In uk.transport.london Recliner wrote:
"It has been decided not to have tables in standard class. Passenger
research for the rail watchdog, Passenger Focus and London TravelWatch
showed that people recognised the main priority was to maximise
capacity. Seat tables are a nice to have but they also slow people down
getting on and off trains _ and we_ll have just 30 seconds to get people
on and off these new trains in central London.

It is noticeable that the 365 'refresh' has removed the tray tables,
procured by the very same TOC.

I can't believe the 365 tables (there are still some I'm sure) are large
enough to affect dwell times.

They were of limited usefulness: had a hole for a cup and a small space,
but not enough to put much on, and tended to collect dirt. However they
were also a useful shelf to prop up a laptop.

No hole for a cup. Your memory is faulty.

^MOur priority is to get more people from A to B as quickly and as
reliably as possible. These new trains will give us more carriages and
more capacity and much better reliability than existing trains, which is
what people want.

But some of those people will be doing two hour journeys and working on
the train is a thing, sources reveal.

I think it's a Siemens thing. There are no tables of any sort on the 450s
and they have catering trolleys on some journeys!

Of course, the actual order was confirmed in, I think, 2013, not 2008,
when discussions first started. So there's really no good reason why the
spec wasn't updated to include Wi-Fi in the intervening five years of
debate, discussion and negotiation.

Is there any plan to fit them with wifi post-delivery?

Allegedly.

And do they allow or block mobile signals?
(not a panacea, so many gadgets omitting a GSM radio)

Where do you get that idea?

--
Colin Rosenstiel