Why don't TOCs run Bank Holiday Timetables?

[STINT47]

I was looking at the service offered by various public transport suppliers today and it looks like nearly every bus company is running a bank holiday timetable but the TOCs are running the normal Monday service.

I was wondering why the TOCs don't run a revised service on a bank holiday? I would imagine that usage is less (it appears to be for buses) so would it not make sense to run less services? Other benefits would be reduced costs and more staff get the day off.

 

[800001]

Only going by LNER for example today, and granted fringe festival at Edinburgh has just finished as wel as a festival at Newark.
But all services leaving Edinburgh are full and standing and additional stops have been issued to a couple to call at Newark and this is with a normal timetable.

 

[JonathanH]

I was wondering why the TOCs don't run a revised service on a bank holiday?

Depends where you are, the level of engineering work and historic convention.

Southeastern, for example, are running a special service all weekend due to engineering work closing Charing Cross and Cannon Street, with a reduced service running from Victoria and Blackriars and Hastings services diverted via East Croydon to London Bridge.

The rest of the London commuter operations basically run a Saturday service on the August Bank Holiday.

The longer distance and regional railways run something closer to a full weekday service by convention.

 

[swt_passenger]

I was looking at the service offered by various public transport suppliers today and it looks like nearly every bus company is running a bank holiday timetable but the TOCs are running the normal Monday service.

I was wondering why the TOCs don't run a revised service on a bank holiday? I would imagine that usage is less (it appears to be for buses) so would it not make sense to run less services? Other benefits would be reduced costs and more staff get the day off.

From what I recall a number of TOCs do run different services (or at least Saturday services) on a few of the bank holidays, especially the more traditional religious ones. I suspect travel patterns on this particular holiday are not that different to normal.

 

[66701GBRF]

I thought TOCS usually run a modified Saturday service on bank holidays rather than a full M-F service?

 

[onlinespotting]

Northern (mainly WYPTE) historically always ran a full service Monday to friday so you’d find New Years Day or Boxing Day with a peak time service offered, they did this in the 90’s when others didn’t

 

[Gloster]

Special timetables can confuse passengers. Back in the early days of privatisation I was at Portsmouth on a bank holiday: all four companies (Virgin still served the city) had different timetables. As far as I can remember one had a normal weekday service, another a modified weekday service, a third a Saturday service and the fourth a Sunday service.

 

[Carlisle]

Northern (mainly WYPTE) historically always ran a full service Monday to friday so you’d find New Years Day or Boxing Day with a peak time service offered,

Don’t think Boxing Day services have operated in most of the Northern area for about 50 years.

 

[Gloster]

There was still a Boxing Day service on the Southern Region in 1979, as I opened the box (not my Christmas Box) at 08.40. I don’t think Boxing Day services lasted many more years.

 

[greyman42]

Only going by LNER for example today, and granted fringe festival at Edinburgh has just finished as wel as a festival at Newark.
But all services leaving Edinburgh are full and standing and additional stops have been issued to a couple to call at Newark and this is with a normal timetable.

Regarding LNER, their Sunday service, apart from having a later start, is more in intense than any other day of the week.
So the days of running less trains on bank holiday's and Sundays are long gone on these busy long distance routes.

 

[800001]

Regarding LNER, their Sunday service, apart from having a later start, is more in intense than any other day of the week.
So the days of running less trains on bank holiday's and Sundays are long gone on these busy long distance routes.

Yeah, on Sundays in certain hours they run an addition Edinburgh to London (and vice Versa) service.
And Sunday is now one of lners busiest days of the week through out the year.

 

[dk1]

I was looking at the service offered by various public transport suppliers today and it looks like nearly every bus company is running a bank holiday timetable but the TOCs are running the normal Monday service.

I was wondering why the TOCs don't run a revised service on a bank holiday? I would imagine that usage is less (it appears to be for buses) so would it not make sense to run less services? Other benefits would be reduced costs and more staff get the day off.

It’s not like that with trains. Been very busy indeed today on the rails.

 

[Bletchleyite]

In the north it was traditionally a Saturday service, while down South it was a Sunday service, which used to mean no Marston Vale for 3 out of 4 days over Easter.

 

[JonathanH]

In the north it was traditionally a Saturday service, while down South it was a Sunday service, which used to mean no Marston Vale for 3 out of 4 days over Easter.

The Sunday service generally applied in the South (and still does on some routes) on the 'Winter' Bank Holidays, not the Summer one.

Marston Vale used to specifically be Bank Holidays Excepted as you note, as there was no Sunday service.

This Bank Holiday question comes up almost every time. This from December https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/bank-holiday-services.226461/

 

[richw]

I would imagine that usage is less (it appears to be for buses) so would it not make sense to run less services

Buses seem to be stuck in the past on bank holidays. Especially with leisure travelling booming post covid.

 

[JamesT]

Only going by LNER for example today, and granted fringe festival at Edinburgh has just finished as wel as a festival at Newark.
But all services leaving Edinburgh are full and standing and additional stops have been issued to a couple to call at Newark and this is with a normal timetable.

Though you do need to note that it’s not a bank holiday in Scotland today.

 

[800001]

Though you do need to note that it’s not a bank holiday in Scotland today.

And it wouldn’t make any difference if it was a bank holiday in Scotland, as a normal LNER service would run, with exception of 1E01 not running if it’s a weekday. If it was a BH in Scotland the LNER services would still be just as busy.

(Excluding New Year’s Day, where LNER would run only as far north as Edinburgh).