Great Western Coffee Shop

Video: Our trip on SE's busiest train

Commuters from Henley travel to work on the most overcrowded train in the South-East.

Nearly four in 10 passengers have to stand on the 7.44am service from Henley to Paddington, according to statistics from the Department for Transport.

This means the First Great Western service regularly operates at 166 per cent capacity.

A survey carried out on one day found the three-carriage train was carrying 373 passengers, 148 more than it was designed to hold.

Passengers from Henley, who pay nearly ^4,000 for an annual season ticket to London, say that more carriages should be introduced.

Mark Hanson, of Greys Road, Henley, described the service as ^abysmal^. ^It is far too busy,^ he said. ^It is far too cramped and there is no consideration for health and safety.^

Dennis Rocks, who works at Network Rail and travels to London every day, said he had seen a pregnant woman faint because the train was so overcrowded.  He said: ^The service before this one has five coaches and that gets quite full as well. It is when you get to Maidenhead that it gets very overcrowded. If you get on at Wargrave, Shiplake or Twyford, then you are pretty much guaranteed to get a seat. There should be an extra carriage ^ this is down to the operating company.^

Julian Thurston, 56, of Queen Street, Henley, who has commuted to London for 25 years, said: ^A lot of people at Henley get on that train and it is packed by Wargrave. Often there is not room for people at Twyford to get on ^ it^s only a three-car train ^ and by Maidenhead people are standing up and it is really bad. ^People become annoyed and they obviously feel uncomfortable. The Henley guys are actually not too bad because they get on the train first but it is really unpleasant because there are so many people packed around you. It has been like that for two or three years now. They have said they will make it longer but they haven^t yet. They need a six-car train and they have needed it for a long time.^

Kris Adams, 36, of Niagra Road, Henley, who often travels on the 7.44am, said: ^By the time you get to Twyford and then Maidenhead there are a few arguments now and again. I get pretty frustrated. I come with a bike so it is not good for me and it is not good for other commuters when it gets too packed to get a seat and it is a long journey. We are not talking 20 minutes, we are talking 40 minutes to an hour so standing up is frustrating.^

A passenger from Shiplake said: ^I pity the people who get on at Twyford. I think it needs to not stop at Maidenhead as it then becomes dreadful. It is already full by the time it gets there. It is supposed to be a Henley train and Maidenhead has a train stopping every 15 to 20 minutes so why do they need ours?^

A First Great Western spokesman said: ^The train is a very attractive alternative to the car, particularly for customers travelling to and from London on a regular basis, and demand continues to rise. Additionally, there is a shortage of rolling stock across the UK to allow many train operators to keep up with that demand. A great deal has already been done, including retiming and strengthening services with existing carriages where possible.

^However, we are in the process of introducing more than 4,500 additional seats in London and the Thames Valley before summer, which will have a further impact in the coming months.

^The 07.44 service from Henley to London Paddington will be strengthened from three cars to four cars when additional rolling stock becomes available September. Similarly, the 18.12 from Paddington to Henley will be strengthened from three cars to five.^

Slightly surprised to see a Network Rail employee prepared to go on the record and criticize a TOC publicly in a press article that gives their full name  :-\

the problems got worse a few years back when the 0800 from Maidenhead was reduced from a 10 car Adelante to a 7 car HST- more people gave up on the 0800 and tried for the 0804 (0744 ex Henley) with predictable repercussions.

I'd imagine a North Downs service has been strengthened from 2 to 3 cars and the spare 2 car is now allocated to that Henley service. 

I may be wrong but thought the Reading to Gatwick diagrams on the North Downs line were normally 3 cars and the slower Reading-Redhill diagrams were normally 2 cars.

Good to see the 0744 formed of 4 coaches this monring - I assume this is thanks to the 180's?

What a difference an extra carriage makes. Was this advertised?

From the Henley Standard (http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=37455):

The 1812 oftern loads quite lightly (because it actually isn't that fast) ...

This is and has been for a long time a 5 car train.  Got their facts straight then?
Although strangely enough it is usually 3 on a Friday (?!?)

07:44 Henley-On-Thames to London Paddington due 08:28
This train will be terminated at Maidenhead.
This train will no longer call at London Paddington.
This is due to a train fault.

Still I was very thankful for the decision as there was lots of free seats on that train (even after everyone got on).. It would be really nice if they could incorporate that stop into the timetable to be honest but I don't think we'll be that lucky..