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Author Topic: The passengers are BACK!  (Read 11431 times)
Marlburian
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« Reply #45 on: October 25, 2021, 14:16:34 »

Articles in today's media speculate that some employers will encourage their staff to work from home to cut down on escalating heating costs. One company featured in a Saturday newspaper had gone to a permanent four-day week, though nothing was said about how it deals with phone calls and deliveries on the weekday no-one is around (perhaps it has a a couple of people on duty).

Nineteen cars in Tilehurst Station car-park at 0830 this morning, plus a prowling BTP (British Transport Police) car whose occupants headed for the refreshment van. No Metros again; I was going to buy a Telegraph anyway.

The cleaner was diligently cleaning and was pleased that I wished her a Good Morning.

(My walk to get a newspaper and a few groceries was extended to take in some of Tilehurst's leafy suburbs. Several other pedestrians still appreciated Social Distancing.)
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Bmblbzzz
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« Reply #46 on: October 25, 2021, 15:33:30 »

I would imagine phone calls are easily redirected to the phone of whichever employee is on phone-call duty. Deliveries might be a problem.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #47 on: October 26, 2021, 11:19:39 »

I'm on the 0929 Reading- Plymouth, very quiet indeed for half term. (I'm alone in First class), on the upside, most people seem to be wearing masks......and distancing certainly isn't a problem!
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #48 on: October 26, 2021, 11:39:19 »

A candidate for a 5-car train then, TG?  First class 60% full and standard class 30% full according to the loading monitor - I appreciate you can’t see the other two first class sections in the other unit.

How are others finding their journeys this week?  I’ve seen mostly busy trains and bustling platforms so far.  Pretty near a normal bank holiday week.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #49 on: October 26, 2021, 11:52:42 »

A candidate for a 5-car train then, TG?  First class 60% full and standard class 30% full according to the loading monitor - I appreciate you can’t see the other two first class sections in the other unit.

How are others finding their journeys this week?  I’ve seen mostly busy trains and bustling platforms so far.  Pretty near a normal bank holiday week.

K & L completely empty apart from me and a very underemployed customer host! Most of the platforms seem pretty empty heading West.....then again it's raining.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #50 on: October 26, 2021, 16:57:32 »

As an aside on the subject of masks, pal was at Malaga Airport earlier today, and said it was noticeable and widely commented on that the British contingent were conspicuous by their absence of masks, in contrast to other nationalities.

We don't help ourselves much, do we?
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #51 on: October 26, 2021, 17:06:06 »

A candidate for a 5-car train then, TG?  First class 60% full and standard class 30% full according to the loading monitor - I appreciate you can’t see the other two first class sections in the other unit.

How are others finding their journeys this week?  I’ve seen mostly busy trains and bustling platforms so far.  Pretty near a normal bank holiday week.

K & L completely empty apart from me and a very underemployed customer host! Most of the platforms seem pretty empty heading West.....then again it's raining.

There does appear to be almost a default setting of 60%/30% full showing on the occupancy data when that clearly isn't the case at all.  I'll be interested to hear how others are finding the accuracy of it? 

In terms of the train you were on, I'm glad you had a nice quiet journey and an early arrival.  That's probably the best train of the day to pick heading west from London/Reading.  It's a little early for some, is full length and only goes as far as Plymouth.
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Marlburian
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« Reply #52 on: October 26, 2021, 18:01:49 »

Goring Station car-park was seven-eighths full at 1515 today, though I've long suspected that some commuters park in the roads north of the upper High Street. Certainly there were a few parked on the verge of Upper Red Cross Road.

I was just finishing a walk and ironically could have just caught the 1518 to Tilehurst - but for the fact I'd left my car in Streatley. (In a couple of other threads I've remarked that for some walks I used to take the half-hourly  train service from and to Tilehurst, but would find the current hourly timetable too infrequent.)
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #53 on: October 26, 2021, 19:05:21 »

A candidate for a 5-car train then, TG?  First class 60% full and standard class 30% full according to the loading monitor - I appreciate you can’t see the other two first class sections in the other unit.

How are others finding their journeys this week?  I’ve seen mostly busy trains and bustling platforms so far.  Pretty near a normal bank holiday week.

