Unused Capacity at Glasgow Queen St Low Level Station

[route101]

The motorways can be brilliant off peak. But when it's busy it's really busy. With junctions on the M8 in particular being sometimes just metres apart, the traffic gridlocks more than any other motorway I've ever been on - even the M6 manages to get up to some speed (even if it's the dizzy heights of 15mph) between junctions. The M8 can really be below walking speed at times.

The M74 wasn't too bad when I last used it, the M80 hampered by being only two lanes and having to merge onto the M8 at the worst part. The M77 was always a painful experience in the off peak direction, and I can't imagine it being any better going the other way.
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This. Glasgow has a brilliant public transport network, I'd say second only to London. Having a Zonecard gives you lots of freedom to travel (once you work it out!) and when you do take advantage you realise how spoiled you are. Compared to other places, there are so many more opportunities to take the train, so people do. Compared to elsewhere, you've got better frequencies and fares which really encourage the service to be used.

It always amazes me when people complain about how good the public transport is in Glasgow because other cities aren't as good - they should really be spending that energy in trying to get other cities up to the same standard - Manchester at the top of the list IMO!

If there was a smartcard for all transport types , the zonecard is a outdated product . Zonecard is a little dear too . Season Ticket is cheaper i think
Edinburgh does not so much a surburban network but its buses are fantastic

 

[me123]

If there was a smartcard for all transport types , the zonecard is a outdated product . Zonecard is a little dear too . Season Ticket is cheaper i think
Edinburgh does not so much a surburban network but its buses are fantastic

Season ticket is cheaper for a simple train journey. Zone card has the added benefits of buses and multiple rail routes - it was ideal for me for about a year.
A smartcard solution is long overdue. And not just in Glasgow.

Edinburgh has great buses, but they're limited by the traffic and the suburban rail network is relatively poor.

 

[anti-pacer]

You may recall me questioning how busy peak services were in Glasgow, and being amazed that I didn't "think" they would be busy. Well, I've just watched a YouTube video of an enthusiast filming trains at Cambuslang during the evening peak and none of the trains I saw were what you would call "really busy". Whilst the odd person was standing up, I saw free seats.

Bearing in mind Cambuslang isn't that far from Central, I was expecting these trains to be a lot more busy. That said, most trains were 6 cars which for outside South East England is impressive.

Are the Lanark/Larkhall/Hamilton-Cumbernauld lines not that busy, or do we have differing opinions on the word busy? Busy to me, to clarify, is all seats taken, many standing.

I cannot copy links from my phone but if anyone wishes to look at the video in question, and to make your own mind up, the title is "Series 2 Episode 135 - Trains at Cambuslang (05/10/2015) HD". If someone could post the link I would be grateful.

 

[NotATrainspott]

The definition of 'busy' will vary across the country. One of the things to consider is that the Glasgow suburban network has more competition from bus and private car than the London network, meaning that people will leave rail completely before the trains get too busy. In the south east of England you really don't have a lot of choice other than the train if you want to live out beyond the M25. Road transport is too slow and/or expensive as an alternative and for many people, central London is the only place where they'll get a decent salary for their work.

Also worth considering is the marginal cost of running a longer and less full service: commuter services into London are now as long as the infrastructure allows without enormous amounts of expensive investment, making it effectively impossible to extend trains and so they will be busy. The cost of stabling and maintaining suburban fleets near to London is now enough to affect rolling stock decisions, e.g. how the 455 retractioning on SWT is going ahead to reduce maintenance load and thus free up depot capacity for the 707s despite the SWT ITT essentially requiring new trains to replace them. Adding another three cars to a North Clyde or Argyle Line service is trivial in comparison. I haven't seen many three carriage Airdrie-Bathgate services throughout the day since the beginning of the Queen Street tunnel works.

Passenger numbers on the Strathclyde suburban network are far higher than predicted only a few years ago. I can't remember whether it was posted here or on SkyscraperCity but the passenger figures today were what were predicted for the high-resource scenario after the construction of a cross-city tunnel. Passenger numbers are only going to increase in future due to the same sorts of shifts to a city-based economy that are happening all across the world. We want to make the decision to use the train as effortless as possible, and if trains are unduly busy people simply won't do discretionary travel or will choose some other mode instead.

