(20 May 2016, 8:38 pm)TEN 6083 wrote 14:52 Durham Railway Station - Central Station (Cross Country 221???)
Was going to wait for a Virgin East Coast but it would be a 35 min wait so grudgingly got on one of the Cross Country Voyagers which I personally have a severe distaste for and are my least favourite trains. As usual no empty seats resulting in standing by the toilet in the corridor (Coach F) Which isn't the best place to stand. One thing I notice every time I get these there's an awful smell upon boarding, like hot metal or something like that. Also the door into the coach closed as I was halfway through after boarding.
I hate Voyagers, had to spend over 3 hours on them yesterday, seats are crap, I don't like the screen things that tell you the seat reservation's, especially as it seems some people who don't have reserved seats will just plonk themselves wherever they please, the interior feels too plasticity and the doors do indeed close on you, got halfway through a door one day when departing and the person in front of me kept letting everyone in the other carriage off before us so I was getting myself trapped with the passenger behind having to press the button to free me, oh and when I got off last night, the area where the doors are smelt a bit like my armpits after a tough session at the gym (no it wasn't me, I checked). As ever with trains the toilets are horrible but for different reasons on these, it was making strange awful noises when I went in last night I thought I was about to be beamed into outer space and I hate all the buttons which unfortunately as I got used to the toilets locking automatically on VTEC I made the mistake of not locking the door the other week so I sort of ended up recreating that Irn Bru advert although it was more recoiling in embarrassment rather than saying "ladies"
Sadly I had no real choice to avoid them yesterday, so I had to bare it. When possible I always try and aim to get VTEC when possible or sometimes TransPennine Express although my problem there is they often seem rammed on them 185's. Wish I knew which CrossCountry journeys tend to use HST's, annoyingly it always seems to be ones heading in the opposite direction to me just to rub it in.