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How busy have your trains been?

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CC 72100

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Evening, sorry for the delayed reply. We’ve only been told that due to the ongoing lull in airport passengers & the uplift in capacity offered on the 745s that the half-hourly frequency is likely to remain in place until at least May of next year.

Even the 737 will be an worthy of a celebration. Have a good flight & trip away.

Thanks for yours (and others') responses - very much looking forward to it. Makes complete sense with air traffic as it is at present.
 
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Killingworth

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Plenty of nice and half full IETs York-KX this evening, feared worst after Great North Run but only the presumably cheaper GC was approaching full. Nonsense of a pair of 5-cars on LNER and everyone reserved on one and empty coaches in other persists...
Having just completed the Great North Run I'd say from numbers of cars on A1 including, my own, there weren't a huge number left to be going on trains. Numbers finishing this year must have been 10-15000 less than usual, at least.
 

Jamesrob637

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Having just completed the Great North Run I'd say from numbers of cars on A1 including, my own, there weren't a huge number left to be going on trains. Numbers finishing this year must have been 10-15000 less than usual, at least.

Well done, was it a PB?
 

infobleep

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I was on the 8:33 Guildford to Waterloo service via Cobham.

In coach 8 it had about 2 other people at Guildford. Some came and went, including some bike users but it was still fairly empty.

Perhaps everyone was on the stopping services ahead of us, one or more of which had delayed my train.

Despite being officially disrupted I still had time and some spare to make the 9:39 Clapham Junction to Milton Keynes service. In coach 7 it was fairly dead. Just 3 other people in my carriage.

Perhaps no one wants to travel on a Monday morning between 9 and 10.
 

rg177

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Currently sat in Coach C on 1E06 0650 Glasgow-Kings Cross.

Platform was heaving at Newcastle but everyone dispersed into the reserved carriages with just a trickle of us heading into here. About 40% full from Darlington with a couple of window seats left.
 

infobleep

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At Crewe, I boarded the place running 13:09 to Edinburgh.

Either the train was fairly busy or it looked so due to the poor layout of the train. Probably a bit of both.

I was meant to be in coach F but they had run out of luggage space. My suitcase, two small plastic bags and rucksack were in the aisle by the door and beyond it.

Next to me was coach U so I had a look. After someone moved their buggy more tidily, I didn't even have to ask, I found space

So I forwent my reserves seat, which was next to someone else and sat in two seats to myself in coach U.

There was enough seating.to do this.

Had there been more luggage space, I wouldn't have done this
 

SE%Traveller

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Well a week after changing the timetable on Sept 6 Thameslink 's own figures for the day show what a mistake cutting peak time trains on the Catford loop (Bromley South Line) was:

https://timetables.thameslinkrailway.com/TL/#/timetables/576/Table P

Only a few seat left from as far out as Shortland's and then completely full from Bellingham through to Denmark Hill (and further)

Whilst it's good to see the company has taken notice and has already re introduced 3 peak AM services already it just beggers belief that they ever thought it could work in the first place. Those loadings will come as no surprise to any one who has ever had any knowledge of the line in or outside of the industry.
 

peteb

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0712 Kidderminster to Marylebone 11/9/21 Silver Train was very busy, business class full by Banbury, owing to running 29 late and picking up passengers awaiting the following unit. Mask wearing 50%.

1246 Paddington to Worcester Foregate St 12/9/21 5 carriage unit, 1st class well filled leaving Paddington, masks worn by 90%.
 

bramling

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0712 Kidderminster to Marylebone 11/9/21 Silver Train was very busy, business class full by Banbury, owing to running 29 late and picking up passengers awaiting the following unit. Mask wearing 50%.

1246 Paddington to Worcester Foregate St 12/9/21 5 carriage unit, 1st class well filled leaving Paddington, masks worn by 90%.

Definitely a real “back to old days” feel today. Quieter roads during the day and evening, likewise quieter off-peak trains, combined with a busier peak.

