Getting people back on trains as lockdown eases.

[VauxhallandI]

Currently sat at Milton Keynes Central with a scheduled 10 minute wait. One hour from Euston to here is a crazy timetable no?

Anyway the LO carriage I was in to Seven Sisters was 6 masked, 4 masks down and 6 maskless.

The tube was relatively busy and I had to sit between two people, not sure if the guy next to me was chuffed but if he is expecting 3 seats going forward he is in for a shock

 

[Ianno87]

Currently sat at Milton Keynes Central with a scheduled 10 minute wait. One hour from Euston to here is a crazy timetable no?

Not when 2 of the 4 tracks south of MK are closed it isn't.

 

[dk1]

Not when 2 of the 4 tracks south of MK are closed it isn't.

Yes it’s making the best use of available capacity. Unfortunately something has to give & that often means longer dwell times to fit into the booked path later in the journey. Gives the driver a chance to get a cuppa too

 

[VauxhallandI]

Not when 2 of the 4 tracks south of MK are closed it isn't.

That explains why we are now motoring away north of MKC; nice sarcastic delivery mind cheers

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 May 2021 ==

Yes it’s making the best use of available capacity. Unfortunately something has to give & that often means longer dwell times to fit into the booked path later in the journey. Gives the driver a chance to get a cuppa too

I hope he brought his own as the one I just had along with the wet bacon role didn’t impress.

Not inspiring me back on to the railway - £125 rtn

That said the drive last weekend for the same journey wasn’t impressive either

 

[Ianno87]

That explains why we are now motoring away north of MKC; nice sarcastic delivery mind cheers

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 May 2021 ==

It wasn't sarcastic- I was answering your question.

 

[VauxhallandI]

It wasn't sarcastic- I was answering your question.

Lost in translation then

I have to say I enjoyed all the tilting as we blasted through Rugby, didn’t realise I missed that.

 

[Ianno87]

I have to say I enjoyed all the tilting as we blasted through Rugby, didn’t realise I missed that.

Still remember doing that for the first time in 2008 You don't get that when you go by car!

 

[Jamesrob637]

Still remember doing that for the first time in 2008 You don't get that when you go by car!

I tilt into the corners on a fast motorway corner in my Polo!

 

[The Prisoner]

Roads rammed into North Wales for the bank holiday and half term break. Live just outside Chester and thought we could go somewhere by train. TfW? reduced service to Llandudno and no service to Cardiff without changing. Avanti? Operating a vastly reduced service. TOCs./Government need to step up for the increasing demand. Into the car with the masses it is.....

 

[yorksrob]

I wonder how long it will be until NR move away from having masses of engineering works on bank holidays.

 

[bengley]

Another day of lots of red on Google maps on the motorway network. 2hr15mins of delays on the M5 apparently.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Don't forget this Bank Holiday weekend ties in with the start of the school holidays rather than the early-May one which is a bit of a standalone. The August one is a halfway house - school holidays yes, but 5-6 weeks long not just 1-2 weeks and not at the start and generally not right at the end thereof either.

 

[yorksrob]

In a way, I think that the railway is a bit like a recent divorcee - still pining after it's departed partner, the business and commuter market.

I think it needs to put this behind it, play the field and fully embrace its rebound lover, the leisure market, which whilst a bit rougher and cheaper than its previous partner, it is at least ready and willing (so to speak).

 

[dk1]

In a way, I think that the railway is a bit like a recent divorcee - still pining after it's departed partner, the business and commuter market.

I think it needs to put this behind it, play the field and fully embrace its rebound lover, the leisure market, which whilst a bit rougher and cheaper than its previous partner, it is at least ready and willing (so to speak).

I think that is exactly what is planned with lots of promoting & publicity. None of this however can happen until given the green light by the DfT & the country moves up to the next level.

 

[yorksrob]

I think that is exactly what is planned with lots of promoting & publicity. None of this however can happen until given the green light by the DfT & the country moves up to the next level.

