How can it be that a weekday service has a worse frequency than a weekend service?

[mrbouffant]

The weekend evening service from London to East Grinstead (2tph) is better than the weekday evening service (1tph).
This is a post-covid situation.
Is the railway company tacitly suggesting that more people travel at the weekends than commute during the week? If so, that seems wrong to me.

 

[Flange Squeal]

SWR’s Waterloo to Alton and Basingstoke services were both half-hourly in the evening pre-Covid, but only weekends have since had that frequency restored with weekdays remaining hourly for a chunk of the evening.

 

[Route115?]

More traffic at the weekend. On LUL the Bakerloo, Victoria & Central lines all have enhanced Saturday services compare with weekday offpeak (if not quite up to peak levels). The Piccadilly line has 24 tph on Saturday afternoons the same as the peak.

Sometimes service patterns are different at the weekend so individual stations will get an enhanced service.

 

[telstarbox]

The weekend evening service from London to East Grinstead (2tph) is better than the weekday evening service (1tph).
This is a post-covid situation.
Is the railway company tacitly suggesting that more people travel at the weekends than commute during the week? If so, that seems wrong to me.

Completely possible - it's an affluent area where lots of people in "City" jobs could be working from home for part or all of the week.

 

[swt_passenger]

Beaulieu Rd. For many years the best (hourly) service was only available on a Sunday. Designed for people walking in the New Forest, but with negligible weekday use.

 

[30907]

The weekend evening service from London to East Grinstead (2tph) is better than the weekday evening service (1tph).
This is a post-covid situation.
Is the railway company tacitly suggesting that more people travel at the weekends than commute during the week? If so, that seems wrong to me.

It actually applies all day at weekends. And yes, it is possible that there is a more even spread of traffic than on weekdays when commuters still tend to travel at their traditional times (or WFH!).

 

[Bishopstone]

Newhaven Harbour only gets stops during the peaks, M-F, but is 2tph Saturday and Sunday.

Regarding East Grinstead, I imagine there is decent and well-spread weekend traffic for London days out, football, evening theatre/gigs, plus Bluebell Railway during its operating season etc. On a weekday during school term time, I suspect midday and late evening traffic is amply catered for with an hourly service.

 

[seaviewer]

Brighton-Eastbourne is 1 tph during the week and 2 tph on Saturday.

 

[Peregrine 4903]

Brighton-Eastbourne is 1 tph during the week and 2 tph on Saturday.

Goes back to 2tph during the week from May.

 

[greyman42]

The ECML is very busy between Edinburgh and London on a Sunday.

 

[stuu]

The weekend evening service from London to East Grinstead (2tph) is better than the weekday evening service (1tph).
This is a post-covid situation.
Is the railway company tacitly suggesting that more people travel at the weekends than commute during the week? If so, that seems wrong to me.

Why? People mostly go out for the evening at weekends. So why not?

 

[NewClee153]

May I introduce you to the Brigg line . 3 services each way on Saturday, nothing during the week. Albeit I’m aware this is set to change

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Have we had Bordesley, or Denton and Reddish South yet? Normally Saturdays only, 0tpd during the week!

 

[NSE]

I think it makes sense. I still think this specific example would use the 2tph throughout the day. But I’ve often thought this.

I worked in Morrisons as a teenager and the week days were well staffed as the attitude was ‘it’s a week day so it should be’. But it was often a ghost town during the day as people were working and the staff would have been much better utilised at the weekend.

I know it’s triggered by covid but I’m not surprised trains are following suit to match demand. Weekday demand is generally peak times and some lines can be very quiet during the day. But weekends, the demand is consistently all over. I also don’t see why frequencies need to be less on a Sunday. Sunday is no longer the day of rest as it was. It’s still a day of no work for most, but people don’t just stay in and ‘go to church’. Many people are just as busy on Sundays now as Saturday. But there we go.

 

[Parallel]

Some of the Barnstaple line stations receive a more frequent service on Sundays. I’m not sure why exactly but the general service on the line is reduced on Sundays so I guess there’s no need for the train having to rush up to Barnstaple before rushing back down to pass another train at Eggesford on Sundays, as is what happens Monday to Saturday.

 

[30907]

Some of the Barnstaple line stations receive a more frequent service on Sundays. I’m not sure why exactly but the general service on the line is reduced on Sundays so I guess there’s no need for the train having to rush up to Barnstaple before rushing back down to pass another train at Eggesford on Sundays, as is what happens Monday to Saturday.

The Sunday service is still hourly.
The only big winner is Chapelton, which has 4tpd instead of 2 (all request stops) - it's also a good day for station-to-station walks, as there are 4 all-stations trains instead of the weekday skip-stops.