First impressions
Arriving at Bristol Temple Meads at 0445 on October 16, the screens were advertising that the 0600 to London Paddington was a ten-car Intercity Express Train.
The train was due into Platform 15 from Stoke Gifford at 0518, but that time came and went… and the Class 800s still hadn’t arrived. Soon the announcement came that the train was due from Platform 7, and that it would be a High Speed Train.
That information then changed again, and eventually at 0618, 800005/006 rolled into Platform 15. Under a sky of fireworks at 0626, history was made as the trains left Bristol.
The ride itself was smooth, and the underfloor engines barely noticeable. Passengers commented on the ride quality, with one stating it was “nice, but let’s hope it runs on time tomorrow”.
The seats are firm, but there is sufficient legroom - although fitted with regulation high-back seats, there is not a sense of being crammed in as there is on a Great Western Railway HST. Luggage spaces looked ample, although trying to find the sockets to charge electrical equipment was a challenge.
Instructions to operate the doors between carriages seemed to be missing, meaning that when I tried to enter one coach I ended up opening the carriage door onto the platform (before we departed).
I was in the coach that became uncomfortably warm, which also had senior officials and Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling aboard. The heat become obvious quite early in the trip, and this failure aboard 800006 caused the train’s removal from service later that day.
I also travelled on 800009 (paired with 800008) on the 0930 Bristol Temple MeadsLondon Paddington from Reading. This was much smoother, and it was noticeable when the trains switched to electric traction, in terms of the power and acceleration.
I came away from the trains believing that they are good, but with snags that require fixing. First Class appears a step down from what is currently available on the HSTs, but Standard Class is a step-up.
RAIL will be carrying out a train test in the coming weeks to properly exam IEP, once it has settled into service.