How busy have your trains been?

[P Binnersley]

Any idea of the loadings of the Crewe-Euston LNWR services at Nuneaton? I've not been Nuneaton for many months now and love to go soon shopping and spending a bit of time at the station. The Birmingham to Leicester/Cambridge ones which I sometimes use to Leicester are loading quite well now although of course it's only half the usual frequency at the minute so people are spread over fewer trains. It's a shame the Nuneaton-Leamington is STILL a bus (after 3 months now), pre Covid this was getting to be quite a well used service in the last few years with the opening of Kenilworth, Bermuda Park, Coventry Arena station and extension to Leamington increasing usage of service.

I got on the LNWR Crewe-Euston service at Rugby (8 carriages) the Saturday before last (shops were shut) and they were no problems social distancing in either direction. I would estimate 5/carriage to London and 10 on the return.

Nuneaton - Leamington gets 2 hourly trains from 26th April with a bus still on alternate hours (Timetable).

 

[david1212]

... I've not been Nuneaton for many months now and love to go soon shopping and spending a bit of time at the station....

OT but do check if the shops you want are still trading else you might end up spending a bit of time shopping and a lot at the station !!

 

[LowLevel]

About 120 noted leaving a cosy 158806 at Lincoln this morning with the 0743 off Sleaford.

 

[DannyMich2018]

OT but do check if the shops you want are still trading else you might end up spending a bit of time shopping and a lot at the station !!

That's no a bad thing really!! Even before Covid many shops had closed down and the Market a shadow of its self.

 

[DannyMich2018]

I got on the LNWR Crewe-Euston service at Rugby (8 carriages) the Saturday before last (shops were shut) and they were no problems social distancing in either direction. I would estimate 5/carriage to London and 10 on the return.

Nuneaton - Leamington gets 2 hourly trains from 26th April with a bus still on alternate hours (Timetable).

Very helpful. Thanks for your reply

 

[route101]

0650 from East Kilbride, not far off pre covid loading. 1548 from Glasgow Central to East Kilbride was busy due school kids joining at Crossmylook, Giffnock and Clarkston.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Tuesday has always been my day out for train riding. Good to be back there now we can use our free passes with no concern.

1001 Rainham from St Albans - about 25% ( shame we stood at the St Pancras home signal for about 25 mins whilst the BTP removed a trespasser of the track - yes - in the core)

Wandered around Euston looking at HS2 works.

Northern line to Waterloo from Chalk Farm - say 20%

!330 Waterloo to Portsmouth fast - 12 car 450 - off at Guildford - encouragingly about 80 passengers got off there. Station nicely busy.

1446 Guildford to Reading - 3 car 165/1 quiet at GFD - but did good intermediate business - about 80 off at Reading - Wokingham had maybe a 100 school kids waiting for the following slow EMU !

1551 or so off Reading - Padd - RT but stuffed enroute from Slough as the Up fast blocked. Light loadings - but Padd was encouragingly busy. 16 late in.

Hammersmith And City stuffed (signal problems so about a 15 min interval - but about 50%)

1701 Farringdon - Bedford maybe 25% , encouraging 5 in 1st class who looked "genuine" , off at SAC - but maybe 40 boarded there

London is most definatly beginning to feel like a proper city again.

 

[infobleep]

This evening I got the 17:49 Guildford to Waterloo service. I was alighting at Clapham Junction.

So nice to be able to get a fast train that stops at Clapham Junction. I'm sure the Portsmouth people appreciate it. Shame they can't do the reverse from Clapham Junction south. There are 2 fastctarins to Clapham in the up direction but just 1 in the down.

The train, a 444, what a nice bonus, was 10 cars in length. I got on in on car 5 and it was fairly busy. In fact, it was until coaches 8 or 9 that I felt it was quieter. The people I passed mostly seemed to be younger. Maybe teens or late teens. Some were in tables of 4. No idea if they were in the same bubble or household though. Not that I feel it's my business so I just carried on.

