At sheffield, they announce that the train will come into platform 6A and everyone bunches up there, but the back of the train is in 6B
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Getting people back on trains as lockdown eases.
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At sheffield, they announce that the train will come into platform 6A and everyone bunches up there, but the back of the train is in 6B
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johnnychips
Established Member
Yes, and Sheffield doesn’t show the number of carriages in the train like at Doncaster, and all the announcements are automated. I could imagine at Doncaster, the human could say something like ‘this train is six carriages, there is plenty of room at the back’ if numbers necessitated this; however the automated announcements at Sheffield are disappointing.
timothyw9
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Get the same issue of people crowding into one unit at Piccadilly, with the MIA-Redcar services on Platform 14, only the front 4 carriages are within the main area of the platform so everybody uses them and ignores the back 2 carriages. Same applies to Cleethorpes and Hull services on the main station at certain times of the day, especially if the TPE service is in front of a 2/3/4 car Northern. People would rather crowd into one train than walk the extra 60-70m.
Jamiescott1
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Articles like this on the BBC landing page won't help encourage people back
Coronavirus: What's the risk of Covid on public transport?
As UK coronavirus restrictions are relaxed, public transport could become much busier.
www.bbc.co.uk
Like many such articles, it completely fails to answer the question it poses. There is discussion of risk factors and mitigations, but no indication as to what the resulting risk is.Articles like this on the BBC landing page won't help encourage people back
Coronavirus: What's the risk of Covid on public transport?
As UK coronavirus restrictions are relaxed, public transport could become much busier.www.bbc.co.uk
squizzler
Established Member
Utter drivel. At least the air travel industry managed to get it's propaganda in.Articles like this on the BBC landing page won't help encourage people back
Coronavirus: What's the risk of Covid on public transport?
As UK coronavirus restrictions are relaxed, public transport could become much busier.www.bbc.co.uk
If planes are 'amongst the safest environments on the planet', why do plane operators require masks like railways? And why are planes HVAC designed around the assumption most passengers are chain smoking businessmen in 2021 - when was the last time passengers were allowed to smoke on board? The 1990s?
Clearly whoever drew those diagrams needs to get out into the real world. We cannot run a railway on the basis of less than 50% of seats being occupied. I've already been on a train this year where virtually every seat was taken and several people were standing. There are plenty of people out there who are not that bothered. Once more things open, the weather warms up and overnight stays are allowed, those numbers will only grow.Articles like this on the BBC landing page won't help encourage people back
Coronavirus: What's the risk of Covid on public transport?
As UK coronavirus restrictions are relaxed, public transport could become much busier.www.bbc.co.uk
Bantamzen
Established Member
As far as masks go, frankly they are a waste of time on planes. However with bedwetting government officials around the globe insisting on them, airlines are just hedging their bets.
With regards to filters, I imagine they remain because they are useful for removing things other than smoke, things like odours. Imagine being on a 10 hour flight without some odour removal? Yes fresh air is mixed in, but far better to scrub the air of food & umm, biologically generated odours!
I'm not surprised.
Outside London, construction workers and other tradespeople often "commute" in their works van (which has tools/equipment in or may even be a proper welfare vehicle)- either they all start from the yard (where they can leave thir cars) or one person has the van and picks up their mates in the morning. There was no shortage of tradespeople working throughout the restrictions- plenty of logoed vans in the carparks of PremierInns allowed to open for workers, and M-service stations were a place to see them. For amny tradespeople their van is their workshop/equipment store/office so commuting by train doesn't really work. We may see more site workers heading into London on the Tube now, but elsewhere it'll be the vans as usual. ("Van hour" on the M-way is usually an hour or so before main peak in the morning). Retail staff may well get the bus as it's cheaper. Also probably won't travel as far outside London, and in London the Tube more likely?
I'd say that yes, commuting by rail is heavily skewed towards white collar workers.
TPO
WelshBluebird
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I wonder how many people will revisit their answer when they realise a season ticket is still likely cheaper than them paying for travel for 3 or 4 days in the office! (I've mentioned this elsewhere, but even in the tech industry, most people are still talking 2 or 3 days a week in the office, only a minority are talking about being remote more than that - and for those people who are in 3 days or more, a season ticket may still be the cheapest option!).
