Is there a way to check how busy a service is whilst en route?

[Jimini]

Is there any way to do this folks, out of curiosity? I'm planning on heading from Coventry to Reading this afternoon. Ideally I'd catch the 1226 (XC Manchester <> Bournemouth), but I'm conscious that there's a small game of footy on at Wembley today at 3pm (both Manchester teams are playing for those who don't follow footy), and the 1226 has a connection at Banbury for a Marylebone service that calls at Wembley Stadium at 1409. I'd imagine most supporters would make their way earlier than that to soak up a bit of the atmosphere etc. at Wembley, but there's a half-decent chance that there'll be supporters on the 1226.

So my options are: head to Coventry for the 1226 and keep my fingers crossed, or play safe at get the 1326 which -- in theory at least -- shouldn't have (m)any footy fans on it, but would get me to my end destination later than ideally required.

Is there a publicly available way of finding this out? I've looked on TIGER at the departure boards at Stockport / Macclesfield etc. to see if there are any "full and standing" messages being broadcast, but can't see any. And to be honest I see those all the time for Avanti services and they're rarely accurate!

TIA ~ Jim.

 

[starlight73]

Hope your journey went well! XC don’t provide live passenger loading data I think; this is only possible on newer stock that have detection systems. Presumably the ‘full and standing’ message is activated manually when guards report that the train is very full?

But they do have this tool which shows how busy a train is likely to be based on past journeys. It won’t take account of one-off events like football: https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/how-busy-is-my-train

 

[Adrian1980uk]

I've never understood why this information isn't made available when the train has that information onboard, it would be useful in the apps and on departure boards, especially on joined sets where you can't walk from one to the other

 

[KNN]

I've never understood why this information isn't made available when the train has that information onboard, it would be useful in the apps and on departure boards, especially on joined sets where you can't walk from one to the other

It is on departure boards for certain TOCs, XC and AWC at Birmingham New Street certainly show loadings of carriages on the main board.

I'd assume that's reservations rather than loadings though.

 

[JLX5]

It is on departure boards for certain TOCs, XC and AWC at Birmingham New Street certainly show loadings of carriages on the main board.

I'd assume that's reservations rather than loadings though.

I'd be very confident in saying that is the case at it does say 'Reservation levels' above that information.

 

[TUC]

TPE says 'The TPExpress App gives you real time train information including platform information, actual train running schedule and a guide to show which carriages on your train are busy*

*This information is subject to availability and is available on up to 50% of our trains.'

Frequently Asked Questions | Help | TransPennine Express

Need some help? We know you might want a quick answer to your query, so check out our FAQ section or contact us and we'll be happy to help.

www.tpexpress.co.uk

Why only 50% of services? What's the distinction?

 

[skyhigh]

Why only 50% of services? What's the distinction?

If the stock is fitted with the required equipment.

 

[TUC]

If the stock is fitted with the required equipment.

What is the equipment measuring? Is it seats that are actually occupied? If so, can it count standing passengers? Does it take into account reservations that start at the next station?

 

[Robski_]

I've never understood why this information isn't made available when the train has that information onboard, it would be useful in the apps and on departure boards, especially on joined sets where you can't walk from one to the other

Only Southeastern and Greater Anglia supply this information through open data channels at present and this is available through RailChecker. This may change (improve) soon as RDG are trying to make Darwin v17 public through RDM, which will finally include a specification for supplying service crowding information without formation information.

If a train is reported as full and standing on JourneyCheck, this will also show on RailChecker.

RDG - Rail Delivery Group, RDM - Rail Data Marketplace

 

[Krokodil]

What is the equipment measuring? Is it seats that are actually occupied? If so, can it count standing passengers? Does it take into account reservations that start at the next station?

I think that 80x weighs the load through the suspension. Not sure about 397s, but CAF units I'm familiar with have optical sensors in the doorways. The 50% of services which don't report live will almost certainly be those operated by 185s.