How busy are EMR peak services?

[Teapot42]

We are in the final stages of planning a trip to Avignon by rail from Chesterfield.

One option arrives back in to St Pancras at around 4pm, so the most likely connection would be the 17:02 to Sheffield. This is the first train which is full price tickets only - is it likely to still be busy, or is there a decent chance of getting a seat? We will be on Interrail passes so can use any service.

I know we are taking a risk anyway with how rubbish EMR can be, but I'm mainly wondering if the higher fares manage demand, or if this one will still be rammed.

 

[transportphoto]

Are you in First or Standard?

 

[Kite159]

Also depends on the day

At least with no seat reservations on EMR, it's first come first served, so as long as you board the service when it gets announced you will probably get a seat, board it 3 minutes before departure on a Wednesday, then you will probably end up standing

 

[Teapot42]

Also depends on the day

At least with no seat reservations on EMR, it's first come first served, so as long as you board the service when it gets announced you will probably get a seat, board it 3 minutes before departure on a Wednesday, then you will probably end up standing

Oddly enough, it will be Wednesday. Is that a busier day than most? Having suitcases will slow us down, plus I'm not sure how easily we'll get through the barriers with our Interrail passes - do they just scan, or will we need to use the manual gates?

 

[bramling]

Oddly enough, it will be Wednesday. Is that a busier day than most? Having suitcases will slow us down, plus I'm not sure how easily we'll get through the barriers with our Interrail passes - do they just scan, or will we need to use the manual gates?

It isn’t massively hard to get onto the EMR platforms in advance of the service being advertised, especially if your ticket isn’t specific to a particular train, as there’s the half-hourly Corby service which generally uses platform 1. If you pass through the gateline ostensibly aiming for a Corby service then you are unlikely to be hassled standing in a quiet spot further down the platform, especially platform 2. You’ll need to be informed about which train is going to be yours, however.

 

[duffield]

Oddly enough, it will be Wednesday. Is that a busier day than most? Having suitcases will slow us down, plus I'm not sure how easily we'll get through the barriers with our Interrail passes - do they just scan, or will we need to use the manual gates?

I think you'll need a manual pass check which will probably delay you. If you're in 1st you'll likely be fine, but in standard and you might end up standing. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the busiest commuting days post-COVID. As per previous post you need to be at the front close to the manual barrier when the train is announced (usually 10 minutes before departure), then you should be able to grab some seats. Also as per previous posts you could turn up at 1640 and go through the barriers as if for the 1645 Corby train, but you might get asked to go back when that train leaves without you.

Unfortunately, one red flag for the 1702 is that under the current reduced timetable the 1732 is missing, which might indicate that both the 1702 and 1802 will be exceptionally busy, but I haven't travelled out of St. Pancras at this time since the reduced timetable was introduced so I don't know how much of a problem this is. Of course that could change by the time you travel. The 1732 is currently showing at being reinstated from 19th October, but I don't know if that really means it will be!

 

[Teapot42]

Ah, good point, I thought the 17:32 was being reintroduced with the changes at the start of September, but seemingly not.

We might be able to get the 16:32, but it will be a rush. As that's the last off-peak train though I'd expect it to be busier.

What time do things start to tail off? No issue waiting for say the 18:32 or even later, but equally no point hanging around for no reason.

We were considering 1st, but the Eurostar outbound didn't have availability, so it didn't seem worth paying the extra.

 

[liamf656]

As mentioned above the 1732 will only run as far as Derby for the foreseeable, but that may give the possibility of it being a bit quieter (but involving a connection to Chesterfield). The 1802 I assume will be busier because of this, but it's booked an 810 which has more seats and better luggage space