Latest news with #Mark3
North Wales Chronicle
05-08-2025
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Train operator bucks trend by introducing first-class travel
Chiltern Railways announced trains on its route between London and the West Midlands will have first-class carriages from next year. It said they will feature 'more spacious seats and improved connectivity', but will not include catering. Chiltern Railways currently has no first-class seating on its trains after abolishing the option more than a decade ago. It also stopped having a designated business zone – for which users were charged an on-board upgrade – in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Several train operators in Britain have scrapped first-class travel in recent years because of a lack of demand. These include London Northwestern Railway (in May 2023), Southeastern (in December 2022) and Stansted Express (in January 2020). Others have made the switch for certain routes, such as Greater Anglia, Thameslink and Great Western Railway. First-class tickets can cost several times the amount of standard-class fares. Some long-distance operators such as Avanti West Coast and LNER provide more space, hot food and alcoholic drinks to passengers who pay the extra money. Rail historian and broadcaster Christian Wolmar said he is 'very surprised' at the announcement by Chiltern Railways as passengers wanting a premium service are 'probably in a hurry' so travel on Avanti West Coast services between London and Birmingham, which are generally more expensive but quicker. He told the PA news agency that for suburban services, premium travel is 'an outdated concept from the days of bowler-hatted gentlemen in their first-class compartment while their secretaries sat in second'. He went on: 'That era has gone. I think for those sort of services, there are very few people who would really want to pay for a premium.' Chiltern Railways is replacing its oldest carriages – Mark 3s which date back to the 1970s – with 13 Mark 5A trains from spring next year. The trains – previously operated by TransPennine Express – are already configured with first-class sections, and it would have cost millions of pounds to convert them all to standard class. Chiltern Railways said it will have more standard-class seats than today once the introduction of the new fleet is completed. We're delighted to confirm that we're introducing newer and more trains to transform customer journeys in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. The Mark 5A trains will replace our 47-year-old Mark 3 carriages on one of our three main routes, between… — Chiltern Railways (@chilternrailway) August 5, 2025 Features for passengers include plug sockets and USB ports at every seat, enhanced wi-fi and digital information screens. The trains will enable additional services to be added to timetables from December 2026. Richard Allan, managing director of Chiltern Railways, said: 'We are thrilled for our customers that we will be able to replace our oldest trains, which are nearly 50-years-old, with their modern equivalent that are just six-years-old and provide significant improvement to their on-board experience. 'Chiltern will be renting more trains than it has today, which means we can operate additional services from the end of 2026 to help meet rising demand. 'The trains will be formed of modern carriages hauled by locomotives fuelled by recycled vegetable oil and fitted with the latest stop-start engine technology.' The announcement forms part of the operator's ambition to modernise and decarbonise its trains by 2030. This includes replacing its diesel trains with battery-electric trains. Rail minister Lord Hendy said: 'This Government is putting passengers back at the heart of the 21st-century railway by investing to make journeys easier, greener and more comfortable. 'We are continuing to support Chiltern as they develop a plan to introduce additional services into their timetable, giving people more opportunities to work, live and socialise.' The Department for Transport has not announced when Chiltern Railways will be nationalised as part of its strategy to bring all train operators under public control as existing contract expire or reach a break point. The operator's contract runs until December 2027.