Just need Boris not to go and do something stupid now, like announcing a return to WFH now we’re *finally* back to something more normalised.
 

peteb

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1143 Ludlow to Hereford 3 car TfW 175 virtually empty rear carriage. 1230 Hereford to Shrewsbury TfW class 67 + 4 mkiv + DVT quiet, plenty of seats in front coach, only 3 px in 1st. 1341 Shrewsbury to Milford Haven quiet as far as Ludlow where I left the train. Masks worn generally, but as it was lunchtime a lot of people were snacking/drinking so masks down!!
 
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Lunch with an old work colleague and friend in Nantwich today - first time on train for 18months.
1247 Wilmslow - Crewe TfW3 car 175 refurbished, 1320 TfW 153 Crewe to Nantwich. Return 1717 TfW 175 3 car direct from Nantwich - it was a long lunch. Only light to moderate loadings and few masks. Revenue inspectors out and back at Nantwich. The platforms at Crewe just had a smattering of passengers out and back and the buffets and W H Smith looked eerily quiet.

Yesterday I cycled to Manchester out and back by different routes and noticed the car parks in the business parks around the Airport, Cheadle etc were pretty full. The have been tumbleweed since last year so folk are definitely going back to the office. The traffic is noticeably quieter in the afternoon too - in August there were a lot of folk off work or notionally 'working from home'. I'm going by train to Manchester tomorrow to get a feel for peak hour loadings - unfortunately I suspect we have a long way to go before getting back to 'normal'.
 

Peregrine 4903

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To be fair, as someone who has been using the network regularly for over a year now, things were noticeably quiter to today than in previous days and weeks, likely due to the awful weather today I reckon.
 

WestRiding

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Last night (14th September). I was genuinely pleased to see St Pancras so busy between 7pm and 8pm. Just like the old days. And the 20:02 to Sheffield was full too. Even Sheffield at 22:30 was a hive of activity, partly down to Sheffield United having played earlier on. People are coming back.
 

MDB1images

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1st time couldn't find a space to park in Level 1 of car park at Station today since March 2020.
 

Peregrine 4903

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National rail usage hit 70% of pre covid levels on August Bank Holiday. Highest since March 2020.

And today, things were noticeably busier in and around Euston station. I wonder if the rubbish weather yesterday meant more people posponed their trips to today.
 

dk1

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1st time couldn't find a space to park in Level 1 of car park at Station today since March 2020.
As staff although it’s been wonderful to never go above level 2 (3 at a push) & have everything to ourselves it wasn’t sustainable & I vowed never to complain again. As passengers & leisure returned it didn’t take me long to start huffing & puffing about going up to level 9 (there are 12) & don’t get me started on the first local home evening game at Carrow Road when it took no less than 40 minutes just to get out of the darn place.
 

Bald Rick

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And today, things were noticeably busier in and around Euston station. I wonder if the rubbish weather yesterday meant more people posponed their trips to today.

Out of interest - Compared to when? I thought it was no busier today than it has been for most of the last 3-4 weeks.
 

bramling

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Out of interest - Compared to when? I thought it was no busier today than it has been for most of the last 3-4 weeks.

I’ve definitely found the traditional peaks are a bit up, and the off-peak and evening is a bit more subdued than it’s been for the last 8 weeks or so.

Same on the roads round here - I drove to London and back on Monday and Tuesday going up in the midday and back in the evening, and my general feeling was it was all rather more subdued. The evening run was dead, whereas again over the last few weeks it’s been “why are there so many cars on the road at 2230?”. Likewise pub car parks conspicuously empty whereas again recently they were quite full.

I definitely think some normality has returned, though I’m sure the figures will still point to the peaks being down. One day this week I’m sure my rottweilers will appreciate a walk which takes in a view of my local station car park, which is always a good yardstick. I suspect it’s probably gone from 1/3 to half full to somewhere between 2/3 to three quarters, but we’ll see.
 

