notverydeep
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- Joined
- 9 Feb 2014
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- 878
[Note - Split from this thread]
I posted to another thread a comment about the demand for travel on Boxing Day. As this thread is specifically about Boxing Day services, it may be worth repeating here, apologies to those who have already seen much of this.
In London at least, the number of rail passengers traveling on Boxing Day has grown dramatically from less than a quarter of the next quietest day in 2001 to comfortably exceeding the quietest day in 2017 and has been (by miles) the fastest growing traffic day. In 2017, Boxing Day was a busier day for public transport in London than Christmas Eve. It is true that with most National Rail services not operating, a number of journeys on the operating modes would be travellers who might normally have used those services, but equally some interchanging passengers will have been lost to the operating modes, who would have travelled had their National Rail service been operating.
The figures I have do not cover the whole country and I cannot post the details here, although I would certainly be interested to see how scheduled coach services (National Express, Magic Bus etc.) or domestic air services, both of which generally do operate on Boxing Day compare over the same two days in 2017. I’m sure that transport operators in London would be happy to share their data with National Rail TOCs should they be interested.
London will clearly not be an exact proxy for the whole of the UK, but it does illustrate that where the option is available, Boxing Day rail services are popular. The 'shape' of the demand on Boxing Day in London (where people travel to and from and when) is very similar to that of the other bank holidays, apart from trips that would connect with National Rail services that are absent.
Clearly there are costs associated with providing services and without franchise commitments (which cover only a small number of routes), such services would have to be commercially viable. Agreement on the basis of staff working, including bonuses would be needed. Some signalling locations remain open anyway for engineering movements so not all costs will be additional, but sufficient drivers, station staff, train maintainers and operational managers would all need to be covered by the likely revenue. This would likely mean that TOCs would start with a relatively sparse service on their key routes, expanding only once the demand patterns were proven. My sense is that the a core of key routes at least would be viable (and would not require the majority of staff to work), but without significant external pressure it seems that TOCs feel they have bigger issues to focus on, which is a shame as by and large Boxing Day end up being a big opportunity for rail’s competitors…
I posted to another thread a comment about the demand for travel on Boxing Day. As this thread is specifically about Boxing Day services, it may be worth repeating here, apologies to those who have already seen much of this.
In London at least, the number of rail passengers traveling on Boxing Day has grown dramatically from less than a quarter of the next quietest day in 2001 to comfortably exceeding the quietest day in 2017 and has been (by miles) the fastest growing traffic day. In 2017, Boxing Day was a busier day for public transport in London than Christmas Eve. It is true that with most National Rail services not operating, a number of journeys on the operating modes would be travellers who might normally have used those services, but equally some interchanging passengers will have been lost to the operating modes, who would have travelled had their National Rail service been operating.
The figures I have do not cover the whole country and I cannot post the details here, although I would certainly be interested to see how scheduled coach services (National Express, Magic Bus etc.) or domestic air services, both of which generally do operate on Boxing Day compare over the same two days in 2017. I’m sure that transport operators in London would be happy to share their data with National Rail TOCs should they be interested.
London will clearly not be an exact proxy for the whole of the UK, but it does illustrate that where the option is available, Boxing Day rail services are popular. The 'shape' of the demand on Boxing Day in London (where people travel to and from and when) is very similar to that of the other bank holidays, apart from trips that would connect with National Rail services that are absent.
Clearly there are costs associated with providing services and without franchise commitments (which cover only a small number of routes), such services would have to be commercially viable. Agreement on the basis of staff working, including bonuses would be needed. Some signalling locations remain open anyway for engineering movements so not all costs will be additional, but sufficient drivers, station staff, train maintainers and operational managers would all need to be covered by the likely revenue. This would likely mean that TOCs would start with a relatively sparse service on their key routes, expanding only once the demand patterns were proven. My sense is that the a core of key routes at least would be viable (and would not require the majority of staff to work), but without significant external pressure it seems that TOCs feel they have bigger issues to focus on, which is a shame as by and large Boxing Day end up being a big opportunity for rail’s competitors…
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