LNR's refurbished Class 350 Desiro,

[@Rail_Focus]

Rail photography on Redbbuble, prints, mugs, t-shirts and much more: www.redbubble.com/people/EngPhotography/explore?page=1&sortOrder=recent

[@samgotskillz]

Ah yes, the good ole class 350's. Spent a good 10+ years travelling on them daily to/from work. Better than the previous 321's that's for sure. Although the 321's do hold a special place in my heart as it was the first train that I ever traveled on from Long Buckby To London Euston in the mid 90's . I want to say that particular train was in an Network South East livery at the time before Silverlink kicked in.

[@Rail_Focus]

The Class 350 may be unusual as it seems universally liked by passengers and enthusiasts, apart from the /2s 😉

[@cbawitlife]

@@Rail_Focus what were wrong with the /2s?

[@Rail_Focus]

@@cbawitlife just really dislike the 2+3 seating and the seats themselves seems uncomfortable

[@cbawitlife]

@@Rail_Focus oh, well there's a reason they're gonna be votekicked in favour of 730/1s

[@Rail_Focus]

@@cbawitlife let's just hope the new units have comfortable seats 😬

[@stevewalsh1987]

I love the cheap fares from London to Crewe on these the 350s windows make for a much more interesting trip than the pendelinos

[@Rail_Focus]

Me too, last few trips to London cost £60, including the train from Chester to Crewe, a lot cheaper than Avanti's advanced fares.

[@arnoldspottingvideos5269]

Great video Rail Focus. The WMR 196 are now in service on the Birmingham to Shrewsbury and Shrewsbury to Birmingham

[@Rail_Focus]

Cheers, hoping to make the trip on Thursday, but not 100% sure yet.

[@arnoldspottingvideos5269]

@@Rail_Focus it was Monday the 17th when it enter service

[@Rail_Focus]

Friday was the press launch, their first official passenger trip was this morning

[@Sim0nTrains]

They are great units but also not a fan of the 3+2 seating, however I was speaking to the MD of West Midlands Trains when on the Class 196 and raised the question about the Cass 350/2s on Euston to Crewe, at the moment ALL Class 350s are on a fix diagram but once December comes, the Class 350/2s will be put on a different diagram to start taking them out of service when the Class 730s arrive, something interesting I've also learnt from the MD is that families do love the 3+2 seating on the Class 350/2s and prefer them which is another reason I'm guessing that they are on the London Euston to Crewe services, for me if I'm travelling from Stafford to Rugeley, not a big of a deal as the commute only 10 minutes but Euston to Rugeley which is roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes, would prefer a table seat so I can use my laptop, great video.

[@Rail_Focus]

Someone on Twitter did say about families preferring 2+3 which I understand, I'm not sure if it's just the seat arrangements though, as the seats themselves seem really uncomfortable. What I didn't realise is they appear to be coupled to a /1 or 3, 4s so I needn't have suffered on the trip back to Crewe

[@Thornaby37]

Hopefully from December, the 350/2s will be operated as a separate fleet from the rest of the 350s, meaning that you will no longer get 3 by 2 seating on the long distance services

[@Rail_Focus]

That'd be good, the refurbished units are quite good.

[@Andrewjg_89]

The 37 Class 350/2s that are to be replaced by the Class 730 5-Car Aventras could go to ScotRail to replace the Class 318 and Class 320. But they are to be converted into Battery-electric MU which might be useful for Birmingham New Street-Shrewsbury via Wolverhampton/Telford Central. That Siemens and London Northwestern Railway or West Midlands Railway might upgrade them to battery-electric units for that route.

[@Rail_Focus]

Will be glad to see the 350/2 gone. Will be interested to see where they end up as there's plenty of life left in them, despite the rubish seats

[@Andrewjg_89]

Most likely to be stored and unused just like the Class 379 Electrostar.

[@andrewreynolds4949]

In my own entirely unprofessional opinion they should be sent to Great Northern. There’s about the right number of units to displace the assorted class 387s there, which could be sent to Southern to help solve their scarcity of rolling stock. Really it just requires some basic redecorating and maybe new seats, rather than a much higher risk battery conversion program. It also unifies Great Northern’s fleet with Siemens-built stock, and Southern’s with more Electrostars

[@Rail_Focus]

Yeah it's just the 3+2 seating arrangement I don't like, especially for long distance routes such as Crewe-Euston

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

⁠Apparently the Class 379s are going to be with Great Northern to replace some of the Class 387/1s that are to be cascaded to Southern or Southeastern I think.

[@joemercedeschannel196]

You did have a point on the 350/2's about the comfort. The seats are so hard and a 3+2 config is rather an unsuitable journey from London to Birmingham. I did try out one of these before and they're so hard. Also a fact they have got no charging facilities which just makes them more outdated

[@RedCatTrain]

I personally don’t think the 2+3 seats on the 350/2s are hard, but they are extremely tired, and when I went on one, it was soft but uncomfortable

[@joshuahalla.k.a.controlla6333]

Nice 🔥

[@butikimbo9595]

West Coast Mainline alocated units now branded LNWR should be Intercity version adopted to Southwest Railway class 444 since their introduction to their long distance duties in 2000s on this route with Silverlink. Just my opinion.

[@butikimbo9595]

The only thing i "hate" on DESIRO family is the cubicle toilet as an alternative to much wither disabled. But every penny counts and such comfort and space has a price of seats reduction as downside. Their ride quality is the smoothest and quietest i've ever experienced on a train so far.

[@Rail_Focus]

The non accessible toilets do seem particularly small. Other than that though they are great units.

[@Class777]

How about Liverpool to Birmingham, will this be replaced?

[@Rail_Focus]

Not sure to be honest, they have been on test on that route, but it doesn't seem clear which route the 730s will operate on, especially now they've Changed the order

[@Class777]

@@Rail_Focus I agree, thanks for replying. It will be interesting to see what they do to this line as it certainly picks up a lot of passengers along the journey more than starts if that makes sense.

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

Is it just the Class 350/2 that is to be replaced by the Class 730/2 and Class 350/1/3 & /4 that are to be retained. What will happen to the Class 350/2 once they have been replaced by the Class 730/2. Maybe transfer the Class 350/2 to another train operator or are they to be sent for storage and to be unused.

[@Rail_Focus]

I think so. I'm not sure what will happen to them though, they're good units but not many electrified routes from them to go to. Northern is replacing it's 4 car Class 319s with 323s, as 4 car trains can't work in multiple on much of Northern's network.

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

⁠Mostly likely going for storage and to be unused. 😢

[@Rail_Focus]

Intro Music by Steve ▶️ kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6mkm5l6q92Embc ◀️

[@2010ColinF]

2 plus 3 seating is definitely not uncomfortable on long journeys

[@Rail_Focus]

Not sure if it's just the arrangement, but the seats on the /2s seem really uncomfortable in my opinion.

[@DonaldTrumpIsGreat]

The Class 350/2 Could Go To First Great Western For Thames Valley Commuter Services Replacing The Class 387s 👍

[@Rail_Focus]

350/2s better than 387s ?

[@DonaldTrumpIsGreat]

@@Rail_Focus Yes and Because The 350s Have Nice Motor's They Would Look Nice In FGW Colours and Also They Have Better Seats Compared To The 387s 👍

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

Don’t think so. ScotRail could do with having Class 350/2s to replace the Class 318 and Class 320. But I doubt it.

[@DonaldTrumpIsGreat]

Yes The Class 350s Would Be Good For ScotRail Too 👍