How busy have your trains been?

[Kite159]

Popped into Salisbury today (needed some shopping)

Inbound was a pair of 159s (6 coaches) and I didn't see anybody else on board the front unit.
Return was a 158 (2 coaches) and on departure there was only one other passenger in the front coach [sitting right at the front so when they wanted to alight they would have had to walk down the aisle to exit at the middle doors]

Whilst at Salisbury waiting for departure of the 158, a couple 166s passed. Portsmouth bound had ~ 5 passengers with a Cardiff having ~ 6 (of what I could see), a 9 coach set for Exeter had 7 passengers on it.

 

[Hadders]

18:42 Kings Cross to Stevenage had 24 passengers this evening.

 

[bramling]

18:42 Kings Cross to Stevenage had 24 passengers this evening.

Brighton to Cambridge service I took north this evening had just a handful on it. However the Horsham to Peterboroughs are busier, perhaps because there’s more key workers types on the Peterborough route north of Hitchin.

Last week I didn’t detect any appreciable reduction in numbers compared to what’s been the case since November.

Some quite empty Southeastern services to be seen at London Bridge, though we’re not quite back to the point of seeing a 10-car Networker turn up with just one or two on. I did see a 2x375 turn up from Kent with zero passengers on it. Many of these services would of course be fairly empty even during normal times on a Monday mid evening.

 

[Ianno87]

Spotted the 1647 Cambridge-Ipswich departing Cambridge yesterday. I reckon 5 passengers or so on it.

 

[greyman42]

The 1344 departure from York to Plymouth (9 coaches) had 5 passengers on it.

 

[ScotGG]

They even managed to choose the worst of the three Dartford routes to send it, just to complete the tour of hell.

Hell of a lot more of interest than say the Sidcup line which is endless dull suburbia around most stations.

The Greenwich line has Deptford with loads of interesting little bars and places to east and changed an awful lot over the past 10 years, Greenwich itself of course with a huge amount right outside the station, Woolwich with some stunning architecture and the revamped Arsenal site and even Abbey Wood has 1000 year old ruins of the Abbey and a lovely revamped park beside the woodlands 2 minutes from the station. The other two lines are mostly dullsville 1930s suburbia.

 

[yorksrob]

They even managed to choose the worst of the three Dartford routes to send it, just to complete the tour of hell.

Hell of a lot more of interest than say the Sidcup line which is endless dull suburbia around most stations.

The Greenwich line has Deptford with loads of interesting little bars and places to east and changed an awful lot over the past 10 years, Greenwich itself of course with a huge amount right outside the station, Woolwich with some stunning architecture and the revamped Arsenal site and even Abbey Wood has 1000 year old ruins of the Abbey and a lovely revamped park beside the woodlands 2 minutes from the station. The other two lines are mostly dullsville 1930s suburbia.

They've all gone downhill since the EPB's went.

 

[Mojo]

l was back on my regular first train this morning, before Christmas this was quite busy and not far off its normal loadings, this week was significantly quieter and a lot of the regular customers were not travelling.

 

[bramling]

They've all gone downhill since the EPB's went.

I wouldn't disagree that the Woolwich line is the most interesting of the three. However in terms of dubious locations it takes the crown. The only really dodgy place on the other two lines is Kidbrooke, and that may well have got better since the Ferrier Estate has been regenerated.

 

[yorksrob]

I wouldn't disagree that the Woolwich line is the most interesting of the three. However in terms of dubious locations it takes the crown. The only really dodgy place on the other two lines is Kidbrooke, and that may well have got better since the Ferrier Estate has been regenerated.

As Abbey Wood is the stop for Thamesmead, I wonder how much it lives up to it's Clockwork Orange reputation !

To be fair to the Woolwich line, it does have Greenwich on it, which is quite impressive from what I've seen.

 

[The Ham]

SWR services that I saw today looked like it was a struggle to achieve social distancing (it was you've got to be 2 coaches away right?!?!?).

 

[bearhugger]

Just popped into town to pick up prescriptions from Boots, the 10:22 from James Cook was just me. On the 10:50 from Middlesbrough me going back home plus 3 going all the way to Whitby. At some point just after Nunthorpe (outskirts of Middlesbrough) you cross the boundry into North Yorkhire so so much for staying local (but that's probably for the Covid-19 part of the forum)!

 

[Iskra]

First train journey since September today.

Just a simple return journey from Meadowhall-Sheffield. About 5 people in my carriage travelling in each direction. Meadowhall station was a ghost town. There was a bit more life at Sheffield.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Did Bramhall to Heaton Chapel on Sunday as part of my exercise. About ten people on the 3-car 16:30 Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester

Did Cheadle Hulme to Heaton Chapel today as part of my exercise. About twelve people on the 3-car 13:48 Crewe to Manchester.

