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Busy First/Last Trains

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dmacw

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When I travel on the first/last train of the day it is never full and standing. Are there some services on the network which are? Generally I mean, and not due to delays etc.
 
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150222

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When I travel on the first/last train of the day it is never full and standing. Are there some services on the network which are? Generally I mean, and not due to delays etc.

2320 Man Vic to Leeds and The odd tube train off the top of my head.
 

Eng274

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The 2330 GLQ-EDB is always packed (especially on a Friday night)
 

jopsuk

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last suburban trains (such as Cambridge etc) out of London on a Friday or Saturday night. All aboard the drunk train!
 

12CSVT

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When class 170s did services to/from St Pancras (between 1999 and 2004) the first northbound service on a Sunday (0900 St Pancras - Nottingham) often got quite wedged, especially in summer. On more than one occasion I have seen people get left behind at Wellingborough / Kettering / Market Harborough.
 

tsr

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The stations are often quiet, but trains on the BML can be packed at any time of the day or night, apart from the odd lightly-loaded train very early in the morning (generally, 0200hrs-0330hrs is reasonably quiet, and after that you get a good number going to Gatwick for cheap early morning flights).

I've known the northbound last trains operated by EMT from STP to be very busy and hectic.

Last or penultimate services to major university towns and cities will generally be busy, as has been implied.
 

12CSVT

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This begs the question - what happens if you turn up for the last train of the day to your destination and you are unable to board due to overcrowding ?
 

tsr

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This begs the question - what happens if you turn up for the last train of the day to your destination and you are unable to board due to overcrowding ?

Surely that is not your fault as the TOC should always be responsible for planning for demand, and where they can't plan for demand by scheduling trains, they should offer alternative options? I'd be inclined to use Conditions 43 and 44 of the NRCoC.
 

dk1

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05.00 Norwich-Liverpool St always full (SX)
23.30 Liverpool St-Norwich busy (ThFSO)
 

Stats

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The last NLL trains are usually packed. And usually in my experience carrying a few bikes too.:?
 

yorksrob

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The 22:37 Leeds - Sheffield via Castleford is always very busy on Friday and Saturday nights. Certainly as far as Cass anyway.
 

anthony263

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03:59 Swansea - London Paddington service is usually busy in standard and when I last used it on a saturday morning back in december 2010 standard was so full I decided to pay £20 and travel in 1st class.

The 23:15 Cardiff - Carmarthen service is actually busy whenever I have gone to travel on it a few times.
 

NY Yankee

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When I travel on the first/last train of the day it is never full and standing. Are there some services on the network which are? Generally I mean, and not due to delays etc.

On that Tube series, after the last train left the downtown area (forgot the specific station), there were nearly 100 people outside of the station when the employees went to close the gates.
 

150222

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On that Tube series, after the last train left the downtown area (forgot the specific station), there were nearly 100 people outside of the station when the employees went to close the gates.

That was Camden Town (technically 'Uptown') and that is a common sight on the tube on friday/saturday nights.
 

TEW

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First trains on a Sunday I always find to be busy because of the later start up times, last trains heading out of London are usually pretty busy as said before. On the run up to Christmas the overcrowding in the late evenings out of Waterloo was terrible, trains around 2300 were turning people away.
 

Southern

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I remember the last train/s from Charing Cross - Kent Coast & Hastings used to get quite busy. One was even booked as a 12 - car 375 on a Friday night for a while. The main bulk used to get off at Tonbridge, so when the train was occasionally diverted via Maidstone East, it could be fairly quiet.
 

mullin

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23.20 MCV to Wigan, especially when something has been on at the MEN Arena. Often lucky to have a seat on that train when I travel.
 

John55

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When I travel on the first/last train of the day it is never full and standing. Are there some services on the network which are? Generally I mean, and not due to delays etc.

Clearly you don't travel on late trains out of London Bridge. I have seen my last train leave 200+ behind on a Thursday evening (may actually have been friday am). Largely due to a 4 car turning up instead of an 8 and I have to say it was the fullest train I have ever travelled on.
 

richard1976

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The last train on a Sunday outbound on the settle to carlisle line, always been standing room only when I have been on it.
 

W-on-Sea

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0015 Fenchurch St to Grays and 0025 Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness can be very crowded indeed (standing room only from West Ham to at least Upminster on the latter far from unknown) on a Friday; although it's notable that this is generally not true of the slightly later 0040 Saturday night/Sunday morning last train
 

jonb

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A few Saturdays ago I used the 00:10 Marylebone to Aylesbury service as far as Gerrards Cross. The service was formed of a 2 car 165 and duly left London full and standing!

The 00:18/00:48 departures from Liverpool Street to Colchester can also be quite crowded too, especially if a 4 car is used vice 8.
 

142094

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Was on the last Carlisle to Newcastle train yesterday, and it wasn't full at all, even though I was expecting a lot of people to be travelling for a drink on Good Friday.

There is a Northern service that runs around 23.00 from Newcastle to Darlington via Chester-le-Street and Durham which invariably has a lot of people on it who've been out for a drink and are going back home.
 

VTPreston_Tez

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Late Manchester to Blackpool trains. Everyone's drunk, usually toilets and carriages get taken out of service according to my experience, and everyone's crushed even with first class declassified. It's bad as 6 in the daytime, as 6 at night (which does happen) it's much, much worse.
 

dk1

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On that Tube series, after the last train left the downtown area (forgot the specific station), there were nearly 100 people outside of the station when the employees went to close the gates.

Night bus ;)
 

ls1911

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Any Merseyrail trains from Liverpool outwards on a Friday/Saturday nights can get rammed! Also late night trains into town on a Saturday night from West Kirby/Chester/Southport etc!
 

jp347

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1603 Lincoln Central-Peterborough on a Saturday - has often been one carriage and many left behind - anyone for Spalding then has to take train to Newark, Peterborough and back up to Spalding.
 

route101

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The 0018 from Glasgow Central To East Kilbride was busy when i used it . Runs Friday nights only .
 
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