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How busy have your trains been?

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Mag_seven

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The 09.48 from Paddington to Swansea today was surprisingly busy. Once again I suspect that we are largely running a "leisure railway" at the moment. Commuter traffic is practically non existent.
 
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Peter Mugridge

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My observations today:

* Epsom to Clapham Junction less busy than previous weeks, but no service below Epsom ( engineering ) and 15 minute interval restored.
* Overground from Clapham Junction back to normal levels.
* H&C / Circle all seats full and a few standing between Paddington and King's Cross. No real surprise there.
* Thameslink from Farringdon to East Croydon unexpectedly quiet compared to recent Saturdays, but there were engineering works in play.
* Croydon trams back to normal levels.
* East Croydon to Thornton Heath, Thornton Heath to West Croydon - about a third full.
* West Croydon to Epsom ( London Bridge starter ) about a quarter full.
 

route101

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Yesterday:

1135 Hull to York Class 155, was pretty well loaded by the time it got to York.
York was busy with tourists.
1553 York to Edinburgh 9 car 800, pretty well loaded to Newcastle, most bays taken, least 50 % loading.
 

BJames

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Very busy on NET Tram today. Full and standing for the duration of my journey. Almost all seats used despite the prevalence of the "please keep free" covers.

But still quite quiet on my EMR fast service from Nottingham today. Certainly not empty but only about 10 people in my carriage, more than enough for everyone to have their own tables. I suspect the five car meridians are busier throughout the journey.
 

Jamesrob637

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I am on a Cheshire Day Ranger tomorrow and potentially a Lancashire Day Ranger on Friday. Will post a few stats here over the weekend.
 

james60059

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Saturday 12th September.

802103 1A25 15:00 Bristol Temple Meads - London Paddington.

Last but one coach was empty, had it all to myself, but overall train was about 40% full.

800301 1C21 16:02 London Paddington - Bristol Temple Meads.

Standard Class about 70% full. The coach I was in, next to the first class one, had all seats taken.
 
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Jamesrob637

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Saturday 12th September.

802103 1A25 15:00 Bristol Temple Meads - London Paddington.

Last but one coach was empty, had it all to myself, but overall train was about 40% full.

800301 1C21 16:02 London Paddington - Bristol Temple Meads.

Standard Class about 70% full. The coach I was in, next to the first class one, had all seats taken.

Weekend travel is definitely recovering.
 

yorkie

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The trains I observed at York station last night were absolutely dead compared to normal.

The 1954 Liverpool - Scarborough (2157 arrival into York) had no more than about 10 people on it as it approached York by the looks of it.

Perhaps @Iskra and @lkpridgeon can say how busy their trains were, but what I saw was depressing.
 

Iskra

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The trains I observed at York station last night were absolutely dead compared to normal.

The 1954 Liverpool - Scarborough (2157 arrival into York) had no more than about 10 people on it as it approached York by the looks of it.

Perhaps @Iskra and @lkpridgeon can say how busy their trains were, but what I saw was depressing.

The 2123 York to Blackpool North (I made it!) was lightly loaded. The 2232 Leeds-Sheffield via Castleford had about 20 on it from Leeds. At Chapeltown, 3 got off and there was 1 person left on the train to Sheffield from there.

The daytime XC Sheffield-York was fairly busy in a distanced way.

It seems evening travel is really suffering. I'm heading down to Cornwall tomorrow so will update with what I see on my trains on that trip.
 

yorksrob

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The 2123 York to Blackpool North (I made it!) was lightly loaded. The 2232 Leeds-Sheffield via Castleford had about 20 on it from Leeds. At Chapeltown, 3 got off and there was 1 person left on the train to Sheffield from there.

The daytime XC Sheffield-York was fairly busy in a distanced way.

It seems evening travel is really suffering. I'm heading down to Cornwall tomorrow so will update with what I see on my trains on that trip.

Interestingly, the 22:19 from York to Blackburn was pretty busy for a mid week evening service, with most bays occupied.

The 23:02 Leeds to Sheffield had a smattering of passengers, but then again, this has service has only been resurrected this week. It tended not to be ridiculously busy on weekdays before the pandemic.

I should add that pubs seem to be a bit less busy than a couple of weeks ago, so perhaps people are limiting their interactions again.
 

Mag_seven

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Just arrived at Paddington on a 30% max loaded service. I've just watched a couple of arrivals and hardly anyone has got off - indeed there appear to be more leisure travellers heading out of Paddington than there are commuters heading in.
 

Andy Pacer

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Been doing a wayfarer rover in the Manchester area today. Most services reasonably well loaded (in distancing terms). On a 390 to Crewe at the moment from Piccadilly and there’s 2 first class and 5 standard class passengers which is a little less assuring :(
Did you have to get a reservation for the 390 trip?
 

lkpridgeon

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19.06 Kings Cross to Lincoln on Friday looked to have been near off fully booked reservation wise however it seemed only about 40-50% of people turned up.

