Personal Pendolino

[Barclay]

I had a Pendolino to myself today - nearly. Took the 1530 Crewe to Euston and it had 10 passengers on it, plus 5 staff! Something to do with engineering works North of Crewe I think.

I must say Penolinos are much more pleasant when you have an entire coach to yourself.

 

[tbtc]

Are you Brad Pitt?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I was one of three in my coach as far as Carlisle on last Saturday's 1652 EDB-BHM.

 

[bengolding]

Well, the 15:29 from Crewe is the 14:55 from Manchester via Wilmslow. I find it very hard to believe that on a Sunday, there were only 10 customrs on the entire 9 coach Pendolino, given that the line north to Scotland was closed until 3pm, so this train would have been carrying customers bustituted from Warrington etc.

 

[stut]

Your own personal Pendolino?

A train to hear your prayers, a train that cares?

 

[rail-britain]

The 16:30 Euston - Glasgow can often be like this
About 8 passengers in First Class to Preston, then just myself to Glasgow
On my last trip the staff just plumped all the food at the table next to me "Just help yourself", yikes!

 

[bengolding]

Did they also leave the drinks trolley next to your table so you could help yourself to as much as you want? I've always wondered about the 18:30 from Preston - as it runs non-stop to Glasgow, surely a few hapless customers must have boarded thinking it was stopping at stations Lancaster-Carlisle? By the time they reach Glasgow, the first southbound is the 04:25!

 

[HSTEd]

I remember when me and my mother travelled back from Leeds to Grantham one night and we were the only two people in first class, the first class trolley staff sat with us and we did the crossword while drinking the pots of tea by ourself.

Those were the days.

 

[Flying Snail]

I had the first class section of the WAG Express to myself all the way from Cardiff to Crewe when I last used it a few months ago, the food was fine as was the waitress.

 

[rail-britain]

I've always wondered about the 18:30 from Preston - as it runs non-stop to Glasgow, surely a few hapless customers must have boarded thinking it was stopping at stations Lancaster-Carlisle?

No, the customers should be aware of the departure information at Preston, which makes it quite clear "Glasgow only"
However it does happen that some passengers expect it to call at Carlisle
As a result the train makes a special request to stop and pulls into Platform 1, if it is on time
However sometimes this does not happen, typically if the train is late, and they passengers are taken all the way to Glasgow

 

[Crossover]

Me and a friend were on a Glasgow - Birmingham service back in May - was meant to be a Voyager but had been swapped on an earlier diagram for a Pendolino. We were in FC and headed to coach K which was the driving end for the service.

For the entire journey there was only the 2 of us as passengers with the odd member of staff taking residence in the coach (TM between ticket checks mainly). I don't think there were more than a couple of people in coach J either from what I saw.

The unusual thing about it mainly was having seen the hoards of people on the platform waiting to board, where everyone disappeared to and how empty some of the train was, so either everyone had piled into the nearest coaches at Glasgow or with that diagram being more used to a Voyager, everyone had generally more space

 

[ReverendFozz]

Not had a Pendolino to myself, but going upto Aberdeen in 2000, took a HST upto Waverley, got onto a Scotrail service up, which was running late, about an hour I think, it also involved changing at Dundee, I cant remember the circumstances, but the train leaving Dundee was held there, in the end myself and a young lady were sat in a first class section, I think it was a 158

 

[Yew]

Me and a mate have had all of a meridian to ourselves. Lots of tea and coffee

 

[Swr28]

Had a Virgin Voyager to myself back when they ran overnight service from Holyhead to Birmingham, i travelled on a 158 from Crewe to a very windy and cold Bangor for the 02:14 departure, ferry sailings into Holyhead having being cancelled so had the Voyager pretty much to myself

 

[pemma]

I've not got the timetable to hand but the Manchester via Crewe departure at around 16:40 from Euston is similar to what is described. I caught it once in the middle of a Virgin fare promotion and it had less than 10 passengers in standard class between Euston and Crewe.

 

[HST Power]

EC First Class from Newcastle to Kings Cross (and vice versa) seems to be empty every time. Call me mean, but I love it when you come into a station and they say the train will be packed, only for the First Class coaches to remain empty.

 

[Barclay]

Are you Brad Pitt?