Indeed. I'm looking forward to seeing what's planned !

 

[dk1]

Indeed. I'm looking forward to seeing what's planned !

Me too!! Unfortunately at the moment we have to make do with hands, face, space & the like with newspaper, online & TV advertising from the TOCs.

 

[PeterC]

I wonder how long it will be until NR move away from having masses of engineering works on bank holidays.

Prioritising trips to the seaside over getting people to work will involve some "interesting" PR

 

[yorksrob]

Prioritising trips to the seaside over getting people to work will involve some "interesting" PR

Would you for example prioritise a long weekend - where there might not be that many peopleactually travelling to work on a Friday/Monday, over a bank holiday with much greater volumes of travel.

 

[MikeWM]

Tried to get the 1034 Nottingham to Grantham this morning, which had the problem of far, far too many passengers trying to get on, rather than too few!

I gave up and went to Matlock instead - I see on RTT that it never actually left Nottingham (‘due to unexpected passenger load’ (!)).

The Matlock train was very very busy too, though not quite as excessive.

It seems leisure passengers are quite firmly back, in the East Midlands at least.

 

[Ianno87]

In a way, I think that the railway is a bit like a recent divorcee - still pining after it's departed partner, the business and commuter market.

I think it needs to put this behind it, play the field and fully embrace its rebound lover, the leisure market, which whilst a bit rougher and cheaper than its previous partner, it is at least ready and willing (so to speak).

I think we are still a bit in the "wait and see" phase for business and commuter demand. That could still rebound.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Tried to get the 1034 Nottingham to Grantham this morning, which had the problem of far, far too many passengers trying to get on, rather than too few!

I gave up and went to Matlock instead - I see on RTT that it never actually left Nottingham (‘due to unexpected passenger load’ (!)).

The Matlock train was very very busy too, though not quite as excessive.

It seems leisure passengers are quite firmly back, in the East Midlands at least.

Has that been a problem overseas, trains getting cancelled due to excessive demand? Or do they actually plan these things out and put the required or even slightly too many carriages on?

I don't think this weekend is a Bank Holiday in much of Europe, however they certainly have their own long weekends during the Spring.

 

[90sWereBetter]

Apologies if this is the wrong thread for this. Have there been any indications about when masks will become advisory/optional on public transport? Just spent several days in London and the constant announcements about face coverings being mandatory has really worn me down, plus the interactive adverts on London Overground featuring animal characters giving advice such as "you can huff and you can puff, but you can't take your face covering down", which seemed a touch excessive.

That being said, no-one seemed to be enforcing the rules that much during my travels. Quite a few people (but still a minority) were not wearing masks, quite a few were also wearing them around their chin.

I assume at some point it has to become optional, lest the government want to create a new generation of car users. I will learn to drive if masks become permanent on public transport.

 

[Smidster]

Apologies if this is the wrong thread for this. Have there been any indications about when masks will become advisory/optional on public transport? Just spent several days in London and the constant announcements about face coverings being mandatory has really worn me down, plus the interactive adverts on London Overground featuring animal characters giving advice such as "you can huff and you can puff, but you can't take your face covering down", which seemed a touch excessive.

That being said, no-one seemed to be enforcing the rules that much during my travels. Quite a few people (but still a minority) were not wearing masks, quite a few were also wearing them around their chin.

I assume at some point it has to become optional, lest the government want to create a new generation of car users. I will learn to drive if masks become permanent on public transport.

We will find out in the next couple of weeks what the plan is for June 21st which is the first possible date at which we could move to the next (final?) stage of the "Roadmap" and what rules and restrictions will be in place at that point.

It is possible that the requirement will cease at that stage but to be honest given where we are at the moment I would expect the mask requirement to continue for at least one more 5-week review period (alongside WfH guidance)

Have to say it angers me that a service is cancelled due to "excess demand". Assuming that is just Covid excess and not actually crush load dangerous - At that point it really should be up to the passengers to determine if they want to take that slightly elevated risk.