The Herald Scotland
05-08-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Train operator bucks trend by introducing first-class travel
It said they will feature 'more spacious seats and improved connectivity', but will not include catering. Chiltern Railways currently has no first-class seating on its trains after abolishing the option more than a decade ago. It also stopped having a designated business zone – for which users were charged an on-board upgrade – in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Several train operators in Britain have scrapped first-class travel in recent years because of a lack of demand. These include London Northwestern Railway (in May 2023), Southeastern (in December 2022) and Stansted Express (in January 2020). Others have made the switch for certain routes, such as Greater Anglia, Thameslink and Great Western Railway. First-class tickets can cost several times the amount of standard-class fares. Some long-distance operators such as Avanti West Coast and LNER provide more space, hot food and alcoholic drinks to passengers who pay the extra money. Rail historian and broadcaster Christian Wolmar said he is 'very surprised' at the announcement by Chiltern Railways as passengers wanting a premium service are 'probably in a hurry' so travel on Avanti West Coast services between London and Birmingham, which are generally more expensive but quicker. He told the PA news agency that for suburban services, premium travel is 'an outdated concept from the days of bowler-hatted gentlemen in their first-class compartment while their secretaries sat in second'. He went on: 'That era has gone. I think for those sort of services, there are very few people who would really want to pay for a premium.' Chiltern Railways is replacing its oldest carriages – Mark 3s which date back to the 1970s – with 13 Mark 5A trains from spring next year. The trains – previously operated by TransPennine Express – are already configured with first-class sections, and it would have cost millions of pounds to convert them all to standard class. Chiltern Railways said it will have more standard-class seats than today once the introduction of the new fleet is completed. We're delighted to confirm that we're introducing newer and more trains to transform customer journeys in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. The Mark 5A trains will replace our 47-year-old Mark 3 carriages on one of our three main routes, between… — Chiltern Railways (@chilternrailway) August 5, 2025 Features for passengers include plug sockets and USB ports at every seat, enhanced wi-fi and digital information screens. The trains will enable additional services to be added to timetables from December 2026. Richard Allan, managing director of Chiltern Railways, said: 'We are thrilled for our customers that we will be able to replace our oldest trains, which are nearly 50-years-old, with their modern equivalent that are just six-years-old and provide significant improvement to their on-board experience. 'Chiltern will be renting more trains than it has today, which means we can operate additional services from the end of 2026 to help meet rising demand. 'The trains will be formed of modern carriages hauled by locomotives fuelled by recycled vegetable oil and fitted with the latest stop-start engine technology.' The announcement forms part of the operator's ambition to modernise and decarbonise its trains by 2030. This includes replacing its diesel trains with battery-electric trains. Rail minister Lord Hendy said: 'This Government is putting passengers back at the heart of the 21st-century railway by investing to make journeys easier, greener and more comfortable. 'We are continuing to support Chiltern as they develop a plan to introduce additional services into their timetable, giving people more opportunities to work, live and socialise.' The Department for Transport has not announced when Chiltern Railways will be nationalised as part of its strategy to bring all train operators under public control as existing contract expire or reach a break point. The operator's contract runs until December 2027.
Western Telegraph
05-08-2025
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Train operator bucks trend by introducing first-class travel
Chiltern Railways announced trains on its route between London and the West Midlands will have first-class carriages from next year. It said they will feature 'more spacious seats and improved connectivity', but will not include catering. Chiltern Railways currently has no first-class seating on its trains after abolishing the option more than a decade ago. It also stopped having a designated business zone – for which users were charged an on-board upgrade – in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Several train operators in Britain have scrapped first-class travel in recent years because of a lack of demand. These include London Northwestern Railway (in May 2023), Southeastern (in December 2022) and Stansted Express (in January 2020). Others have made the switch for certain routes, such as Greater Anglia, Thameslink and Great Western Railway. First-class tickets can cost several times the amount of standard-class fares. Some long-distance operators such as Avanti West Coast and LNER provide more space, hot food and alcoholic drinks to passengers who pay the extra money. Rail historian and broadcaster Christian Wolmar said he is 'very surprised' at the announcement by Chiltern Railways as passengers wanting a premium service are 'probably in a hurry' so travel on Avanti West Coast services between London and Birmingham, which are generally more expensive but quicker. He told the PA news agency that for suburban services, premium travel is 'an outdated concept from the days of bowler-hatted gentlemen in their first-class compartment while their secretaries sat in second'. He went on: 'That era has gone. I think for those sort of services, there are very few people who would really want to pay for a premium.' Chiltern Railways is replacing its oldest carriages – Mark 3s which date back to the 1970s – with 13 Mark 5A trains from spring next year. The trains – previously operated by TransPennine Express – are already configured with first-class sections, and it would have cost millions of pounds to convert them all to standard class. Chiltern Railways said it will have more standard-class seats than today once the introduction of the new fleet is completed. We're delighted to confirm that we're introducing newer and more trains to transform customer journeys in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. The Mark 5A trains will replace our 47-year-old Mark 3 carriages on one of our three main routes, between… — Chiltern Railways (@chilternrailway) August 5, 2025 Features for passengers include plug sockets and USB ports at every seat, enhanced wi-fi and digital information screens. The trains will enable additional services to be added to timetables from December 2026. Richard Allan, managing director of Chiltern Railways, said: 'We are thrilled for our customers that we will be able to replace our oldest trains, which are nearly 50-years-old, with their modern equivalent that are just six-years-old and provide significant improvement to their on-board experience. 'Chiltern will be renting more trains than it has today, which means we can operate additional services from the end of 2026 to help meet rising demand. 'The trains will be formed of modern carriages hauled by locomotives fuelled by recycled vegetable oil and fitted with the latest stop-start engine technology.' The announcement forms part of the operator's ambition to modernise and decarbonise its trains by 2030. This includes replacing its diesel trains with battery-electric trains. Rail minister Lord Hendy said: 'This Government is putting passengers back at the heart of the 21st-century railway by investing to make journeys easier, greener and more comfortable. 'We are continuing to support Chiltern as they develop a plan to introduce additional services into their timetable, giving people more opportunities to work, live and socialise.' The Department for Transport has not announced when Chiltern Railways will be nationalised as part of its strategy to bring all train operators under public control as existing contract expire or reach a break point. The operator's contract runs until December 2027.
