S Stock

Odd place to ask - you are not going to get an objective picture here.

At present very few S stock trains have entered service, therefore most Londoners will not yet have experienced them.

I'm not a Londoner either, but I've seen one twice but not actually had a chance to ride one yet due to either going in the opposite direction or passing it completely

I would say that even the air-conditioning alone is a good enough reason to get on an S stock, particularly given the fact that you will be here in late July.

I would imagine most londoners will barely notice, but still complain when there isn't one when they want one (for good or bad reasons)

can anyone explain what the reason is that the introduction of s stock is taking so long for?! i mean when the 09 stock started on the vic trains were coming in every 2 weeks from 2010, so why hasnt the same thing happened with the s stock since 2011? dont see how they plan having all trains in service within the next 6 months!

I've just had my first ride on an S stock. Rather unexpectedly - I was photographing at Rayners Lane when one turned up so I took a ride to Uxbridge. Unfortunately for me it depated east out of service so my experience was short.

My overwhelming impression though was of a clean, comfortable (yes, I do mean that) and well-designed train. That the A stock I've just caught to Ruislip smelled of urine didn't diminish my appreciation for the S one bit.
Three things particularly stick in my mind comparing this real journey to the mockup a couple of years back.
The first is that I was very surprised at the amount of movement between the cars (in all dimensions) so I can now see why the DLR-style circular level floor connector that myslef and Chris W(?) commented so much about when viewing the mockup may not have worked.

Secondly I was impressed with the speed and apparent no-nonsenseness of the closing doors. I certainly wouldn't want to try and hold them open. This was not apparent on the mockup (where I did manage to get my hand caught).

Finally, the only thing I'm not sure about is the door opening and closing alerts. The door opening sound is much louder and harsher than the closing alarm - I remember commenting about this at the mockup and I'm still not convinced.

Comfort wise I have no complaints - the seats (longitudinal and transverse fixed ones, I didn't sit on a tip-up one) were not noticeably more or less comfortable than the A stocks I travelled on either side of the S and they are more comfortable than those on the 2009 stock, 1996 stock and DLR (the units I use most).

Overall I'm impressed.

Chris M: The DLR though has its carriages articulated sharing a common bogie. This by its very nature will reduce shear movement between them, enabling the round thing to be installed on the floor. If the S stock had used articulated bogies perhaps it could have been seen there aswell.

The door alarms are different to the ones on the mock up. Took ages trying different possibilities. The open alarm measures a similar volume to the close and both only slightly exceed the minimum level in the standards. I guess it's the human response to the two tone types that's different. I agree the 'open' seems a bit harsh.

I quite like them, but they could definitely do with more (and/or lower) handrails for people standing.

Trin 427 was UID S stock this evening, I passed it between Farringdon and Kings X. That was heading to Aldgate, Whilst I was on 5016 going to Euston Square.

Have ridden S stock (train 411) two days running now. Not tried out the seats yet, and I only go Wembley Park to Finchley Road in an attempt (not always successful) to beat the Jubilee Line. Yesterday, a little time was spent at Wembley Park with the doors closed and the buttons active. Nice idea. The doors are otherwise fully TO-operated.

I must say, I like the trains. They may not be great for long journeys on the Met - I remember doing Baker Street to Chalfont & Latimer (for Chesham) once - but they are an improvement in enough ways that I prefer them. I particularly like the walk-through design.

My boyfriend, who has claustrophobia issues, says that he finds the S Stock more reassuring than the A Stock because they seem to be bigger inside, and feels that the lighting is also better.

Went on the Met today, Liverpool Street to Chesham and back (changing at Baker Street). Was surprised to only see 1 S-stock which was at Chalfont & Latimer. Thankfully it looks like we still have quite a bit of time to ride the A-stocks before they all go to the scrapheap.

I really think the exterior design of the S-stock is brilliant. Its the interior that I am really unsure of. I wonder if even more commuters up in Buckinghamshire will try to get the Chiltern service which is very comfortable, if they are faced with those S-stock seats to and from London every weekday!