HS2 unveils "most comfortable" seat yet for services
Last updated 19th Oct 2024
HS2 has unveiled test designs for its high-speed trains - including airline-style seats.
Full-size concepts at train manufacturer Alstom's Derby factory reveal standard class tickets will give passengers leg room of 87 centimetres.
Airline-style seats will give each passenger easy access to a large fold-down table, a shelf for small electronic devices, a reading light with three brightness settings, a coat hook, a USB-C socket and two three-pin plug sockets, the latest version shows.
The bottom part of HS2 seats will be able to slide forwards, enabling passengers to recline without encroaching on the space of the person behind them.
Passengers travelling on some existing trains run by operators such as Thameslink and Great Western Railway have complained that thin padding makes the seats uncomfortable for long journeys, comparing them to ironing boards.
HS2 Ltd senior rolling stock engineer James Dawson said the ambition is for HS2 services to have "the most comfortable seat on trains in the UK".
He went on: "We know there been issues with some recent seats, we know the failure, we know why that is.
"We'll start off by looking at what's in the cushion to make sure that's comfortable and robust, and look at the geometry of the back."
Simon Aslett is rolling stock director at the West Coast Partnership Development, a joint venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia which is responsible for preparing to run initial HS2 services.
He said: "As an industry we have done a pretty bad job with some of the previous inter-city seat designs, and there's been a lot of public backlash. These will be much better.
"It's hard though, because if you're buying a car, you buy a car that's comfortable for you.
"If you're designing a train, the challenge is to try and get it as comfortable as possible for different groups.
"It wouldn't surprise me if you get some people who say 'I don't know what you've done, it's uncomfortable'."