"Jack Taylor" wrote in message
...

If you are referring to the Thameslink route then the Class 319s date from
the late 1980s, when they were built to replace the original BedPan
electrification Class 317s (which went to what is now the Silverlink
County route for a while before moving to Great Northern and more recently
'one' Railway). The 319s have never been particularly good for the job.
The accommodation is cramped, the seats are way too low and far too
closely fitted (I'm 6' 5" and when I sit down - in the bay seats, I can't
get into the face-to-back ones - my knees are usually about two inches
from the facing seat cushion).

When they were running Southern, Connex managed to turn seven of these units
into something quite respectable (319/2) for their Brighton Express
services - the biggest difference being that they have a far better design
of seat. Meanwhile, the Thameslink route operators have turned out numerous
refurbishments (see the link below for the latest version) all of which have
avoided doing anything about the seats, which are the single worst design
feature of these units.

http://timsrailpics.fotopic.net/p35508592.html

I accept that the full 319/2 treatment would probably involve too great a
reduction in seating capacity, but replacement of the seats with something
like those that SWT and Southern are putting into their 455s would be a huge
improvement.

D A Stocks