Deafdoggie
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But even if they do get a season ticket, it's not increasing the number of people on the trains. I know lots of people for whom commuting is a thing of the past. Many companies are getting rid of their offices and saving the money.
Train companies still insist (XC looking at you) that we can't, as a family, sit around a table and must sit in a row in the window seats. This doesn't encourage travel, we've gone by car instead and found it better than we'd thought. We're not coming back to rail. TOCs have a lot to do to win people back.
I've never had any problem on GWR. We sit around a table of four. XC needs to get a grip.
Richard Scott
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Heard an advert on radio today about how clean GWR trains are to try and encourage people back. Find this sort of thing incredibly irritating but then the politicians, media and many of train companies frightened many of their customers away. Now they've realised trains can't be run on fresh air and need the customers back? When they advertise no more masks or that annoying announcements have been dropped I may entertain the idea.
Nicholas Lewis
Established Member
DT running an article on a report NR has commissioned over passenger demand post Covid and forecast is 60% under worst case scenario.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/busines...-face-shortfall-2m-passengers-day-years-come/
Given last weeks Dept of Transport transport useage stats had rail in late 30's it may prove to be unduly pessimistic given we are early into relaxation currently.
The article is poorly written referring to NR being down several billion on passenger revenue.
The central theme of the article is to poke the fire over changes NR wants to make on jobs and working practices
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/busines...-face-shortfall-2m-passengers-day-years-come/
Given last weeks Dept of Transport transport useage stats had rail in late 30's it may prove to be unduly pessimistic given we are early into relaxation currently.
The article is poorly written referring to NR being down several billion on passenger revenue.
The central theme of the article is to poke the fire over changes NR wants to make on jobs and working practices
dk1
Veteran Member
So many passengers travelling again off leak at least. Seem to be flocking back to the railway.
Following on from the May 2021 timetable thread I put a few regular trips into the National Rail journey planner for early June.
Some are more restricted.
The worst is XC continuing to be only 2 hourly south of Reading. Hence for a day in Bournemouth start an hour earlier as next too late to be worthwhile then commence return either an hour earlier or an hour later.
Brighton is another with poorer connections due to timetable changes so either less time there or a longer day front door to front door.
This does not help a recovery of passenger numbers.
Some are more restricted.
The worst is XC continuing to be only 2 hourly south of Reading. Hence for a day in Bournemouth start an hour earlier as next too late to be worthwhile then commence return either an hour earlier or an hour later.
Brighton is another with poorer connections due to timetable changes so either less time there or a longer day front door to front door.
This does not help a recovery of passenger numbers.
Nicholas Lewis
Established Member
XC could have been reinforced with help from other operators underutilised stock currently particularly EMRs HSTs
According the lastest DfT update, rail usage is now exceeding 40% of 2019 levels. Next week's update will most likely show the highest level of rail usage since March 2020. This is good news, but my fear is if rail usage continues increasing at this pace, the DfT will ramp up anti-public transport messaging and squander the recovery. Even though we have vaccinated 64% of adults and its pretty uncommon for people to catch coronavirus on trains anyway.
I notice several people mentioning on the forum that services in their area are "almost back to normal" so, at 40% that must mean a lot of trains are at the other end of the scale and almost empty.
In my experience, local trains have been very busy while long distance intercity services have been pretty empty.
The upcoming cuts to services in the May 2021 timetable change will only squeeze an increasing rate of passengers onto fewer services, so I can see why the DfT might be worried from an overcrowding point of view. I do think some of the cuts are very short sighted, such as reducing Reading - Bournemouth to 2-hourly since there is likely to be significant demand for day trips to the south coast this summer.
A lot of ECML services are still carrying fresh air.
bramling
Veteran Member
Traditional peak times and evenings most likely. Off peak is rather variable.
P Binnersley
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The comparative week for 2019 includes Easter (21st April 2019) so this isn't a direct comparison.
I'm looking at the week 12-18th since the following week is only provisional data.
