Our (members) train use is down - poll as to why

[whole diary]

[Robin Summerhill]

That is rather different to having NO TRAINS ALL DAY on strike days because of train strikes which are deliberately planned to cause disruption.

What is the point of a strike if nobody notices its happening?

In addition of course, it takes two to tango, and I often wonder why some people automatically blame only one side, without perhaps being in full posession of the facts.

Sorry for the off-topic comment, but I for one am getting increasingly agitated by the union-bashing tabloids and government, and we would perhaps all benefit from not havinf this forum full of it too.

[grahame]

... I for one am getting increasingly agitated by the union-bashing tabloids and government, and we would perhaps all benefit from not having this forum full of it too.

This thread / poll was designed not end up talking about .... oops ...

With a very few exceptions (such as when a passenger is taken ill on a train and it can no longer carry on, on time and making its connections), it really doesn't matter why a service is unreliable to most people.  Passenger taken ill, and perhaps "person hit by train" and people are far more symathetic and understanding [statement unproven]

[Robin Summerhill]

My travelling habits have changed markedly but mainly due to medical reasons. Due to my glaucoma I can no longer see much out of the window and have difficulty in finding my way in places I know, let alone unfamiliar ones

Then back in July I got a very mild dose of COVID but it appears to have affected my lungs, exacerbated of course by 60 years of smoking. 5 years ago I would think nothing of getting a train to Didcot and walking up the DNS^▸ (Domain name service) to Upton and back, or walking from Temple Meads along the Bristol & Bath railway path to Yate or Saltford – today I walked a quarter of a mile from Chippenham bus station to the Town Bridge bus stop, and had to stop twice for a blow-up on the way

Advancing years don’t come alone...

[broadgage]

This summer's a bit complicated for my family, with lots of short events dotted around the calendar. Normally we'd have a few train trips while the kids are on holiday, but this year it's been harder to find dates which aren't already taken and aren't near a train strike.

On top of that, the extreme weather makes us reluctant to travel by train. The thought of being trapped for hours on an overheated, overcrowded train if something went wrong is a strong deterrent.

That having been said, we are having a day out by train on Wednesday. Wish us luck!

I agree, WRT^▸ (with regard to ) to the risks of stuck for hours on an overcrowded overheated train.

I HAVE been stuck for hours on an HST^▸ (High Speed Train), the delay was tedious but conditions not bad. Everyone had a seat, air conditioning working, refreshments available.
But on a new shorter train conditions would be far worse.

[jamestheredengine]

But there are certain journeys that I would have made occasionally, that I've made zero times since 2020 took off. This is a mix of services not being quite back to their previous level (e.g. I've said elsewhere that if I wanted to do a full-day return on the Heart of Wales Line, I no longer can), and wariness over the railway's inability to provide the advertised level of service.

And then added to the infrequent trains are the barmy Two Together Railcard restrictions. The YP one has a £12 minimum fare before 0930 on weekdays; so obviously Two Together has a £24 minimum fare... No, it has a blanket ban, which is really unhelpful for connecting onto the 1105 Trans-Wilts from Swindon from anywhere west of Newport. Even the Network Railcard has an enormous list of easements. GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) would probably make a pile more money out of me for one if they put in place a blanket easement to remove the Two Together time restrictions for journeys over £12 each that don't cross into the South East Government Office Region – that would make up for trying to connect onto very infrequent trains.

[broadgage]

I’ve made many journeys for leisure this year, if anything a few more than usual.  I’ve come across hardly any problems so far - helped with a little bit of defensive scheduling, common sense and insider knowledge.

Just reading the forums gives you a rather overly negative view as to how things actually are IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).

I would have made a couple more journeys but they clashed with strike days.

I disagree. Many reports on these forums do, in my view give an unduly optimistic view.

"short formations are less common than suggested by by journeycheck"
"we dont need full length trains, due to reduced passenger numbers"
"Covid mode is fine, again due to reduced passenger numbers"

[IndustryInsider]

"short formations are less common than suggested by by journeycheck"

How is it unduly optimistic to correct the obvious fact that journeycheck is absolutely littered with errors, which I’ve demonstrated on many occasions, especially regarding services later in the day?

[Marlburian]

Pre-Covid a visiting friend living in South London would cycle to Paddington and take the train to Tilehurst. As restrictions eased, she resumed her visits, but by car, out of concern that she might catch Covid on public transport and pass it on to vulnerable family members.

This year we've become less cautious, eating out twice in quiet country pubs and she's just returned from a holiday in Europe. She's still visiting me by car, despite not liking the "smartness" of the M4.

I hesitate to suggest she resumes her train journeys as it's coming up to five months since I had my last jab and we both can see an increase in Covid and other infections as the autumn progresses.

[grahame]

Many thanks for all the votes in this poll.  The major issue holding people back is service reliability - be that because of industrial action, lack of staff for other reasons or ... other reasons. With such overwhelming results (and moderator team support), I'm writing to our key provider to highlight the results to our train operator, and asking that he and his company work alongside partners on all sides to address reliability as a priority.

[johnneyw]

..... asking that he and his company work alongside partners on all sides to address reliability as a priority.

Just so long as that doesn't help provide an excuse for big reductions in services.

I agree though, reliability....or lack of....is my biggest concern about making a planned railway journey and that concern increases in proportion to the distance from home that I'm traveling, especially on a day return journey.  It's not come to actually detering me from doing such things but it has, for the first time, put that germ of a thought into the back of my mind.