Busy ? train travel

[suzanneparis]

I have not used trains since February.

I don't know how things work.

If I buy tickets for Saturday what happens if the train is really full? Or do they have a maximum number of people per train - in which case are all seats forced to be booked?

Thanks for any help

 

[hexagon789]

I have not used trains since February.

I don't know how things work.

If I buy tickets for Saturday what happens if the train is really full? Or do they have a maximum number of people per train - in which case are all seats forced to be booked?

Thanks for any help

Some longer-distance operators have compulsory reservations, shorter distance operators don't.

There is advice (at least I believe it is only advisory) not to travel on a service if it is too busy and to catch the next one but that does not stop people in practice. Recently all seats taken and standing in the aisles has been observed on certain services around the UK, not just in London where it might be more expected.

 

[suzanneparis]

Many thanks. In that case I shall wait a few more months. Best wishes

 

[Mcr Warrior]

What journey did you have in mind. The regulars on here should be able to further advise on likely passenger loadings.

 

[hexagon789]

Many thanks. In that case I shall wait a few more months. Best wishes

I didn't want to put you off, but I think you'd rather be informed of what it can be like. I've made a number of short off-peak journeys from my local station into town and the busiest required sone people sitting behind each other, I haven't personally experienced full and standing but it is happening and on local/commuter journeys can't really be guaranteed against.

 

[alistairlees]

Are you wanting to go from Leicester to London?

 

[Llanigraham]

Used the St Ives branch from St Erth last Friday and was surprised how quiet it was.

 

[markwcel]

We used the York-Leeds train the other Saturday getting off at Harrogate at 9am and it was really quiet

 

[Revilo]

Used the St Ives branch from St Erth last Friday and was surprised how quiet it was.

It was busy in the summer, needed 4 coaches.

 

[ChrisC]

Many thanks. In that case I shall wait a few more months. Best wishes

Don’t give up on the idea completely. It will depend upon where and when you travel.

I also had not been on a train or a bus since February. I had got a rail voucher which I’d had for nearly a year and didn’t want to waste. I used this voucher to travel from East Midlands Parkway to London St. Pancras and back a few weeks ago on a Saturday. It was purely a leisure trip to use the voucher and I only had a couple of hours in London. I travelled down late morning and returned mid afternoon. In both directions I almost had a carriage to myself. Staff were very friendly and certainly on EMR everything was very pleasant and relaxed. I didn’t reserve a seat and only decided that morning to pluck up courage and do the trip.

Once in London, I even got a bus from St. Pancras to Trafalgar Square. I wasn’t too happy about this as although it wasn’t too busy there were a number of groups of teenagers on the bus sitting together and not wearing masks. Then I had a very pleasant walk back through the very quiet streets to St. Pancras.

However, I did drive down to East Midlands Parkway rather than getting a train from my local station on the Robin Hood Line and changing at Nottingham. This is because in complete contrast to EMR’s London trains I’ve been informed that some of their local services into Nottingham on Saturdays are very crowded even with standing passengers between Mansfield and Nottingham.

 

[philthetube]

I travelled Watford Brighton last thurs, off peak. very quiet both ways.

 

[fairlie]

I've made a few journeys in the last month or so - all have been very quiet. This morning I think there was only one other person in the same carriage as me (1102 LMS-KNW).

 

[kristiang85]

I've been going into work in London one day a week, and also to London usually once a weekend for social reasons (from Hampshire), since August. I've yet to have more than 5/6 people in my carriage (although I do always go to the far end, and make sure I get the longer trains). So it's not something that should stop you from travelling.

Hell, I even unavoidably had to get the Central Line at 8.45am on a Monday recently and it was only half full. Normally my experience at that time is waiting for at least 4 trains to go past before there's even a chance of being able to squeeze on.

 

[Jan Mayen]

Travelling around Sussex in the last week, I've noticed the trains have been busy, but not standing, when schools and colleges are finished for the day. I've chosen to miss one train (four car Southern service from Fratton) as it was reasonably full and I knew there was a ten car SWR service in a few minutes, which had only a handful of passengers in my carriage

 

[Llanigraham]

It was busy in the summer, needed 4 coaches.

It still was 4 coaches but it was still very quiet compared to what I have experienced in the past.

 

[WesternLancer]

Many thanks. In that case I shall wait a few more months. Best wishes

Trains aren't busy - you are more likely to be near someone on your way to the station than on the train in many cases!

 

[Dren Ahmeti]

I haven't personally experienced full and standing but it is happening and on local/commuter journeys can't really be guaranteed against.

I have only experienced F&S (Full and Standing) a couple of times since the start of the pandemic:
A GWR Turbo from Weymouth-Westbury with people standing everywhere, but still space to walk through if people squeezed into corners.

A peak DLR from Woolwich Arsenal-Stratford, no social distancing available chair-wise, and a fair few standing.

My down Bristol (on Sunday of all days!) from Paddington had to be reported F&S, and the Up wasn’t much better - whole carriages were full, with people standing in the vestibules, but there were some free seats further up.

Makes a huge difference my last journey a day before lockdown, where it was just 3 people (incl. staff) travelling on Paddington - Plymouth - Paddington, only one person joined us from Plymouth - Newton Abbot!