Published on: Monday, 30 April 2018
Last updated: Thursday, 24 May 2018
The train operator has asked passengers for their views and also hired an expert in train seat design.
He helped to find the best seats available and advised on changes to how they are made to make them even more comfortable.
Andrew Schoenemann, of Schoenemann Design, has over 30 years’ experience designing trains and previously worked with Greater Anglia on the popular refurbishment of its Intercity trains a few years ago.
He commented, “We were presented with a range of seats to look at and we were able to find the best seat to fit the environment for our new trains and for the passengers.
"We’re very lucky to have been able to work with the seat manufacturer and develop his standard product further.”
Greater Anglia has chosen the FISA ‘LEAN’ seat for the new Stadler trains - which will run from Norwich to London, Stansted Express and on regional routes - and made adjustments to the shape of the base cushions, lumbar support and head rests to ensure maximum comfort.
For the Bombardier trains – running on commuter routes from Southend, Colchester, Clacton and Cambridge - it has opted for the Kiel seat, which features a unique ‘S’ shape to the seat back for better comfort, and also creates more leg room for the person sitting behind.
Other features of the new seats include seat-back tables with special grooves to support portable devices, tablets and laptops and a plug and USB charging point at every seat.
Jason Brandon, Brand Manager for Greater Anglia, said, “We’re very aware of the problems that there have been with seats on new trains and this is why we really listened to customers’ feedback and really wanted to avoid any mis-shaped 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.”
“We’re looking forward to transforming the railway in East Anglia, with brand new state-of-the-art trains with more seats, faster journey times and more frequent services.
“Everything we’re doing is aimed at making customers lives a little easier.”
The major fleet replacement programme will see every single train in Greater Anglia’s fleet replaced with brand new trains.
The £1.4 billion investment in 169 new trains - 1043 carriages in total - will see every train fitted with free Wi-Fi, at-seat plug and USB points, air conditioning and state-of-the-art passenger information screens, in bright new carriages with comfortable new seats.