Which is the busiest train you have ever been on?

[Bevan Price]

In terms of passenger numbers - probably a Class 87-hauled Liverpool - Euston service (9 coaches I think.). First Sunday departure from Liverpool, and there had been some big event in Liverpool on the Saturday night. Totally wedged, doors locked 10-15 minutes before departure, and lots of people left behind.

In terms of percentage loading - several occurrences with 153s, e.g. Crewe - Derby when there was an open day at Toton; Derby - Crewe on Uttoxeter raceday, a single 153 on a summer saturday Manchester - Llandudno service......

 

[Bletchleyite]

Unreserved second class from Agra to Delhi.

No train I have *ever* been on in the UK, however bad the disruption was, was anywhere near as bad as that. Take your typical rush hour GWR Turbo and then double the number of people on board and you're about there. (Oh, and increase the temperature by 20 degrees or so - OK, Class 166 aircon doesn't work, but it's *nothing* on June in India).

And unlike said GWR commuters, not one of the passengers was whining.

Sometimes, much as TOCs can be validly criticised for all sorts of things, we don't know we're born.

 

[cactustwirly]

Probably a 2 car 158 on a Birmingham to Holyhead service this summer, on the same day as the races at Chester. The train was so busy that people were left behind at Ruabon and Chirk.

 

[cambsy]

Only time I get crush loaded generally is on the tube at peak time, had a GWR HST on a diversion, when they ran via Oxford and Banbury, full and standing from Oxford to London, about 100 mins, been on a few busy Cross Country voyagers which been rammed during journey, though I tend to be good at finding seats, always someone doesn’t turn up for their seat, never stood too long.

 

[Kite159]

One of the busiest I've seen was last year in Liverpool (end of November) where the previous LM got cancelled, so you had 2 lots of passengers heading back from Christmas shopping crush loaded onto a single 350, the doors were closed a good 5+ minutes before departure as there was physically no more space, looked like even in the 1st class area.
---
Another crush-loaded service was a 159 working the 22:20 Waterloo - Salisbury service on a Saturday night when engineering works meant fewer trains were departing Waterloo, add on something going wrong around Winchester, meaning a Portsmouth Harbour service & a Poole were cancelled, meant the single 159 was a tad cosier than usual on departure from Waterloo.

 

[sprinterguy]

Up to 21/22 passengers standing in the large vestibule (as pdeaves also relates above), or up to 14 in the small one, on a Voyager out of Birmingham is the maximum I have to endure on my normal evening commute home these days. A worse experience in similar conditions was travelling back the day after a gig in Banbury with a hangover in the middle of the snow disruption in December 2010, where the first train I'd boarded (a 2-car Chiltern 165) had struggled as far as Leamington Spa, where we were turfed off and onto the following packed Voyager into Birmingham, as I anxiously watched my previously ample one hour connection time into my next train from New Street disappear into the ether (made it with about ten minutes to spare, as I recall).

I've been on a Pacer sufficiently overloaded with standees that it simply ground to a halt and stuck while attempting to negotiate the Gateshead curve: The resigned tone of the guard as he relayed over the PA the nature of our predicament, and the drivers dexterous control of the power handle as he attempted to nurse our stricken beast around the curve, suggests that this was not an isolated incident. Elsewhere in Northernland, the last train out of Manchester back to Macclesfield on a Friday or Saturday night is often heaving to the gunwhales with as many standing passengers as you can accommodate in the vestibules and down the aisles of a capacious 323 unit, and "ample liquid refreshment" is essentially compulsory.

Speaking of which, I've been extremely glad that I haven't been travelling on some evening Transpennine services northbound out of York towards Middlesbrough that I've witnessed with some truly nightmarish loadings on, including some distinctly agitated (and definitely intoxicated) passengers, where crowd control barriers have been employed simply to keep the crowds from spilling over the platform edges before they board.

Overall, though, I tend to avoid the worst overcrowding, as where possible I will wait for a following train if the one presented before me looks too busy: Not always an option, though, if my journey is time critical and the service is only hourly, or its' the last train of the night.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Overall, though, I tend to avoid the worst overcrowding, as where possible I will wait for a following train if the one presented before me looks too busy: Not always an option, though, if my journey is time critical and the service is only hourly, or its' the last train of the night.

One thing that could be done for far less money than a load of new rolling stock is to put loadings on the journey planner. Some TOCs do posters, but it'd be better if it was searchable, e.g. "don't show me trains where I am likely to have to stand".

SBB do it, why not us?

 

[sprinterguy]

One thing that could be done for far less money than a load of new rolling stock is to put loadings on the journey planner. Some TOCs do posters, but it'd be better if it was searchable, e.g. "don't show me trains where I am likely to have to stand".

You'd certainly think it'd be a straightforward and eminently practical step to take to genuinely improve customer service. Especially given that we're moving towards a point where it's almost possible to show individual train loadings (or at the very least, proportion of reserved seats per carriage as Virgin do) in real time.

 

[mrcheek]

Nobody ever travels on trains from Fishguard Harbour to Cardiff. Unless of course Ireland are playing away at the Principality Stadium the next day.
I happened to make that very journey on the day before a rugby World Cup game in 2007. A train that was normally empty was full to the brim. But in spite of the crush, nobody complained, everyone was in good spirits. Rugby fans are class.

 

[roversfan2001]

A 158 from Blackburn to Preston after Man Utd had beaten Blackburn in the FA Cup last season, upwards of 20 people in the vestibule. Not helped by the fact someone pulled the passcomm so it was an hour between me boarding at Blackburn and alighting at Preston.

 

[Immby]

Most frequently crush loaded has to be 19.15 from Paddington. Have sat between the seat backs (between two sets of 4) on 1915 Paddington to Swansea on a Thursday on several occasions - particularly if there have been disruptions.

 

[cactustwirly]

A new record from Sunday, the 0950 Leeds to London St Pancras, which I took from Loughborough to Leicester. The only place I could actually board was a vestibule in Coach C (even coach A was busy).

 

[Abpj17]

Two instances stick out to me-

2. A single 319 at rush hour through the Thameslink Core after the job had stopped for half an hour with a train fault. We were cosy after Blackfriars, full and standing from City Thameslink, and crush loaded after Farringdon where I actually nudged a bloke back off the train as he elbowed me in the ribs to force his way on! Thankfully I was off at St Pancras.

Yup. A handful of variants of this up to St Albans. Invariably 4 carriages amidst a sea of cancellations. Leagrave has a sparse stopping service so it can be extra frustrating if you can't get on but there is a fast-Bedford almost immediately after.

A couple of other memorables:
- Friday night from Kings X to Edinburgh (alighting at Durham) - that was sitting on the floor time.
- And a one off rush hour from Woking to London. I suspect that was a daily occurrence for those passengers though.

 

[OneOffDave]

Yesterday was fun. 0716 FNB-WAT was cancelled, 0728 turned up short formed and already standing. Left about half the passengers at FNB on the platform as you couldn't fit any more on. 0746 arrived also short formed and was crush loaded after Brookwood. At FNB I could only just get on in the wheelchair and was just able to get on enough so the doors could close behind me. People leaning over me all the way to Waterloo

 

[Bletchleyite]

Unreserved second class from Agra to Delhi in India. Nothing I’ve seen before or since comes close. It was full and standing by UK standards, then another 50 or so got on.

 

[samogers]

London Bridge - Uckfield peak services, especially when they are short formed (sometimes 2 vice 10!)

 

[Quakkerillo]

Worst two journeys I've had were (1) a Dordrecht (Netherlands) to Schiphol Airport. Just as we arrived, the railway bridge just North of Dordrecht opened, and wouldn't close. Took 90 minutes before it was working again, when an international train Brussels-Amsterdam arrived, to be the first train Northbound. These 8 carriages saw the amount of passengers normally done by about 40 double-deck and 24 single-deck carriages trying to cram on.
and (2) Antwerp (Belgium) to Essen (Belgium). There had been a suicide just North of Antwerp during Friday rush hour (regular rush hour + all of the students going home). No trains had left North for 2 hours, when they finally announced the "peak hour buster" to be the first train Northbound. I rushed to get on, to find it was the 'Belgian Electric Pacer' as I call them. Two carriages, while normally there would've been 16 double-deck and 16 single-deck carriages full and standing having gone north. Needless to say, they closed and locked the doors 20 minutes before departure with about 200 people left on the platform when they closed the doors, after which they took the train off the screens and sent the rest away. We remained locked up for the 20 minutes before we set off, with lots of effort to get up the hill to get out of the tunnel.

 

[DarloRich]

This evening I was on a train that was so busy that I had to stand for most of the journey - squashed amongst others. Whatsmore, it's a Saturday night and a lot of my fellow passengers looked like they had ample liquid refreshment before boarding!....

It was quite an atmosphere!

WOW! That is what is known to London commuter as normal.

 

[MrTurbostar170]

I got the 8:52 from Wymondham to Cambridge when the GEML was shut. Was packed, with large crowds waiting at Ely where I was thankfully getting off.

 

[jfisher21]

1830 Euston - Glasgow on the friday of a bank holiday weekend - packed with people going to the lakes!

 

[MotCO]

Try about 01.00 on 1st January 2000 at Waterloo East when everyone was leaving London after seeing in the new Millennium. There was even someone standing on the buffers between the two units of a Networker which had come from Charing Cross! (Yes, on the outside!)