Trivia: Quietest service?

[MidnightFlyer]

When the 1705 SX Paddington-Bristol TM HST used to run (diverted to Westbury since May 2016) it was usually dead after Pewsey. Then the Pewsey stop was removed and it became dead after Bedwyn. I did a passenger count once on the Bedwyn-Trowbridge non-stop leg and the count was 4 in Standard, none in First. Amazing when you think that's one of the most overcrowded departures from Paddington in the evening peak. (Majority alight at Twyford/Reading/Newbury.)

I was on this one Friday back in April, boarding the front coach at Hungerford. There were three in there already, two of whom alighted at Bedwyn. It got busier towards Bristol but never more than ten in my coach. I can see why it got amended to run to Westbury!

I was on one of the Paddington-Taunton via Bath and Weston HSTs a couple of summers ago, and was the only one in my carriage from Bristol to Taunton.

 

[Iskra]

The daily Aberdeen-Leeds HST is pretty dead after Newcastle, I've been the only one in 1st class after Northallerton, and then the crew usually sit down after York too.

 

[philthetube]

Basically anything contra-peak on the Uckfield Line, south of East Croydon or perhaps Oxted, the occasional school run traffic excluded. Likewise anything against the regular flows at the weekend, except if there's a festival at Eridge or something.

I am reliably informed that on the first train heading down in service on the 27th, the only passenger was the onboard cleaner, and the next wasn't much better. The third only had about 10 people over the whole journey from London Bridge, and after that I think everyone stopped bothering trying to work out how much fresh air was being carried.

Though by far the most pointless were (apparently) the Oxted-Ashurst shuttles they ran on one or two Sundays during the platform extension works. Yes, having to use buses from anywhere north of Oxted and anywhere south of Ashurst, which is in the middle of nowhere, connecting with an hourly train which the CIS couldn't track under pilotman working and just showed as "Delayed", was really going to be very useful...

I lead walks for my local Rambler's group. one of the walks I considered doing on the 27th was from Buxted, unfortunately, however, because of The unreliability of Southern services, and having been let down twice in the last 6 months and service operated by Southern is no longer an option for me.

Southern's loss, Southeastern's gain.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

I was on this one Friday back in April, boarding the front coach at Hungerford. There were three in there already, two of whom alighted at Bedwyn. It got busier towards Bristol but never more than ten in my coach. I can see why it got amended to run to Westbury!

I was on one of the Paddington-Taunton via Bath and Weston HSTs a couple of summers ago, and was the only one in my carriage from Bristol to Taunton.

I have knowledge of exactly why that train was amended to run to Westbury, and it's not what you think. When it was introduced, it effectively reopened the Hawkeridge curve at Westbury to passenger services, and legal rights for this were agreed on a 3yr 'experimental' basis only. Once the 3yrs was up, it automatically switched to 'full rights' status. The date for that change was the May 2016 timetable change date. Only problem is, when the GWML and feeder routes are recast for IEP high frequency timetables, the 1705 ceases to run in its current form (I think it becomes a Newbury terminator) which would mean that the Hawkeridge curve was effectively losing its entire passenger service again - and would require a full legal consultation process into withdrawal of a passenger service! (Ie withdrawal of Bedwyn-Trowbridge service.) Diversion into/ out of Westbury is not an acceptable legal alternative. Therefore GWR have avoided a potential legal bear trap and amended the train in advance.

Operationally sitting an HST set in Westbury station for 30 mins at that time of evening is not ideal and it still runs to Bristol / SPM, fully crewed but now empty. No one could ever accuse the railway of being a logical place...

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I have knowledge of exactly why that train was amended to run to Westbury, and it's not what you think. When it was introduced, it effectively reopened the Hawkeridge curve at Westbury to passenger services, and legal rights for this were agreed on a 3yr 'experimental' basis only. Once the 3yrs was up, it automatically switched to 'full rights' status. The date for that change was the May 2016 timetable change date. Only problem is, when the GWML and feeder routes are recast for IEP high frequency timetables, the 1705 ceases to run in its current form (I think it becomes a Newbury terminator) which would mean that the Hawkeridge curve was effectively losing its entire passenger service again - and would require a full legal consultation process into withdrawal of a passenger service! (Ie withdrawal of Bedwyn-Trowbridge service.) Diversion into/ out of Westbury is not an acceptable legal alternative. Therefore GWR have avoided a potential legal bear trap and amended the train in advance.

Operationally sitting an HST set in Westbury station for 30 mins at that time of evening is not ideal and it still runs to Bristol / SPM, fully crewed but now empty. No one could ever accuse the railway of being a logical place...

Cheers, very interesting. I had heard the service labelled as experimental but did not know the exact ins and outs!

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Motherwell - Cumbernauld - only passenger mid - morning ....

 

[philthetube]

0049 Watford to Rickmansworth, Met line. One passenger a month on a busy month.

 

[nottinghamcity]

1Y01, Sheffield to Nottingham springs to mind: very early in the morning, a route learning pathing, and effectively acting as ECS but in service.

 

[tsr]

I lead walks for my local Rambler's group. one of the walks I considered doing on the 27th was from Buxted, unfortunately, however, because of The unreliability of Southern services, and having been let down twice in the last 6 months and service operated by Southern is no longer an option for me.