WIRED
08-05-2025
- WIRED
Zero Breeze Mark 3 AC Review: Effective Portable Cooling
As the weather heats up, the trappings of summer arrive with it: swimsuits, mosquitoes, and, naturally, portable air conditioning. Go-anywhere AC is now a thing, and in fact, I've been writing about it since 2019, when Zero Breeze released its first luggable, battery-powered air conditioning unit. A (minor) update arrived in 2022, but now version three is here. Conceptually, the Zero Breeze Mark 3 (Roman numerals begone!) remains the same as its forebears, though the design has been tidied up a bit, giving it a cleaner and more polished look. Nevertheless, it's still a beast of a device that is hardly something that will live in your trunk just in case you take an impromptu trip to the beach. Portable Air Photograph: Chris Null Measuring 22 x 10 x 12 inches (without the battery pack installed), the Mark 3 is a little larger than the Mark II and quite a bit heavier, now weighing 22 pounds compared to the Mark II's 17 pounds. Clip on the enormous 1,022-Wh battery pack and you're adding another 14 pounds to the rig, though that frees you from having to be near a power outlet if you want to cool down. I complained in both of my earlier reviews that Zero Breeze's approach to charging was a bit silly, because although the battery pack physically clips onto the bottom of the air conditioner, it uses a separate cable to attach to the air conditioner's charging port. Incredibly, this is still the case, though you can at least now operate the Zero Breeze from battery power while it's simultaneously charging—something that wasn't possible on previous iterations. (You still can't run the Zero Breeze while charging if the battery is completely dead. It needs some juice, about a 50 percent charge, to get things going, after which it can run indefinitely.) A new feature is that batteries can now be stacked and charged in sequence (as many as you like), each daisy-chained to the next, though at a minimum of $600 per battery, this can quickly get exorbitantly expensive. Each Mark 3 battery also has extra outputs that can be used for other devices—one USB-C port, one USB-A port, and a 12-volt DC socket. This is a downgrade from the Mark II battery, which has all of the above plus a second USB-A port. Why it was removed is a mystery.
WIRED
08-05-2025
- WIRED
The Zero Breeze Mark 3 Is an Effective Portable Air Conditioner With a Chilling Price
As the weather heats up, the trappings of summer arrive with it: swimsuits, mosquitoes, and, naturally, portable air conditioning. Go-anywhere AC is now a thing, and in fact, I've been writing about it since 2019, when Zero Breeze released its first luggable, battery-powered air conditioning unit. A (minor) update arrived in 2022, but now version three is here. Conceptually, the Zero Breeze Mark 3 (Roman numerals begone!) remains the same as its forebears, though the design has been tidied up a bit, giving it a cleaner and more polished look. Nevertheless, it's still a beast of a device that is hardly something that will live in your trunk just in case you take an impromptu trip to the beach. Portable Air Photograph: Chris Null Measuring 22 x 10 x 12 inches (without the battery pack installed), the Mark 3 is a little larger than the Mark II and quite a bit heavier, now weighing 22 pounds compared to the Mark II's 17 pounds. Clip on the enormous 1,022-Wh battery pack and you're adding another 14 pounds to the rig, though that frees you from having to be near a power outlet if you want to cool down. I complained in both of my earlier reviews that Zero Breeze's approach to charging was a bit silly, because although the battery pack physically clips onto the bottom of the air conditioner, it uses a separate cable to attach to the air conditioner's charging port. Incredibly, this is still the case, though you can at least now operate the Zero Breeze from battery power while it's simultaneously charging—something that wasn't possible on previous iterations. (You still can't run the Zero Breeze while charging if the battery is completely dead. It needs some juice, about a 50 percent charge, to get things going, after which it can run indefinitely.) A new feature is that batteries can now be stacked and charged in sequence (as many as you like), each daisy-chained to the next, though at a minimum of $600 per battery, this can quickly get exorbitantly expensive. Each Mark 3 battery also has extra outputs that can be used for other devices—one USB-C port, one USB-A port, and a 12-volt DC socket. This is a downgrade from the Mark II battery, which has all of the above plus a second USB-A port. Why it was removed is a mystery.