I could have social distanced in some of the other carriages but calculating 2m isn't easy when you have bothered to do so for sole months and I wanted a table. Might as well spread out when the opportunity exists.

This necessitated walking back through the train as we approached Clapham Junction but I had plenty of time as the announcement was in advance and the train was slowing down following the announcement.

I think with the Clapham Junction announcements it's further in advance to give people time to be in the right bit of the train for the platform.

It turns out we arrived 4 minutes early into Clapham Junction. No idea if that is normal. I don't usually expect to arrive early. 4 minutes early at 18:18.

It meant I got to pick up the 18:22 rather than the 18:32. The 18:22 to Eastbourne seemed quite at the front but busier the further back you were.

However, at Clapham Junction, there seemed to be more people on the platform towards the front.

Maybe this is due to having to use the footbridge to reach the platform.

To get a set of seats to myself I ended up in coach 2. Once at Haywards Heath I then just has to move down the platform for longer

We were slightly late into Haywards Heath owning to late running of preceding services causes by track circuit failure, arriving at 19:05½ instead of 19:03. Worth noting we were pages into platform 2, instead of platform 1, as was the 19:08 to Littlehampton and despite that departing Clapham Junction on time, it was 5 minutes late into Haywards Heath. It was on time at Balcombe Tunnel but 3 minutes kate by the time it reached Balcombe itself. No idea why platform 1 couldn't be used or if that would have saved some of the delay time. I'd left the station by this point.

So trains busier but maybe that is due to the time I travelled more than anything else.

 

[bramling]

Tuesday has always been my day out for train riding. Good to be back there now we can use our free passes with no concern.

1001 Rainham from St Albans - about 25% ( shame we stood at the St Pancras home signal for about 25 mins whilst the BTP removed a trespasser of the track - yes - in the core)

Wandered around Euston looking at HS2 works.

Northern line to Waterloo from Chalk Farm - say 20%

!330 Waterloo to Portsmouth fast - 12 car 450 - off at Guildford - encouragingly about 80 passengers got off there. Station nicely busy.

1446 Guildford to Reading - 3 car 165/1 quiet at GFD - but did good intermediate business - about 80 off at Reading - Wokingham had maybe a 100 school kids waiting for the following slow EMU !

1551 or so off Reading - Padd - RT but stuffed enroute from Slough as the Up fast blocked. Light loadings - but Padd was encouragingly busy. 16 late in.

Hammersmith And City stuffed (signal problems so about a 15 min interval - but about 50%)

1701 Farringdon - Bedford maybe 25% , encouraging 5 in 1st class who looked "genuine" , off at SAC - but maybe 40 boarded there

London is most definatly beginning to feel like a proper city again.

Trains to and in London are certainly a bit busier - however what is conspicuous is there’s still quite an absence of your typical business types. Unfortunately groups of teenagers heading to Primark isn’t going to rescue the railway’s finances!

 

[infobleep]

This evening I went up the stairs at Haywards Heath station to hoard the 17:42 to Clapham Junction.

There is no one-way system here and so as it was in ok platform 3, people were coming down the left-hand side of the stairs as I face them. Another person or two we're using the right-hand side.

I waited a moment and then decided I must go as I do need to catch my train. So up I went. Someone moved over slightly for me, obviously not wanting to be right next to me and I guess there is room but the government guidance is for 2m or 1m+ where ever possible and some stations do have floor markings as to which side to use.

Anyway once on this train, it was fairly quiet in terms of passenger numbers. I think I boarded in maybe coach 2. Maybe 5 in each coach. I went back to around coach 4. Once at Gatwick Airport there wasn't a bad rush of people get on.

Maybe heading north at this time from Haywards Heath is popular, unlike at Guildford with the 17:49 to Clapham Junction or maybe it's a Wednesday thing. The Guildford train did have more young people. This doesn't.

Once at Gatwick Airport, we waited a while. I assumed we were in early and actually we were in 1½ minutes early. However, we left 2 minutes late.