 

[philosopher]

Prioritising trips to the seaside over getting people to work will involve some "interesting" PR

Given the railways require subsidy to run, if the railways end up being used primarily for leisure, is there a risk that the bean counters at the Treasury will start to question why people’s trips to the seaside are partly being paid for by the taxpayer.

If traditional railway commuters are not coming back to the extent they were using it 2019, perhaps the railways should be focusing on attracting commuters who traditionally do not use the railway, such as shift workers.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Given the railways require subsidy to run, if the railways end up being used primarily for leisure, is there a risk that the bean counters at the Treasury will start to question why people’s trips to the seaside are partly being paid for by the taxpayer.

If traditional railway commuters are not coming back to the extent they were using it 2019, perhaps the railways should be focusing on attracting commuters who traditionally do not use the railway, such as shift workers.

Hmm that may require re-juggling engineering works to suit trains running late nights and weekends. Good idea at least in theory, however shift workers especially outside of Inner London enjoy some of the quietest times of day on the roads.

 

[MikeWM]

Have to say it angers me that a service is cancelled due to "excess demand". Assuming that is just Covid excess and not actually crush load dangerous - At that point it really should be up to the passengers to determine if they want to take that slightly elevated risk.

Given the number of people, I'd say it was closer to a crush load issue than social distancing. Too many people were getting on it for my liking (in general, not a Covid issue) so I changed plans, which turned out to be a good idea given it didn't end up going anywhere.

I do wonder why so many people wanted to go that way off Nottingham, and indeed what happened to them! I suppose those for Grantham may have got the Skegness shortly after, though that looked rather busy too (not least because the previous one had been cancelled). Not a lot of use if you were going to eg. Peterborough though - another 'unintended' consequence of LNER's silly mandatory reservations...

 

[Failed Unit]

Given the number of people, I'd say it was closer to a crush load issue than social distancing. Too many people were getting on it for my liking (in general, not a Covid issue) so I changed plans, which turned out to be a good idea given it didn't end up going anywhere.

I do wonder why so many people wanted to go that way off Nottingham, and indeed what happened to them! I suppose those for Grantham may have got the Skegness shortly after, though that looked rather busy too (not least because the previous one had been cancelled). Not a lot of use if you were going to eg. Peterborough though - another 'unintended' consequence of LNER's silly mandatory reservations...

You have probably hit the nail on the head to the loading. No MML to London. So that is the quickest way. They may have even had LNER reservations from Grantham.

 

[Ianno87]

You have probably hit the nail on the head to the loading. No MML to London. So that is the quickest way. They may have even had LNER reservations from Grantham.

I travelled on the Norwich-Liverpool during a pre-Covid MML block, and it was crush loaded from Peterborough to Nottingham.

Today, compulsory reservations on the LNER section probably stopped even more turning up at Nottingham.

 

[trebor79]

Apologies if this is the wrong thread for this. Have there been any indications about when masks will become advisory/optional on public transport? Just spent several days in London and the constant announcements about face coverings being mandatory has really worn me down, plus the interactive adverts on London Overground featuring animal characters giving advice such as "you can huff and you can puff, but you can't take your face covering down", which seemed a touch excessive.

That being said, no-one seemed to be enforcing the rules that much during my travels. Quite a few people (but still a minority) were not wearing masks, quite a few were also wearing them around their chin.

I assume at some point it has to become optional, lest the government want to create a new generation of car users. I will learn to drive if masks become permanent on public transport.

Don't wear one if you're exempt. Ignore the puerile adverts. In the unlikely event someone in authority speaks to you "I'm exempt and can't wear one, unfortunately" is the end of the conversation.

 

[MikeWM]

You have probably hit the nail on the head to the loading. No MML to London. So that is the quickest way. They may have even had LNER reservations from Grantham.

I should have thought of that (currently on the MML as we speak, so I know it is closed from Luton

Any reservations won't have helped much after the connection was cancelled though :-/