Great Western Coffee Shop

travelled btm to chelt today on a double voyager outside was done in new colours,inside however was in a terrible state.
sat in carriage d by the shop all i could smell was sick,the seats,carpets and panelling were filthy,the set was fresh off overnight service on barton hill. is it me or has the cleaning on voyager's gone down hill under x/c? oh not to mention the toilet smell in the next carriage along.

still it was on time and the air con worked.

but the condition of seats and carpets did kind of remind me about the 158's pre refresh,them were the days thread bare carpets and seats covered in crap.

i take it x/c are gonna spend some money on the voyagers they are keeping?

One would hope that XC will give their Voyager fleet a refresh in the not too distant future as they really need it. Despite being relatively new trains, their interiors are looking quite shabby after a few years of intense use.

I would certainly hope that they receive  similar refresh to the 170s, as and when they have the alterations, ie shop removed.  I agree though that the carpets and especially seat covering are quite worn now. 

I believe that some of the 'unpleasant' smells that come from Voyagers are supposed to be the Hydraulics overheating.

i did not realise any 170's had been refreshed,i saw 170519 yesterday in x/c colours but still central interior.
got any pics of a refreshed 170?

not sure about that but the ones i have been on it is definatly the sh1t tank vent that smells.

They are all a state. Horrible trains. Seriously wish that FGW ran the morning service I get. could be done - easily - just messes up XC's timings between Newton Abbot and Manchester   ;D

Ahh yes Vomit Comets,....wouldnt hold your breath about too much money being spent on them if Arriva are anything to go by

true only got to look at the puse green rubbish over in wales to see that,coat of paint no more.

at least fgw have actually took note and realised the fleet was in a crap state and done something about it,back to the voyagers one of the tilters i saw today reminded me of a few years back,2 out of 5 not running and oil splattered all down the sides.

Trouble is, passengers need to hold their breath when they get on one. :D

For 2 reasons! :P

I am travelling each weekend to Birmingham from Exeter and back at the moment and am utterly fed up. Last night the 18.10 had no air con in my coach and it was virtually unbearable with the stench from the toilet making it very unpleasant. To make it worse some of the seat reservation displays weren't working so difficult to know which seats were reserved.

My partner travelled with her three year old son three weeks ago and the train was so packed that she had to stand all the way from New Street to Bristol Parkway. I dont think I have had one comfortable journey over the last two months. The Voyagers are getting in a real state - I am sure it was never this bad with Virgin. I think I may well start driving.

Believe me it was. You are absolutely right about them starting to look in a real state. It was Virgin who replaced HSTs with Voyagers which are just not the right trains for long distance travel. If I'm travelling north, I pay the extra and go via London. When XC re-introduce HSTs later this year and they run at times when I need to travel I will use them but Voyagers...no thanks!

I have to admit- the only train I've ever felt really sick on is a Voyager...but that was after getting food poisoning so I don't think that helped! Lol.

I find Voyagers OK if they're not busy- but a total nightmare to be on if they are. That's when they tend to get smelly and really stuffy too  :-\

I think I will start going via London. I'm really fed up with them.

I do like the voyagers, but its a shame that they arent like the  meridians inside.  I much prefer MMLs Meridians when I used to travel on them.  Better seats and internal feeling.

I agree, voyagers are nice when empty, its when gthey are full they are so horrible.

I find the lighting is too dull in them as well. 

Sorry to ask quite a blunt question, but do MML Meridians and Hull Trains Pioneers (later versions of the Voyager) have smelly toilets too?

I didn't notice it as much on Pioneers but Meridians definately do.

The Meridians do have a much better internal feeling though, in my opinion.   

I've travelled on the Voyagers a lot, and i must confess, i've never ever had any problems with them.
I dont even mind where they are crowded, I'll just find a comfy corner in the vestible areas.
Ok, when they are really busy, the air con has trouble coping.

Plus, in all the time i travelled on both FGW and Virgin/XC daily, overall i think i had a better service record with Virgin/XC than FGW. There was definatly more delays and cancelations that effected me personally on FGW than XC.