I had a choice of travelling to Guildford his Dorking or Clapham Junction.

I choose Clapham Junction, just so I could see how busy the 18:24 fast to Guildford was. It is the first fast train from Clapham Junction towards Woking since 17:00. I thought this train had been cancelled but if it had been, it's back. It's not an official connection but 5 minutes is enough time to get from platform 12 to 9.

Once at Clapham Junction, now only 1 minute late, quite a few got off. There were all further towards the back of the train. As I went up the stairs, not being able to social distance too much, someone overtook me. Going through a gap between myself and someone else.

Once on the footbridge, I started to go around the wrong lane, as were most people but the member staff to stop you using the wrong set of stairs to platforms 9 and 10, didn't seem bothered. I did switch once I realised.

On platform 9 there was a reasonable number of people but I've seen it busier. I was in the third coach from the front and 7 people boarded it. Plenty of safe to social distance but not as much as my last train.

 

[rg177]

Aboard the 1722 Manchester Vic to Leeds this afternoon, formed of three carriage 195128.

Every bay/table had somebody in it with a few standees out of Victoria.

It was good to see the guard rip the cordon off the back set of seats though that have been blocked off from passenger use, to allow a few more to sit down.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Caught the 1014 Cheltenham to Birmingham last week and the 1912 Birmingham to Cheltenham return. Booked for a pair of Voyagers and both sets were quite busy, almost every pair of 2 seats taken.

Didn't know whether to be relieved to see normality or concerned!

 

[deltic]

Yesterday, surprising large number people got off 10.07 ex Taunton arrival at Paddington (c200), 10.32 to Bristol was perhaps 15% full - Paddington very quiet. Bath station was fairly busy around 4pm - train to Paddington only about 10% full and Paddington very quiet at 6ish. Not surprising HEX services seem to only have a couple people on them. Underground services at most 50% of seats taken

 

[DannyMich2018]

Today's 14.22 Birmigham to Cambridge. Got on at Hinckley. 4 cars (2x2 car 170s). A good 25 or so in my carriage. Good number of them got off at Leicester including me. 15.38 London service as far as Kettering.only around 8 in my carriage which was last carriage but others were busier. Healthy number got off af Kettering.

 

[Bald Rick]

I’ve been out and about this week.

Noticeable that London was getting back to normal, with traffic and general activity pretty high. Inner suburban trains busy - a Watford D.C. service I caught in the middle of the day was not far off normal business for that time.

St Pancras was busy yesterday, although Kings Cross being closed would have added some passengers. St Albans - London still a long way down, perhaps 20-25% of normal.

 

[APT618S]

Just got off the 0559 Newcastle - Peterborough at Peterborough. Was told I was the only person on board between York and Peterborough so had a whole 9 car Azuma to myself !

 

[Horizon22]

Just got off the 0559 Newcastle - Peterborough at Peterborough. Was told I was the only person on board between York and Peterborough so had a whole 9 car Azuma to myself !

The "don't travel" message to Kings Cross working well then!

 

[Steddenm]

Thameslink service just after 0830 this morning between Brighton and East Croydon quite busy, but possibly due to Southern cancelling trains to Victoria due to a signal failure at Three Bridges.

Southern service at 1048 from East Croydon to Clapham Junction very busy - about 75% of all seats taken on a 12 car unit service.

SWR service from Clapham to Waterloo not overly busy on an 8 car Desiro.

Bakerloo line between Waterloo and Paddington noticeably quiet with hardly anybody about.

Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service is very quiet. Hardly a soul on although Paddington does seem to be busier than normal.

I'll let you know how busy the Cheltenham to Manchester service is doing later on.

 

[yorksrob]

Noticable bustle around Sheffield Mid and Man Pic today (Greggs at Pic even ran out of Belgian buns !)

