From Birmingham New Street to Cardiff I travelled on 170115

working the 07.04 from Nottingham. On boarding the train at New Street it was absolutely packed to the gunwales and I was not looking forward to the journey. However, quite bizarrely, at the next stop, University, it virtually emptied out leaving just a handful of passengers, a situation that prevailed all the way to Cardiff. The seats on class 170s are comfortable and the ride is acceptable, the only issue is the noise from the engines under the passenger cabin, however, by moving to another seat further down the carriage this problem was largely ameliorated.