End of the line for train firm’s painful ‘ironing board’ seats

A TRAIN company has scrapped “ironing board” seats in a victory for commuters. Greater Anglia said it had consulted specialists after seeing the anger about uncomfortable seats on new trains, and promised padded seats.

The £1.4 billion investment in 169 new trains will see them all fitted with free wi-fi, at-seat plugs and USB points, along with air conditioning.

Jason Brandon, the brand manager for Greater Anglia, said: “We’re very aware of the problems that there have been in other parts of the country with seats on new trains and this is why we really listened to customers’ feedback and really wanted to avoid any misshaped seats or too hard a seat.

“We’ve heard the feedback from customers, we’ve listened, and we care about them being as comfortable as possible so we’ve selected a seat which is far more comfortable for customers.”

Passengers had previously complained that seats on the trains were uncomfortable.

One tweeted to the company: “Thank you for new trains but the ironing board seats are horrendous and experience therefore far worse. Dread seeing a new carriage come in now.”

Another posted: “I’m not one to whinge (unless the train is cancelled or late) but usually people try out new chairs before investing in them… I appreciate the carriage upgrades but I’m unable to walk after an hour sat on these terrible new seats!”

Thameslink and Great Northern have also received complaints about uncomfortable seats.