Peregrine 4903

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Out of interest - Compared to when? I thought it was no busier today than it has been for most of the last 3-4 weeks.
When I went through Euston at 17:30 roughly this evening, it was the busiest I'd seen the concourse on a Wednesday evening for a long while. It was as busy a Friday evenings normally are, which I thought was a good sign.

But I do agree in general, Euston is consistently around the same level of busy for the last 3 months, with perhaps a slightly slow increase.
 

Bald Rick

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In my experience, the peaks are well up over the last two weeks compared to summer, but the off peak is down. Not that we should be surprised by that.

Euston, being a reasonable mix of leisure, business and commuting, appears to have seen a rise in the latter offset the decline in the former.
 

Peregrine 4903

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In my experience, the peaks are well up over the last two weeks compared to summer, but the off peak is down. Not that we should be surprised by that.

Euston, being a reasonable mix of leisure, business and commuting, appears to have seen a rise in the latter offset the decline in the former.
100%, there are defintley far more business people about now that then there have been for a while, and a drop in leisure traffic. My train I get from Euston to Milton Keynes in the morning, I'm seeing far more people with laptops or clearly off for business meetings than I did previously.
 

DannyMich2018

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Busy Saturday trains today. 11.22 Kettering to Leicester. 5 car 222 standing room only with a few seats free. 11.05 to St Pancras. No standing but appeared to be very busy even in first! At Leicester 11.50 to Birmingham 3 car 170 standing room only with some seats free. Tigers are playing today but still lots shopping and with cases. 11.50 arrival 3 car 170 had lots of Tigers fans on but plenty of shoppers and others on. Today appears to be no or little different to a pre covid Saturday.
 

PHILIPE

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TFW tain after train in the Cardiff Valleys before the traincrew shortage kicks in this afternoon all reported as Full and Standing. This applies along the North Wales Coast also stretching back to Shrewsbury. Considering that due to Engineering work there are no trains between Chester and Liverpool/Manchester/Crewe there should be some units thrown up spare that could supplement the position along the Coast unless there is some hidden agenda which TFW have which says they are not to be used.
 

infobleep

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Yesterday I was ok the 19:36 Guildford to Gatwick Airport service. I hasn't realised until today that it was the last direct train to Gatwick Airport until 0:22 so good job I didn't miss it.

The train wasn't packed but it had some people on board. I choose a seat near the disabled loo and further, on the journey, someone else took another seat on the other side of the carriage near the disabled loo.

Once at Gatwick Airport the women were heading from platform 2 to 3. All dressed up for a night on the town somewhere.

Incidentally, there was a 22:20 from Guildford but the section between Redhill and Gatwick Airport was cancelled due to a planning error.

Earlier in the day, there was a queue of cars trying to get into Guildford Station. Rail replacement busses were taking up some of the space.

There were also students at the back station entrance, waiting for new students turning up to start their courses at the University of Surrey.
 

LowLevel

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1112 Birmingham to Plymouth 7 car HST full and standing, lots of military cadets etc travelling.
 

infobleep

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On the 19:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading service. At least 15 people were in coach 2 of the train as we departed Redhill. No idea how this compares to pre-covid-19.
 

Ianno87

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Cambridge-Kings Cross-Euston-Birmingham-Cambridge yesterday. Mixed bag.

0709 Cambridge-King's Cross. 8 car, most seats taken (was 12 car pre-pandemic)

0943 Euston-New Street (contining to Blackpool N). Was in Unreserved Coach C, about 5 passengers in the carriage.

1652 New Street-Cambridge (3 car 170). Maybe 40-50% loaded from New Street. Much emptier after about Leicester, handful of passengers left by Cambridge.
 

dk1

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1652 New Street-Cambridge (3 car 170). Maybe 40-50% loaded from New Street. Much emptier after about Leicester, handful of passengers left by Cambridge.
That extra extended service to Cambridge was never very busy into Cambridge many years before Covid. Around 15-20 usually alighted in platform 6 before the unit skips off to Coldham Lane depot.
 
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