Are you sitting comfortably? You will be in HS2's seats, say designers

For now, it is not clear how far passengers will be able to travel on future HS2 services - whether reaching Euston or all the way to Crewe. But a peek at HS2's embryonic carriages reveals travellers will be enthroned in “the best seats of any UK trains” - even, arguably, in the toilets.

- Gwyn Topham

Conscious of discontent with the “ironing board” seats in some new trains on Britain's railways, HS2 is putting passengers' backs centre stage. In a dedicated room at the manufacturer Alstom's factory in Derby, full-size wooden mock-ups of the train interiors have been built for diverse user groups to test.