Lincoln to Sheffield on Sunday from Saxilby at 10.20 was reasonably well loaded but didn't reach the point of people standing as that service usually does on a Sunday. Past Worksop I'd describe it as at the socially distanced capacity.

Lincoln to Doncaster was back to what I would describe as more than usual loadings with about 14 passengers when I got on at Saxilby at 09.23 yesterday. A further 6 joined at Gainsborough

Doncaster to York, no reservations were being displayed however it was quite quiet.

And for my York to Retford journey today (10.02 to KGX) About 40 people have boarded so far. Again reservations were off, but this time it was done due to a set swap with a 91.
 

Iskra

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19.06 Kings Cross to Lincoln on Friday looked to have been near off fully booked reservation wise however it seemed only about 40-50% of people turned up.

Lincoln to Sheffield on Sunday from Saxilby at 10.20 was reasonably well loaded but didn't reach the point of people standing as that service usually does on a Sunday. Past Worksop I'd describe it as at the socially distanced capacity.

Lincoln to Doncaster was back to what I would describe as more than usual loadings with about 14 passengers when I got on at Saxilby at 09.23 yesterday. A further 6 joined at Gainsborough

Doncaster to York, no reservations were being displayed however it was quite quiet.

And for my York to Retford journey today (10.02 to KGX) About 40 people have boarded so far. Again reservations were off, but this time it was done due to a set swap with a 91.

Interesting, do we think people are reserving seats on multiple trains?
 

Mojo

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I was at Waterloo on Monday, observed both the 18.50 and 19.20 Reading services depart with approximately 2-4 customers per carriage (10 car train).
 

Cymroglan

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Does anyone have recent experience of travelling between Bournemouth and Waterloo, weekdays, at (the old) Peak times? Seriously considering a first jaunt on the trains since you-know-when!
 

philjo

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How busy are the TfW Manchester to Cardiff services?
I will be travelling Crewe to Shrewsbury on Saturday and Church Stretton to Crewe next week. Though was not able to get seat reservations (normally only counted place reservations were issued anyway On these services for flexible tickets)
 
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lkpridgeon

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Does anyone have recent experience of travelling between Bournemouth and Waterloo, weekdays, at (the old) Peak times? Seriously considering a first jaunt on the trains since you-know-when!
If it's via Winchester not quite as dead as a dodo. Quieter than off peak from what I've seen. There's a slight bump around school/college commute time.
 

Cymroglan

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If it's via Winchester not quite as dead as a dodo. Quieter than off peak from what I've seen. There's a slight bump around school/college commute time.
Thanks for this information, I really appreciate it. The service I’m asking about does indeed call at Winchester at which point (in the olden days) the Waterloo next stop trains were full & standing room only. I am cautious about travelling, but your report is encouraging me to maybe give it a try.
 

30907

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My first trip out on NR today:
1029 Tweedbank- Edinburgh Waverley: 3car 170, about 25 boarded TWB, maybe 25-30 en route. Highest load factor all day at 25%, but note that the offpeak service is only 50% of normal on this route.
1131 EDB-Leuchars: HST, 6 in my coach (and the 1st/buffet staff only)
1249 Leuchars-Kirkcaldy: 3-170, coach to myself
1328 Kirkcaldy-Glenrothes-Dalmeny: 2-158, maximum 6 in my coach
1532 Dalmeny-EDB: 6-158, 2 pax in rear unit, maybe 20 in all (busier on return!)
1620 EDB-TWB: almost as busy as the morning train, with some schoolkids.
Masks 100%
Distancing unnecessary (apart from the teenagers trying to board at Waverley before I could leave!).
 

Mag_seven

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I was at Oxford station this evening about 16.30 and it was the busiest I've seen it for ages. The 16.37 to Didcot was about 50% full.
 

miami

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How busy are the TfW Manchester to Cardiff services?

Haven't noticed one go past for a week or so, but when I've seen them between Crewe and Shrewsbury, I haven't noticed anyone on board.

Meanwhile


Road traffic nearly back to pre-lockdown levels

Arriva still wanted £140 -- 78p per mile -- to travel on an empty train arriving in London at 10:30 last week.
 

Iskra

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0731 Meadowhall-Sheffield full and standing (in a distanced way)
Other Northern trains around Sheffield were busy, TP fairly quiet.