No, that's my husband.

I was wrong in my original post, it was 1535 off Crewe not 1530. Still 10 passengers though, 6 in standard and 4 in first.

 

[ivanhoe]

Based on the number of posts on here, can we deduce that there are too many services on the West Coast Main Line or is it more to do with peak restrictions ?

 

[pemma]

Based on the number of posts on here, can we deduce that there are too many services on the West Coast Main Line or is it more to do with peak restrictions ?

This thread seems to be about empty weekend services so it'll be nothing to do with peak restrictions.

I've said many times that the capacity given to the different routes doesn't suit demand. Manchester gets 27 carriages per hour while Liverpool gets 9 and Glasgow gets a maximum of 9 (there are some gaps in the current Glasgow timetable.) While Manchester services certainly don't get 3 times the passenger numbers that Liverpool and Glasgow do. Some hours I don't think Manchester even gets double.

 

[All Line Rover]

I had the first class section of the WAG Express to myself all the way from Cardiff to Crewe when I last used it a few months ago, the food was fine as was the waitress.

Ha! There were 20 people on it last Friday!


--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I've not got the timetable to hand but the Manchester via Crewe departure at around 16:40 from Euston is similar to what is described. I caught it once in the middle of a Virgin fare promotion and it had less than 10 passengers in standard class between Euston and Crewe.

And on weekdays, that's supposed to be a "peak" service, is it?

 

[button_boxer]

My wife and I had a coach to ourselves on a Sunday evening EMT HST once all the way from London to Derby. Probably because nobody but us could be bothered to walk all the way to the front at St Pancras.

 

[fairysdad]

My wife and I had a coach to ourselves on a Sunday evening EMT HST once all the way from London to Derby. Probably because nobody but us could be bothered to walk all the way to the front at St Pancras.

I've been on HSTs from Paddington where it's been the same, there was one time the TM apologised over the Tannoy for how busy the servive was and how not everybody had seats, yet there was me and one other person in the coach at the front... :roll:

 

[lookingforit35]

Looking back at my "best" journeys, these have almost without exceptions been on services with very few passengers.

Dont get me wrong, I fully accept public transport means sharing space with other people and it can often be interesting to do so. But the occassional quiet service makes the experience all the more enjoyable.

 

[NLC1072]

Your own personal Pendolino?

A train to hear your prayers, a train that cares?

Raise pantograph and touch OHLE.

 

[SprinterMan]

Raise pantograph and touch OHLE.

You are now offcially my favourite poster

 

[Peter Mugridge]

This thread seems to be about empty weekend services so it'll be nothing to do with peak restrictions.

I wonder how many people in the general public, the occasional travellers, still think weekends = no WCML service after all those years of serious engineering disruptions during the rebuild?

A bit of a publicity campaign pointing out that this is no longer the case would probably boost the weekend figures somewhat.

 

[pemma]

I wonder how many people in the general public, the occasional travellers, still think weekends = no WCML service after all those years of serious engineering disruptions during the rebuild?

A bit of a publicity campaign pointing out that this is no longer the case would probably boost the weekend figures somewhat.

I don't think that is the case. Virgin heavily advertise their Advance single fares of £8 to £15.

If engineering works come in to play I think it is more the case that passengers don't want to face the risk of buying an Advance fare and it later being announced that part of the journey is replaced by a bus either on the WCML or on a connecting service.

 

[Pumbaa]

I wonder how many people in the general public, the occasional travellers, still think weekends = no WCML service after all those years of serious engineering disruptions during the rebuild?

I do! Namely because I can't get anywhere before 1pm on a Sunday, and have my regular journey extended by at least one hour, as the connections don't work on a Sunday, with a half frequency (so 1tp2h).

There's usually some sort of diversion/bus in there too.

I hate travelling on the WCML on a Sunday but I have no choice. It's so ****.

 

[Eagle]

I've had a coach to myself on a Voyager from Bournemouth as far as Southampton.

Odd, being as it was the last service from Bournemouth on a Sunday (the 19.40 to Birmingham), and I'd have thought that would be quite popular with people returning home from a weekend away, as indeed I was.

 

[NLC1072]

You are now offcially my favourite poster

Lol, thanks!