Great Western Coffee Shop

One thing I have noticed this year on the very busy Penzance/Paddington summer services through Devon and Cornwall are the problems being caused by the sheer size and volume of some passengers luggage. Extended loading and unloading times on some summer Saturday trains in particular mean trains have regularly struggled to keep to time through the two counties with ticket checks nigh on impossible on some busy services as a result.Some of the luggage is so large that it almost blocks vestibules and saloon doors seriously hampering movement as passenger with equally large "trunks" try to board at stations causing log jams and delays.
  Surely there are heath and safety issues here.Today at Exeter I saw a 142  departing for Barnstaple so heavily loaded they had to put some luggage into the rear driving cab to accommadate everyone.
 What do you think is the answer,has the time come to limit the size of luggage carried or even make a charge as the airlines do?.

142067 was solo today. Looked rather busy when I saw it at Dawlish Warren in afternoon.

Wasn't as bad as 4 car on a Manc - Paignton service. Suicidal diagramming from XC!

While large items are obviously a problem for the train operator, the options available to intending passengers in the face of a ban aren't exactly attractive (unless they own a large car!). Parcels carriers have their own rather severe restrictions on size of objects. Suggestions, anyone?

Several train operators have teamed up with: http://www.carrymyluggage.com/ in order to provide an alternative to having luggage on the train.

I had the pleasure of dispatching the return service to MAN a couple of Saturdays ago - 4 car - full and standing - the XC TM got off before the doors opened to tell everyone unless someone get off, no-one was getting on and everyone should wait for the Edinburgh train.... Good stuff  ;)

I had the pleasure of one today from Weston - Taunton. At least two people were close to fainting.

Bring back the guard's van!

Quite right, plymothian - and welcome to the Coffee Shop forum!

I've noticed a lot more items of unusually 'large' luggage this week on my daily commute - it's the last week of the school holidays, and all that!

Hmmm.  ::)

There is a levy AAA Accompanied Animals & Articles i think it is a % of the owners fare.

I would like to see a "parcel van" section too but it will not happen as we have seen it is seats in favour of even tables..... :-\

There is not enough staff to police excessive luggage before boarding these days.

A cheeky chap had a very large holdall on two seats the other day and when I asked him to move them so I could sit down he said no as it is very heavy so find someone to lift it you can ??? As it was his I suggested with "mixed language" that he remove it himself......

I think that part of the problem is that the max luggage size is only given in cm.

If inches were also given (like in airports), people who can't picture cm easily might reduce their luggage.

Then again, I doubt people read the guidelines!

Nobody in the general public is even aware of the regulations!

At least FGW still have the relatively big luggage racks at the end of each carriage.

Incidentally, I asked this once on a bus forum, would people be happy leaving luggage unattended and out of sight in such luggage racks?  It appears that some people have no problem with it, but a lot of others would.

XC print the dimensions (cm only) near the front of their timetable booklets.

I'm not sure I'd be happy to leave my luggage out of sight on a train, to be honest: it's too easy for someone to grab it just as they leave the train at a busy station, while they're hidden from my view in a long queue of passengers waiting in the aisle, for example.

On the other hand, perhaps some people take the view that if anyone else is daft enough to dislocate their shoulder trying to grab a particularly huge and heavy item of luggage in that way, they deserve it!

 ::)