How busy have your trains been?

[61653 HTAFC]

6 car running on the TPE stoppers has meant plenty of space, earlier in the week I'm fairly sure I had the whole rear set to myself apart from the guard.

The Northern Wigan services have been 3/4-car 158s, seemingly busier and with less observance of the face covering mandate: there was even a group of ale-trailers with a carry-out last week.

 

[yorkie]

I got the 1000 York to Edinburgh today (this service started from Doncaster); the reservations got turned off at Newcastle. From Newcastle onwards announcements were very harsh in tone, warning of consequences such as fines for people not following rules. We were told the reservations were turned off because people must not look to sit in quiet areas of the trains, even empty coaches, and it was vital that we sat in our assigned seats. There was no visible staff presence north of Newcastle, just regular harsh announcements and threats of BTP boarding randomly.

In Standard Class I counted the following numbers:

Coach K - 6
Coach J - 0
Coach H - 5
Coach G - 11
Coach C -11 (including a rowdy group of 6 loudly swearing lager drinkers at two tables; passengers sat near them presumably had been scared off moving to a quiet area)
Coach B - 20
Coach A - approx 8 to 10 (not sure exactly)

Total approx 63 passengers

Some people were only 1 metre from others; this of course is fine, but it's interesting how LNER was absolutely adamant that people must not move to be more socially distant as they must sit in their assigned seat. If you are assigned an aisle seat you must use the aisle seat.

This contrasts to an XC journey I made from York on the previous Sunday, where the majority of passengers were in one coach, and the Guard made groups travelling together split apart, denied access to aisle seats, and forced people to move rows. That train had no more than 20 people; it did make sense to encourage people to move, but the methods used were harsh and off putting and made people feel very unwelcome.

I'm now on the 1241 from Edinburgh towards Hellensburgh via Bathgate. The rear set (ie. coaches 4-6) had appox 55 passengers on departure from Waverley, after which I swapped units at Haymarket and counted only 15 in the front set (coaches 1-3) from there. I'm not sure how many passengers boarded at Haymarket, but I think probably a maximum of 10.

Approximate numbers boarding the train thereafter were as follows:

Edinburgh Park - 8
Uphall - 0 (I had thought it would be 1 + 2 dogs, but the boy on the platform was meeting grandparents off the train)
Livingston North - 9
Bathgate - 8
Armadale - 2
Blackridge - 3
Caldercruix - 2
Drumgelloch - 6
Airdrie - 20
Coatdyke - 5
Coatbridge Sunnyside - 11
Blairhill - 14
Easterhouse - 17
Garrowhill - 16
Shettleston - 22
Carntyne - 21
Bellgrove - ? (Couldn't really say as I am sat on the left)
High Street - 9 (but loads getting off!)

Perhaps someone who is a regular user of this service can say how close to 'normal' these figures are on a Sunday afternoon?

As I'm sat at the front of the train, I am only counting boarders, and not people alighting.

 

[greyman42]

I travel between York and London on a regular basis and never bother sitting in my allocated seat. I just choose somewhere unreserved and quiet and as i am usually on a non stop service then nobody else is going to get on. These harsh announcements are new to me and very disappointing as it seems just another way to make your journey more unpleasant than it already is. It's hardly going to encourage customers back to the railways.

 

[yorksrob]

IC125 Wakefield - St Pancras (1st class), Friday morning - Reasonably busy from Nottingham, but nowhere near normal.

Classic lines between Charing Cross and Ashford, Friday mid-morning, very quiet - no more than 5 people in the carriage at any one time. Seemed to be plenty getting on at Ashford for the coast.

Return journey to Charing Cross, Sunday afternoon - carriage more or less to myself as was at the front, however there seemed to be a reasonable number of people getting on behind me and at Maidstone. Was surprised to be joined by a fellow traveller at Chiselhurst !

Grand Central KX to Wakefield Sunday evening, reasonably busy with every double seat occupied. Felt very pleasant and relaxed - almost like old times.

 

[Halish Railway]

I was on a few GA trains yesterday; The Norwich to London trains were dead as far as Ipswich where from there on in started to get busier which isn’t surprising given that they are still running at a half-hourly frequency. Most other trains were still dead with about 10 people per carriage.

Of note, I noted in Norwich that 15:46 Sheringham to Norwich was fairly busy (about 3/4 seats taken) thanks to the warm weather and beach goers.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Weekend trains to Brighton and Hastings were heaving (beach/sun)

Commuting home from London Bridge: metro train fairly empty; however all my trains have been after the evening peak time

 

[NorthWestRover]

11 coach Pendo on 13.12 Wigan to Warrington today. Lightly loaded. Way under half. Everyone wearing face coverings. Probably 50% on stations.

2x5 coach Voyager back at 16.27. Similar loadings.

Noticed that at least one of the Liverpool to Wigan diagrams was 2x331/0 so 6 coaches likely to be easily enough all day.

Bought ticket on the day via Trainline. Very straightforward - no fee, option to collect at station or eticket which can also be downloaded and printed at home.