Southern's loss, Southeastern's gain.

A bit of a shame, as services actually ran fairly well for much of the 27th.

One of the main drivers of local traffic (although it wasn't that significant really) was the opportunity for local people to go from places like Oxted and Edenbridge to Hever, and walk from there.

 

[Deepgreen]

Basically anything contra-peak on the Uckfield Line, south of East Croydon or perhaps Oxted, the occasional school run traffic excluded. Likewise anything against the regular flows at the weekend, except if there's a festival at Eridge or something.

I am reliably informed that on the first train heading down in service on the 27th, the only passenger was the onboard cleaner, and the next wasn't much better. The third only had about 10 people over the whole journey from London Bridge, and after that I think everyone stopped bothering trying to work out how much fresh air was being carried.

Though by far the most pointless were (apparently) the Oxted-Ashurst shuttles they ran on one or two Sundays during the platform extension works. Yes, having to use buses from anywhere north of Oxted and anywhere south of Ashurst, which is in the middle of nowhere, connecting with an hourly train which the CIS couldn't track under pilotman working and just showed as "Delayed", was really going to be very useful...

Doesn't count as a passenger, being staff!

 

[rishtonlad]

I have used the rail replacement bus from Blackburn to Rishton, the one that connects out of the last train from Preston a few times on a Saturday and never had more then 6 people on it.

 

[LowLevel]

2102 Skegness to Nottingham avoiding Grantham. Quiet even during summer, in winter it often runs empty bar an occasional traveller from Sleaford or dropping a couple at Wainfleet from Skegness.

 

[frodshamfella]

I expect the early morning services from Helsby to Ellesmere Port would be very quiet. Although I've not been on them. The afternoon ones that I have been on are far compacted !

 

[6Gman]

I wonder how busy the weekday 06:11 Crewe to Manchester VTWC Pendolino is? It is booked to be 11 cars. It is little more than an ECS move: on arrival into Manchester it forms a service to London Euston. The xx:11 from Crewe to Manchester would normally have departed London 90 minutes earlier but, as a 04:40 departure from Euston would be much too early, the 06:11 turns out to be the only regularly scheduled Pendolino, of any day of the week, to commence its journey at Crewe.

I also wonder if "the shop" (buffet) is open on the 06:11? I suspect the answer is yes, as my understanding is that all VTWC services are supposed to have "the shop" open for at least part of the journey. But considering, on a London to Manchester via Crewe service, "the shop" normally closes by Wilmslow, what would be the point of opening it at all on a service from Crewe?

There's a reasonable amount of commuting from the Crewe area to Manchester these days so perhaps not too empty. Early start but home on the 1555?

 

[wls1]

0702 SRY-FST 0802

Introduced in Jan timetable. 12 carriages and fast from Chalkwell to West Ham. Every carriage has at least 2 bays of 6 free throughout the train. Compared to the other train from SRY, which is full halfway in its journey and is only 8.

Not the quietest service ever, but for one of the most overcrowded lines into london, is Empty compared to any other train at that time.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

I suspect the early morning Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog is a contender.

 

[kevconnor]

i use to do the late night Manchester - Sheffield trains after a night out in manchester on a school night a d these were very quiet, with staff numbers equalling or exceeding passenger numbers.

 

[47271]

SRY-FST

Plain English please?

 

[wls1]

Shoeburyness- Fenchurch Street

 

[swt class 450]

Any train on the Dorking - Holmwood - Ockley - Warnham - Horsham line is always very quiet. You can often even get an entire train to yourself!

 

[VisualAcid]

Never saw a single passenger on the occasional Swindon to Gloucester non-stop late service via Bristol and Chepstow. Can't imagine why .

 

[theageofthetra]

Plenty of early morning or late night Bromley North-Grove Park shuttles carry air about. There used to be until a timetable change or so ago a non stop early morning Cannon St-Dartford which rarely had more than couple of night shift workers on it.

 

[tsr]

Another contender is 2R01 0500 Clapham Junction-Victoria on Saturdays. Unlike the overnight services which travel via East Croydon, which can be quite busy, this one is known to have fewer than one passenger per coach on occasions. Most of the time it seems it is used for the start of longer-distance journeys by coach or train by those passengers who can use Clapham Jn as a "railhead" station for the local area.

I can't remember if it still has one, but a conductor was once booked to do revenue duties on this train (it's been dispatched DOO for some time). Unsurprisingly this was, shall we say, rarely viable. By the time you got an Avantix out and found a half-asleep passenger, you'd be at Victoria anyway. As for the odd driver not remembering that it was in service until the last minute, and not a staff train, I shall say no more.

Any train on the Dorking - Holmwood - Ockley - Warnham - Horsham line is always very quiet. You can often even get an entire train to yourself!

Yet if you need to detrain the thing anywhere, you always find someone who refuses to leave the train because they've been asleep and think they haven't got to Cheam yet...

 

[sammyg901]

The late night Marylebone -Aylesbury trains via High Wycombe are very quiet on the Princes Risborough-Aylesbury leg as it's quicker to go via Amersham from London. I was travelling from High Wycombe to Aylesbury , midweek I would usually be the only passenger!

 

[W230]

Late evening Sutton - Wimbledon services are often empty. Not one passenger on my 8 car on Friday evening!