 

[najaB]

I cannot copy links from my phone but if anyone wishes to look at the video in question, and to make your own mind up, the title is "Series 2 Episode 135 - Trains at Cambuslang (05/10/2015) HD". If someone could post the link I would be grateful.

Here you go.

[youtube]pKnSC2ko8-w[/youtube]

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Happy to help by posting the link you mentioned for the video taken during a prolonged series of earthquakes at Cambuslang.

I can assure you that there are many busier trains and stations on the Glasgow suburban network. There can be be crowding on platforms during peak hours and when an expected 6 coacher turns out to be only 3 then often there are many left behind because they won't physically fit in. There have been numerous reports in the press recently of the effect of the dreaded practice of "station skipping".

Enthusiast videos are rarely taken during the busiest times – in fact station staff tend not encourage this for safety reasons – so it is hard to judge the degree of near-capacity running from videos on youtube.

 

[anti-pacer]

Happy to help by posting the link you mentioned for the video taken during a prolonged series of earthquakes at Cambuslang.

I can assure you that there are many busier trains and stations on the Glasgow suburban network. There can be be crowding on platforms during peak hours and when an expected 6 coacher turns out to be only 3 then often there are many left behind because they won't physically fit in. There have been numerous reports in the press recently of the effect of the dreaded practice of "station skipping".

Enthusiast videos are rarely taken during the busiest times – in fact station staff tend not encourage this for safety reasons – so it is hard to judge the degree of near-capacity running from videos on youtube.

I was actually surprised by how many trains stopped there during the period of this video, given that VT, XC, TPE and SR all had services whizzing through. I know the video wasn't constantly running but even so.

I'm not a spotter/enthusiast myself, but I really cannot see the issue with station staff on this one. Yes, fair enough if it's a rammed platform full of people, but most spotters like this lad stand well out out of the way and cause no harm, yet still some staff have a problem with this. I've seen some bus spotters in Nottingham literally jump in front of the bus to get a shot as it's leaving the bus station. Now that IS stupid and anyone who does this should be banned from the premises.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

Rather than needing a turnback, arent there some hidden platforms as with GLC LL?

To be fair tho from my observations while at the Commonwealth Games Glasgow's network seemed to cope very well with the loadings. Perhaps some reopenings through Botanic Gardens and maybe Glasgow Green area wouldnt go amiss

 

[Carntyne]

Rather than needing a turnback, arent there some hidden platforms as with GLC LL?

To be fair tho from my observations while at the Commonwealth Games Glasgow's network seemed to cope very well with the loadings. Perhaps some reopenings through Botanic Gardens and maybe Glasgow Green area wouldnt go amiss

There's a turn back at Exhibition Centre for the Argyle Line already, it's the North Clyde which needs one.

 

[68000]

You may recall me questioning how busy peak services were in Glasgow, and being amazed that I didn't "think" they would be busy. Well, I've just watched a YouTube video of an enthusiast filming trains at Cambuslang during the evening peak and none of the trains I saw were what you would call "really busy". Whilst the odd person was standing up, I saw free seats.

Bearing in mind Cambuslang isn't that far from Central, I was expecting these trains to be a lot more busy. That said, most trains were 6 cars which for outside South East England is impressive.

Are the Lanark/Larkhall/Hamilton-Cumbernauld lines not that busy, or do we have differing opinions on the word busy? Busy to me, to clarify, is all seats taken, many standing.

I cannot copy links from my phone but if anyone wishes to look at the video in question, and to make your own mind up, the title is "Series 2 Episode 135 - Trains at Cambuslang (05/10/2015) HD". If someone could post the link I would be grateful.

Cambuslang has 6 trains per hour each direction, it is a well served station. I travel in from Newton and is a 6 car train in the morning and evening and it is busy. I generally get a seat though as I know where to stand on the platform for the doors. The 3 car Newton to Central high level service is heaving in the morning and evening. Generally, a 6 car train will be full in the peak and a 3 car will be mobbed