 

[Hadders]

Overground between Hackney Central and Dalston Kingsland at 08:30 this morning and 16:30 this afternoon was standing room only (although not crush loaded to be fair). Plenty of seats on GA between Enfield Lock and Hackney Downs departing 08:00 returning 17:00.

 

[S&CLER]

Merseyrail trains I took from Southport to Moorfields and Moorfields to Ellesmere Port yesterday morning were quite busy, average of two passengers per bay of 4 seats (6-car trains). I walked Ellesmere Port to Chester along the canal towpath and returned from Chester by the 15:28, which was also moderately busy. (It left from platform 7 just as a Voyager pulled in from N. Wales on platform 4, with no attempt to hold for connections; in the normal 15 min. frequency this wouldn't be too annoying but Chester is on a 30 min. frequency at the moment.) My connection from Moorfields to Southport was delayed by 11 minutes, and so slightly busier than I expected as more people had had time to board. It ran fast from Formby, as the following train was by then running only 4 minutes behind it. Moorfields station was about half as busy as it would have been on a normal Saturday at that time of day. Chester station less busy, but RRBs were running to Crewe. Chester has a particularly pointless one-way system with some of the stairs to the footbridge blocked, and I had to reach platform 7 by going up in one lift and down in another.

 

[peters]

The 09:02 Chester to Manchester via Altrincham was quite busy yesterday, despite being a 4 carriage train and no events drawing large crowds happening in Manchester.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Scotrail services from Largs seem to be very busy, particularly since all the double units are gone.

By Johnstone, over half of the seats in the entire train were taken. Not sure how it is at peak times.

 

[johntea]

17:03 Kings Cross to Leeds today 10 coach Azuma extremely quiet, no wonder they’re happily offering flat fare tenner singles at the moment!

The guard made the usual massive speech about face coverings and reservations at the start of the journey and then didn’t say a single thing more throughout the journey!

It did get me thinking though...are there usually multiple guards on these 10 car services (as it actually seems 2 sets of 5 bolted together so you can’t walk through the entire train), apparently there were cafe bar options for both sets of coaches however

 

[yorkie]

Yesterday's 1527 Plymouth - Leeds HST was quiet throughout, and I counted only 41 on board for the last stretch from Wakefield Kirkgate to Leeds (2102 arrival). I didn't do any other passenger counts but it was never particularly busy at any point. I had expected it may be busy between Exeter and Bristol as it was "Sold out" in standard, but it wasn't busy at all.

I can confirm XC are asking for at least "two empty rows" between passengers as well as "window seats only", that brings you down to one sixth of capacity, and that's before you consider that no-one is in 1st class, and there are sections of Standard class at both ends of the train that are not for public use.

Today's 0606 Edinburgh - Plymouth HST had a mere 36 people on board when I counted shortly before departure from York (0844 departure; it's possible someone may have boarded after I did); so called "peak" trains are absolutely dead at the moment as everyone is doing as asked and avoiding "peak" times. Only one of those (a Northern staff member, presumably on their way to work) was in 1st class, with another 5 or so rail staff on their way to work in Standard. So only about 30 actual passengers on this 7 car peak time train.

I counted about 10 on the 0845 York to Hull (this was possible as we were alongside it on departure from York)

The 2117 Leeds to York last night was busy, but this is only because local traffic isn't doing too badly, as several passengers wanted the intermediate stations, and there were more York passengers than usual due to being turfed off a 2-hour late TPE and there being a gap in service.

I met up with another forum member who got the 1634 "peak time" HST from St Pancras to Nottingham; if I recall correctly he counted 6 in 1st class and 16 in standard.

If you want a quiet train, take a "peak time" departure; you may get an entire coach to yourself.

 

[PTR 444]

If you want a quiet train, take a "peak time" departure; you may get an entire coach to yourself.

It’s rather ironic that transport operators are telling people to avoid travelling at peak times, yet they are now the quietest time of day to travel.

 

[yorksrob]

It's interesting - I've found the XC services I've used to be amongst the busiest, so it seems that people aren't in a position to leave two rows of seats.

I think parts of the industry are in denial that leisure travel is what's going to be tiding them over for a while.

 

[Mag_seven]

It’s rather ironic that transport operators are telling people to avoid travelling at peak times, yet they are now the quietest time of day to travel.

They are quiet at peak times because everybody is still working from home - we need to get people back to offices and get people commuting again otherwise the railway is finished.

 

[super_sprinter]

Is anyone able to comment how busy Euston has been recently? Avanti’s website states that Fridays are their busiest time and I’m a bit anxious about keeping distance. Relatives have space for me on Friday so I’m keen to gauge how it has been (just going to MKC).

 

[Jamesrob637]

They are quiet at peak times because everybody is still working from home - we need to get people back to offices and get people commuting again otherwise the railway is finished.

But not every man and woman every day. Split it a little as per the Remote working thread.

 

[STINT47]

The price of peak time travel needs to drop.

People travelling on anytime tickets purchased by their employer and seasons has all but disappeared and peak trains are dead.

Time to rethink the ticketing system to reflect that leisure travel, at least for the immediate future is going to be the main customer base for TOCs

 

[yorkie]

Let's stick to how busy trains have been in this thread.

