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On Saturday the 21st May the wife and decided to have a day out. Over to Stratford (London) to catch the train to Norwich.
Let me be upfront about the wife. She does suffer with hip, back and knee issues so I strategically quizzed her about how she felt about the train considering her issues.
In the past we've been on the MkII, MkII and MkIV stock on various routes and many units. The only one she's hated (and trust me she really hated it) were the Class 700 Thameslink units. I was glad when we got off because she was in a lot more pain. Using them between Croydon and St Pancras she's not too bad with them but from Peterborough to Croydon was really painful for her.
Based on this I hoped that the trains would be ok for her for the two hour trip to Norwich. The Unit we were on was a Class 745/0 (745009).
Firstly she did like the small step the came out when at the station. Her view was that it would make getting on safer for a small child with a parent and an elderly person with mobility issues (I did refrain from asking if she meant herself).
Once on we chose a seat with a table. Near the end of the carriage we were in the table seat was just a small step up. Now we have experienced this on a couple of Austrian trains in the past but for other people it may be an issues. In fact it happened. On the approaches to Norwich the lady on the opposite side of the carriage got up to use the facilities the train didn't jolt but she missed her footing due to the step and fell over on the seat next to the wife. She actually said she' hadn't realised there was a step there. I guess that after two hours you do forget.
The seats for me are a lot better for me. certainly better padding on base and back. The Elbow-against-window test resulted in being good. I was able to rest my arm on the window sill without constant slipping off. The tables were good, not too close that made you feel that a diet was needed (You know the belly juts out nowadays). I'm sure the Ipswich and Norwich football fans will appreciate a solid table for the copious amounts of beer they take with them to game.
The wife usually gets fidgety on a long trip and can get up and walk about so as not to seize up in her seat, this time she did fidget a little but at Norwich she got up and, after minding the step, manged to get off the train relatively comfortably.
There are charging point between the seats but I was a bit disappointed that there is only one 3-point plug and one USB plug but you can't have everything in life. I do think it may cause a little frustration if two people have the same type of connectors for their devices and both want to use the single port.
The overall ride was really quite good. Of course over points at speed you get a little jolt but the 745 proved to be ok.
The information/PIS screen are bright and clear and I liked the GA CGI red rabbit popping up. It's really interesting that they post on the screen the departures from the next station complete with platform number. This really does show good communication to the customers. Return trip was a 745/1 (745106). When I asked again tonight she said the return trip was more uncomfortable then the outward. Are there any differences you can tell? I did find it a little less confortable.
How would I rate my (and the wife's) class 745 experience: