How busy have your trains been?

[trainophile]

Plenty more full & standing on today's TfW journey check. Including the 1131 Man Picc to Carmarthen, full and standing from Man Picc . It isn't listed in the Train Formation Updates though, so could even be a 3-car, which is worrying.

I notice on RTT that some TfW trains are annotated "Reservations recommended". Considering they aren't offering reservations nowadays that's rubbing salt in the wound.

 

[Bikeman78]

Plenty more full & standing on today's TfW journey check. Including the 1131 Man Picc to Carmarthen, full and standing from Man Picc . It isn't listed in the Train Formation Updates though, so could even be a 3-car, which is worrying.

I notice on RTT that some TfW trains are annotated "Reservations recommended". Considering they aren't offering reservations nowadays that's rubbing salt in the wound.

The trouble with the Welsh network is that it is rammed in summer but plenty of it is deserted in winter. Granted the Marches is busy all year round. Ideally they would hire in some units for the summer but do any other TOCs have any spare? Northern used to have spare DMUs at weekends but is that still the case?

 

[PHILIPE]

Plenty more full & standing on today's TfW journey check. Including the 1131 Man Picc to Carmarthen, full and standing from Man Picc . It isn't listed in the Train Formation Updates though, so could even be a 3-car, which is worrying.

I notice on RTT that some TfW trains are annotated "Reservations recommended". Considering they aren't offering reservations nowadays that's rubbing salt in the wound.

Was a 2 Car, a pair of dogboxes

 

[Mag_seven]

Yesterdays 1L51 1022 Swansea to London Paddington crush loaded on departure from Bristol Parkway leaving several prospective passengers including myslef left behind. Situation not helped by the fact it was a five car (short formed?) and there were a lot more passengers at Bristol Parkway than normal due to the works at Temple Meads.

 

[trainophile]

What happens if you're on an Advance ticket and can't physically board your train? (Could be me tomorrow, although I'm hoping things will have calmed down a bit by then.)

 

[PHILIPE]

We see the same complaints in respect of TFW re overcrowding, COVID safe on crowded trains, cancellations and short forming and the Twitter operatives just have to put out the same "Cut and Paste" responses day after day as if they are fed to the lions by the hierarchy. We never never hear any explanations or apologies from the people at the top explaining the whys and wherefores behind the causes of complaint and who probably write the standard responses

 

[Kite159]

I was impressed with Chiltern today, I was expecting the usual 2 coaches on most services, maybe the odd 3 coach. All the services I took were either 4 or 5 coaches.

Although I did turn down a Birmingham - London train for a Bicester North - London train when at Princes Risborough, and that was pretty much empty when it rolled in

 

[miklcct]

I took a round trip between Bournemouth and Southampton today.

10:59 South Western Railway service from Bournemouth to London Waterloo with 10 carriages: nearly fully seated
15:36 CrossCountry service from Southampton to Bournemouth with 9 carriages: nearly empty

 

[Jamesrob637]

Currently on the 16:15 Southport to Alderley Edge which is busy however the previous train from Manchester to Levenshulme and Heaton Chapel isn't actually calling at those stations today due to late departure, so it's probably an unfair comparison. At least it's actually a 769 and not 2-car!

 

[trainophile]

Strange occurrence today. Was booked on the 0908 TfW Milford Haven to Man Picc, travellling from Hereford at 1300 to Shrewsbury. On checking the Journey Check app at about 1145 I was dismayed to see it was full & standing from Bridgend.

On arrival at the station the departures board in the booking hall also had “full & standing” underneath the train. With mounting anxiety I awaited its arrival, only to find there were plenty of seats, many of them unoccupied doubles. Can only assume they all got off at Cardiff and Newport.

Although obviously relieved, I was a bit disgruntled that they hadn’t corrected the f&s report before its arrival (I kept checking) and thus caused all that unnecessary worry.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Next week will definitely be the busiest commuting week since February/March 2020. Leisure could be down though as all schools will be back by Monday.

 

[dk1]

Next week will definitely be the busiest commuting week since February/March 2020. Leisure could be down though as all schools will be back by Monday.

And still another week for an uplift in services. Twitter has had plenty of messages of crowding on GA services this week so this could get interesting.

 

[Jamesrob637]

And still another week for an uplift in services. Twitter has had plenty of messages of crowding on GA services this week so this could get interesting.

There are 50 of us on an ale trail tomorrow so that'll be contributing to leisure! Mind you, that's this week which is still classified as school holidays.

 

[westv]

Next week will definitely be the busiest commuting week since February/March 2020. Leisure could be down though as all schools will be back by Monday.

You could be right. Our City office employs around 300 and next week is the start of a mandatory return for at least 3 days a week.

 

[dk1]

There are 50 of us on an ale trail tomorrow so that'll be contributing to leisure! Mind you, that's this week which is still classified as school holidays.

Sounds excellent. Cheers!!!

 

[Grumpy Git]

There are 50 of us on an ale trail tomorrow .....

That's some round!

 

[Jamesrob637]

Sounds excellent. Cheers!!!

Slainte. But whether all will turn up... it's a 3-car Manchester to Huddersfield so I'll post here how busy it is/was.

 

[AndrewE]

I have travelled on the northern half of the WCML several times recently, the Euston Glasgows haev been 11-cars and quiet, the Birmingham Edinburghs have been 9-car and rammed.

 

[thejuggler]

Just back from an ECML day trip Leeds London. Outwards the train was almost full.

It didn't start off well as a 9 unit Azuma had been swapped for 2 x 5 so lots of seat reservation problems and being 2x5 you can't get to unreserved coach C from the other set until a station.

In this scenario previously the train manager cleared all the reservations and made it free for all.

London itself was by London standards in late summer 'dead'. No crowded tubes, empty buses and some areas in the City were so quiet it was how I imagine Christmas Day. There was no one in front of St Pauls, no groups of workers out on a Friday afternoon etc etc.

Trip back was affected by a person under at Biggleswade this afternoon. Our service left almost on time, we were in coach D, so half First class. Only about 8 in our standard class area. We ended up behind the late running LNER service to Bradford Forster Square outside Leeds station and had a 10 minute or so wait due to congested platforms.

Commuter traffic in London is apparently up and now at about 60% of this time in 2019.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Just back from an ECML day trip Leeds London. Outwards the train was almost full.

It didn't start off well as a 9 unit Azuma had been swapped for 2 x 5 so lots of seat reservation problems and being 2x5 you can't get to unreserved coach C from the other set until a station.

In this scenario previously the train manager cleared all the reservations and made it free for all.

London itself was by London standards in late summer 'dead'. No crowded tubes, empty buses and some areas in the City were so quiet it was how I imagine Christmas Day. There was no one in front of St Pauls, no groups of workers out on a Friday afternoon etc etc.

Trip back was affected by a person under at Biggleswade this afternoon. Our service left almost on time, we were in coach D, so half First class. Only about 8 in our standard class area. We ended up behind the late running LNER service to Bradford Forster Square outside Leeds station and had a 10 minute or so wait due to congested platforms.

Commuter traffic in London is apparently up and now at about 60% of this time in 2019.

It's anecdotes such as yours that put into perspective how busy London was until 18 months ago. Remember that 95% of London's tourism right now is predominantly domestic with some European visitors depending on country status.

 

[VideozVideoz]

At a guess around 30 alighting at Fishguard & Goodwick and around 20 or so boarded

Got quite busy after Carmarthen (and there was a good crowd at Llanelli who I assume was waiting for the 150 behind it to go into Swansea)

View attachment 101445

---------------

The 150 on a Manchester - Milford Haven service before the Fishguard was reasonably busy (from Neath at least), but heading back towards Cardiff later in the day I had a private coach on a 800 from Pembrey until Bridgend, although looked like it was going to be swamped by Millwall kickball fans. The coach on the Portsmouth train wasn't that busy until Warminster where some people who had been out to the Imber bus boarded.

They’re not still running 150s all the way from Manchester to West Wales are they?? I can’t believe they put on such trains for long distance journeys

 

[Kite159]

They’re not still running 150s all the way from Manchester to West Wales are they?? I can’t believe they put on such trains for long distance journeys

They run 153s on those services as well. Although normally they get swapped at Cardiff due to late running

 

[trainophile]

According to TfW Journey Check today, the 1531 from Man Picc to Carmarthen arriving 2058 has no toilet facilities. The mind boggles.

 

[PHILIPE]

They’re not still running 150s all the way from Manchester to West Wales are they?? I can’t believe they put on such trains for long distance journeys

Would you rather see the train cancelled and two train loads trying to board the next one ?

 

[trainophile]

Would you rather see the train cancelled and two train loads trying to board the next one ?

I guess your reply here would apply to my post directly above too. Think I would wait for the next one out of choice tbh.

 

[bramling]

They’re not still running 150s all the way from Manchester to West Wales are they?? I can’t believe they put on such trains for long distance journeys

In the case of TfW, 150s are their mainstay traction. With the 158 fleet being relatively small and a large proportion of it required to cover Cambrian diagrams which can’t use anything else, this doesn’t leave much else.

Not ideal, but it is what it is unfortunately. The 175 fleet wasn’t specified for Wales, and whilst they are excellent units and very suited to what they’re used on, there have never quite been enough of them.

 

[VideozVideoz]

They run 153s on those services as well. Although normally they get swapped at Cardiff due to late running

Late running because they’re not quick enough to keep to timetable or other usual reasons?

 

[dk1]

Okay some units are not the best on long distance but beggars can’t be choosers. Gets us from A to B & beats a cancellation or a God forbid, a bus.

 

[infobleep]

I haven't been keeping up with the thread but yesterday I got a 12:35 Guildford to Clapham Junction. I would have preferred a 12:04 but there isn't one and I just wasn't going to be ready for the 11:35 in the end.

It was busy enough so I went to the front carriage and got a seat. I then boarded a West London Line train to Shepherds Bush.

I got a seat and eventually, someone sat next to me. I decided to stay put. At the moment I wouldn't intentionally sit next to someone kn a train.

Last night I let an Overground train go in order to get the following Southern service, which of course would be quieter as it only departs 6 minutes later at 0:02. However, it was a couple of minutes late.

This train has first-class but I don't believe you can buy any first-class tickets between any two pairs of stations between Shepherds Bush and Clapham Junction, which are the only stations it serves, meaning only people holding a ticket for a journey involving other trains could sit it in.

It was an 8 car train so very quiet. My journey home was now officially disrupted so I headed to platform 9 to pick up the last fast train to Guildford. I thought about boarding the 0:17 and changing at Woking but decided to stay put.

Then for some reason, I decided to look at the board and see if my train was kn time as a Basingstoke train before it was delayed.

Turns out my train actually departs from platform 11. I wonder how many people have been caught out by this. Some year's ago at Guildford, there used to be a sign pointing out when a morning fast to Waterloo departed from a different platform to peoples expected one.

Still, I had plenty of time. Once on platform 11, I realised it's a class 455. Oh well, hopefully, I could get home without needing the loo. I managed it. If I'd known I wouldn't have risked it. Still, I got to enjoy some fast running. It wasn't fast until perhaps beyond Surbiton. In fact, we were 4 minutes late at this point

Still, we made up some of that time. The train was busy. A party of people got on board. They just got all of their people on board before we left. I wonder if they had been on platform 9? There is a 0:29 stopping service if you miss the 0:24. Only arrives 21 minutes later.

Today I boarded the 11:35 Guildford to Clapham Junction. It was rather busy. There was a two-seat section but with lots standing around near it, I decided to go to the front. Even every set of seats was occupied by someone here.

I think perhaps England are playing in the football. Some sporting event. Usually, there are two direct fast trains from Guildford to Clapham Junction on a Sunday but not today due to engineering works. It's two faatctarins one hour and then one the next. Get to travel via Staines too. As an aside, I once did use one of these services to alight at Staines for a connecting service

A lot of these people are likely to be from stations between Havant and Guildford who don't wish to change at Woking. Either that or it's people from Porrsmouth who just want the fastest service to London.

As I'm going to be sitting down most of the afternoon anyway, I stood. Part of me wishes trains were this busy on Saturday's so they could justify another fast train to Clapham Junction.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Yesterday many TPE trains over the Pennines between Manchester and Huddersfield were full thanks to our lot on the ale trail which was legendary and I highly recommend anybody to do it. Only the Slaithwaite to Marsden leg wasn't too busy. All 3-car with the exception of one 6-car as most were the stopper rather than through trains from East of Huddersfield.