The price of peak time travel needs to drop.

Please feel free post this in a new thread (If there isn't an existing one already) and I will agree with you there!

Is anyone able to comment how busy Euston has been recently? Avanti’s website states that Fridays are their busiest time and I’m a bit anxious about keeping distance. Relatives have space for me on Friday so I’m keen to gauge how it has been (just going to MKC).

"Peak" departures from Euston are dead, I'm reliably informed. I also have first hand evidence of this: when a group of us boarded the "peak" 1740 Euston to Manchester at Crewe a couple of weeks ago, I hardly saw anyone get off (the train was first stop Crewe) and hardly anyone was on the train already. The number of passengers boarding at Crewe was maybe 25 or so and was almost certainly greater than the number of passengers already on board from Euston. It may be busier at off peak times, of course.

I'm now on the 1227 Plymouth to Edinburgh HST between Leeds and York; I didn't walk through First Class but I'd estimate 4 or 5 passengers in 1st and 80 passengers across the five Standard class carriages. To put this into context, one Standard Class coach would normally have a capacity of 80 passengers and this train would normally be very busy. Most passengers are leisure passengers, many of whom are making short distance journeys. The long distance and business/commuter markets have been absolutely decimated.

I don't know if this train was "Sold out" today but it is "Sold out" tomorrow ("Sold out" on XC means approximately one sixth of seats reserved on any given leg)

Approximately half the passengers on my train alighted at York, which illustrates the point that long distance travel (on XC, at least) has been absolutely decimated.

Approx 90 passengers in Standard on the 1002 York to King's Cross (all stations stopper) on departure from York.

Do bear in mind there is normally also a very busy non-stop service from York at this time, so there'd be much more than 90 people boarding these trains from York towards London. Since then, although some passengers have of course alighted, many more have boarded, so the train is almost "full" to its 50% capacity as I type this at Stevenage.

So, still nowhere near as many passengers as normal, but LNER are - unlike XC - clearly on the right track.

 

[yorkie]

About 85 on this TPE train between Leeds and York (1314 from Leeds).

However there looked to be many more who alighted at Leeds than boarded (there was a Leeds to York train only 7 minutes before this one) so it would have been much busier than this into Leeds.

 

[Mag_seven]

The 12.15 from Manchester to Euston today seemed to pick up more passengers for the short hop from Milton Keynes to Euston than the number of passengers originally on the train from Manchester!

 

[greyman42]

The 12.15 from Manchester to Euston today seemed to pick up more passengers for the short hop from Milton Keynes to Euston than the number of passengers originally on the train from Manchester!

People heading into London for the afternoon/evening pub session?

 

[S&CLER]

The 1422 TPE from Lancaster to Preston (and Liverpool) today, a 5-car train, was largely empty, about 10 per cent of the seats occupied. Lancaster station very quiet, Preston only slightly less so. My first paid-for train journey (£4.10) since March (Merseyrail being free to me as a senior pass holder).

 

[Peter Mugridge]

A late morning 12 car service from Victoria to Ramsgate today had virtually every seat taken by the time it left Bromley South; something like a third of the total of passengers appeared to detrain at Whitstable.

Returning from Whitstable in late afternoon, a good two or three hours before most day trippers would have headed back, saw roughly a 50% loading of an 8 car service back to Victoria.

 

[alansheppard77]

I thought it would be worth creating a thread where people can say how busy their trains have been.

If anyone wants to write a lengthy trip report, this would be best in a dedicated thread, but this thread can be used for observations.

I'll start with the 1002 York to Kings Cross this morning; I counted 133 in standard on the final stretch between Stevenage and London. On arrival at KGX, I'd estimate about 24 alighted from first class, which surprised me.

Of course this train has capacity for over 600 people, so the loading is still light. On a normal summer weekday you would expect the train to have at least four times as many passengers as I counted.

Not everyone who used this train was on for the final stretch of course; many people alighted at stations such as Doncaster.

I think it's a reasonable loading under th circumstances, but clearly there is a long way to go ( if anyone had any ideas regarding how TOCs can increase patronage please see: https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...tice-passengers-back-onto-the-railway.207153/ )

just been on the 1400 from Edinburgh to York,very busy about 30/40 in each coach and no reservations

 

[FlambeGarlic14]

Just 5 of us in coach E on the 1807 EUS-LIV last night. Tickets checked on the ramp before boarding and no announcements at all on the whole journey.

 

[route101]

just been on the 1400 from Edinburgh to York,very busy about 30/40 in each coach and no reservations

Was everyone sticking to their reserved seats?

 

[cactustwirly]

Was in London yesterday, on the train in I was the only one in the carriage, but it was 8am on a Sunday.
Tube trains are picking up, the Bakerloo line was moderately busy, Jubilee line was busy and social distancing was a challenge and the northern line wasn't particularly busy.

The TfL Rail train back towards Reading was almost back to normal for a Sunday evening.

 

[alansheppard77]

Was everyone sticking to their reserved seats?

no reserved seats as train swap