0956 Sheffield-Exeter XC HST 2/3 full most of the way.

1414 Exeter-St Erth 2/3 full most of the way.

St Erth-St Ives 4 carriage train pretty busy.
St Ives-St Erth same again.
 

scotrail158713

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Had my first train journey since March on Tuesday - had numerous bus journeys but that was the first train. I took the 17:16 Edinburgh to North Berwick service to Prestonpans which compared to normal was very quiet. I actually saw exactly the same service on Monday when passing Wallyford station, and it looked similar then. I’ve taken this service before and it’s usually full and standing but there were still a lot of empty tables on departure. This surprised me as buses are definitely getting busier from what I see, but the trains still seem almost empty.
 

Scotrail314209

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Scotrail do seem to be returning to Pre COVID levels relatively quickly, with the Ayrshire services being at least 60% full.

Recently I seen a 3 car service arriving from Ayr into Glasgow Central which emptied out a large crowd. I think it was busy because they have temporarily stopped the fast Ayr service. Scotrail should look into reinstating it.
 

Jamesrob637

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0731 Meadowhall-Sheffield full and standing (in a distanced way)
Other Northern trains around Sheffield were busy, TP fairly quiet.

0956 Sheffield-Exeter XC HST 2/3 full most of the way.

1414 Exeter-St Erth 2/3 full most of the way.

St Erth-St Ives 4 carriage train pretty busy.
St Ives-St Erth same again.

Cornwall is great: enjoy! Shall be posting my experiences from the past week later today.
 

Andy Pacer

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C2C eastbound services are fairly well loaded today, although perhaps taking into account it's a weekend and sunny I'd have expected more people heading to the seaside.
 

Jamesrob637

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Okay here goes:

Wednesday 16th of September 2020 - Cheshire Day Ranger:

08:33 Heaton Chapel to Stockport - not really sure as was only on it for a whopping 2-3 minutes. I wasn't the only one in my carriage though. 4-car Northern service.
08:40 Stockport to Crewe - no more than 20 in my carriage, therefore likely no more than 50-60 on the entire train. 3-car TfW service
09:25 Crewe to Chester - most window seats taken and a couple of larger groups. Probably half-full overall. 2-car TfW service
10:55 Chester to Crewe - roughly the same as the previous Crewe to Chester, maybe not so many larger groups as Chester does attract day drinkers! 2-car TfW service (the same 2 cars as before - they'd shuttled back to Crewe and back again to Chester whilst I'd been in town).
(Should mention that from Chester onwards I was not alone - 2 of us until the penultimate sector.)
11:30 Crewe to Stockport - no more than 30% occupancy in my carriage, so probably the same throughout all coaches. 3-car TfW service
12:18 Stockport to Buxton - 20% occupancy in the front carriage, occasionally rising to nearer 30% between some intermediate stations. 4-car Northern service
13:59 Buxton to Manchester Piccadilly - almost dead as far as Hazel Grove where a smattering of people got on, then a couple more at Woodsmoor, Davenport, Stockport and Levenshulme (this service does not call at Heaton Chapel.) 4-car Northern service
15:03 Manchester Piccadilly to Glossop - very quiet as far as Dinting where it picked up some schoolkids at home time for the last three minutes over to Glossop. 3-car Northern service
16:22 Glossop to Manchester Piccadilly - a little busier than the outbound to Glossop (schoolkids mostly home or in activities at this point) but still not very full. 20% occupancy tops. 3-car Northern service
16:58 Manchester Piccadilly to Stalybridge - one of the busier services of the day in terms of absolute numbers though still many empty seats. Would have been rammed with 16:30 finishers from the city centre pre-COVID. 6-car TPE service
17:41 Stalybridge to Liverpool Lime Street - an interesting one. Was fairly busy as far as Manchester Victoria however it was a 3-car 185 vice 5-car Nova set so probably would have only been 20-30% full as booked. However a set swap took place at MCV and the Nova was very lightly-loaded to Liverpool.
A 3-car Merseyrail train from Lime Street to Central around 19:30 after a pint at the Wetherspoon on the station ***just to get another operator in on the Rover*** was very lightly loaded.
The 21:34 Liverpool to Birmingham 8-car LNWR service was cancelled due to trespassers on the line at Crewe earlier in the evening meaning that the unit couldn't get to Liverpool to get back out, so the 21:38 Liverpool to Nottingham 4-car EMR service was around 40% loaded as far as South Parkway where a few, including my mate and a few who I suspect should have/would have caught the LNWR, got off. My mate had caught the 09:26 Liverpool South Parkway to Chester that morning via the Halton Curve and reported very low loadings on the 2-car TfW service. The EMR was virtually empty all the way to Stockport, filling up and emptying out only marginally within Manchester. I think one or two others alighted at Stockport.
22:40 Stockport to Heaton Chapel - the reverse of the very first train of my day - 2-3 minute journey so can't comment. Think there may have been one other in my carriage. 4-car Northern service

Friday 18th of September Lancashire Day Ranger to follow!
 
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