 

[eastwestdivide]

Friday 23 April:
0945ish Rotherham-Sheffield (from Leeds), 2-car 158, plenty of space (many seating bays still vacant), good mask wearing
1014 Sheffield-Hope (to Manchester), 4-car 150, loads of space (we had a doors-to-gangway section of the front 150 to ourselves), good mask wearing
1538 Hope-Sheffield (From Manchester), 4-car 1540, plenty of space (many seating bays still vacant), good mask wearing
1615 Sheffield-Rotherham (to Leeds), 2-car 158, good space (some seating bays still vacant), good mask wearing.

I'd been a bit concerned about the Hope Valley locals, with reports of crowding with outdoors types in good weather, but Friday was a beautiful day, and there wasn't the crowds I'd expected, either on the trains or on the hills. Whether that's the case at the weekend, I couldn't say.

 

[Killingworth]

Hope Valley Northern Saturday morning loadings are possibly higher than pre-Covid. It's hard to tell.

The 9.14 and 10.14 from Sheffield 2 years ago might be a single Pacer that was so rammed it wasn't possible for all to get aboard. Today the 10.14 was a 4 coach 150. There were standees in the rear unit, although some of the 3rd seats were empty - bags on some I'd expect! All bays in the front 2 were occupied at Dore.

A sign that leisure users are returning was that 2 got off at Dore at 9.58 from the 8.49 ex-Piccadilly and went straight to the 218 bus for Chatsworth and Bakewell. Pre-Covid that link had been increasingly popular with Chinese users from the Manchester area.

However the loadings are strongly influenced by the pricing of tickets. There's probably plenty of space in 6 coach TPEs, but a standard single on that could be 2, 3 or 4 times the price of the Northern in the same hour between Sheffield and Piccadilly.

Users are spotting the bargains!

 

[yorksrob]

The four carriage 150's are definately a boon for the stoppers, compared to the old days!

 

[Kite159]

Some busy GWR trains today. Although I would dread to have been on the 17:30 departure from Weymouth to Westbury for it was only a 2 coach unit [the next departure wasn't until 20:XX so I suspect for daytrippers they would aim for that 17:30]

Plus the SWR service towards Weymouth this morning got busy at times

 

[birchesgreen]

Getting busier. For the first time since before March 2020 I had someone sit next to me on a train, which was fine as she was kinda hot.

 

[S&CLER]

19 people boarded the 0938 from Southport to Blackburn today, and it filled up at stations en route, being more than half full on arrival at Man. Vic. It then emptied, so that I had a carriage to myself from Victoria to Littleborough. Returning, the 1556 from Littleborough was busy, but not so busy as the morning train; about half full from Manchester (d. 1625).

 

[yorkie]

Under 30 passengers in standard on the 1730 Edinburgh to London, counted on the approach to York this evening. There may have been more at other points in the journey but I found that very disappointing and rather concerning.

Local trains are doing much better though.

 

[yorksrob]

TPE Leeds to Newcastle pretty busy this morning. Almost every seating bay taken. A bit quieter on the way back but still a decent number.

 

[Peregrine 4903]

Under 30 passengers in standard on the 1730 Edinburgh to London, counted on the approach to York this evening. There may have been more at other points in the journey but I found that very disappointing and rather concerning.

Local trains are doing much better though.

As someone whos been travelling up and down the WCML 5 days a week, trains are much better loaded there from what I have seen. I wonder if the Kings Cross works and the fact you have to reserve a seat on LNER are having notable impact.

In GTR and Southeastern land, services are getting busy. Peaks still much quieter than usual but off peak travel is most certainly coming back

 

[Bald Rick]

Under 30 passengers in standard on the 1730 Edinburgh to London, counted on the approach to York this evening. There may have been more at other points in the journey but I found that very disappointing and rather concerning.

Local trains are doing much better though.

It wasn’t going to London. St Neots doesn’t have quite the same attraction

 

[Jamesrob637]

I think the masks are not so much a deterrent for short rides hence local services are doing better.

Clearly not the only factor, but will contribute significantly. Most people can tolerate them for short periods now. The train rides people make are probably only equivalent in time as a visit to the supermarket.