Formation and Passenger Facilities
There are 44 Class 221 trains, numbered 221 101 to 221 144; the first forty are five-car trains originally operated by Virgin Cross Country, and the remaining four were four-car sets, originally intended for Virgin West Coast North Wales services.
In November 2010, Virgin Trains reformed its three four-car sets into two five-car sets and a residual spare two-car set by inserting the two intermediate (non-driving) cars from 221144 into 221142 and 221143, giving 20 five-car sets (and two spare driving cars). This was aimed at providing more flexibility and consistency in operating Birmingham-Scotland and London-North Wales services.
All vehicles are air-conditioned and fitted with at-seat audio entertainment systems and power sockets for laptop computers and mobile-phone charging. First-class accommodation has 2+1 seating, standard class 2+2 seating. Virgin Trains' units are fitted with CCTV.
The trains have been criticised for providing insufficient space for luggage and bicycles. Also, because the units are designed to tilt, the carriages have a tapered profile that narrows towards roof level, resulting in a less spacious interior than the conventional carriages they replaced.
The formation and capacity of each unit depends on the operator.
| Operator | Cars per set | First Class Seats | Standard Class Seats | Bicycle storage | Formation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Trains | 5 | 26 (84)* | 236 (178)* | 4 | Coach A Quiet Zone, Coach D - Standard/First Dual Use Coach with Shop, Coach E First Class. |
| CrossCountry | 26 | 252 | 3 | Coach A First Class, Coach F Quiet Zone, at seat catering service. | |
| CrossCountry | 4 | 26 | 182 | 3 | Coach A First Class, Coach F Quiet Zone, at seat catering service. |
'*' The number of seats on Virgin sets depends on the use of coach D; if used on North Wales services it provides extra first-class seats, on Anglo-Scottish services coach D is standard-class accommodation.
Read more about this topic: British Rail Class 221
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