Jamiescott1
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Chiltern railways have introduced a new recorded message to tell passengers to wear a face covering, wash hands before entering the train and keep your distance. The message ends with "together we can travel together safely".
This crap needs to stop now. Not more being introduced
This crap needs to stop now. Not more being introduced
It amazes me, I read all of these highfalutin ideals from railway management about how they're supposed to be making rail travel easier and more accessible to entice people on the trains, yet when you actually need to use them, they're still worse than before the pandemic.
I'm trying to book a journey back from London from visiting the family in just over a months time:
ECML - enginering works - understandable they need to be done some time, yet are there any AP tickets available ? No, of course not.
WCML - no engineering works, yet no AP tickets either. Whatever happenned to the three months booking window.
EMR - They at least do have some AP but most are pricey - probably because none of the others are offering any AP tickets. Still probably the best for the timebeing.
It would just be nice to be able to plan ones journey and for it not to be a massive rigmarole for a change.
I'm trying to book a journey back from London from visiting the family in just over a months time:
ECML - enginering works - understandable they need to be done some time, yet are there any AP tickets available ? No, of course not.
WCML - no engineering works, yet no AP tickets either. Whatever happenned to the three months booking window.
EMR - They at least do have some AP but most are pricey - probably because none of the others are offering any AP tickets. Still probably the best for the timebeing.
It would just be nice to be able to plan ones journey and for it not to be a massive rigmarole for a change.
ChrisC
Established Member
For me it’s the uncertainty that seats will be available on the day and time that I need to travel that is putting me off going back onto rail for my holidays.
Until a few years ago, I always used to get the best prices by booking cheaper non refundable rates in hotels, and booking AP rail tickets as cheaply as I could as soon as they became available. Now because of commitments of caring for elderly relatives, who are not as well as they were, I prefer the security gained by booking flexible hotel rooms which can be cancelled easily if necessary. The same goes for my rail travel. Now that I have a Senior Railcard Off Peak tickets are at a more reasonable rate and I don’t purchase my tickets until the day of travel or just a few days before when I know the holiday is definitely going ahead.
I’ve got a hotel booking for later this year down in Cornwall. With XC ridiculously high fares from Nottingham to Penzance I will be splitting my tickets at Cheltenham, Bristol and Tiverton Parkway. What I would normally do is buy these tickets from Nottingham Station the day before and reserve the same seat all the way from Derby to Penzance. What I don’t want to happen is turn up at Nottingham to be told that I can’t travel because there are no seats available on XC trains on the day that I need to travel. The uncertainty just makes me feel like cancelling my hotel booking in Penzance and booking somewhere else closer to home at a distance that I don’t mind driving In one day.
Until a few years ago, I always used to get the best prices by booking cheaper non refundable rates in hotels, and booking AP rail tickets as cheaply as I could as soon as they became available. Now because of commitments of caring for elderly relatives, who are not as well as they were, I prefer the security gained by booking flexible hotel rooms which can be cancelled easily if necessary. The same goes for my rail travel. Now that I have a Senior Railcard Off Peak tickets are at a more reasonable rate and I don’t purchase my tickets until the day of travel or just a few days before when I know the holiday is definitely going ahead.
I’ve got a hotel booking for later this year down in Cornwall. With XC ridiculously high fares from Nottingham to Penzance I will be splitting my tickets at Cheltenham, Bristol and Tiverton Parkway. What I would normally do is buy these tickets from Nottingham Station the day before and reserve the same seat all the way from Derby to Penzance. What I don’t want to happen is turn up at Nottingham to be told that I can’t travel because there are no seats available on XC trains on the day that I need to travel. The uncertainty just makes me feel like cancelling my hotel booking in Penzance and booking somewhere else closer to home at a distance that I don’t mind driving In one day.
In fairness, there are still alot of folk who (rightly or wrongly) will be apprehensive about rail travel for a while yet and (maybe illogically) will find such messaging reassuring.
That's the thing really.
People have advanced bookings for hotels to arrange, that they have to try and marry up with multiple advanced bookings on trains, sometimes with different companies. I can see why people can't be bothered with it.
For Cornwall, I usually go via London anyway. It often doesn't work out as much more expensive than XC anyway.
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