I'm afraid his blog post tallies with my own experience of the western end of the route, which is my local line. I rarely reported back my own local journeys on this thread as it would have made for depressing reading without the caveat that the previous inner suburban operator GWR usually did run 3 car DMUs off peak, or 6 cars during the peaks before electrification 3-4 years ago, which normally matched demand. The peak trains were always absolutely packed at the London end.
The recovery is very patchy, by days, by times and by routes. Nationwide averages are a guide but there are huge differences to take into account.
That's 3 more than Leicester to Peterborough
Peak loadings have increased substantially into London. Off peak is slowly picking up again in a similar way to last time although January/February are typically low months anyway.
Normally I'm on that train too (0739) and have to stand until East Croydon at which point the odd seat becomes available. The other day I picked up the 0646 from Purley Oaks and was astounded to see the entire train empty at East Croydon and there was a minor crush with everyone trying to cross the footbridge to platforms 1 & 2 simultaneously to pick up quicker trains to London. Maybe there could be a better way of doing this like making some of the faster trains stop at Purley to facilitate earlier interchange? Coming back from London Bridge it's much easier to get a seat which sometimes make me wonder where all the other commuters go! Definitely seems busier trying to get back from Clapham J or Victoria in the evening peak