A report from my mate at Cross Country was that one of their arrivals today into Manchester had 70 on it!

 

[Watershed]

A report from my mate at Cross Country was that one of their arrivals today into Manchester had 70 on it!

And yet they've shortened all services to single sets since the start of this week!

 

[Jamesrob637]

And yet they've shortened all services to single sets since the start of this week!

They briefly did that during lockdown one but quickly reverted to doubles. No excuse at the moment with the Manchester to Bristol plus Southampton/Reading to Newcastle currently off since March.

 

[MrTurbostar170]

Norwich to Stansted train yesterday:

At least one passenger from Norwich
+2 from Wymondham
+5 from Attleborough
+4 from Thetford
+2 from Brandon
+8 from Ely
+1 from Cambridge North
The majority left at Cambridge.

Journey into Stratford had a couple of people per carriage I'd say, one highspeed service I saw at International was quite well loaded.

Later saw a family of 4 all with suitcases at Dover.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Heaton Chapel to Manchester Piccadilly last Wednesday was almost empty on a 6-car Hazel Grove to Blackpool North service around 13:00

Wilmslow to Cheadle Hulme today was also almost empty on a 3-car Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly service around 14:00

Both trains were in conjunction with exercise.

 

[greyman42]

The 1358 York to Kings Cross had 32 passengers of which 13 were first class.

 

[Peregrine 4903]

I do hope the second Avanti West Coast Manchester service gets reinstated before May. The current service still regularly has 60/70 people on it when I travel from Milton Keynes to Euston in the late afternoon, early evening. The outbound services at that time are busier from what I can see. Obviously this is not a lot of people, but considering there is literally no reason to be regularly travelling long distances at the minute I found these numbers pretty impressive. And most people are travelling beyond Milton Keynes.

 

[Joshua_Harman]

used the underground last week counted no more than 10 people including gateline staff and train captains!

 

[Hadders]

Loadings on the Underground vary depending on the line and time of day. I've done journeys where I'm the only person in the carriage but I've also done journeys where the carriage is standing room only.

I travelled on the 14:28 Stevenage to Gordon Hill and 21:20 Gordon Hill to Stevenage trains last Sunday (31st January). I was the only passenger on both trains! To be fair services via the Hertford loop from Stevenage are never busy and curtailing them at Gordon Hill due to engineering works made them even quieter than normal.

 

[greyman42]

As the 1459 left York for Kings Cross i counted 17 passengers on it.

 

[MDB1images]

Passengers numbers dropped to near 1st lockdown level(but not quite)on Anglo Scots.
Each service I now work now has more people on it than the last time I worked it, still very quiet but moving upwards(and still massive restrictions on travel).

 

[Kite159]

Popped into Salisbury again

Car park at Grateley had 3 vehicles parked up
10:59 towards Basingstoke had one passenger on when it departed (with a staff member alighting to put up new posters)
11:07 towards Salisbury had 2 passengers on (including myself) with one passenger alighting

15:47 towards Basingstoke from Salisbury only had myself on board, 2 passengers boarded at GRT
Looked like a good half dozen on an Exeter train which arrived at Salisbury before the 159 departed.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Popped into Salisbury again

Car park at Grateley had 3 vehicles parked up
10:59 towards Basingstoke had one passenger on when it departed (with a staff member alighting to put up new posters)
11:07 towards Salisbury had 2 passengers on (including myself) with one passenger alighting

15:47 towards Basingstoke from Salisbury only had myself on board, 2 passengers boarded at GRT
Looked like a good half dozen on an Exeter train which arrived at Salisbury before the 159 departed.

Almost lockdown one levels of pax there!

 

[Peregrine 4903]

Thameslink and Great Northen services yesterday were much busier than I expected them to be. Still nowhere near usual levels but considering there is barely any reason to travel at the minute, there are still quite a lot of people using trains.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

0710 fast St Albans to London this am was 50% seated - all nicely spread out. Mind you this was the reduced timetable. (less fast trains of course)

As a positive note , the car park had the return of the local coffee seller.

 

[LowLevel]

I've been working on a fair number of local/regional trains of late. Taking the Nottingham to Worksop line, most of the 2 car trains I've been on, both off peak and peak, numbers have been up to 40 odd on at one go with probably getting on for 70 to 100 people getting on and off during the course of each one way journey. There was a big jump when the weather improved and this obviously is without any schools traffic.

All trains in general have seemed far busier over the last week.

 

[Peregrine 4903]

I've noticed similar on the Piccadilly and Victoria Lines and on the Southern WCML, still a long way to go though.