K & L completely empty apart from me and a very underemployed customer host! Most of the platforms seem pretty empty heading West.....then again it's raining.

There does appear to be almost a default setting of 60%/30% full showing on the occupancy data when that clearly isn't the case at all.  I'll be interested to hear how others are finding the accuracy of it? 

In terms of the train you were on, I'm glad you had a nice quiet journey and an early arrival.  That's probably the best train of the day to pick heading west from London/Reading.  It's a little early for some, is full length and only goes as far as Plymouth.

Yes I always go for that one if I can, it never seems to be too busy and you often seem to be able to get the cheapest 1st class fares.....wasn't the case today (due to half term I guess?)  but I got a very cheap upgrade via Seatfrog.
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PhilWakely
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« Reply #54 on: October 27, 2021, 06:11:44 »

I'm on the 0929 Reading- Plymouth, very quiet indeed for half term. (I'm alone in First class), on the upside, most people seem to be wearing masks......and distancing certainly isn't a problem!

I was on that train from Paddington, in the front set, coach C and there was only one other person in the coach as far as Exeter. I had not experienced Paddington at that time of day for a few years and was very surprised how quiet it was. 
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #55 on: October 27, 2021, 07:33:16 »

I'm on the 0929 Reading- Plymouth, very quiet indeed for half term. (I'm alone in First class), on the upside, most people seem to be wearing masks......and distancing certainly isn't a problem!

I was on that train from Paddington, in the front set, coach C and there was only one other person in the coach as far as Exeter. I had not experienced Paddington at that time of day for a few years and was very surprised how quiet it was. 

Phil if ourselves & one or two others constitute the loading that IndustryInsider suggests was on that train, perhaps we need to think about a diet?  Wink
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #56 on: October 27, 2021, 11:18:50 »

Save the diets for after Christmas, as I don't doubt it was quiet.   Wink  Certainly not at the 60%/30% loading that was showing on the occupancy data - although 30% is quite quiet for standard class anyway of course.  It seems to be set at that 60/30 default setting for quite a few trains.  I wonder if no information is received, whether it defaults to that as some kind of 'typical loading' value that might be way off the mark?

As you can see from the two attachments, it's apparently 60/30 again today, as is the nearest up service.  Though a similar list of trains at Swindon shows a much more wide spread of loadings.
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grahame
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« Reply #57 on: October 30, 2021, 21:31:42 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) ...

Quote
The number of commuter journeys by train remains at fewer than half of pre-pandemic levels, figures show.

Trips made by people going to or from work on the UK (United Kingdom)'s railways in mid-October were 45% of what they were before autumn 2019, says industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG(resolve)).

It comes as many people continue to work from home.

But leisure journeys have increased again and are at about 90% of what they were before the pandemic, the RDG said.

It added that commuter journeys had risen from late August when they were 33% of what they were before the pandemic.

So why the **** are they removing the entire Bristol Temple Meads to Waterloo service which is predominantly personal business and leisure?   Looks like madness.
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anthony215
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« Reply #58 on: October 31, 2021, 09:20:44 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) ...

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The number of commuter journeys by train remains at fewer than half of pre-pandemic levels, figures show.

Trips made by people going to or from work on the UK (United Kingdom)'s railways in mid-October were 45% of what they were before autumn 2019, says industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG(resolve)).

It comes as many people continue to work from home.

But leisure journeys have increased again and are at about 90% of what they were before the pandemic, the RDG said.

It added that commuter journeys had risen from late August when they were 33% of what they were before the pandemic.

So why the **** are they removing the entire Bristol Temple Meads to Waterloo service which is predominantly personal business and leisure?   Looks like madness.


If anything I would say this service should be a good candidate for enhancement, perhaps a earlier service from Bristol or even a more regular frequency
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grahame
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« Reply #59 on: October 31, 2021, 09:48:18 »

If anything I would say this service should be a good candidate for enhancement, perhaps a earlier service from Bristol or even a more regular frequency

Correct .... extending the new (Dec 2022) MetroWest service to Westbury on to Salisbury, where it forms the semi-fast 2nd train in the hour to London, perhaps?
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