The Anonymous Widower

The Definitive Seating Layout Of Lumo’s Class 803 Trains

This article on Economy Class and Beyond is entitled Enter Lumo – The New East Coast Railway Competitor.

It contains a drawing from Lumo,  which shows the layouts of the seats on the train.

• Coach A – 44 Standard seats – 8 Priority seats – 2 Wheelchair spaces – 2 Tip up seats – Accessible toilet – 56 Total seats
• Coach B – 84 Standard seats – 12 Priority seats – Bike store – Toilet – 96 Total seats
• Coach C – 84 Standard seats – 12 Priority seats – 96 Total seats
• Coach D – 84 Standard seats – 12 Priority seats – Bike store – Toilet – 96 Total seats
• Coach E – 52 Standard seats – 8 Priority seats – 2 Tip up seats – Accessible toilet – 62 Total seats

Note.

1. This is a total of 406 seats.
2. Judging by the position of the tip-up seats they are for staff and perhaps emergency use, if say a coffee gets spilled on a seat.
3. Each car has a pair of tables, where four can sit. As Lumo’s business model allows early booking, if you and your partner want to take the kids to see granny on her birthday, you should be able to get a table, by booking early.
4. There are two bike stores in Coaches B and D.

These are some further thoughts.

Toilet Provision

I was on an LNER Class 800 train earlier this week and needed to go to the toilet.

• I wasn’t sure which way I needed to go, as I couldn’t see a sign pointing me to the toilet, but in the end I struck lucky.
• You don’t have that problem with Lumo’s trains, as there appears to be a toilet at both ends of the three middle coaches, either in your car or the next.
• If you’re in one of the driver cars, there is an accessible toilet at the blunt end.

I don’t think anybody will argue with the toilet provision on Lumo’s trains.

Can The Trains Be Lengthened?

If you look at the diagram of the train, Coaches B and D appear to be identical with a toilet and a bike store at one end.

These ends are connected to the centre car, which doesn’t have its own toilet, but passengers can use the toilets in the next coaches.

One of the advantages of this layout is that although it is a five-car train, it only has four coach types, which must help in both manufacture and maintenance.

But it also helps, if the train service is successful and more capacity needs to be provided.

An extra coach just needs to have a toilet at one end and when it is slotted into the formation. The train software, then automatically acknowledges the additional car.

The rule of having a toilet at both ends of the centre coaches will not be broken.

These trains are certainly designed for a service that could be more successful, than the train operator has initially planned.

The maths of lengthening are very simple.

• Each new coach will add another 96 seats.
• The five trains (25 coaches) cost £100 million.
• That is £4 million per coach.
• All stations on the route are capable of handling at least nine-car trains.

Different lengths of trains would give the following increases.

• Six-car trains would hold 502 seats and increase capacity by 24 %.
• Seven-car trains would hold 598 seats and increase capacity by 47 %.
• Eight-car trains would hold 694 seats and increase capacity by 71 %.
• Nine-car trains would hold 790 seats and increase capacity by 94 %.

The ability to lengthen trains so easily, must mean that Lumo can match their train size to demand, without needing any extra expensive train paths.

Bicycle Storage

There are two bike storage racks in Coaches B and D.

As there has been complaints about bicycle storage on these Hitachi trains, I would assume that Lumo have got the provision right for the target market.

Wheelchair Travellers

These are positioned next to one of the accessible toilets, which is standard practice.

How Will These Trains Compare To Budget Airliners?

This is not a great picture of even a boring subject like the A14 going over the East Coast Main Line.

But it was taken from an airline-style seat through the wide window of an LNER Hitachi train, that is in the same family as the trains purchased by Lumo.

Try taking a decent picture through the porthole on a budget airliner.

If Lumo have used decent seats for the trains, they will have the budget airlines screwed, glued and tattooed on the London and Edinburgh route.

Conclusion

These are certainly trains designed for their market.

September 9, 2021 - Posted by AnonW | Design, Transport/Travel | Class 803 Trains, East Coast Trains - Lumo, LNER